GADSDEN, AL---June 4, 2019--- The Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series (ABTTS) is bringing the last tournament for the 2019 North Series to the waters of Neely Henry Lake on June 8, 2019. Hosted by the City of Gadsden Parks and Recreation Department and Greater Gadsden Area Tourism, the tournament will attract up to 225 boats and 450 amateur anglers from across the southeastern United States, and is expected to generate approximately $200,000 in economic impact for the Gadsden area and Etowah County.
Take-off is set for safe light, and weigh-in begins at 2 p.m. Both take place at Coosa Landing. Take-off and weigh-in are free and open to the public. Registration and briefing will take place at The Venue at Coosa Landing, Gadsden’s new special event facility, at 5 p.m. on Friday, June 7.
Greater Gadsden Area Tourism credits tournaments like the ABTTS with helping the local economy. A 2019 study by Jacksonville State University on the economic impact of the Coosa River and Neely Henry Lake on Etowah County reported that tournament bass fishing in 2017 created $10,4000,000 of economic activity. “While the anglers are in town, many with family members, they are buying fuel for their boat and tow vehicle, tackle and supplies, lodging, food, and other products and services,” says Tourism Director Hugh Stump III. “Many anglers come to town in the days or weeks before the tournament to pre-fish and work out patterns for the tournament day.”
Sanctioned by B.A.S.S. (Bass Anglers Sportsman Society) the tournament trail features two divisions: Northern and Southern. Each division is made up of five tournaments on five different lakes. Maximum number of boats is 225 and each tournament will have a $10,000 guaranteed first place prize and will pay 20 places.
In the fall, the Championship can see as many as 200 boats and is a two-day event. The boat limits are comprised of the top 50 teams in points from both divisions that fished all five events in their respective divisions, along with the top 25 student boats collectively from both divisions that fished all five events in their respective division.
The Alabama Bass Trail is a program of the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association. Its mission is to promote Alabama as a year-round fishing destination, to preserve natural resources for generations to come, and to educate high school and college-aged students to be good stewards of natural resources. The 13 bass fishing lakes consist of Lake Guntersville, Wheeler Lake, Pickwick Lake, Lewis Smith Lake, Neely Henry Lake, Weiss Lake, Lake Martin, Lay Lake, Logan Martin Lake, Lake Jordan, Alabama River, Lake Eufaula, and the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta.
