They say crime doesn’t pay. Depending on whom you speak with, neither does tournament bass fishing these days.

At least, not like it used to. Just last year.

After 8 years with a top prize of a half -million dollars the Bassmaster Classic will award $300,000 to the 2014 champion. That amount is still life-changing by most standards, and if a guy is good at promoting himself he can cash-in on the win for years to come.

But it’s not $500,000.

During regular season events the top 40 anglers will still make a minimum of $10,000 but places 41-through-50 will now get $8,000 instead of the $10,000 that has been the standard for a while now.

B.A.S.S. had planned to cut the pay to $5,000 for spots 41-50. The $8,000 figure will offer a chance for frugal travelers to still make a slight profit and keep themselves in the game even when they don’t dominate an event.

That extra bit of insurance can be important when you work with unpredictable animals for a living.

So where’s the lost money going?

According to Bruce Akin of B.A.S.S. it is being used to fund a much larger prize for the 2014 Bassmaster Angler of the Year. Due to angler outcry over lost earnings potential in regular season tournaments, B.A.S.S. decided to fund spots 41-50 at each event with an extra $3,000 (to bring the total to the current $8,000) by slashing the Classic Champion’s prize to the tune of $200,000.

So when a guy places 50^th and cuts a check for $8,000 instead of $5,000 he can thank the 2014 Classic Champ, maybe even take him to dinner. After all, the as-yet-to-be-determined Champ is already single-handedly funding the deeper payout structure.