B.A.S.S. announced that the 2024 Bassmaster Team Championship will be held on the Ouachita River in Monroe, La., Dec. 4-7, with the winner filling the last spot in the 2025 Bassmaster Classic. The Team Championship marks the first time a Bassmaster event has been held on the Ouachita River since the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship was held there in November 2021.
“Northeast Louisiana is known as a sportsman’s paradise, and what better way to show it than having anglers from across the country experience it firsthand,” said Scott Bruscato, executive vice president of sales for Discover Monroe-West Monroe.
“Discover Monroe-West Monroe is excited to be the host organization for the Bassmaster Team Championship, and we look forward to providing (the kind of) hospitality you can only receive in Louisiana.”
The team portion of the event will be held Dec. 4-5 and will feature anglers from across the country. The winning duo will not only win a cash prize, but will also lead the charge into the Classic Fish-Off, which will take place Dec. 6-7.
The Top 3 teams through Day 2 — six anglers in all — will have their weights zeroed and then compete individually in the Fish-Off. The competitor with the heaviest two-day total of the group will earn the spot in the Classic.
In 2023, that honor went to 17-year-old Aaron Yavorsky, who became the youngest angler to ever qualify for the Classic, and, along with his teammate and father Rodney Yavorsky, also won the team title and the $25,000 cash prize.
“The Team Championship is a proving ground for up-and-coming anglers, and some really great competitors have gotten their beginnings in competitive fishing right here,” said B.A.S.S. Tournament Manager GL Compton. “We’re excited to be heading to the Ouachita River and are looking forward to the experience and the great community support that Monroe provides during this great event.”
Since it was launched in 2014, the Team Championship has seen tremendous growth. Originally, 38 trails were signed up. That number grew to 78 trails (with more than 15,494 members) last season when the annual Team Championship drew over 240 two-angler teams to the Harris Chain of Lakes in Florida.
