2015 Elite Series Field Set With Fresh And Familiar Faces

New 2015 Elite Series Field Set With Fresh And Familiar Faces

Dec. 22, 2014

New 2015 Elite Series Field Set With Fresh And Familiar Faces

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The 2015 Bassmaster Elite Series field is now set with a mixture of well-known veteran pros and young up-and-comers ready to zig-zag the country, vying for thousands of dollars and the coveted Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year title.

Topping the 113-angler field is Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La., who won the 2014 A.R.E. Truck Caps Bassmaster Elite Series event on New York’s Cayuga Lake en route to capturing the 2014 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year title. The remainder of last year’s Top 5 points earners is also returning with four-time B.A.S.S. tournament winner Todd Faircloth of Jasper, Texas; three-time winner Jacob Powroznik of Port Haywood, Va.; six-time winner Aaron Martens of Leeds, Ala.; and five-time winner Mark Davis of Mount Ida, Ark.

There will be 13 newcomers to the Elite Series field, including Brent Ehrler of Redlands, Calif., who qualified by finishing seventh in the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Opens standings. Though he has yet to win a B.A.S.S. event, Ehrler has enjoyed success on the FLW Tour with eight victories, 33 career Top 10 finishes and more than $2.2 million in earnings during a decade-long career.

The field will feature a dozen former Classic winners, including Davis, Rick Clunn of Ava, Mo., Paul Elias of Laurel, Miss.; Davy Hite of Ninety Six, S.C.; Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich.; Michael Iaconelli of Runnemede, N.J.; Takahiro Omori of Emory, Texas; Boyd Duckett of Demopolis, Ala.; Alton Jones of Lorena, Texas; Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif.; Cliff Pace of Petal, Miss.; and 2014 winner Randy Howell of Springville, Ala.

The Elite Series will begin March 19-22 with a trip to the Sabine River in Orange, Texas. The trail will then set a demanding pace for the anglers with trips to Alabama’s Lake Guntersville on April 9-12, California’s Sacramento River on April 30-May 3, Arizona’s Lake Havasu on May 7-10, Tennessee’s Kentucky Lake for BASSfest on June 3-7, New York’s St. Lawrence River on July 30-Aug. 2, Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay on Aug. 13-16, Michigan’s Lake St. Clair on Aug. 27-30 and Wisconsin’s Sturgeon Bay for the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship on Sept. 17-20.

Standard Elite Series events will feature a total purse of $638,000, with $100,000 going to the winner and at least $10,000 going to anyone who finishes 50th or better. BASSfest will offer a total purse of $850,000 with a $100,000 winner’s payout, $60,000 for second place and at least $10,000 for any angler who places 60th or better.

The Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Championship will have a whopping total purse of $1 million, with the winner pocketing $100,000, the second-place angler earning $55,000 and third place paying $45,000. The remainder of the Top 50 pros in the AOY points standings will share in the rest of the championship payout.

Last year’s Elite Series, which featured the first-ever BASSfest in Dayton, Tenn., and the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship in Escanaba, Mich., set a new attendance record by drawing 128,600 fishing fans.

The list of 2015 Bassmaster Elite Series qualifiers is below:

Randy Allen

Casey Ashley

Scott Ashmore

Josh Bertrand

Tommy Biffle

Stephen Browning

Brandon Card

Brent Chapman

Hank Cherry

Jason Christie

Rick Clunn

Keith Combs

Brandon Coulter

John Crews

Cliff Crochet

Mark Davis

Ott DeFoe

Kurt Dove

Boyd Duckett

Brent Ehrler

James Elam

Paul Elias

Edwin Evers

Todd Faircloth

Seth Feider

Micah Frazier

Shaw Grigsby

Greg Hackney

Charlie Hartley

Kevin Hawk

Matt Herren

Kenyon Hill

Brett Hite

Davy Hite

Timmy Horton

Randy Howell

Michael Iaconelli

Ken Iyobe

Kelley Jaye

Carl Jocumsen

Alton Jones

Kelly Jordon

Steve Kennedy

Mike Kernan

Kotaro Kiriyama

Gary Klein

Koby Kreiger

Jeff Kriet

Bobby Lane

Chris Lane

Russ Lane

Kevin Ledoux

Jordan Lee

Matt Lee

Brandon Lester

Jared Lintner

Stephen Longobardi

Bill Lowen

Justin Lucas

Aaron Martens

Billy McCaghren

Mike McClelland

Mark Menendez

Jared Miller

Yusuke Miyazaki

Ish Monroe

Andy Montgomery

Chad Morgenthaler

Paul Mueller

David Mullins

John Murray

Britt Myers

James Niggemeyer

Takahiro Omori

Cliff Pace

Brandon Palaniuk

Chad Pipkens

Clifford Pirch

Keith Poche

Jacob Powroznik

Cliff Prince

Matt Reed

Skeet Reese

Derek Remitz

Marty Robinson

Dean Rojas

Scott Rook

Fred Roumbanis

Zell Rowland

Bradley Roy

Joseph Sancho

Casey Scanlon

Bernie Schultz

Terry Scroggins

Morizo Shimizu

Kevin Short

Fletcher Shryock

Dave Smith

Brian Snowden

Gerald Swindle

Randall Tharp

Dennis Tietje

J Todd Tucker

Jonathon VanDam

Kevin VanDam

Byron Velvick

Greg Vinson

David Walker

Nate Wellman

David Williams

Jason Williamson

Boo Woods

Chris Zaldain

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