The Bassmaster Majors no-entry fee derbies paid $250,000 to the winner through a grueling made-for-TV elimination format. Indoor weigh-ins added to the spectator appeal.
Editor’s note: See Bassmater Majors photos.
The inaugural 2006 Bassmaster Elite Series featured 11 events, along with an additional three tournaments called the Bassmaster Majors. What made those no-entry fee bonus events most stand out was a $250,000 payday for the winner.
What else stood out about the Majors was ESPN’s unprecedented same-day television coverage of a non-championship B.A.S.S. event. The tournament days concluded in early afternoon to allow TV producers to edit shows for the evening telecast on ESPN2.
By design, the Majors were dropped into the calendar during the season, and with a rigid qualification format. In the regular corporate job world, getting into a Majors was akin to a being awarded with a performance bonus. While CITGO sponsored the Elite Series, other non-endemic brands were presenting sponsors of the 2006 Majors, including the likes of Advanced Auto Parts and Goodyear.
The Elite 50 events held in 2004 and 2005 served as a precursor to the new and improved Majors. The qualifying pool consisted of the current Top 10 B.A.S.S. all-time money winners, along with the Top 40 anglers from a combined Bassmaster Angler of the Year algorithm list calculated from 2004, 2005 and 2006 points.
The elimination-style format also added to the plethora of storylines that unfolded throughout the competition, adding drama to the television coverage. On Day 1 and 2, all 50 anglers fished from 7 a.m. until a mid-afternoon weigh-in. On Day 3, the Top 12 anglers competed with weights zeroed on a made-for-TV six-hole course or specific areas of the waterbody. The final day featured the Top 6 anglers competing on the six-hole course (or area).
The Bassmaster Memorial, the inaugural event, played out on Eagle Mountain Lake and Benbrook Lake, with weigh-ins in Fort Worth at the Will Rogers Memorial Center, along with an ESPN Outdoors Expo.
Peter Thilveros earned the $250,000 payday with a total weight of 25 pounds, 8 ounces. The event was so named as a tribute to Don Butler, the first B.A.S.S. member and 1972 Bassmaster Classic winner.
The qualifying field for the second Major held in July was finalized after the conclusion of the Elite event on Lake Champlain. Going into the Champion’s Choice — the ninth Elite Series event of the season — only three anglers had cemented their status as Majors participants: 2005 Classic champ Kevin VanDam, 2005 Angler of the Year Aaron Martens and 2005 Toyota Rookie of the Year Dave Wolak, who qualified on the merit of their previous achievements.
That Bassmaster American was held on Lake Wylie in South Carolina. The American was named to honor the late Bryan Kerchal, who won the 1994 Classic as a member of the B.A.S.S. Nation. Anglers fished both the north and south ends of the lake on Days 1 and 2, and then a marked-off six-hole course in the mid-lake area for Days 3 and 4.
Dave Wolak took home the $250,000 payday with a winning weight of 25-14. Kevin VanDam earned $35,000 for second and Gerald Swindle took third place with $27.500. The tournament paid the Top 12 anglers with last place earning $13,000.
The season finale, the Bassmaster Legends, was played out on the Arkansas River with weigh-ins at the Statehouse Convention Center in downtown Little Rock. The tournament was named to honor Ray Scott, B.A.S.S. founder.
The contest took place in five pools of the river, with the middle pool saved for Days 3 and 4. Local Elite pro Scott Rook won the tough contest, catching four bass on Day 4 for a weight of 7-6, that bumped his overall total to 15-4.
The Bassmaster Majors subset of the Elite series continued through the 2007 season with three events.