While we all know that nothing is better for a sport or business than competition, it’s the one thing that makes everyone work harder. Competition creates diversity and allows for people or an organization to get better. If you want to see what diversity looks like, look no further than the options available for bass tournament anglers in the state of Texas. Today we’ll look at the many options anglers have to pick from.

While competition is great, it’s not always what’s best for everyone. Bass anglers in this part of the Ark-La-Tex are spoiled and offered a lot of different options to fish especially when it comes to team tournament trails.

The question is: “How do anglers decide what they want to fish?” Is it about the cost to enter, the payback or is it more about what lakes the circuit is going to? The answer is…. all the above! Anglers today have a plethora of circuits to fish with the big three being the Texas Team Trail, Bass Champs and the Brandon Belt Team Trail. Also available are the ABA Solo 150’s, along with the ABA Pro League.

The big three listed above are all team trails while the two ABA circuits are professional style events as anglers fish solo in both. In 2024, ABA eliminated all co-anglers in order to offer anglers an affordable pro-style tournament trail with low entry fees of $325 for the single day Pro League and $625 for the Solo 150’s which are two-day events.

ABA also offers the opportunity for anglers to advance to a national championship event called The Ray Scott, named after the man who was a huge supporter of ABA and started professional bass fishing. The Ray Scott National Championship will draw up to 200 boats on average each year and is held on some of the best lakes in the country.

For 2025, Texas Team Trail has increased its payback with the intent to draw more anglers. Of the big three, Brandon Belt has become the top dog with huge paybacks of $100,000 going to the winners of each event. Bass Champs continues to cater to its angler base with great paybacks as well.

So, with so many great tournament trails available, anglers are sitting down and looking at what trail best fits their needs. The lakes selected by the circuit are a huge factor because anglers want to fish bodies of water they are familiar with. They want to fish lakes that give them the best chance to not only win but get a check.

The other problem with too many circuits is the fact that there are basically only 4 weekends in a month and anglers can’t financially afford to fish every weekend. This is why most anglers will only choose to follow two circuits.

This means some tournament trails will and are experiencing lower participation numbers. The next question is, “ Can they all survive?” So far, the answer has been yes, but as we prepare to elect a new President, there is a lot of uncertainty with regards to the economy and what direction our country is headed.

From an angler’s perspective, we better hope and pray that the American people are not being fooled by a candidate who is feeding us a “word salad” and trying to sound intelligent while trying to convince the American public they can do the job. Because the choice we make this time will have a lasting affect that could have grave consequences and end our days of enjoying the sport we all love so much.

Till next time, good luck, good fishing and just because the hot summer days are behind us, protecting your skin is still important. Wear your sunscreen and good protective clothing every time you head out to your favorite lake.

Steve Graf
Angler’s Perspective