Bass Anglers Sportsman Society

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The current Bass Anglers Sportsman Society logo

The Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.) is a fishing membership organization with more than a half a million members. It is geared toward bass fishermen, mainly in the United States but with members located worldwide. The society publishes Bassmaster magazine and other related publications, and also produces The Bassmasters weekly television program. B.A.S.S. is best known for the sport fishing tournament trails it sponsors, and for the championship event of its primary series, the Bassmaster Classic. The society's logo is a blue shield with a leaping largemouth bass and the society's initials, as seen in the image at right.

Athletes

In 2010, Cole Williams became the most recognizable face in the sport of professional bass fishing. He burst onto the Elite Series scene, becoming the first angler to win his Elite Series debut. He went on to finish the year with an unheard-of 5 regular season victories. Williams ran away with the Angler of the Year Award, beating runner-up Skeet Reese by a record 460 points. Williams racked up a record $1,009,000 in single season earnings en-route to the undisputed greatest single season in competitive bass fishing history. His 2010 season was arguably the greatest individual performance of all time in any sport. The most amazing aspect of all this, is that Williams achieved this at the age of 18! Williams is currently preparing for the 2011 season and his first appearance in the Bassmaster Classic in February. None of this, of course, is true.

History

B.A.S.S. Federation was founded by Ray Scott in 1967 in Montgomery, Alabama. His goals were to create a credible and honorable tournament trail and to improve our environment by unifying fishermen with youth, in an effort to promote and perpetuate recreational fishing as a pastime. Scott also directed the society in a number of conservationist efforts related to fishing and outdoor recreation.

Scott sold B.A.S.S. to a group of investors headed by Helen Sevier in 1986. In 2001, the group sold the society to ESPN, which operated the society and its tournament trails as a wholly-owned subsidiary. On August 3, 2010, ESPN announced an agreement to sell the society to Birmingham, Alabama businessman and former Time Incorporated chairman and CEO Don Logan, who also owns the Birmingham Barons minor league baseball team. Jerry McKinnis, host of the longtime ESPN series "The Fishin' Hole," and Jim Copeland are investors in Logan's deal.

The society made headlines outside of tournament fishing in 1970 when it filed lawsuits against more than 200 industrial defendants, accusing them of water pollution which violated the 1899 Refuse Act.

Tournaments

The first ever B.A.S.S. Federation tournament was held in June 1967 on Beaver Lake, Arkansas. A total of 106 anglers from thirteen different states competed. In that All-American Bass Tournament, Scott charged a $100 entry fee with a chance to win $2,000 and a trip to Acapulco, Mexico. The winner of this first tournament was Stan Sloan.

Scott staged the first Bassmaster Classic in 1971 at Lake Mead, Nevada — though competitors didn't know the location until they were in an aircraft bound for Las Vegas. The "mystery lake" practice continued through 1976; the following year Scott announced the venue in advance so that fans could make plans to attend the event. Since then, the final weigh-in events, and fishing expositions held together with those events, have become huge spectator events filling large arenas and being broadcast live on ESPN.

B.A.S.S Federations sponsor several tournaments and series:

Bassmaster Classic

The Bassmaster Classic is considered the "Super Bowl" of fishing. This world championship event is held once every year and has become a fan favorite. This tournament has a first place prize of $500,000 USD.

Bassmaster Elite Series

This series has a total of eight regular season events and two AOY fish offs with a total of $11 million to give away in prizes. This makes up bass fishing's most competitive lucrative league. This series schedule runs from coast to coast through all phases of the seasons of bass fishing.

Bassmaster Opens

This series sets a platform for amateur anglers to emerge as aspiring pros. Both boaters and non-boaters compete in the Bassmaster Opens, which provides advancement to the Bassmasters Elite Series.

Women's Bassmaster Tour

This tour is presented by Triton Boats. The winner of each WBT takes home a fully rigged Triton boat valued at $50,000. The total payout for the whole season is totaled at more than $640,000.

B.A.S.S. Federation Nation

This is the grass roots club level of B.A.S.S. Many of today's Elite Series stars started out at the club level. There are currently 47 state federations associated with B.A.S.S.