MANNING, S.C. - The finale of the Bassmaster Tour has set the stage for the next big thing in bass fishing: the upcoming Bassmaster Elite 50 tournaments, which will begin April 14 on Arkansas's Lake Dardanelle.
"That's the one I can't wait to go to: the first one, because it's the first one," said Oklahoma pro Edwin Evers, whose strong performance for the past three Tour seasons qualified him for a berth. "I can't wait to go."
On Sunday, the field became final and includes a host of the sport's stars, including Texan Kelly Jordon, who won the Tour finale and led the field of pros qualifying based on their combined point standings from the past three Tour seasons. Like Evers, Jordon was eager to get going.
"I think Dardanelle's going to be a fun one," he said. "It's in Arkansas and springtime fishing is going to be perfect.
"It's just a great, great thing that BASS and ESPN Outdoors are doing for the pros. (It's) a little smaller field, more personal touch. We'll have more contact with the fans and fun, enjoyable tournaments."
The 50 biggest names in bass fishing will compete on the four-event, no-entry-fee series, including reigning Classic champion Michael Iaconelli, BASS all-time money leader Denny Brauer, 2004 Angler of the Year Gerald Swindle, and 2004 Rookie of the Year Greg Hackney, as well as the 20 all-time BASS money leaders - led by the legendary Brauer - and the top 27 in cumulative standings over the past three seasons, led by Jordon.
"The most exciting thing is that it's a milestone in bass fishing tournaments: a no-entry-fee circuit for the pros," Jordon said. "There's never been anything like it.
"The Elite 50, all of my heroes are going to be in there along with the guys like me, the new guys who are up and coming pros."
BASSMASTER ELITE 50 Top 20 All Time Money Place Angler Name Winnings 1 Denny Brauer $1,826,239.21 2 Rick Clunn $1,540,044.53 3 Larry Nixon $1,532,533.58 4 Jay Yelas $1,255,557.00 5 Shaw E Grigsby, Jr $1,229,380.23 6 Kevin VanDam $1,207,683.33 7 Gary Klein $1,172,218.97 8 Roland Martin $1,007,142.16 9 Ron Shuffield $991,521.00 10 George Cochran $977,501.45 11 Mark Davis $957,071.30 12 Davy Hite $855,850.00 13 David Fritts $836,905.00 14 Zell Rowland $789,140.90 15 Tom Biffle $746,278.80 16 Jim Bitter $743,943.60 17 David Wharton $716,305.80 18 Alton Jones $691,441.67 19 Peter Thliveros $688,554.00 20 Randy Blaukat $685,317.70 BASSMASTER ELITE 50 Top 10 From 2002, 2003, 2004 Angler of the Year Combined Standings Place Angler Name Total 1 Kelly Jordon 32 2 Brent Chapman 39 3 Tim Horton 55 4 Bud Pruitt 68 5 Edwin Evers 72 6 Dustin Wilks 80 7 Skeet Reese 81 8 Kevin Wirth 88 9 John Murray 106 10 Randy Howell 113 11 Mike Wurm 131 12 Brian Snowden 135 13 Dean Rojas 150 14 O T Fears III 151 15 Bernie Schultz 154 16 Kenyon Hill 154 16 Mark Menendez 161 18 Chad Brauer 163 19 Ishama Monroe 164 20 Robert Lee 165 21 Paul Elias 168 22 Ben Matsubu 170 23 Brett Hite 173 24 Todd Faircloth 175 25 Todd Auten 176 26 Stacey King 177 26 Jack Gadlage 177