TOURNAMENT SERIES

NEWS

Alabama Bass Trail Announces 2022 Tournament Schedule and Payout Priority Registration Opens August 1

May 7, 2021

Decatur, Ala. (May 7, 2021) – The Alabama Bass Trail (ABT) is excited to announce dates and locations of the 2022 tournament series which includes a payout reaching over $580,000. Now in its ninth season, the team-style tournament series is held on eleven different lakes of the Alabama Bass Trail beginning February 19, 2022, with the championship tournament to be held on October 21-22, 2022. Anglers in the no entry fee championship will be competing for over $100,000 in cash, including a $50,000 first place prize and top bragging rights for the year.

“Announcing the schedule for the ninth season of the Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series seems almost surreal,” said ABT Program Director Kay Donaldson. “Each year, we begin working with the host cities in February and it is always an interesting puzzle to put together. There are so many considerations that go into assembling a schedule that offers a little something different each year, but is still attractive to a large variety of anglers. We hope the 2022 Tournament Series is everything an angler expects from a fishing tournament – a flawlessly run event with big fish and big payouts.”


North Division:

  • February 19, 2022
    Neely Henry Lake hosted by the City of Gadsden and Greater Gadsden Area Tourism
  • March 12, 2022
    Lewis Smith Lake hosted by Chamber of Commerce of Walker County
  • April 23, 2022
    Weiss Lake hosted by the Town of Leesburg
  • May 21, 2022
    Wheeler Lake hosted by Decatur Morgan County Tourism
  • June 11, 2022
    Lake Guntersville hosted by the Mountain Lakes Chamber of Commerce

South Division:

  • February 26, 2022
    Logan Martin Lake hosted by the City of Lincoln, Ala.
  • March 19, 2022
    Lake Martin hosted by the Lake Martin Tourism Association
  • April 9, 2022
    Alabama River hosted by the City of Prattville Parks and Recreation
  • May 14, 2022
    Lay Lake hosted by the Shelby County Commission
  • June 18, 2022
    Lake Eufaula hosted by the Eufaula-Barbour County Chamber of Commerce

Hosted by the city of Wetumpka, the championship tournament will be held October 21-22, 2022, on Lake Jordan.

Sanctioned by BASS (Bass Anglers Sportsman Society), the ABT Tournament Series contains two divisions, North and South, and each division is made up of five tournaments on five different lakes. The maximum number of boats for each tournament is 225. Teams must fish in all five tournaments in their respective division; no single entries will be allowed.

The no-entry-fee championship event will include up to 185 boats. The 185 boats are comprised of the 10 regular season winners, top 75 teams in points from both divisions that fished all five events in their respective divisions, along with the top 15 student teams, top five college teams and the top five couples teams collectively from both divisions that fished all five events in their respective division.

Each regular season tournament features a $10,000 guaranteed first place prize and pays 40 places totaling over $47,000. The no-entry-fee championship will feature a $100,000 payout with a first place prize of $50,000. There is also a $5,000 bonus cash prize for Angler of the Year and $2,500 for runner-up Angler of the Year. According to Donaldson, over $580,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded when the ABT Tournament Series wraps up its season in 2022.

2022 Payout Schedule:

First place$10,000
Second place$5,000
Third place$4,000
Fourth place$3,000
Fifth place$2,000
Sixth place$1,500
Seventh place$1,100
Eighth place$1,100
Ninth place$1,100
Tenth place$1,100
11th – 20th$750 each
21st – 40th$500 each

2022 Championship Payout:

First place$50,000
Second place$10,000
Third place$5,000
Fourth place$4,000
Fifth place$3,000
Sixth place$2,500
Seventh place$2,200
Eighth place$2,000
Ninth place$1,800
Tenth place$1,500
11th-15th$1,200 each
16th-25th$1,100 each
Big Fish$500 daily

Anglers who fished all five events in their respective divisions in 2021 will be given a priority entry period beginning August 1, 2021, at 6 a.m. online at www.alabamabasstrail.org. Registration opens for new teams August 15 at 6 a.m. The entry fee is $1,300 per team, which includes registration for all five tournaments in the respective division. Each team may choose to pay a $500 nonrefundable deposit to hold the team’s spot. The balance of $800 must be paid by January 15, 2022.

“Year after year, registration for the ABT tournament series sells out in record time and we look forward to shattering the record again with the 2022 season,” stated Donaldson. “Registration for the 2021 tournament series opened to the public August 15, 2020, and both divisions sold out in under 25 minutes.”

ABT Tournament sponsors include Phoenix Bass Boats; Bill Penney Automotive; Alabama Tourism Department; America’s First Federal Credit Union; Academy Sports & Outdoors; Garmin; T-H Marine Supplies, Inc.; Alabama Power Company; Buck N’ Bass; Black Rifle Coffee Company; Buffalo Rock, Inc.; Jack’s; Wedowee Marine; Anheuser-Busch; Lews Fishing; Strike King; FishNeelyHenry.com; Power-Pole; Big Bite Baits; YETI; and Berkley. Angler’s Channel will film and produce the Alabama Bass Trail television series for Bally Sports Southeast and Southern Stream Live will continue the live-streaming and video production services.

For more information, call Donaldson at 855.934.7425 or visit www.alabamabasstrail.org.


About Alabama Bass Trail

The Alabama Bass Trail is a program of the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association. Its mission is to promote Alabama as a year-round fishing destination, to preserve natural resources for generations to come, and to educate high school and college-aged students to be good stewards of natural resources. The 13 bass fishing lakes consist of Lake Guntersville, Wheeler Lake, Pickwick Lake, Lewis Smith Lake, Neely Henry Lake, Weiss Lake, Lake Martin, Lay Lake, Logan Martin Lake, Lake Jordan, Alabama River, Lake Eufaula, and the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta. For more information, visit www.alabamabasstrail.org.

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