The 2027 Bass Pro Tour will send the sport's top pros across seven states of very different water, opening on the current-swept St. Johns River in Florida and finishing on the tidal Pasquotank in North Carolina.
Major League Fishing's regular season begins January 14-17 at Palatka, Florida, and wraps August 5-8 at Elizabeth City. In between sit reservoirs, natural lakes and rivers that ask for wildly different approaches over eight months of competition.
Daniel Fennel, MLF's senior director of tournament operations, said the calendar plays to the league's strengths. "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.
Fifty anglers will work through the regular-season stops before the two headline events. The championship, Bass Pro Shops REDCREST 2027 and its $300,000 winner's prize, is set for April 16-18 at Logan Martin Lake in Birmingham, Alabama. The Kubota Heavy Hitters all-star event — with up to $100,000 on offer for the biggest single bass, on top of a $100,000 top cheque — brings 30 qualified pros to Kentucky and Barkley Lakes from May 22-27.
Host regions welcomed the news. Shreveport-Bossier in northwest Louisiana lands Stage 2 on February 25-28, sharing days between Caddo and Cross Lakes. "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."
In Kentucky, Elena Blevins, executive director of the Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau, described Heavy Hitters as a showcase that would carry Kentucky and Barkley Lakes to the millions who watch the televised series.
The 2027 regular-season slate: 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); Stage 7, Pasquotank River, Elizabeth City, NC (Aug 5-8).
Every regular-season event uses the same made-for-TV structure: two qualifying days, a knockout round to cut the field, and a championship day scored on cumulative weight instead of a five-fish limit.
The spread of venues is what will decide the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year race. Winning on the tannin-dark, cypress backwaters of Caddo in February is a completely different puzzle to the smallmouth fishing that pays on Lake Champlain in May, and the New York swing bears little resemblance to the Tennessee River ledge fishing waiting at Pickwick in June.