Major League Fishing Bringing Bass Pro Tour to Caddo and Cross Lakes for First-Ever Time in February 2027

SHREVEPORT-BOSSIER CITY, La. — Major League Fishing has announced that Caddo Lake and Cross Lake will host a stop on the 2027 Bass Pro Tour, marking the first time the world's largest tournament-fishing organization has brought its premier professional bass fishing circuit to either lake.

The Shreveport-Bossier region will host Stage 2 of the nine-season 2027 Bass Pro Tour from February 25 through February 28, with the tournament hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. The event will bring 50 of the top professional bass anglers in the world to the twin lakes, with competitors vying for Fishing Angler of the Year points, some of the sport's largest payouts, and qualification into REDCREST 2028, MLF's most prestigious championship event.

Under the tournament's structure, the field of 50 anglers will compete in a full Qualifying Round across the event's first two days, held at Caddo Lake, before the competition narrows for the Knockout and Championship rounds on days three and four, which will take place at Cross Lake. The event will use MLF's signature catch-weigh-release format, with real-time scoring delivered through the organization's SCORETRACKER leaderboard system and live coverage available to fans throughout each day of competition.

Sara Nelms, director of sports for the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission, welcomed the announcement as a significant addition to the region's sports tourism calendar. "We're excited to welcome the Bass Pro Tour to Shreveport-Bossier and continue our partnership with Major League Fishing," Nelms said. She added that the region's natural resources made it a fitting host for the event, saying, "Our region offers world-class fisheries, passionate fans, and a community that embraces outdoor recreation. Events like the Bass Pro Tour not only showcase the incredible natural resources that make North Louisiana a true Sportsman's Paradise but also create meaningful economic impact for local businesses while introducing anglers and their families to everything our destination has to offer."

Daniel Fennel, MLF's senior director of tournament operations for the Bass Pro Tour, described the broader 2027 schedule as reflecting the core identity of the tour. "The 2027 Bass Pro Tour schedule is exactly what this league is built for – great fisheries, passionate host communities and the best anglers in the world competing in a format that showcases every decision they make on the water," Fennel said. He specifically highlighted the Louisiana stop as part of a broader slate of venues, adding, "From historic venues like the St. Johns River, Toledo Bend and Lake Champlain to exciting stops like the Pasquotank River and our dual-lake event in Louisiana, this schedule will give our anglers a tremendous test and give fans a season full of storylines to follow, from start to finish."

While the Bass Pro Tour has visited other Louisiana fisheries in previous seasons, including Caney Creek, Lake D'Arbonne and Bussey Brake, the February 2027 event will represent the circuit's debut at both Caddo Lake and Cross Lake specifically. The tournament will launch from Earl G. Williamson Park on Caddo Lake for the opening qualifying rounds, before shifting to the American Legion Landing on Cross Lake for the tournament's concluding knockout and championship rounds.

The Louisiana stop is part of a broader nine-season 2027 Bass Pro Tour schedule that MLF unveiled this week, marking the ninth season of the circuit overall. The season is set to open January 14 through 17 at the St. Johns River in Palatka, Florida, before moving through a series of stops across Louisiana, Tennessee, Texas, New York, Kentucky and North Carolina. Following the Shreveport-Bossier stop, the tour is scheduled to visit Norris Lake in Campbell County, Tennessee, from March 11 through 14, marking that fishery's own first-ever appearance on the Bass Pro Tour schedule. The circuit will then head to Toledo Bend Reservoir in Hemphill, Texas, from April 1 through 4, before REDCREST 2027, the tour's championship event, is held April 16 through 18 at Logan Martin Lake near Birmingham, Alabama.

The remainder of the 2027 regular season includes stops at Lake Champlain in Plattsburgh, New York, from April 29 through May 2; the Kubota Heavy Hitters all-star event on Kentucky and Barkley lakes in Calvert City, Kentucky, from May 22 through 27; Pickwick Lake in Counce, Tennessee, from June 24 through 27; and the Pasquotank River in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, from August 5 through 8, closing out the regular-season schedule.

Major League Fishing has been an active presence in the broader northwest Louisiana region in recent years beyond the newly announced 2027 stop. The organization held its Fishing Clash Series Summit Cup in the area in November 2025, featuring two-angler teams competing across Caddo Lake, Cypress Lake and Cross Lake. That event included participation from regional anglers such as Nick LeBrun of Benton, Louisiana, and Todd Faircloth of Jasper, Texas, both of whom are expected to be part of the broader pool of touring professionals eligible to compete in the 2027 Bass Pro Tour stop as well. Other regional anglers with ties to the area, including Justin Cooper of Zwolle, Louisiana, and Marshall Hughes of Hemphill, Texas, have also competed in past MLF events held throughout the Arklatex region.

Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, Major League Fishing produces more than 250 tournaments annually across some of the country's most prestigious fisheries and broadcasts its events across multiple television and digital platforms, including CBS, Discovery, the Outdoor Channel and its own MLFNOW! streaming service, available through the MLF app, MyOutdoorTV, Rumble and MajorLeagueFishing.com. The organization's Bass Pro Tour is supported by a broad roster of sponsors, including Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Mercury, Toyota, Ranger Boats and Rapala, among others.

With the February 2027 tournament still more than a year and a half away, local officials in Shreveport and Bossier City have pointed to the event as a significant opportunity to showcase the region's fishing infrastructure to a national audience, while giving local anglers and fishing enthusiasts a rare chance to see the sport's top competitors testing two of the area's signature lakes for the first time on professional fishing's biggest stage.