Story by Pete Robbins - Updated  January 11th - 8:16pm CST  Original Post - January 9th - 1:41pm CST  

Norman, OK. – After an offseason in which the overall economic downturn has wreaked particular havoc on the financial well-being of professional bass anglers, the rumors have come true – on the afternoon of Friday, January 9th, 2009, BASS announced that the 2009 Elite Series schedule has been cut from eleven tournaments down to eight. Additionally, they have taken the step of reducing entry fees to $4,000 per event. Between the three eliminated tournaments and the reduced per-event entry fees, anglers will have to spend $25,200 less, exclusive of expenses.

But there’s a wrinkle to the plan – after the eighth event (Oneida), the top twelve pros in the Angler of the Year race will move on to two back-to-back additional tournaments to duke it out for the championship and additional prize money. The anglers in thirteenth place through the end of the field will not have further opportunity to move improve their finish. BASS did not announce where the two limited-field tournaments will be held or when. They will be no entry fee events.

The three casualties are Pickwick, Bay de Noc and Lake Champlain, a long-time favorite of the pros.

Furthermore, the Oneida tournament has been moved to July 30th through August 2nd, which means that it will run directly against the FLW championship.

While BASS did not offer any rationale for how it chose the particular lakes to be eliminated, they seem to be logical choices. Pickwick is one of four Tennessee River lakes on the original schedule and would have been back-to-back with Guntersville. Bay de Noc requires the longest drive for most anglers and would have had a substantial chance of losing a day to bad weather. In a bow to northeastern anglers who would have likely revolted had both New York waters been stricken, keeping Oneida and eliminating Champlain allows the season to stretch well into August. 

Had Bay de Noc, Champlain and Oneida all been stricken, the full field events would have been over on June 14th, giving the anglers who qualified for the Bassmaster Classic but did not make the top twelve an eight month hiatus. Those who didn’t qualify for the Classic would get an even longer vacation.

Rumors about some sort of change to benefit the struggling anglers have been circulating for over two months, but The BASS ZONE chose not to report on such rumors until anything became concrete. Several anglers have visited with BASS staff in recent weeks to present proposals on how best to address the tough economic times. 

The announcement from BASS leaves several questions unanswered:

• How did they choose which venues would be eliminated?

• Does this in any way affect their plans to visit Pickwick and Champlain in 2010?

• Which anglers presented proposals to BASS and who did they represent?

• Will BASS take similar measures in 2010? If so, when will those be announced?

• If there are cuts in 2010, will the California lakes (which have been skipped due to distance in better economic times) be the first casualties?

• Would anglers who requalified for the Elites but chose not to fish them in 2009 for financial reasons have made a different decision had they known the season would be shorter? If so, will they be given a second bite at the apple?

• Will this invalidate angler sponsorship contracts based on an eleven event season?

Below are some comments from the Elite Pros over the weekend. It should be noted that all of the 2009 Elite Series pros received an e-mail from a BASS Official stating that BASS has received a number of phone calls and e-mails from the pros after the announcement of the changes.  With several of the pros giving their opinions to BASS, the e-mail stated that BASS will have some new information to share this week and that BASS wants to move in a positive direction.  

It should also be noted that a BASS official told the BZ the move date of the final Elite Series event at Lake Oneida was not intentionally scheduled on top of the FLW Championship.  Look for the Oneida Lake event to be moved again.

Here are the comments:

After the payout was reviewed by KJ - It’s really…...shocking. I had assumed that the entry fees and payback would reflect each other, but I was obviously wrong on that. I haven’t heard one good thing said about the situation now but I guess all we can do is work with BASS to try and make it better for everyone. As it is right now, it’s not good.

I really didn’t know what to say when I saw the revised payout….I was shocked. 

The bottom line is we need to have some talks with BASS. I don’t know what the answer is, but right now it’s just shocking. 

Jeff Kriet
Veteran pro and sponsored by Longhorn 
I am very thankful for the Bassmaster tournament trail and in the past I think they have done a good job growing the sport and have provided me a way to make a living fishing and I’m very thankful for that. On the other side, am I going to be politically correct and tell you that I’m for these changes? Absolutely not, I’m not for these changes.

I was one hundred percent against cutting any amount of tournaments. I wanted 11 tournaments at $5,000 all along. I feel like anyone who wanted them to change it either needed to come up with the money and struggle through a tough year or look at their other options. I don’t think many of the guys in the Elite Series wanted the entry fees to go down or the number of tournaments to be cut. 

On the other side of it, I understand it’s tough times and if they have to make changes and cuts for a year, I don’t like it but I’m smart enough to understand that sometimes you have to take your crunch here and here. However, with the payback that they have given us now – anyone who was upset about trying to make a living with $55,000 entry fees and 11 tournaments – how do they feel now? Because I’m going to tell you, there is no way to make a living on that trail with this new payout, period. 

If you go out and have a gangbuster year and you do make a check in every tournament, you’ve still lost money. If you don’t win a tournament, you’re not going to make any money. If someone came to you with a business proposal, I don’t care if it has anything to do with fishing or not, if they showed you numbers like these, it would be a poor business decision to get involved in a business deal like that. 

The reduction in tournaments could definitely affect the guys who are northern anglers and every year we have gone to some smallmouth fisheries, but the simple fact is that if you’re paying an entry fee and have the opportunity to compete for the kind of money we are competing for, it really doesn’t matter where you go fish. 

Todd Faircloth
2008 Elite Angler of the Year Runner Up and Lake Amistad Champion
I haven’t really had time to sit down and look at it because I’ve been on the road the past few days, but from what I’ve seen, the payout is considerably down from what we were fishing for and I don’t like that or think that it’s good. I think guys will have a really hard time trying to make it with that payout.

With the economy the way it is right now, it’s tough times for everyone but we still have to have an avenue where we can make a living fishing and with that payout, it’s not good for anyone. The way I look at it, you have eight events and with that payout schedule, I don’t see anymore than a dozen people clearing $50,000 and that’s not good.

I’m for 11 events because I do this for a living and it’s the only job that I have. I want to fish 11 events but if they want to reduce the number of tournaments hat we have, I can understand that because some guys need to reduce expenses. The side that I don’t understand is that they cut into our payback and I have a problem with that. That’s the only real issue that I have with it. 

If you look at it strictly from an 8 tournament schedule, and I understand that 12 guys will get to fish in two no entry fee tournaments at the end of the year, it’s too much on the end of if you’re in top 12 you do really good but the middle of the pack guys are going to go broke. The middle of the field is going to be toast as far as surviving the year financially and that’s painful. 

With this kind of payout to expense ratio, it is nearly impossible to make it on an eight tournament schedule. The fishing industry has always been top heavy as far as payouts but in the past, the middle of the road guy could still make a living. This year, it looks like that’s going to be tough to do. With the AOY payout, it’s great if you finish the year near the top, but the 50+ guys that don’t, they’re going to go broke. 

Gerald Swindle
2004 BASS Angler of the Year 
I can’t imagine that any of the Elite Series anglers are happy with this decision at all. I think it is being put out there and supposedly perceived as they did this to help us by reducing the entry fees. Basically they are saying that they did this for us, but when my entry fee only drops 20% and the payout basically drops 50%, I don’t really think that turns out in my favor, that’s just basic math. 

I’m disappointed and I believe that tomorrow morning when the doors open at BASS, anglers will be calling. I signed an agreement to pay $5,000 a tournament and win $10,000 for fiftieth place and the payout accordingly on up. 

The AOY should be crowned after eight events, period. It just doesn’t make any sense. The other 99 guys that are on this trail have committed heart and soul and committed time so let’s just keep it at that. If we have to shrink to eight tournaments, at the end of those eight, we should crown the Angler Of the Year. 

Brian Clark
Second year pro
My initial reaction when Clark Reehm called me and told me the deal, that they had dropped three events and added two more and lowered the entry fees was that it was great. Then he told me about the payout. For a guy like me, it helps out a little bit. Gas prices are cut in half this year, so I’m a little more comfortable. It has to hurt the guys who are more established. But it is what it is. I have to roll with the punches. I’m still at the point in my career where I’m trying to make my mark at this level, make a name for myself. This guarantees that I’ll be able to compete all year.

Terry Scroggins
Veteran Florida pro
I don’t see how they expect the fishermen to survive on this. When you have $4,000 invested in an entry fee and have to pay $2,500 in expenses, even if you do well and finish 26th to 50th you’re still losing $1,500. It’s not going to work. Everybody understands that the economy is tough and that a lot of fishermen are struggling, but if they go this route, the whole field will struggle. I don’t see how they can do that.

Brent Chapman
Veteran Kansas pro, lost title sponsor this offseason
I’m kind of dumbfounded. It has just been one punch to the stomach after another this fall. I had heard they would cut to eight tournaments and I thought that wasn’t too bad, I’d save $15,000 in entry fees. When they announced that Pickwick was gone, that was fine with me. I didn’t know about the plans to change the entry fees or the payout. I’ve done the math. I had a pretty good season and if you take what I made in the Classic and if I got a check in 7 of 8 instead of 9 out of 11, there’d be $37,000 minus expenses. I don’t fault BASS for doing what they’ve done. I know things are tough and I’m all about being a team player, but if they leave it this way it’s going to be tough to play.

Russ Lane
Alabama pro, lost title sponsor this offseason
I think the intentions were good, but instead they dug a hole for us. The rumors going around are that they’re going back to the drawing board and I give them a lot of credit if that’s what they do. Cutting back expenses I think is a good thing, but all together this is more of a negative than a positive. I believe that by the end of the week they’re going to have something better for us, I hope.

John Crews
Virginia pro, lost title sponsor this offseason
Everything that BASS did except for the payouts is good. Reducing the number of events, I can understand that’s the best thing for 2009 for all parties involved. That was really good. Reducing the entry fees to $4,000 is good for the anglers for the long term. The two post-season events are interesting. I think they’re a good idea, interesting, but not necessarily necessary. But the payout is unacceptable. BASS having the wherewithal to make changes at this point in the game is commendable. They have a track record of doing the right thing and I expect them to do the right thing this time. We’re all working together to make sure this works for everybody.

Ish Monroe
Veteran pro, one of the last two-tour holdouts, was vocal about his disapproval of going to Old Hickory last year.
If you can’t say something nice you shouldn’t say anything at all. I wrote a letter to BASS stating that I understand the economic situation, I’ve lost about $40,000 myself, but you don’t see me complaining. I haven’t done the math yet so there are still some things that are unclear. It looks like they cut the payout by half but didn’t cut the entry fees in half.

Mark Burgess
Elite Series rookie from Massachusetts
I signed up for eleven events for a certain amount of money. I know you can’t have everything and I’m all for give and take, but to be honest, the field should be paid, not just the top fifty. I can do a lot of other things with that time and make more money.  Champlain is the closest tournament to New England, since it’s half in Vermont, and with the proposals I have out now that I’m still waiting on, that’s obviously not going to help. I’m all for lower entry fees. I just don’t like the reduced payout.

Clark Reehm
Second year pro
Now you have to make seven checks (in eight tournaments) to get your entry fees back. Before you just had to get a check in six out of eleven. It’s not like these guys got any worse. They seem to be laying it heavily on you to get the money from sponsors, but the fact that there’s no sponsor money is the root of the problem. The rich just stay rich. As a rookie with a lot to learn, we’re told that this is a multi-year program, but I know that I’m not a top ten guy and that’s who it’s benefiting.

Kevin Short
Elite Series pro who spent 4 days practicing on Bay De Noc
I’m really disappointed that we are not going to Bay De Noc just for the simple fact that it’s an amazingly beautiful part of the country. I spent four days up there and it was going to be an incredible tournament and might have taken over 100 pounds to win. It’s pretty disappointing especially for southern guys because by and large, we don’t get to fish for smallmouth and it’s just a lot of fun. I think cutting the events back to eight with the reduced payback puts a lot of pressure on us to do better than we’ve ever done because even if you make a $5,000 check in every event, you’re still losing money. 

Cory Waldrop 
Waldrop, a rookie last year, elected not to fish the Elite Series this year.
We asked him if he would have come back had he known about the reduced entry fees and truncated schedule: Absolutely. I chose to go back to school, but it was mostly for financial reasons. I think they’re doing the right thing for the right reasons, but I wish they would have said something about it earlier.

The NEW 2009 Bassmaster Elite Series Schedule

A decrease in expenses means a decrease in payouts. Last year, anglers earned $10,000 for a 50th place finish. This year (as indicated by the chart below), 26th through 50th receive checks for $5,000 each and the $10,000 threshold is not crossed unless an angler finishes in the top ten. It should be noted that BASS will payout $460,000 at each 2009 regular season Elite Series event.

 

Place	$$$$$$$$$$
1	$100,000
2	$25,000
3	$20,000
4	$15,000
5	$14,000
6	$13,000
7	$12,000
8	$11,000
9	$10,200
10	$10,100
11	$9,500
12	$9,000
13	$8,900
14	$8,800
15	$8,500
16	$8,000
17	$7,000
18	$6,000
19	$5,800
20	$5,700
21	$5,500
22	$5,500
23	$5,500
24	$5,500
25	$5,500
26	$5,000
27	$5,000
28	$5,000
29	$5,000
30	$5,000
31	$5,000
32	$5,000
33	$5,000
34	$5,000
35	$5,000
36	$5,000
37	$5,000
38	$5,000
39	$5,000
40	$5,000
41	$5,000
42	$5,000
43	$5,000
44	$5,000
45	$5,000
46	$5,000
47	$5,000
48	$5,000
49	$5,000
50	$5,000
Total	$460,000