Bassmaster Classic 2020 Schedule: Dates, TV Coverage, Live Stream and Event Info

The latest edition of the Bassmaster Classic gets underway on Friday, with 53 of the finest anglers around competing for their share of the $1 million prize pot.

This year's competition will be staged at Lake Guntersville at BJCC in Birmingham, Alabama, over the course of three action-packed days.

Ott DeFoe was the winner in 2019, with his three-day total registering 49 pounds and three ounces. However, he will not be back to be defend his crown this year, nor will other big names like two-time winner Jordan Lee and four-time champion Kevin VanDam.

Date: Friday, March 6 - Sunday, March 8

TV Info: ESPN 3

Live Stream: ESPN app, Bassmaster.com

Prize Money: $1,000,000 (overall), $300,000 (winner)

Prize money details courtesy of AL.com.

Preview

The Bassmaster Twitter account provided a look at what's to be expected over the course of the weekend:

With a number of big names missing due to their commitment to different tours, the field is wide open in Birmingham this year.

As a result, anglers with local knowledge of Lake Guntersville may have an advantage over the rest of the field. One of those is Scott Canterbury, who resides around 60 miles from the setting for this weekend's showdown, per Travis Smola of Wide Open Spaces.

In his rookie season on the tour in 2019, he was named the Bassmaster Angler of the Year, with six top-10 finishes registered. Victory here would cement his position as one of the best anglers in the world at the moment.

Seth Feider is one of the most prestigious competitors in the field, with three B.A.S.S. titles to his name already. In 2019 he was a winner three times too.

Brandon Lester is another who will be vying for success and speaking to Bassmaster (h/t Smola), Lester outlined what he thinks will be important to secure victory this year in regards to conditions.

"You have the pre-spawn leading into the spawn, and there could even be a few fish spawning during that tournament," he said. "I've seen it happen on Guntersville that early before. It all depends on what kind of weather we have."

Meteorologist James Spann showed the expected conditions at the lake on Wednesday:

According to Weather.com, there's a mainly sunny forecast for the weekend, with temperatures potentially reaching a high of 62 degrees on Sunday.