AFT DIV 60 History

AFT DIV 60 New Mexico

History

Division 60 (New Mexico) of the American Fishing Tour was started by Steve Hampton in October of 2007. Steve worked around the clock promoting, and recruiting anglers from every part of the state. In its first year Division 60 fished at least one tournament on every major lake in New Mexico. Slowly the word was getting out as Anglers visited and fished with the tour. Steve’s career entered the picture in July of 2008; as Steve was serving on active duty in the U.S. Air Force. Steve was being re-assigned to Texas, and it seemed the tour was destined to die. Frank Ramsey from El Paso also an active duty service member, but with the U.S. Army agreed to assume duties as Tour Director. Frank took over the reigns and completed the 2008 season for the Tour. After having a few meetings with American Bass Anglers Inc (ABA) Frank signed a contract with ABA as the full time Director for Division 60. 2009 was a new year with great promise. For 2009 a new concept was developed; instead of offering just a few tournaments every region of the state was guaranteed at least three events. The plan was simple offer three tournaments in every region giving the Anglers a choice as to which lake he or she would travel to. To qualify for the Division 60 Championship you had to fish four events not every tournament. If you fished more than four only your best four would count towards the season Angler Of The Year (AOY) contest. The new approach worked as the tour saw its first full-points tournament giving its Anglers a chance to compete on the national level. In 2008 the Division sent two reps to the National Tournament where one flirted with a top finish, but in the end settled for a top 30. Our other representative though did manage to catch the big fish for day one, putting New Mexico in the national spotlight. 2009 was an even better year as the division sent five members to the National Tournament with every member weighing in fish. No great finishes at the National Tournament, but we had great exposure and were recognized for being the fastest growing trail in the Nation signing up the most new members for 2009 with a total of fifty-two. Our future is bright as we continue to grow, and we want to invite everyone to give us a try. We consider ourselves a grass roots trail with ties to a National Circuit. No PRO’s or Guides are allowed to fish our events (PRO is defined as an Angler who has fished two or more events with an entry fee of $675 or more in the preceding 6 month period). Do not be fooled though we have some of New Mexico’s best Anglers fishing with us at any time. So if you are brand new we might be for you; no boat is needed we will pair you up with a boater. What a great platform to learn about tournament bass fishing, but we save the best for last. If you are a boater we guarantee you boat use. If you tow it to our events you are guaranteed to use it - period. We do not track you as a boater or non-boater, and do our best to treat both with equal respect. Below are our records for the Division 60. Our records are meant to be broken, but our Champions are forever.