Article & photo courtesy ol Louisiana Sportsman & Kinny Haddox
The competitive field for the 2022 Bassmaster Elite Series tournament trail has been announced. Five Louisiana anglers have qualified for the circuit, which many consider the most prestigious of professional bass fishing tours.
Louisiana’s anglers are Donald Gleason from Many, Greg Hackney from Gonzales, Derek Hudnall from Denham Springs, Tyler Rivet from Raceland and Caleb Sumrall from New Iberia.
One of the first-time qualifiers is not from Louisiana, but got there through Louisiana waters. Matty Wong of Culver City, Calif., joins the rookie class after winning the 2021 B.A.S.S. Nation Championship on the Ouachita River out of Monroe/West Monroe.
Last season drew over 12 million viewers to coverage of Bassmaster LIVE. The 2022 Elite Series schedule will begin Feb. 10-13 with the Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River in Palatka, Fla. From there, the tournament trail will wind through eight states for nine events as anglers compete for cash and prizes and attempt to qualify for the 2023 Bassmaster Classic. There are no Bassmaster events scheduled for Louisiana. The closest the Louisiana anglers will fish to home is on May 19-22, on Lake Fork at Quitman, Texas.
Each tournament will begin with the full field of anglers on Days 1 and 2 before the field is cut to 47 for the semifinal round on Day 3. Only the Top 10 remaining anglers will fish the final day of each event with a $100,000 first-place prize on the line.