Don’t be surprised if you find yourself paying closer attention to the Bassmaster Opens this season.
The Opens have always been considered a feeder system for the Elites, but they’ve become much more than that in recent years.
In addition to providing an avenue to reach the Elites, the Opens also have provided many anglers a way to dip their toes into Bassmaster events — sort of a litmus test to determine if they were ready for the big time.
Competition has always been good, but Opens used to draw a lot of vacationers along with serious anglers. Also, many anglers who did advance from the Opens to the Elites often struggled to be competitive and stay there.
Well, that’s been changing the past couple of years. The Opens have become the next step for top collegiate anglers and darn good regional fishermen who are in serious pursuit of their professional fishing dreams.
Just look at the success they had last year. Seven of the top 15 in the 2024 Bassmaster Angler of Year Standings were rookies coming in from the Opens.
Open competition should get even tougher this year now that B.A.S.S. has tweaked the format to make it even more challenging.
There will be two divisions with four tournaments each. The top 50 anglers from each Bassmaster Open Division will advance into the Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers, another circuit that consists of three events. From there, the top 10 in the Elite Qualifier standings, who fish all three events, earn berths to the following season’s Bassmaster Elites. Also, the winner of each of the Elite Qualifier tournaments gets a Bassmaster Classic invitation.
The Open format is still open to those who only want to test the waters but have no interest in fishing the full schedule. However, based on the past couple of years, the majority of anglers in the field have been seriously pursuing one of the Elite or Classic spots.
The Opens also have attracted former Bassmaster pros, some of whom have won at the highest level, who are trying to get back to the Elites.
And, just as it has the past couple of years, several former Bass Pro Tour anglers are jumping into the fray to work their way into the Classic and the Elites.
In addition, you’re going to see some new names emerge as bass fishing superstars in this gritty competition that offers little margin for error throughout the new Opens format.
Division 1 kicks off Jan. 23 at Clarks Hill Reservoir while the Division 2 opener is Feb. 13 at Sam Rayburn Reservoir.
What a great way to start the Bassmaster season on Bassmaster LIVE!
