Western-based American Bass wants distinction from Alabama-based ABA By Bryan Brasher
During a period of unrest in the competitive fishing industry, Craig Sutherland wants you to understand which organization he does work for. More importantly, he wants you to know which one he doesn’t work for.
Sutherland is president of American Bass — a 42-year-old tournament organization that holds more than 200 events each year in 11 states, all in the western region of the country. He is in no way affiliated with American Bass Anglers — an Alabama-based tournament group that has made big news lately by issuing winner’s checks that bounced.
It’s obviously a crucial distinction.
“We want it distinguished that the problems are going on with the American Bass Anglers of Alabama, and it has nothing to do with American Bass,” Sutherland said. “We also go by the name American Bass Association — sometimes referred to as ‘ABA,’ like the ABA from Alabama.
“But our offices are in California, and we want people to know we are a completely different organization.”
Just a few days ago, American Bass Anglers — the one in Alabama — was named in two separate legal complaints on behalf of fishermen who claim they are still waiting on payments from a tournament that happened over a month ago.
Georgia attorney Joe Durham, who is representing the fishermen in the case, told Birmingham-based website al.com. that law enforcement is involved, and felony charges are possible. He also said this isn’t the first time the Alabama-based tournament organization has been accused of sending bad checks and defrauding its members.
Sutherland said he doesn’t hold any ill will toward American Bass Anglers, but he wants everyone to know his organization hasn’t bounced any winner’s checks.
“I actually read somewhere that American Bass Anglers — the one headquartered in Alabama — actually holds tournaments in California,” Sutherland said. “To my knowledge, that’s just not true.”
A quick search of the American Bass Anglers website shows events scheduled as far West as Texas, but most of their tournaments are held closer to the East coast in locales like Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana.
Sutherland’s organization, meanwhile, holds events in western venues like Castaic Lake in California and Lake Havasu in Arizona.
While he doesn’t have any ill will toward other tournament organizations, Sutherland said he has heard questions from some of his membership about the ongoing situation with American Bass Anglers. He expects to hear more at the annual fishing tackle tradeshow ICAST in Orlando, Fla., next month.
“We’re in 11 western states,” he said. “We’ve never tried to go outside of that area or be anyone that we’re not. But more importantly, we haven’t bounced any checks. That’s going on with someone else.”
Sutherland said he worries not only about his membership getting the wrong idea, but his sponsors as well.
“We’ve been doing this since 1983, and we’ve had anglers like Aaron Martens, Dean Rojas, Ish Monroe and even Brandon Palaniuk up in Idaho, fish with us,” he said. “We watched them all develop, and we have sponsors like Bass Cat, Mercury, Daiwa and so many other good ones.
“We don’t want to be involved with anything that reflects poorly on them — and a simple thing like a name doesn’t matter at all…until it does.”
To reach the website for the California-based American Bass, visit americanbass.com.
To reach the Alabama-based American Bass Anglers, visit americanbassanglers.com.