BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — After a successful debut in 2011, Toyota Trucks All-Star Week is back in 2012, this time in Decatur, Ill., Sept. 20-23. The All-Star Semifinal will be held on Lake Shelbyville, Sept. 20-21, and the Evan Williams Bourbon Championship will be held on Lake Decatur out of Decatur, Sept. 22-23. Anglers will compete for $100,000 in prize money.
The competition features 12 anglers — the Top 8 from the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings at the conclusion of the 2012 season and four others selected by online fans’ votes at Bassmaster.com. All 12 anglers will compete for two days at the All-Star semifinal. Their cumulative weights will be tallied to determine the Top 4 finishers, who will advance to the Evan Williams Bourbon Championship.
The championship round will consist of two stages. On the first day, the top angler from the All-Star Semifinal will be paired against the fourth ranked angler, and the second and third seeds will be pitted against each other. The top anglers from each of these head-to-head matchups will meet in the championship round on Sunday, Sept. 23.
Prize money will be paid as follows:
1st place: $60,000
2nd place: $10,000
Semi-finalists: $7,000
5th-12th:$ 2,000 each
Following the All-Star Semifinal, the eight professional anglers who have been eliminated from competition will act as fishing guides and tournament partners for eight wounded military veterans from the “Hope for the Warriors” program.
Also returning as a part of Toyota Trucks All-Star Week is the Bassmaster Legends tournament. The field for 2012 has not been set, but in 2011 it featured such angling superstars as Bill Dance, Rick Clunn and Bobby Murray. The tournament was won by a team of retired Bassmaster Elite Series pros, Guy Eaker and Ken Cook.