Major League Fishing Pulls Back the Curtain on a Monster 2027 Season
Professional bass fishing rarely stands still, and Major League Fishing is making sure of it. With the 2026 Bass Pro Tour season still playing out on the water, MLF has already rolled out what amounts to a full blueprint for 2027 — a multi-circuit slate that stretches from the cypress-choked backwaters of Louisiana to the cold, trophy-laden currents of the St. Lawrence River. The announcements are extensive, the venues are elite, and the stakes have never been higher. This is not a league tiptoeing toward the future; it is one that has mapped it out in precise detail more than a year in advance.
Major League Fishing, the world's largest tournament-fishing organization, has announced the 2027 Bass Pro Tour schedule, featuring seven regular-season events, Bass Pro Shops REDCREST 2027, and the Kubota Heavy Hitters all-star event. Taken together with the simultaneously released Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit schedule, MLF's 2027 footprint spans the continent — touching legendary fisheries that have defined tournament bass fishing for decades alongside compelling new venues that promise to generate fresh storylines.
The Bass Pro Tour's 2027 Road Map
The 2027 season will feature 50 of the top anglers in professional bass fishing competing for the sport's biggest payouts, Fishing Clash Angler of the Year honors, and qualification into REDCREST 2028 — MLF's most prestigious championship event. The Bass Pro Tour season will open January 14–17 at the St. Johns River in Palatka, Florida, before traveling to fisheries across Louisiana, Tennessee, Texas, New York, and North Carolina.
The schedule includes a mix of legendary tournament destinations, dynamic river systems, proven big-bass fisheries, and a dual-lake event in the Shreveport-Bossier region featuring Caddo Lake and Cross Lake. That dual-lake format — where the field fishes two entirely different water bodies over the course of a four-day event — has become one of MLF's signature innovations, forcing anglers to develop a plan A and a contingency simultaneously. It rewards versatility in a way that single-venue tournaments simply cannot.
Stage 1: St. Johns River, Palatka, Florida — January 14–17
Kicking off in the Florida winter makes tactical sense. The St. Johns River system offers mild temperatures and a bass population that is historically productive during January. Palatka has long served as a reliable launchpad for professional tournaments, and opening the season on a river rather than a reservoir immediately signals that these anglers will need to read current, cover, and tide-like fluctuations from day one. For fans tuning into the livestream, watching 50 elite pros simultaneously attack the same river system from day one — under MLF's full-field qualifying format — provides an instant narrative overload in the best possible way.
Stage 2: Caddo Lake and Cross Lake, Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana — February 25–28
The twin cities and the two fisheries will host Stage 2 of the tour from February 25–28. Hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission, the event will feature 50 elite anglers competing for top payouts, valuable Fishing Clash Angler of the Year points, and spots in the REDCREST 2028 championship tournament. Caddo Lake's Spanish moss-draped cypress swamps and Cross Lake's more open, reservoir-style shoreline couldn't be more different in character, which is precisely the point. The field will fish Caddo Lake the first two days and then shift to Cross Lake on days three and four.
As Emma Boone with Visit Shreveport-Bossier put it, "The Major League Fishing organization coming here really showcases two of our major outdoor assets. The good thing about Cross Lake and Caddo Lake is you're gonna get a different unique fishing experience on each lake. Again, it's showing the diversity and capabilities of our outdoor footprint in Shreveport-Bossier." For anglers who spent all of Day 1 and Day 2 flipping cypress knees on Caddo, pivoting to Cross Lake's open water and pounding different structure will separate the adaptable pros from those who are one-dimensional.
Stage 3: Norris Lake, Campbell County, Tennessee — March 11–14
Norris Lake is a Clinch River impoundment known for deep, clear water and a fluctuating bass bite that can reward finesse techniques one day and power fishing the next. Sitting in the hills of northeastern Tennessee, it brings a mountain-reservoir dimension to the tour that contrasts sharply with the river and swamp settings that bookend it on the schedule. March on Norris typically means pre-spawn bass moving toward the bank — a period when tournament weights can explode without warning.
Stage 4: Toledo Bend Reservoir, Hemphill, Texas — April 1–4
Toledo Bend on the Texas-Louisiana border is one of the most storied venues in tournament fishing history. Its sheer size, the density of its shallow timber and grass, and its track record of producing massive stringers make it the kind of place where any angler in the field on a hot day believes he can win. The April timing slots in just as the fishery's largemouth bass hit the full force of the spawn, historically when Toledo Bend is at its most unpredictable — and most exciting — best.
Stage 5: Lake Champlain, Plattsburgh, New York — April 29–May 2
Champlain is a perennial crowd favorite on any professional bass circuit, and its return to the Bass Pro Tour docket in 2027 will be met with enthusiasm from anglers and fans alike. The lake straddles New York and Vermont and has served as a proving ground for smallmouth specialists, but its largemouth population in the southern basin is equally formidable. Stage 5 will run April 29 through May 2, with the field launching from Plattsburgh City Marina, hosted by the City of Plattsburgh and the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau. The May timing means smallmouth could be staging or spawning in the rocky shallows of the northern reach while largemouth are beginning to set up in the vegetation-rich southern end — a scenario that will create dramatically divergent game plans among the 50 pros.
Stage 6: Pickwick Lake, Counce, Tennessee — June 24–27
Pickwick is a Bill Dance Signature Lake and one of the Tennessee Valley Authority's finest impoundments, a place where largemouth and smallmouth coexist in a fishery known for its mussel-covered rock ledges and strong current from the Tennessee River flowing through it. By late June, the post-spawn summer pattern is on — a period that rewards anglers who can dissect deep structure with precision electronics. Stage 6 will launch from Pickwick Landing State Park, hosted by Explore Pickwick Lake-Hardin County Tourism and Bill Dance Signature Lakes.
Stage 7: Pasquotank River, Elizabeth City, North Carolina — August 5–8
The season's regular-season closer on the Pasquotank River in Elizabeth City is arguably the most intriguing stop on the entire schedule. A tidal, blackwater river system tucked into the northeastern corner of North Carolina near the Virginia border, the Pasquotank is not a venue that appears on many tournament fishing bucket lists — which is exactly why it's compelling. MLF's commitment to pushing its field into unfamiliar territory is on full display here. The August heat, the tidal influence, and the wild-card nature of the fishery promise to scramble the season's Angler of the Year standings heading into the home stretch.
REDCREST 2027: Alabama Calls the Sport Home
If any single announcement from MLF's 2027 planning captures the ambition of the organization, it is the decision to bring REDCREST back to Alabama — but this time on a different Coosa River impoundment than the one that hosted the 2024 championship.
Major League Fishing announced that Bass Pro Shops REDCREST 2027 will take place April 16–18, 2027, on Logan Martin Lake near Birmingham, Alabama, featuring 40 top professional bass anglers competing for a $300,000 top prize and the championship trophy. That figure — $300,000 to the winner — remains one of the largest single-event payouts in all of professional fishing, a number that commands respect even in the context of other professional sports.
REDCREST 2027 will mark the championship's return to Birmingham following the successful 2024 event on Lay Lake, but this time the Bass Pro Tour's biggest event will shift to Logan Martin Lake, a renowned Coosa River fishery known for its healthy populations of spotted bass and largemouth bass. Switching from Lay Lake to Logan Martin within the same regional corridor keeps the championship tied to Birmingham's proven infrastructure while giving the water a fresh feel. The two lakes fish entirely differently — Logan Martin is deeper in places and has a more varied bottom composition, which could produce a very different winning strategy than what the field saw on Lay Lake.
MLF president and CEO Boyd Duckett was direct in his endorsement: "REDCREST belongs on fisheries and in communities that can handle the biggest stage in professional bass fishing, and Birmingham and Logan Martin Lake check every box. The Coosa River is one of the great tournament systems in the country, and Logan Martin will challenge our anglers in all the right ways. When you combine that fishery with Birmingham's proven support for major events, REDCREST 2027 has the makings of a tremendous championship."
Logan Martin Lake has hosted 16 MLF and FLW events, including the 2004 and 2006 Forrest Wood Cup championships won by Luke Clausen and Brent Ehrler, respectively. The 2027 championship will add another major moment to MLF's long history in Alabama, where world-class fisheries, proven host communities, and passionate fans have helped create some of the sport's most memorable events. The lake's tournament pedigree runs deep, and it has a way of producing the kind of dramatic late-round swings that define great championships.
In addition to the tournament, the MLF Outdoor Sports Expo will be held at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex. The Expo will give fishing and outdoor enthusiasts the opportunity to visit booths and vendors showcasing the latest in fishing, boating, hunting, camping and more. Fans on site will have the opportunity to take part in sponsor experiences, family-friendly activities, pro angler appearances, and the live watch-party atmosphere that has become a signature part of REDCREST week.
Who Qualifies for REDCREST 2027?
The qualification pathway into REDCREST is one of the sport's most fascinating sporting structures, pulling elite performers from multiple levels of the MLF ecosystem into one championship field. The 2027 field will include the top 28 Bass Pro Tour anglers based on 2026 Fishing Clash Angler of the Year standings, and REDCREST 2026 champion Jacob Wheeler.
Previous REDCREST champions include Jacob Wheeler (2026), three-time winner Dustin Connell (2025, 2024, 2021), Bryan Thrift (2023), Bobby Lane (2022), and Edwin Evers (2019). Connell's three titles in four years represent one of the most dominant championship runs in professional fishing history, and the 2027 event gives the rest of the field another shot at knocking off an established champion. Notably, Brent Ehrler — who won the 2006 Forrest Wood Cup on Logan Martin — remains inside the REDCREST qualification line with two events remaining in the 2026 Bass Pro Tour season, and could have the opportunity to return to Logan Martin more than two decades after his career-defining championship victory. That narrative alone is worth the price of admission.
The Kubota Heavy Hitters: Kentucky-Barkley Lakes
The 2027 season will also include the fan-favorite all-star event Kubota Heavy Hitters, May 22–27, on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes in Calvert City, Kentucky. The tournament will showcase the Tour's top big-fish performers and award multiple Big Bass Awards for the heaviest bass caught during competition. The Kentucky-Barkley complex, connected by the canal at Barkley Dam, offers an enormous combined fishery that plays to power anglers and big-swinging strategies. Late May there means bass are typically in or just past the spawn, and the shallow flats of both lakes can produce the kind of kicker fish that wins Big Bass bonuses and shifts overall standings in a hurry.
The Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit: Building the Next Generation
Running parallel to the Bass Pro Tour announcements, MLF has also laid out the full 2027 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit schedule — and it reinforces the league's commitment to circuit-level depth that gives the sport its competitive pipeline.
The 2027 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech schedule features six regular-season events and the no-entry-fee Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Championship. The no-entry-fee championship structure remains one of the Pro Circuit's most athlete-friendly policies — a meaningful differentiator in a sport where travel and equipment costs already create significant financial pressure on working anglers.
The 2027 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit will showcase top professional anglers competing across six premier fisheries for the sport's biggest payouts outside of the Bass Pro Tour, valuable points toward championship qualification, and opportunities to advance to REDCREST and the Bass Pro Tour. That pathway — from Pro Circuit to Bass Pro Tour — is the ladder every rising star in the sport is climbing, and the 2027 schedule gives them a legitimately diverse set of venues on which to prove themselves.
Stop 2: Chickamauga Lake, Hamilton County, Tennessee — March 5–7
The 2027 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit will be on Chickamauga Lake for its second stop on the 2027 schedule. The event will be held out of Chester Frost Park on March 5–7, 2027. Hosted by The Sports and Event Corporation and Bill Dance Signature Lakes, the event will showcase top professional anglers competing for the sport's biggest payouts outside of the Bass Pro Tour, valuable points toward championship qualification, and opportunities to advance to REDCREST and the Bass Pro Tour.
"Chickamauga Lake continues to be one of the most recognized fisheries in the country, and bringing the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit to the area is a great opportunity to showcase both the lake and the surrounding community," said Dennis Tumlin, chief customer officer of the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development. Chickamauga has produced some of the heaviest stringers in Tennessee bass fishing history, particularly in the late winter and early spring window. Its grass-heavy shallows and abundant baitfish populations make it a place where elite-level weights are virtually guaranteed.
Stop 6 and Championship: Massena and the St. Lawrence River — July 23–25
The capstone of the 2027 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit season is where things get genuinely exciting for bass fishing's northern faithful. Major League Fishing is already looking ahead to 2027 with big plans for Massena on the docket.
Massena and the St. Lawrence River will play host to Stop 6 of the 2027 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit, July 23–25. Hosted by the Town of Massena, the event will showcase top professional anglers competing for the sport's biggest payouts outside of the Bass Pro Tour, valuable points toward championship qualification, and opportunities to advance to REDCREST and the Bass Pro Tour. More significantly, this is not just any stop on the circuit — it is the season finale, the event where Angler of the Year will be determined.
MLF officials recently announced the final stop of the 2027 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit will land in Massena on July 23–25, where the league's Angler of the Year will be crowned. The return of the Tackle Warehouse series is a major win for Massena, officials said. Hosting the AOY-deciding event is a significant honor for any community, and Massena — gateway to the St. Lawrence Seaway — carries the geography to back it up.
Don Meissner, Director of Tourism and Tournament Director for the Town of Massena, captured the community's enthusiasm: "The Town of Massena is excited about hosting the Major League Fishing 2027 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit event." "We are happy to share our renowned bass fishery with the world's top professional anglers. The St. Lawrence River will again provide the perfect backdrop for a season-ending celebration. Massena welcomes all anglers and their families. We are proud of our partnership with MLF. It has helped us to be recognized as the gateway to the St. Lawrence Experience."
The St. Lawrence River around Massena is smallmouth bass water of the highest order. The river's fast current, rocky substrate, and exceptional water clarity create the kind of environment where fish grow large and fight hard. For anglers accustomed to the warmer, murkier waters of the southern circuit, the St. Lawrence is a legitimate technical challenge — a place where reading current breaks and depth changes on rock points separates the elite from the merely good. Crowning the Angler of the Year there is a decision that respects the difficulty of the venue.
The Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit season will culminate September 10–12 at the Pro Circuit Championship on the James River in Richmond, Virginia — meaning the James River Championship serves as the title event separate from the AOY-deciding St. Lawrence stop. The James River is a tidal fishery with a history of producing championship-level weights, and September on that system typically finds largemouth bass positioned in current-influenced areas near main river channel drops.
Broadcasting, Format, and the Fan Experience
All six regular-season events of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and the championship will be televised nationally on VICE TV. On the Bass Pro Tour side, every minute of Bass Pro Tour competition will be streamed live on MLFNOW! through the MLF app, MyOutdoorTV (MOTV), Rumble, and MajorLeagueFishing.com, giving fans unprecedented access to the strategies, adjustments, and on-the-water drama that define the Bass Pro Tour.
Each regular-season Bass Pro Tour event will feature the full field of anglers competing in the Qualifying Round on Days 1 and 2, followed by the Knockout Round on Day 3 and the Championship Round on Day 4. MLF's signature catch-weigh-release format delivers real-time scoring via the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard and live coverage for fans throughout each day of competition. That real-time scoring element is what separates MLF's viewing experience from traditional tournament fishing broadcasts built around end-of-day weigh-ins. Every catch matters the moment it happens, creating a running drama that plays out across a full day of competition rather than compressing everything into a weigh-in ceremony.
Kevin Hunt, Senior Tournament Director for the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit, framed the circuit's purpose clearly: "The Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit is one of the most important platforms in professional bass fishing. It gives established pros and rising stars the opportunity to compete on outstanding fisheries, build their careers and earn their way to the Bass Pro Tour. The 2027 schedule has a strong mix of proven tournament venues and fisheries that will challenge every part of an angler's game."
What the 2027 Announcements Mean for the Sport
The scope and specificity of MLF's 2027 planning — released while the 2026 season is still active — speaks to a league operating with genuine organizational confidence. This is not a promotional press release; it is a logistical commitment. Venues have been booked, hosts have been contracted, and launch ramps have been designated. When an organization publishes specific ramp addresses more than a year before competition, it has done the hard work of turning an ambitious schedule into a binding one.
As Daniel Fennel, MLF senior director of tournament operations for the Bass Pro Tour, explained: "The 2027 Bass Pro Tour schedule is exactly what this league is built for – great fisheries, passionate host communities and the best anglers in the world competing in a format that showcases every decision they make on the water. From historic venues like the St. Johns River, Toledo Bend and Lake Champlain to exciting stops like the Pasquotank River and our dual-lake event in Louisiana, this schedule will give our anglers a tremendous test and give fans a season full of storylines to follow, from start to finish."
The economic implications for host communities are real and substantial. Major League Fishing produces more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America's living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV, Game and Fish TV, and Rumble, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world's top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. That reach means every host community gets not just the economic activity of tournament week — the hotel rooms, restaurant seats, and fuel sold — but also national and international television exposure that conventional advertising budgets could never replicate.
The competitive structure MLF has built over roughly a decade of operation has matured into something that now resembles other professional sports leagues in the clarity of its hierarchy, the logic of its qualification pathways, and the transparency of its championship format. The Pro Circuit feeds the Bass Pro Tour. The Bass Pro Tour feeds REDCREST. REDCREST produces a world champion. The 2027 roadmap, viewed as a whole, is the clearest articulation yet of how tightly integrated that ladder has become — and how deliberately MLF is positioning itself not just as a tournament-fishing organization, but as the definitive stage on which professional bass fishing plays out in America.
For fans mapping out their own 2027 travel plans — whether it is making the drive to Palatka in January for the season opener, catching the chaos of the dual-lake Louisiana event in February, or standing on the banks of the St. Lawrence in July to watch an Angler of the Year crowned — the calendar is already set. Major League Fishing has made the future concrete, and it looks very good from where the sport currently stands.
