Bryan New of Belmont, N.C., won the 2020 Falcon Rods Bassmaster Opens Angler of the Year title and claimed an Elite Series win at the season-opening 2021 AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River.

Photo by James Overstreet/B.A.S.S.

March 3, 2020

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Falcon Rods, which has designed and built specialty rods since 1990, will serve as the title sponsor of the Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens Angler of the Year Award for 2021, B.A.S.S. announced today.

The Falcon Rods Bassmaster Opens Angler of the Year title will award a $10,000 prize to the overall points winner in the pro division. The top co-angler will have entry fees into the Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens division of their choice fully paid for — a value of approximately $5,400.

“The 2020 Bassmaster Opens were among the most competitive we’ve ever seen, with the Angler of the Year title coming down to the very last event,” said B.A.S.S. CEO Bruce Akin. “We are thrilled to have Falcon Rods join us in recognizing the best of the best in both the pro and co-angler divisions. The anglers who came out of last year’s Opens to join the Elite Series have proven that they can compete at the highest level.”

Bryan New of Belmont, N.C., nabbed the 2020 Falcon Rods Bassmaster Opens Angler of the Year title by a single point and has enjoyed a fast start to his Elite Series career, winning the season-opening AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River.

This year’s Opens circuit will include three divisions — Southern, Central and Northern — with three events in each. All nine tournament winners will earn an automatic berth to the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk if they fish all events in their division. Additionally, the Top 3 finishers from each division’s points standings will receive an invitation to fish the 2022 Bassmaster Elite Series, as will the Top 3 from the overall standings accumulated in all three divisions.

“We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with B.A.S.S. and support of the Opens Angler of the Year again this year,” said Chris Beckwith, Falcon Rods Vice President of Marketing. “As we saw last year, not only are the Bassmaster Opens top-notch competition but this series is home to the top pros of the future.”

The 2021 Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens kick off this week with the first Southern Open event on Florida’s renowned Harris Chain of Lakes, March 4-6.