Fantasy Fishing 2021 officially open

The start of the 2021 Bassmaster Elite Series is right around the corner, and that means Rapala Fantasy Fishing is officially open.

If you have never played Fantasy Fishing in the past, this year would be a great time to start. The top-performing teams in each event win an awesome prize pack courtesy of Rapala and B.A.S.S., and the grand prize — which is valued at more than $20,000 — will be awarded to the top performing player of the entire season. Did I mention that it is free to play?

For more information about Fantasy Fishing prizes visit this page.

Being a B.A.S.S. Member also pays big time. If an individual tournament first-prize winner is a B.A.S.S Member prior to locktime for that event, he/she will receive an additional $500 Bass Pro Shops Gift Card. An additional $500 Bass Pro Shops gift card will also be provided to the Grand Prize winner if he/she is a B.A.S.S. member.

To become a B.A.S.S. Member please visit this page.

Before you set your first lineup for the St. Johns River Elite, which begins Feb. 11, there are some things you may want to know about how the Fantasy buckets were chosen.

Leading into the first event of the season, we determined that the returning Elite Series anglers would be assigned to their bucket based on the final AOY results from the 2020 season. The rookies’ and newcomers’ bucket assignments were determined by career earnings. The 13 new Elite Series anglers were divided into the five buckets from highest career earnings to lowest.

For the first event of the season, the Fantasy Fishing buckets will be:

Bucket A:

– Clark Wendlandt

– David Mullins

– Partrick Walters

– Brock Mosley

– Jake Whitaker

– Scott Canterbury

– Austin Felix

– Stetson Blaylock

– Brandon Palaniuk

– Kyle Welcher

– Buddy Gross

– Seth Feider

– Hunter Shryock

– Steve Kennedy

– Frank Talley

– Cory Johnston

– John Cox

– Greg Hackney

– Jason Christie

– Scott Martin

Bucket B:

– Drew Cook

– Todd Auten

– Chris Zaldian

– Matt Arey

– Chad Morgenthaler

– Taku Ito

– Jamie Hartman

– Brandon Lester

– Clent Davis

– Matt Herren

– Brad Whatley

– Luke Palmer

– Jeff Gustafson

– Paul Mueller

– Ed Loughran III

– Chris Johnston

– Brandon Card

– Micah Frazier

– Justin Atkins

– Bryan New

Bucket C:

– Chad Pipkens

– Jason Williamson

– Hank Cherry Jr

– Drew Benton

– Bill Lowen

– Brandon Cobb

– Shane Lehew

– Keith Combs

– Wes Logan

– Jay Yelas

– Caleb Kuphall

– Mike Huff

– Derek Hudnall

– Clifford Pirch

– Koby Kreiger

– Bob Downey

– Gerald Swindle

– Skyler Hamilton

– Josh Stracner

– Darold Gleason

Bucket D:

– Bernie Schultz

– Destin DeMarion

– Ray Hanselman Jr

– Lee Livesay

– Cliff Prince

– Carl Jocumsen

– Caleb Sumrall

– Tyler Rivet

– Randy Pierson

– Randy Sullivan

– Chris Groh

– Cody Hollen

– Bryan Schmitt

– Kyle Monti

– Greg DiPalma

– John Crews Jr

– Garrett Paquette

– Bill Weidler

– Kenta Kimura

– Matthew Robertson

– Justin Hamner

Bucket E:

– Rob Digh

– Brett Preuett

– Brian Snowden

– Rick Morris

– Shane Lineberger

– Harvey Horne

– Gary Clouse

– Rick Clunn

– David Fritts

– Robbie Latuso

– Dale Hightower

– Tyler Carriere

– Quentin Cappo

– Kelley Jaye

– Mark Menendez

– Yusuke Miyazaki

– Marc Frazier

– KJ Queen

– Pat Schlapper

Be sure to head over to Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing to set your lineup for the first Bassmaster Elite event on the St. Johns River!