heard there were a lot of complaints about how lousy the fishing was (and is)on the Ohio river plus it's hard to have an entertaining TV show when the winner only had 12 lbs for 3 days fishing..similar results when they had tournys out of cincinnati and louisville........

Bass tournaments have a financial impact on companies that produce and sell products that are used in that endeavor.

Gus at "Gus's Tire Shop" did not make much, if any money from a bass tournament held in his area or city.


The majority of these tournaments are held, or hosted, in areas that would have likely produced a lot of the income if the pros were not there. Most areas with lakes that are suitable are usually fishing tourism destinations and will make a big percentage of that money regardless.

It is not like the trails and leagues are scheduling their tournaments during the off season when there is little tourism money spent in these areas.

Then you have the tournaments like the 2025 Bassmaster Classic, the economic impact in the Ray Roberts area will be minimal. Most of the money will be spent in Ft Worth.

There is a lot of economic impact to an area from an event like the Classic bri is that many might not realize. There are a ton of moving pieces to make an event like that happen. 100,000+ people visiting/staying in an area for 3-7 days is noticeable to a city like Fort Worth. If it wasn't they would not be pinyin up again to bring BASS back.

It's amazing how much $ is brought in to even a small town and yet TP&W will come in and kill the Grass on a lake there by killing the economy in that small town and all for the very few who live on that lake . it boggles the mind at the stupidity of a few .

I stimulated Tyler’s economy yesterday to the tune of $28.94. Lake Tyler Marina prolly needed an armored car after I showed up.

Yup when I roll into squaw creek I hope they don't spend the money I spent for a bag of ice and some beef jerky all in one place.

Any time I hear “economic impact” I know someone is fixing to give me some super inflated numbers.

Agreed. I know they had the Classic on the Red River in Shreveport about a decade ago and I don't think they've been back to Louisiana since then. They've had it in New Orleans too, same deal. The Shreveport event drew pretty good numbers; especially for the tradeshow/fan experience part, the convention center in down town was packed. I would have figured the city of Shreveport would have been more than happy to host the Classic again. Apparently they didn't get what they wanted out of it.

BASS not returning there for the Classic is also due to the Red being tough the past few years and the weird water property rights in LA.

The Red can be a very dangerous venue as well. I've never been on it and that is the primary reason why I haven't. If I remember right the rock jetties got a few boats at the Classic. It also has sand bars that move and where there may have been good deep open water to run a few days down the road that same area could be a shallow flat.

Actually I think it has more to do with the laws as to why they are not fishing the Red river. I believe this was stated by BASS at one point no more events in LA.

Even the Sabine events,, they are not allowed to fish the LA Canals and bayous,

It is rather confusing for out of state people.

Also when you talk about big cities I don't think BASS brings the economic bang for the buck. So they may not be willing to pay to host these events.

But if these cities are willing (which they are not) to throw large sums of money at BASS and BPT how could they not show up???... Tough fishing or not... If the pros are bitching about payouts and a city is willing to make a offer they can't resist wouldn't it be hypocritical of the pros to pizz and moan???... When I was working I had to visit a lot of power plants that were out in the boonies with nothing around them... And in order to keep my job and cash a check I had to visit them one a quarter... Dan

It’s also about a premier drawing for fans. Knoxville absolutely knocked it our of the park, while Fort Worth has the old stockyard tourism area. The area can’t have too much attraction draw, as it detracts from the event. It’s a critical balance with existing fan base within 250 miles, ability for the distant fan base to follow and attend the events. Cities such as Orlando had too many distractions, and the event must fit their metropolitan base. Houston wasn’t bad, though locals didn’t attend because of traffic concerns. Houston and Atlanta both have terrible traffic reputations. The further north, the more weather plays into it.

It's probably best to judge the previous Classic in Fort Worth as it happened while COVID was still a huge deal and the event was pushed back a couple of months then put back together quickly. Everything was affected especially the Expo. Those livestock buildings are not built with human comfort in mind when its hot outside. It will be 100% more comfortable in those areas this time around.
If I were to guess this Classic is probably gonna be a big one. There may be a couple of national brands that will not have a booth but that's more economy driven and their current financial state than anything to do with BASS.

There shouldn't be a lot going on that week in Fort Worth atrraction to detract from the Classic. Weather can be a bit of an X factor but lousy weather usually drives crowds to the Expo. After tge first of the year the publicity from Fort Worth regarding the Classic should really amp up.

I also saw where BASS has a big league title sponsor for the Classic

https://www.bassmaster.com/bassmast...ting-sponsor-of-2025-bassmaster-classic/

So will this Classic pay off the old scale or the new one?