Hear the gators bellowing yet?
Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series schedule release day is here. Time to scrutinize, analyze and make travel plans for 2027. Next year’s slate brings a wide variety of styles and environments that will test anglers in different ways.
To recap, the season opens with two Florida derbies in February. After the Bassmaster Classic, the season moves to Texas in April before making a swing through SEC country in May and June. Two northern favorites will wrap up the season.
Cole Sands, Hunter Shryock and John Crews were ready to give their fast thoughts on the new slate as soon as it came out. Here’s what they had to say:
Overall thoughts
Crews: I like almost every single place we are going to personally. I like river fishing, especially tidal fisheries. Okeechobee is just one of those historic places to start the season. Kissimmee is fishing good right now. Lake Fork will be off the chain in April. We saw a glimpse at how awesome Santee Cooper can be in late May this year. Tombigbee should fish bigger in the summer. Then, La Crosse is one of my favorite places to go. Start to finish, it should be a fun season.
Sands: I like it okay. I try to stay pretty even keeled about it. It seems like the ones I think I’m going to do well in I don’t, and the ones I think I’m going to do badly in, I do well. I don’t love starting on Okeechobee. But it will be interesting. I’m just going to let the season develop as it goes along.
Shryock: I’m looking at my fisheries first, aka the shallow stuff. You can lump both Florida events in with that, which are a mixture of offshore and shallow. We’ve got the Sabine in there, Santee Cooper and the Tombigbee. The Mississippi River is a shallow deal too. For me, this schedule is diverse in the sense that at each fishery, you can do a lot of different things.
Most Exciting Tournaments
Crews: Lake Fork is the most interesting to me. It will probably be the most watched and have the biggest weights. There will be a shad spawn going on, there will be tons of bass on bed and then bass offshore too. It will be the most fun for anglers and the most fun to watch, I think. If we can ‘Scope at Santee Cooper, the weights will be really good and it will be super interesting.
Sands: There are a lot of places I’d like to get revenge on, but I love Lake St. Clair. I just love smallmouth. Now if we go there without FFS, that may be a different story. I do like the Mississippi River and the way it sets up.
Shryock: Me fishing the Opens for as long as I did, the Kissimmee Chain became a second home for me. We started there almost every single year and since I qualified for the Elite Series, it will be neat to go back and get a gauge on how it is fishing. Of all the fisheries, I’ve had my best average result at the Sabine River. I feel like I’m due for a Top 5 or a win there. I like those types of events.
Old Place, New Date
Crews: Lake Seminole. It is a really good fishery. With the grass, it absorbs fishing pressure. The date opens up a lot more. There will be fish on ledges. There might be a few still spawning. They will be doing all kinds of stuff.
Sands: Lake Seminole in May. I think that is going to open some different opportunities. I think we might have a good shad spawn.
Shryock: Lake Seminole is the one for me I’m excited about in this category. We don’t know much about that place, and I like how that one might set up. The fishing will probably be better at Tombigbee in 2027 than it was this spring.
The Head Scratcher
Crews: My track record on the Sabine is good, but it will be tough to figure it out again. It seems to fish smaller and smaller as we go on, and I don’t like places that fish small. The Kissimmee Chain has been fishing really good, but the lock to go down to the other lakes can be and has been a royal pain. The grass is booming on Toho though, and there is a question mark about water levels.
Sands: The Tombigbee in June. Rivers are usually their best in June, but that place has so few bass in it that it is going to be a real grinder.
Shryock: Lake Seminole again. I’m not sure what will happen. There are so many features like standing timber, grass, clean water, shallow vegetation and when you throw in the time of year, it is a big place to try and tackle when you also have to maneuver around a bunch of hazards. If St. Clair is a no ‘Scope event, I think it would ultimately be really cool to fish old school there.
What’s Missing?
Sands: I wish we had more smallmouth events and/or a spotted bass venue. It is going to be a lot of largemouth and a lot of grinders.
Shryock: If it were me, I would flip Seminole and Santee Cooper and flip them with the two Florida events. You don’t get a ton of bites at Santee Cooper in February, but when you do they are giants. And Florida in May, you don’t have to look at the weather as much and it will be much more consistent. You can just go fishing.
Crews: Everybody wants to go to a lake in their backyard because they think they’ll have an advantage on the field, and I feel the same way. Smith Mountain Lake has been fishing so well over the past few years. I hope we come back at some point and showcase how good it really is.
