{"id":150688,"date":"2025-07-23T12:37:29","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T17:37:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=150688"},"modified":"2025-07-23T12:37:56","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T17:37:56","slug":"columbus-selected-as-only-mississippi-stop-for-2026-bassmaster-elite-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/columbus-selected-as-only-mississippi-stop-for-2026-bassmaster-elite-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Columbus Selected as Only Mississippi Stop for 2026 Bassmaster Elite Series"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>COLUMBUS, Miss. (July 22, 2025)\u00a0\u2013 Bass fishing\u2019s most prestigious tournament series is coming to <strong>Columbus<\/strong>, the only <strong>Mississippi <\/strong>stop on the <strong>2026 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series<\/strong> schedule. From March 26\u201329, the nation\u2019s top professional anglers will compete on the <strong>Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway<\/strong>,\u00a0marking only the second time the Elite Series has ever cast a line in Mississippi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As one of just nine regular-season events in the nation, the Columbus tournament is expected to draw thousands of fans, generate significant tourism revenue, and showcase the city\u2019s hospitality and outdoor beauty to a global audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re thrilled to host the Bassmaster Elite Series and represent Mississippi on the national stage,\u201d said <strong>Frances Glenn<\/strong>, tourism director for <strong>Columbus-Lowndes Convention &amp; Visitors Bureau<\/strong>. \u201cThis is a chance to show the world what makes Columbus special\u2014our welcoming community, our thriving downtown, and the incredible fishing opportunities on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway is known for its challenging layout, hidden backwaters and abundant bass population. For many of the elite anglers, this will be uncharted territory, offering an exciting, unpredictable competition for fans and competitors alike. The event will be broadcast live on <strong>FOX Sports<\/strong>, <strong>Bassmaster.com<\/strong>, and the new <strong>Bassmaster FAST Channel on Roku<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re excited to bring the Bassmaster Elite Series to Columbus, Mississippi,\u201d said <strong>Lisa Talmadge<\/strong>, Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series Tournament Director. \u201cThe Tenn-Tom Waterway is a diverse fishery that will really showcase our anglers\u2019 skills. It\u2019s going to be a fun tournament for both the anglers and the fans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The series kicks off in February, and the full 2026 Elite Series includes stops in Alabama, South Carolina, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma\u2014and now, Columbus, Mississippi.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2026 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series Schedule<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>February 5-8,&nbsp;Scottsboro, Ala., Lake Guntersville<br>February 12-15, Alexander City, Ala., Lake Martin<br>March 13-15, Bassmaster Classic, Knoxville, Tenn., Tennessee River<br>March 26-29,&nbsp;Columbus, Miss., Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway<br>April 16-19,&nbsp;Muskogee, Okla., Arkansas River<br>May 7-10,&nbsp;Columbia, S.C., Lake Murray<br>May 14-17,&nbsp;Clarendon County, S.C., Santee Cooper Lakes<br>June 11-14,&nbsp;Elizabeth City, N.C., Pasquotank River\/Albemarle Sound<br>August 13-16,&nbsp;Plattsburgh, N.Y., Lake Champlain<br>August 27-30,&nbsp;Clayton, N.Y., St. Lawrence River<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau is dedicated to promoting the history, culture, and events that make Columbus a premier destination in Mississippi. From historic homes to vibrant festivals, Columbus offers a rich tapestry of experiences for visitors year-round.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/TheLocalVoiceLigature-25web.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"25\" height=\"16\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/TheLocalVoiceLigature-25web.jpg?resize=25%2C16\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14544\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>COLUMBUS, Miss. (July 22, 2025)\u00a0\u2013 Bass fishing\u2019s most prestigious tournament series is coming to Columbus, the only Mississippi<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":238,"featured_media":150689,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17316],"tags":[32251,1739,32254,32253,32255,5,32252],"class_list":["post-150688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mississippi","tag-2026-progressive-bassmaster-elite-series","tag-columbus","tag-columbus-lowndes-convention-visitors-bureau","tag-frances-glenn","tag-lisa-talmadge","tag-mississippi","tag-tennessee-tombigbee-waterway"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Press-Photo.jpg?fit=768%2C512&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/238"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150688"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150688\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":150691,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150688\/revisions\/150691"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}