Elite Series goes nationwide in 2015

For bass anglers like Paul Elias of Laurel, the 2015 BASS Elite Series poses a lot of challenges, including about 12,000 miles of driving.

California, Arizona stops will push anglers to the limit

Think bass fishin’ is a sport for Bubba and the boys?

The Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (BASS) sure doesn’t think so and it is using its 10th annual Elite Series tour to prove exactly that. Only three of the eight events will be held on what would traditionally be called southern waters.

Announced last week, BASS’ top tournament series will hold tournaments in California, Arizona, New York, Maryland and Michigan.

“Makes for a lot of driving; a lot of time on the road,” said Elite angler Pete Ponds of Madison. “It’s not surprising at all, because it’s something BASS likes to do every few years. It’s a test of your fishing skills and also your perseverance.”

Not to mention your checkbook. The travel will require a lot of long hauls, and pulling bass rigs cross-country isn’t cheap.

Using Jackson as a base, and combining the western events into one trip and the New York and Maryland events into one trip, it would require 11,314 miles of highway. That does not include local mileage at each location.

The mileages used were from RandMcNally.com.

After wrapping up the 2014 season with the Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell at Greenville, S.C. Feb. 20-22, BASS puts the 100 or so Elite anglers on the road for the 2015 schedule:

March 19-22: Sabine River at Orange, Texas.

April 9-12: Lake Guntersville, Guntersville, Ala.

April 30-May 2: Sacramento River, Sacramento, Calif.

May 7-10: Lake Havasu, Lake Havasu City, Ariz.

June 3-7: Kentucky Lake, Paris, Tenn.

July 30-Aug. 2: St. Lawrence River, Waddington, N.Y.

Aug. 13-16: Chesapeake Bay, Cecil County, Md.

Sept. 24-26: Lake St. Clair, Detroit, Mich.

The season will culminate in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship, which will be held at a time and place to be announced later. The Top 50 pros in final standings for the regular season will battle for the Angler of the Year title, berths in the 2016 Bassmaster Classic and shares of the $1 million AOY prize fund.

About Bobby Cleveland 1340 Articles
Bobby Cleveland has covered sports in Mississippi for over 40 years. A native of Hattiesburg and graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, Cleveland lives on Ross Barnett Reservoir near Jackson with his wife Pam.

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