Event scheduled in March for first time ever
Elite Series pros and other contestants will be livin’ on Tulsa time next year during the 2016 Bassmaster Classic, which will be held in the month of March for the first time ever.
B.A.S.S. officials revealed earlier this week that Tulsa will be the host city for next year’s event, which will be contested on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees out of Grove, Okla.
The venue hosted the 2013 Classic, which was won by Cliff Pace with 54 pounds, 12 ounces.
A total of 55 anglers will qualify for the March 4-6 event through the Bassmaster Elite Series and other Bassmaster circuits in the coming 10 months.
The annual Bassmaster Classic tournament is considered the world’s premier fishing event, attracting an average attendance of more than 100,000 each year for the past five years. The Classic champion earns $300,000, and the 54 other competitors divide the remainder of the $1 million payout.
Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees was completed in 1940, when Pensacola Dam on the Grand River impounded 46,500 acres. Previous Elite Series events there have been won by Mike McClelland and Kevin VanDam in 2006 and 2007.
