by Dan O’Sullivan / Alabama Bass Trail

January 17, 2018 – Decatur, Ala. – For the first time since its inception in 2014, the Alabama Bass Trail will feature full fields of 225 teams in both its North and South Divisions. There have been several seasons where one division filled to capacity, however, 2018 will mark the first time the trail reached full capacity.

It is a feat that signifies the quality of the trail, according to one of its marquee teams.

Mark McCaig and Tim Hurst have been one of the top teams in the circuit since the beginning of ABT, as evidenced by their representing the circuit at the Bassmaster Team Championship every season. “It’s really rare for a trail to continue growing in numbers after several seasons,” they said. “A lot of anglers see tough competition, and decide to find someplace else to fish; it says a lot about ABT that they are not.”

The pair said that they decided to fish from the announcement of the ABT Tournament Trail because they knew it was going to be good competition, and they wanted to be a part of it. “We signed up the first day registration opened because we wanted to make sure we were in,” they said. “We had a feeling all along that ABT was going to be a big deal; it has been, and continues to be, and are proud to be a part of it.”

The team said that they have heard other anglers say how much they wanted to be able to say they were ABT competitors. “We’ve heard people say they wanted to enter to be a part of something big like ABT,” they said. “We also have heard people say that getting a check in ABT events is as significant to them as winning a club tournament, because of the level of competition.”

McCaig himself said that he has had several conversations with ABT Program Director Kay Donaldson about the tour, and he knows what it means to her. “I called Kay the moment I heard about both fields fulling to tell her congratulations,” he said. “She’s worked very hard for us since the beginning, and the full fields are a testament to the quality event that the whole ABT Team has built.

“It has been something that Tim and I have both been proud to represent,” he said. “We’re looking forward to another season and hopefully improving upon our finishes already.”

The 2018 Alabama Bass Trail season kicks off with the Northern Division opener at Pickwick Lake on February 17 and the Southern Division Opener on February 24. Alabama Bass Trail will also be adding a Facebook Live Weigh-in in addition to the Live Streaming on the website in 2018. Just another way that Alabama Bass Trail continues to build a broad spectrum vehicle for the anglers and the fans of the sport in the State of Alabama and beyond.