Two Bassmaster tournaments have been moved to lakes in Alabama after organizers in upstate New York could not find a way to make the originally scheduled events happen.
The most recent announcement is that the Bassmaster Eastern Open will now occur December 3-5, 2020, at Lay Lake with takeoffs and weigh-ins held at Beeswax Park in Columbiana, a small town in Shelby County.
Originally, the tournament was going to be held from August 6-8 at Oneida Lake in upstate New York. The parties involved in the planning postponed the tournament on July 21, and B.A.S.S. began searching for a new location.
The organizers did not explicitly name COVID-19 precautions as the reason for the postponement, but the coronavirus has been listed as the cause for the delay of several other Bassmaster events this year.
“Shelby County, Alabama and B.A.S.S. have a long and successful collaborative history, and we are extremely pleased Lay Lake will once again be the host of championship fishing with a Bassmaster Open,” said Shelby County manager Chad Scroggins in a release on Thursday.
BassPro.com remains the title sponsor of the Eastern Open, but the new local host is DiscoverShelby.com, an initiative from Shelby County Tourism.
“We are thankful to the local hosts who have worked so diligently with us to make this happen,” remarked Chris Bowes, Bassmaster opens senior tournament manager.
The Eastern Open is not the only Bassmaster event to move from New York to Alabama this season.
A Bassmaster elite tournament was originally going to be held at Cayuga Lake near Ithaca, New York, in early July.
The event is now taking place on Lake Guntersville from September 20 – October 3.
Launches and weigh-ins will occur at Goose Pond Colony Resort Marina in Scottsboro. The City of Scottsboro partnered with Bassmaster to make the event happen.
“We are thankful to our friends at the City of Scottsboro for partnering with us to offer anglers another opportunity to fish on one of our country’s best lakes while showcasing the area’s beauty for our audience,” commented B.A.S.S. CEO Bruce Akin.
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: [email protected] or on Twitter @HenryThornton95
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