MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- Growing up fishing with both parents and three sisters, Penny Berryman never thought of it as a man's sport.

More females, from hairstylists to cattle ranchers, joining the professional Women's Bassmaster Tour

"We kind of grew up thinking this is what girls do," she said.

She hasn't changed her mind. Berryman is among the pro anglers competing in the new Women's Bassmaster Tour, a spinoff of the prominent men's Elite Series that includes a championship event similar to the Bassmaster Classic.

Ranging from hairstylists to cattle ranchers, the women hit the water for their first official series event last Thursday at Neely Henry Lake in Gadsden, Ala. They share two traits with each other and with the more well-known male anglers.

They love bass fishing. And they want to make money doing it.

Women's tours have come and gone over the years, but this one has a few things going for it.

It has the backing of the established BASS that is owned by ESPN, which could provide the lady anglers with some coveted TV time and help boost interest from potential sponsors.

That makes JoNell Whitstine feel this one might be different.

"I think it's the biggest step there's ever been in history" for women anglers, said Whitstine, a veteran angler whose two daughters also will compete on the WBT. "I get chill bumps thinking about it.

"What other organization could you ask for? It's a big organization. They've got money. They're going places with this. We've been needing this for years and all the women are very excited."

The WBT also has a tour championship, which will be held in conjunction with the Classic. For Berryman, who's been fishing full time since 1985, that final prize is an enticing ingredient.

"This one's extra, extra special," the Arkansas angler said. "It's the first one where there's a fish-off for a championship. This is the first one that really counts."

The WBT held a preview event in Texas last year. The series will hold five tournaments in 2006, with the top 12 anglers vying for the championship next year.

And, promises BASS, there almost certainly will be a next year. Both the preview event and the three-day event at Neely Lake reached a full field of 100 boats.

For there not to be a 2007 tour, "It would have to really show some terrible results," said Don Rucks, vice president and general manager for BASS. "Participation would have to be very, very low before we wouldn't consider pushing ahead. We didn't build it for a one-year program."

They built it because it was a logical way to expand, though some women had been competing against the men at tournaments. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service estimates 26 percent of the nation's 34.1 million anglers are women.

"We saw a very underserved category," Rucks said. "We felt that we needed to be in that niche."

The five events will be held on waterways near where men's events are being held. The two tours' weigh-ins will be at the same site, allowing the women to share the media and fan attention of the men.

The two tours mostly are separate, and are not nearly equal. The top 60 male finishers share a haul worth more than $3 million at tournaments. The top 30 women will split $426,700 in cash and prizes.

"I think we still have a ways to go before we are treated as equally as the men," said Kimberlee Striker, an Alabama angler who also owns a salon. "But we haven't had a lady finish at the top in the bigger trails like the men have.

"That goes back to most women not being able to because of family responsibilities. I think you'll be seeing that one day soon, in the next couple of years."

The series has a varied cast that includes Kitsy Cunningham, a cattle rancher from Oklahoma. Some have fished for decades, others for a few years.

Whitstine has been fishing since her sister took her when she was 3. Her daughters, Carla Whitstine and Sammie Jo Denyes, are hooked, too, and are scheduled to compete on the tournament trail.

Jonell Whitstine first competed in a tournament in Texas in 1995.

"I got a check. That's what got me hooked," she said. "There were 3,400 people competing and 112 got a check. I was No. 112. I caught a fish weighing 6.22 pounds and I won $100, and that $100 has cost me thousands.

"It's in my blood. I love it. It's the competition that drives me wild."

Striker, who began fishing on farm ponds with her brother as a youngster, said she sees more women -- particularly younger ones -- taking up competitive fishing these days. But she gets a wide range of reactions when she tells clients about her other job.

"You get surprise, you get they don't believe you," Striker said. "Then you have them asking a million questions. Some of the men even start testing you on your knowledge."

And these women anglers do have plenty of that.