Surviving the hustle and bustle

Depending upon where they live, fans can watch us catch largemouth or smallmouth bass from rivers and lakes as well as up against oceans on both coasts.

Before I say anything else, Holly and I want to say Merry Christmas to everyone, and we hope you have a Happy New Year! We also hope everyone has a chance to spend time with their family, friends and loved ones.

It’s been a great offseason, if there is such a thing. (Around here it’s been mostly hustle and bustle.) I’ve signed several new sponsors. Two of them are non-endemic, Great Clips and Foodland.

I think that says more about our industry than it does about me. Anytime we can attract businesses that are not directly involved in the bass fishing industry, it helps to spread the word that this is a great sport and that it’s worth the time and effort it takes to participate in it.

Our 2015 Bassmaster Elite Series schedule is going to continue our upward movement. I say that because of the wide-ranging places we’re going to be fishing next year, and the opportunities they’re going to offer us.

We start off by fishing the Sabine River in Texas and then swing back to Lake Guntersville. We’ve fished both places, and they’re popular with bass anglers. We set a new attendance record at the Sabine River Challenge in 2013, and there’s been 22 B.A.S.S professional level tournaments held on Guntersville. Still, it never hurts to revisit old friends.

From there we head out to California to fish the Sacramento River before we turn east to compete on Arizona’s Lake Havasu. We’ve never fished the river before, but if you’re willing to make a long run you can get into the California Delta. B.A.S.S. has fished Havasu before but it’s been a long time.  

Those two events will help us expand our network across the western part of the nation. That’s a good thing. We need to spread the word from coast to coast.

And what can I say about BASSfest on Kentucky Lake? That has to be one of the best bass fishing lakes in the country. It’s a perfect location for a mid-season tournament and some festivities.

The last three events are at familiar places — the St. Lawrence River in New York, the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and Lake St. Clair out of Detroit, Michigan. That’s big time smallmouth country, guys.

The reason I’ve mentioned every tournament is because I think it’s important to emphasize how much the 10th anniversary of the Elite Series is going to do for bass fishing. This is a really good thing.

Think about it from the fan’s perspective: Depending upon where they live, they can watch us catch largemouth or smallmouth bass from rivers and lakes as well as up against oceans on both coasts.

For the anglers it’ll be a true test of versatility and skill. Sure, there’ll be a lot of driving and we’ll donate our fair share of money to the oil companies, but there’s no better way to promote bass fishing. I’ll gladly drive and buy fuel to do that.

We’ll talk again next year.

Follow Chris on Twitter and Facebook or visit his website, www.chrislanefishing.com.