Update! BASS has abruptly terminated the entire WBT leaving lady anglers in the lurch. The following press release from BASS turned out to be false.
For the third consecutive year, the Bassmaster Women's Tour will award a Bassmaster Classic berth to the Bassmaster Women's Tour Angler of the Year. The 2010 WBT schedule will span five events, four regular-season tournaments and a championship, and will visit fisheries in Alabama, Texas and Louisiana.
The top 20 WBT anglers, based on their Angler of the Year standings in the regular season, will qualify for the Bassmaster Women's Tour Championship. The Championship is set for Oct. 15-17 on Sam Rayburn Reservoir out of Lufkin, Texas. From that event, the Angler of the Year will be determined and the winner will receive a qualifying berth into the Bassmaster Classic.
"The Bassmaster Women's Tour continues to receive some incredible exposure," said Jamie Wilkinson, senior director of event operations and business development, BASS. "Once again, we have scheduled some top-notch fisheries and engaged communities."
The 2010 season will kick off with the March 18-20 event on Wheeler Lake out of Decatur, Ala. BASS previously has held 10 events on Wheeler, but the season opener will mark the first WBT event on the spacious fishery. In 2009, BASS doubled up on Wheeler with a Bassmaster Central Open event and a Bassmaster Elite Series event, the Evan Williams Bourbon Dixie Duel.
The second event will be held April 22-24 on Sam Rayburn Reservoir out of Lufkin, Texas, which will also host the event. Rayburn, a perennial BASS favorite, has been the site of more than 30 BASS events with the last one, a Bassmaster Central Open, in September. Stephen Johnston of Hemphill, Texas, won the Open with a three-day total of 57 pounds, 5 ounces.
For the third regular-season event of 2010, June 10-12, the WBT will visit Belton Lake and Temple, Texas. Belton, officially impounded in 1954 and just more than 12,000 acres, has never hosted a BASS tournament in the organization's 40-plus year history.
The final regular-season event is set for Sept. 16-18 on the Ouachita River out of West Monroe, La. Ouachita hosted a WBT event in April, when Texas' Janet Parker scored victory on the river with a three-day total of 32 pounds, 2 ounces. After Ouachita, the regular-season AOY standings will be finalized and the qualifying berths for the Bassmaster Women's Tour will be determined.
The WBT Championship will mark the end of the 2010 season. Spacious Rayburn will provide a set of different conditions for the Championship event from the April WBT tournament. After points are awarded based on Championship finishes, the Bassmaster Women's Angler of the Year will be crowned.
Entry fees will be collected for all five events. Tournament payouts and rules can be found at www.Bassmaster.com. Once again, anglers will be able to drop their lowest finish from the four regular-season events before the regular-season standings are finalized and the Championship berths are decided.
At each event, the champion pro will receive $1,000 in addition to a fully-rigged boat package valued at $55,000. The winning co-angler will receive $500 plus a boat package valued at $25,000.
The full schedule can be found below. Registration for the four 2010 regular-season events can be completed at www.Bassmaster.com. Priority registration is open to the top 50 pros and co-anglers from the 2009 WBT Angler of the Year standings at 9 a.m. ET Monday, Nov. 2.
Registration will open at 9 a.m. Monday, Nov. 9, for all BASS members who wish to sign up for all four regular-season events. Those who wish to sign up for single events can register beginning at noon Monday, Nov. 16.
2010 Bassmaster Women's Tour Schedule March 18-20 Decatur, Ala. Lake Wheeler April 22-24 Lufkin, Texas Sam Rayburn Reservoir June 10-12 Temple, Texas Belton Lake September 16-18 West Monroe, La. Ouachita River October 15-17 Lufkin, Texas Sam Rayburn Reservoir (WBT Championship)