Elite

Photos: 2024 Elite Series schedule

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With the 2023 Bassmaster Elite Series season just completed, B.A.S.S. is already set with a full lineup of challenging fisheries for 2024 as next year’s Elite schedule was announced today.
Feb. 22-25 — Toledo Bend Reservoir — Many, La.
The opener on Toledo Bend will take place out of Many, La., and will mark the 19th time B.A.S.S. has held a major event on the fishery that ranked sixth overall on Bassmaster Magazine’s annual 100 Best Bass Lakes list. The gigantic fishery, which covers 185,000 acres across two states, has topped the list of 100 Best Bass Lakes twice in the past (2015, 2016).
Feb. 29-March 3 — Lake Fork — Yantis, Texas
The Elites will travel just west to another of the nation’s big-bass capitals, Lake Fork, which placed third in the Central Division of Bassmaster Magazine’s 2023 100 Best Bass Lakes list. The Elites will fish out of a newly built facility in Yantis, Texas, with the same catch-weigh-release format that has produced Century Club performances the last four times B.A.S.S. has visited the impoundment.
March 22-24 — Bassmaster Classic — Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees — Tulsa, Okla.
The Elites will pause their schedule in late March for the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Toyota in Tulsa, Okla. The fishery has hosted a number of exciting B.A.S.S. events over the decades including multiple Bassmaster Classics.
April 11-14 — Harris Chain of Lakes — Leesburg, Fla.
The 2024 Elite slate will start its annual trip to the Sunshine State a little later than usual. First up is a tournament on the expansive Harris Chain of Lakes hosted by Leesburg, Fla.
April 18-21 — St. Johns River — Palatka, Fla.
The legendary St. Johns River is up the next week out of Palatka, Fla. The timing of these events should make different strategies and techniques viable beyond the tried-and-true sight-fishing methods that have ruled earlier events in years past.
May 9-12 — Lake Murray — Columbia, S.C.
A return visit to Lake Murray will showcase a fishery that provided one of the more entertaining events on the 2023 schedule, with Florida pro Drew Benton catching 87 pounds for the victory. The sprawling 50,000-acre lake placed fourth overall on Bassmaster Magazine’s list of 100 Best Bass Lakes after producing 49 limits of 20 pounds or more.
June 13-16 — Wheeler Lake — Decatur, Ala.
A trip to Wheeler Lake in Decatur, Ala., will see anglers vying for mixed bags of largemouth and smallmouth on the 67,070-acre Tennessee River fishery that has hosted 13 major B.A.S.S. events. Most recently, Wisconsin pro Adam Rasmussen won a Bassmaster Open on Wheeler in May with a three-day total of 54-15.
June 27-30 — Smith Lake — Cullman, Ala.
The Elites will head to Lewis Smith Lake in Cullman, Ala., for an event where big spotted bass are likely to play a key role. Smith has always been known for numbers of spots, but the size of its bass has increased greatly in recent years due to the presence of blueback herring as their main food source.
Aug. 8-11 — Lake Champlain — Plattsburgh, N.Y.
Lake Champlain, which is known for good populations of largemouth and smallmouth, showed out on the smallmouth front this year as Japanese rookie Kyoya Fujita won with a four-day limit of brown fish that weighed 86-12 in August. The 2024 tournament will mark the 16th major B.A.S.S. event on this scenic 271,000-acre fishery that separates New York and Vermont.
Aug. 15-18 — St. Lawrence River — Waddington, N.Y.
Fans of the sport no doubt still have this year’s St. Lawrence River event fresh in their minds since just two weeks ago South Carolina pro Patrick Walters won the 2023 season finale there with a 105-pound total that stands as the biggest four-day limit of smallmouth ever weighed in for B.A.S.S. competition. The fabulous event, which marked the 25th major visit for B.A.S.S. to the St. Lawrence, produced four Century Club belts, and the Top 10 all finished with at least 90 pounds.
 
The St. Lawrence ranked second overall on Bassmaster Magazine’s 100 Best Bass Lakes list this year after topping the list in 2019 and 2022.

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