Major League Fishing has laid out its 2027 Bass Pro Tour calendar, and it stretches from the shallow, current-fed St. Johns River in Florida to the tidal Pasquotank River in North Carolina — seven regular-season events bookending two of the sport's richest showcases.
The season opens January 14-17 at the St. Johns River in Palatka, Florida, then rolls through eight months of varied water: reservoirs, natural lakes and tidal rivers that each reward a different style of fishing. It closes August 5-8 on the Pasquotank in Elizabeth City.
Daniel Fennel, MLF's senior director of tournament operations, framed the schedule as the league's calling card. "The 2027 Bass Pro Tour schedule is exactly what this league is built for – great fisheries, passionate host communities and the best anglers in the world competing in a format that showcases every decision they make on the water," he said.
The 50-angler field fishes seven regular-season stops before the marquee events. Bass Pro Shops REDCREST 2027 — the tour's championship, carrying a $300,000 top prize — lands April 16-18 on Logan Martin Lake in Birmingham, Alabama. The all-star Kubota Heavy Hitters event, where a single big bass can be worth up to $100,000 on top of the $100,000 winner's cheque, runs May 22-27 across Kentucky and Barkley Lakes with 30 qualified pros.
Regional tourism bodies were quick to claim their slice. In northwest Louisiana, the tour comes to Shreveport-Bossier for Stage 2 on February 25-28, splitting days between Caddo Lake and Cross Lake. "We're excited to welcome the Bass Pro Tour to Shreveport-Bossier and continue our partnership with Major League Fishing," said Sara Nelms, director of sports for the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. "Our region offers world-class fisheries, passionate fans, and a community that embraces outdoor recreation."
Kentucky's stop drew a similar welcome. Elena Blevins, executive director of the Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau, cast Heavy Hitters as more than a tournament — a chance to put Kentucky and Barkley Lakes in front of the millions who follow the televised series.
The full 2027 regular season runs: Stage 1, St. Johns River, Palatka, FL (Jan 14-17); Stage 2, Caddo and Cross Lakes, Shreveport-Bossier, LA (Feb 25-28); Stage 3, Norris Lake, Campbell County, TN (Mar 11-14); Stage 4, Toledo Bend Reservoir, Hemphill, TX (Apr 1-4); Stage 5, Lake Champlain, Plattsburgh, NY (Apr 29-May 2); Stage 6, Pickwick Lake, Counce, TN (Jun 24-27); and Stage 7, Pasquotank River, Elizabeth City, NC (Aug 5-8).
Each regular-season event follows the format MLF built its television product around: two days of qualifying, a knockout round that trims the field, and a final championship day where every fish adds to a running total rather than a five-bass limit.
For anglers chasing the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year title, the geographic spread is the story. A late-February trip to the stained, cypress-lined backwaters of Caddo demands nothing like the smallmouth game that wins on Lake Champlain in early May, and the northern swing to New York sits a long way from the Tennessee River ledges of Pickwick in late June.