FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Kay Donaldson, Program Director
PHONE: 256.350.3500 / 855.9FISHAL
EMAIL: kay@alabamabasstrail.org
Rapala Named a Premier Sponsor of the 2024 Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series and 100 Series
Decatur, Ala. (November 28, 2023) – Rapala, the world’s largest manufacturer of fishing lures and other fishing-related projects, will join the Alabama Bass Trail (ABT) as a premier sponsor of the ABT Tournament Series and 100 Series in 2024.
RapalaVMC was unofficially founded in 1936 when Lauri Rapala invented the Rapala fishing lure. RapalaVMC has grown from humble beginnings to become a market leader in the fishing tackle industry. The brand’s functionality and high quality are known by fishermen worldwide. Rapala maintains strict standards of craftsmanship while delivering its fishing products to anglers in more than 130 countries.
Rapala Director of Field Promotions and R&D Dan Quinn said, “After years of following the Alabama Bass Trail, watching it grow and learning more about it through Gerald Swindle and eventually Kay Donaldson, it’s about time this venture happened! Kay does an incredible job running things, surrounds herself with the right people to make it all happen and has built one of the very finest and best run tournament trails in the world. Partnering with the Alabama Bass Trail is as exciting as it gets for all of us at Rapala and we are fired up about it. It’s going to be a ton of fun and a huge win for everyone involved.”
As a premier sponsor, Rapala will enjoy extensive exposure during tournament coverage and the Alabama Bass Trail will feature the company on all tournament related advertising, website and collateral materials and will be seen across the various ABT social media channels.
“Rapala and VMC are brands that you consistently see the top level touring pro anglers use. And with the addition of the Crush City brand, a collaboration with Jacob Wheeler, arguably the winningest angler in the industry in recent years, they continue to improve their products to meet the changing conditions in bass fishing. We are excited to work with the team at Rapala, VMC and Crush City to introduce their products and brands to the ABT anglers and fans,” said ABT Program Director Kay Donaldson.
The Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series will enter its eleventh season next year as the state’s premier weekend tournament trail for amateur bass anglers with an 11-event schedule offering more than $750,000 in awards. The season gets underway February 10, 2024, on Lake Jordan and concludes Oct. 18-19, 2024, with the championship on Lay Lake.
North Division:
| February 17, 2024 | Pickwick Lake hosted by Florence-Lauderdale Tourism |
| March 16, 2024 | Smith Lake hosted by the Chamber of Commerce of Walker County |
| April 27, 2024 | Wheeler Lake hosted by Decatur Morgan County Tourism |
| May 18, 2024 | Neely Henry Lake hosted by City of Gadsden |
| June 22, 2024 | Lake Guntersville hosted by Marshall County Sports and Tourism |
South Division:
| February 10, 2024 | Lake Jordan hosted by the City of Wetumpka and the Elmore County Economic Development |
| March 9, 2024 | Lake Martin hosted by Alexander City Chamber of Commerce |
| April 13, 2024 | Logan Martin Lake hosted by City of Lincoln |
| May 11, 2024 | Alabama River (Cooter’s Pond) hosted by City of Prattville |
| June 15, 2024 | Lake Eufaula hosted by Eufaula-Barbour County Chamber of Commerce |
Hosted by the Shelby County Commission, the championship tournament will be held October 18-19, 2024, on Lay Lake.
Returning for the fourth season, the ABT 100 Series is open to professional and amateur anglers and features three tournaments. The maximum number of boats for each tournament is 100. Entry fee for each event is $1,000 and teams must fish in all three tournaments. (No single entries allowed.)
Tournament dates and locations for the 2024 Alabama Bass Trail 100 Series:
January 20, 2024 Logan Martin Lake hosted by the City of Lincoln
June 1, 2024 Weiss Lake hosted by the City of Leesburg
November 2, 2024 Wheeler hosted by Decatur-Morgan County Tourism
For more information on the ABT or sponsorship opportunities, call Donaldson at 855.934.7425 or visit www.alabamabasstrail.org.
About Alabama Bass Trail
The Alabama Bass Trail is a program of the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association. Its mission is to promote Alabama as a year-round fishing destination, to preserve natural resources for generations to come, and to educate high school and college-aged students to be good stewards of natural resources. The 13 bass fishing lakes consist of Lake Guntersville, Wheeler Lake, Pickwick Lake, Lewis Smith Lake, Neely Henry Lake, Weiss Lake, Lake Martin, Lay Lake, Logan Martin Lake, Lake Jordan, Alabama River, Lake Eufaula, and the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta. For more information, visit www.alabamabasstrail.org.
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The Alabama Bass Trail is a program of the
Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association.
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