SHORELINES

8 Shor e l i n e S | 2014 Vol :1 The Alabama Bass Trail Series championship, which teams must qualify for through preliminary divisional tournaments, is on another Alabama Power lake, Smith, Oct. 10- 11. Jasper will be the headquarters. The 125-boat championship will include 25 student teams. The first- place prize in the championship will be a new bass boat valued at $37,495 with an additional $40,000 in cash and prizes. With the backing of the state, the Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series was met with instant excitement and credibility when it was unveiled. The announcement was met with joy by not only fishermen but by host cities as well. Each tournament will have a $10,000 guaranteed first- place prize and will pay through 20 places. Each tournament is expected to generate $500,000 in economic impact in the host cities. The tournament trail was the brainchild of Don Logan, one of the owners of the Birmingham-based Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.) and the Birmingham Barons minor league baseball team. Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said Logan suggested the idea of a tournament trail to him two years ago as a way to attract amateur fishermen to the state in the same way the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail attracts golfers. State officials kicked in $50,000 to get the tournament trail off and running. "Alabama is a great state for fishing," Bentley said when the trail series was announced. "We have professional tournaments here on a regular basis. The goal of these amateur tournaments is simple. We want to encourage more people to fish where the pros fish. The Alabama Bass Trail was established to help us share our lakes and rivers with more people. "When more people come to our lakes and rivers, that increases tourism. And when tourism increases, that benefits our local and state economies." Those unfamiliar with bass tournaments are often shocked to see what kind of money they generate. Participants typically visit the individual lakes once, twice or, more to practice before the event. On those trips they typically spend money on gasoline, food, snacks, ice, f ishing tackle and often lodging. For the actual tournaments, anglers return and spend money on the same items. Kay Donaldson is program director for the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association, which oversees the Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series. She says bass tournaments in Alabama generate $16 million in lodging taxes and license fees annually. More than 15,000 jobs are supported in Alabama each year by the fishing industry, she added. Alabama Conservation Commissioner N. Gunter Guy Jr. was Right: Photo by Billy BroWn — Alabama Bass Trail tournaments will be on five Alabama Power lakes: Neely Henry, Logan Martin, Jordan, Lay and Smith. " WHEN MORE PEOPL E COME TO OUR L A K ES A ND RI V ER S, T H AT INCRE A SES TOURISM. A ND WHEN TOURISM INCRE A SES, T H AT BENEFI T S OUR LOC A L A ND STAT E ECONOMIES." — G OV. R O BER T BEN T L E Y

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