RE: Balog on Guntersville – Mill Creek Lake was a bass factory in Illinois until Bassmaster Magazine did a feature on it, then every bass club in Illinois and surrounding states hammered it! They did not want to say "no tournaments" so they just put in length limits and fees. Now very few tournaments are held there.
RE: Balog on Guntersville – I see people catching big fish, holding them in their livewells just so they can hold all five up at once for a photo. Most re-pump water from the lake rather then recycling the water. It's the stress from holding the fish all day just for a bragging photo. It makes me sick! I've been tournament fishing for 35 years. I use catch and release, plus ice in the warmer months.
RE: Balog on Guntersville – Once again Mr. Balog is right on. I have seen this firsthand. I fish the Potomac River, Oneida Lake, Lake Ontario and others. I am not against tournaments, however, I have seen all the fisheries decline once the sparkle boats show up and show the world how good a body of water is, then everybody status hammering the fish. These fisheries are still good, but nothing like they used to be.It is not a coincidence.
RE: Balog on Guntersville – I hear all the different reasons about the decline of fish at G'ville, but no one wants to say anything about the grass-spraying. We all know that fish can not breathe poison.
RE: Balog on Guntersville – Mention this to a group of tournament anglers and see what their reaction is. Disbelief, I'd assume in most cases. Outlawing tournaments would be a great idea I think. Using our natural resources in such a scorched-earth manner is pretty grotesque ... in a way. My local lake (Fork) takes an absolutely brutal beating from tournaments and it shows in the fishery, no question.
RE: Balog on Guntersville – Joe's comments are exactly right, and what I've witnessed for years. The "ledge fishing" tournaments on the TVA lakes are nothing but fish kills. Despite the denial or underplaying of this issue of many tournament organizers, many of us have observed in horror the huge ice chests of dead bass that are taken away at these events. I've seen the same on post-spawn events on Grand Lake, which is my home body of water.
The solution is to simply stop having these post-spawn events. Put a stop to tournaments logistically where that 2-month window of spawn recuperation is occurring. TVA lake events, including Guntersville, should be limited to pre-spawn or fall times of the year for the long-term sustainability of the fisheries.
RE: Balog on Guntersville – Excellent article, Joe, and I suspect you might catch some heat for it, but I totally agree. Also, I would like to see all these ridiculous cull gadgets that the "professionals" attach to the fish in the livewell banned. Major League Fishing has it right. I fished BFLs/Red Mans and local tournaments years ago and the livewell checks were a joke. I would say that at least 75 percent of the guys I fished with did not properly care for their fish.
Hip, hip, hooray for James Watson! Another fall win for a good dude!
Chad Pipkens had the quote of the year when talking about the Opens – "You can't make any money fishing them." This coming from the guy who won Angler of the Year. I know the dream of fishing the Classic is wonderful, but at what cost? The Opens only make sense for Elites who didn't qualify or people with money to burn. And they are burning it.
RE: Kriet's saltwater passion – As someone who likes Jeff Kriet, how can he afford to saltwater fish like he does? I know how much it costs to fish sailfish and marlin tournaments. His bass fishing earnings are not putting gas in the boat. He must make a fortune from sponsors or was very successful before. I'm not being a hater, just wondering.
RE: Balog on big business – I quit purchasing fishing tackle at BPS and Cabela's some time ago. They never have what I want in stock and they never have any specialty baits. That said, over the years, its our own fault as consumers for BPS' growth. We are the ones with the money. BPS does not drive the market, the consumer does. Don't believe me ... then if everyone bought all tackle and accessories somewhere else, BPS would go under. A man once told me about the golden rule: He who has the gold makes the rules.
BPS has done well with their business model, and we, as consumers, keep supplying them what they want, which is our money. Corporations react to cash flow. If they get cash, they will continue to do more of what they are doing, to get more cash, and grow. We, as consumers, control growth. No cash from me, no growth for them ... simple.
Support your local tackle shop, they will be there for you and will grow. Support BPS only and no local tackle shop, the local shop goes out of business. We, as consumers (with the cash), control the market.
Quit buying $65K boats, they will quit being offered. Quit buying $15 cranks, they will quit being offered. The consumer drives the market.
RE: MLF cameraman injured – Lucky he was wearing glasses! A guy in our bass club had a bullet weight hit him in the cheek and he thought it hit him and fell in the water but the next day his face became sore and swollen! He went to the doctor and the sinker was embedded deep in his cheek and had to be surgically removed.
RE: Balog on big business – Once again, another well-written article by Mr. Balog. I appreciate his writings and his insight on the bass fishing industry. Thank you, BassFan, for the great content you provide.
RE: Balog on big business – Good article, Joe. I rarely if ever buy from BPS anymore. Their stores are lined with racks of their own stuff and just a few other brands – quite a difference from how they got their start. It is also sad to see the VanDams and Clunns fall right in line with them, but at the end of the day, money rules.
RE: MLF cameraman injured – The same thing happened to me as a co-angler at an FLW event on the Potomac a few years ago, but luckily the weight hit me in the forehead. Another nearby competitor heard the hit and came over to see if he could help. I finished the day in the boat with a bloody face and a knot on my head. I was and am gun shy when fishing behind flippers. As for that cameraman, thank God he is OK. I feel the longer rods are going to create more scenarios like this.
RE: Balog on big business – I understand your feelings surrounding this totally and can only speak for my area.
There has been a long-standing tackle store in Richmond, VA called GreenTop Hunting and Fishing. About 5 years ago (give or take a year) Bass Pro opened a store within 5 miles of them, causing little to zero harm to GreenTop. I have shopped at both and can tell you from firsthand experience GreenTop has better pricing along with better options. Another big selling point for GreenTop is that every employee you speak with has firsthand knowledge of what they're selling per department. Along with that is most employees of GreenTop are avid outdoorsmen. If you've shopped at a Bass Pro this is something you can say doesn't ring true.
The Bass Pro location in Ashland VA not only doesn't carry many brands of bait, their employees 90 percent of the time cannot direct you to the proper department. These are just a few examples of the differences between a true hunting and fishing tackle store and Bass Pro.
I'll close this with – there is a place for Bass Pro and your locale tackle stores. I have friends who take their children to Bass Pro because of the WOW factor and experience children have visting one, but shop at GreenTop for their personal hunting and fishing needs.
RE: Kriet's saltwater passion – Jeff is a class act and it makes you glad to here there are still nice people living in the great USA.
RE: Kriet's saltwater passion – That boat costs almost as much as his career B.A.S.S. winnings. He must be doing very well on the sponsor side.
RE: Balog on record smallmouth – I agree, this record will fall in the near future. I plan on breaking the Ohio record with the first Erie 10-pounder this fall!
RE: Bass Pro Shops buys Cabela's – And I bet those changes won't be for the better. Years ago BPS had the biggest selection of fishing tackle. Now they try to push their own brand, where I am pretty sure there is a bigger profit margin.
RE: Quest Pro Challenge launch – Quest is the BassCat Boats incentive program for tournament anglers. Did they get their permission to use the name for their trail and is there any affiliation?
BassFan says: To our knowledge, there is no affiliation between the Quest Pro Challenge tournament and Bass Cat Boats.
RE: Bass Pro Shops buys Cabelas' – This whole Bass Pros Shops buying up boat manufacturers and Cabela's is no good for the consumer. We are headed to a no-competition fishing world.
RE: Sonar's struggles – Miles, great article. Bass junkies like myself like reading the good, the bad and the ugly because I feel like I can actually learn a little that will help in the future when I am having a tough day on the water.
RE: Legend status – Old school tactics and knowledge got them to fame to begin with. They're always good for the sport and once gone will sadly be forgotten by many unless those who follow continue to remind us how it all began.
RE: Balog on longer rods – Great article, Joe. Will be interesting to see where this goes and what technique will benefit first.
RE: Balog on longer rods – Longer rods, bigger boats, bigger reels, bigger motors, bigger entry fees, etc. The only thing that's not getting bigger is the payoff. Prize money seems stagnant, even going down with entry fees going up. On a side note, 10-foot rods in most normal boats with two guys casting could get real dangerous.
RE: Rod length limit increased – I gotta say this seems more about generating sales in the industry than anything. I love tournament fishing and will do what I can afford until I can't do it anymore, but this is getting way out of hand. I see $1,000 Mat Buster flipping sticks in the future. Crazy.
RE: Rod length limit increased – Amidst all this rod talk, everyone is missing one key thing: The second (2017 Elite Series) tournament is on Cherokee Lake, where the float and fly was born. I think you will see the float and fly play a big role in that tournament, and Skeet and all the other guys who spurred the change know that.
Congratulations to the Joneses. Alton has always been a fine man and representative for the sport. Good to see his son following suit.
By John Johnson BassFan Senior Editor
A look at the ages of the anglers who comprise the current Top 10 on the Bassmaster Opens Elite Qualifiers Division
By Dustin Wilks Special to BassFan
(Editor's note: "Catching Bass with Dustin Wilks" airs four times per week on the Sportsman Channel – 6
By B.A.S.S. Communications Staff
PALATKA, Fla. — Cory Johnston fished a full tournament. But with all due respect to nine other competitors, he could’ve
