RE: Peacocks in Florida – Hardest fighting bass in America.
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October 2017
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Mark Allard of Sioux City, IA writes:
Friday, October 27, 2017 -
Charlie Hartley of Grove City, OH writes:
Wednesday, October 25, 2017RE: Tunnel Hulls banned in Opens – I don't recall anyone mentioning that 2nd place was in a standard fiberglass rig, I would be very proud to finish second to Ott on Douglas, regardless of what boat he fished from.
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Kevin Crabtree of Sellersburg, IN writes:
Wednesday, October 25, 2017RE: Murphy on tunnel hulls – I gave a rather long opinion on this issue a few weeks back after witnessing Ott DeFoe's domination at Douglas as a co-angler, and I still stand by what I said. But Michael Murphy is someone who would have more insider knowledge than I in regard to these issues. He approached the topic from an angle that I had never considered relevant to tunnel hulls, and that was in regard to tournament participation.
Maybe the Douglas Open turnout was lower than the other two in the Northern Division because so many pros felt that a handful of competitors would be at a great advantage having a piece of equipment that so many others would not have available to them without significant additional cost (buying another boat). I assumed the lower turnout (compared to Northern Open stops 1 and 2) was because a good number of pros were not satisfied with their points positions and didn't feel it was mathematically possible to reach their intended goal or outcome of participating in the series. One sees lower turnouts in all types of points series tournaments around the country toward the end of the season. Someone like Michael Murphy would know the overall culture better than myself, and I agree that participation (or lack thereof) speaks louder than words.
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Joe Reising of Morton, IL writes:
Monday, October 23, 2017RE: B.A.S.S. bans tunnel hulls – As a fan who is not competing and has no skin in the game, I dislike the B.A.S.S. ruling. In fact, I’d like to see bass either loosen the restrictions and let people fish with what they bring or force all anglers to bring a 21-foot fiberglass boat with a 250 so it’s fair for all. Next thing will be no aluminum because it’s not fair that the pros running them can get to water the glass guys can’t.
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Charley David of Italy, TX writes:
Monday, October 23, 2017RE: Tunnel hulls banned in Opens – In my opinion, there is no need for all of the hubbub. All B.A.S.S. had to say was we are not sponsored by a company that makes a tunnel hull boat. Therefore, we are going to promote our sponsors' products and any area not accessible by their products is off limits.
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Joe Balog of DeLand, FL writes:
Friday, October 20, 2017RE: Balog responds to Watson – Thanks, James, for the feedback. I very much appreciate it all; good or bad. Unfortunately, however, it appears you misunderstood the intended direction of my column. Not to worry – this has happened before. In this case, as in many others, my intention is to mirror the overall public trend or opinion, then expose it for what it’s worth. In fact, rarely will you find my own personal views in my columns. Here, my excitement for FLW standouts to compete with B.A.S.S. pros is the result of the ridiculous assumption that one tour overshadows the other in terms of skill or competitiveness of its players.
To address your other concerns, I’d like to point out that no other writer in bass fishing has given more positive publicity to the FLW Tour and it’s athletes than me. In fact, I’ve received criticism for overdoing it at times. Guys like Andy Morgan, Bryan Thrift, Cody Meyer and a host of others are some of the greatest competitors the sport has ever seen and, if I haven’t boldly conveyed that message in the past, the blame is truly on me. Thanks again for the comment.
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Bill Decoteau of Hampden, MA writes:
Thursday, October 19, 2017RE: Balog on forage – Outstanding article Joe, thank you. I too was present with Joe at this event and encourage you to at least log unto the websites Joe has listed. When you witness pictures of bull redfish floating along the shoreline like beached whales ... maybe, just maybe, you too will understand how devastating the menhaden situation really is? Lastly, don't think for one minute that it's not your problem ... the menhaden netting starts in Maine and runs all the way to Louisiana.
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Ben Parker of Knoxville, TN writes:
Wednesday, October 18, 2017RE: Tunnel hulls banned in Opens – Bad call from B.A.S.S.!
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Steven Rockweiler of Luling, LA writes:
Wednesday, October 18, 2017RE: Tunnel hulls banned in Opens – If anyone read the interview on Bassmaster.com after Defoe's win ... he did it to himself. When he started talking about missing boulders by inches and coming back downstream with the current, and having issues steering ... that is all it took for B.A.S.S. to look at the safety aspect. It is one thing to take these risks by yourself in a tunnel boat, it is entirely another when a marshal is in that rig.
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Andy Williamson of Lake Andes, S.D. writes:
Tuesday, October 17, 2017RE: Tunnel hulls banned in Opens – I'm with Ott and others – let anglers use innovation and imagination to the nth degree in determining their tournament strategy, still keeping safety at the forefront. This rule change is very disappointing, just like the "prop-driven only" rule put in place by FLW several years ago.
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Jesse Myers of Saint Clair Shores, MI writes:
Monday, October 16, 2017RE: Huge St. Clair stringer – 38 fish, with 15 over 5 pounds ... wow!
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Charlie Hartley of Grove City, OH writes:
Monday, October 16, 2017RE: KVD's 50th – His birthday should be a national holiday ... hands down one of the smartest people I have ever met and the best bass tournament angler of all time! It's all about the attitude! Be great today! Happy birthday, KVD!
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Jim Liner of Pintlala, AL writes:
Thursday, October 12, 2017RE: Balog on forage – Another good article, Joe. The forage is part of the base of the food chain. Without the food chain we would have no adult fish. Everything in nature is connected in some way. Most people do not consider this at all.
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Robert Jacobs of Cape Town, South Africa writes:
Thursday, October 12, 2017RE: Black Bass World Championships – Great work Team South Africa, Team USA and Team Italy on your podium finishes!
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James Watson of Lampe, MO writes:
Monday, October 9, 2017RE: Balog on Lefebre – Balog and another active writer in the bass world degrade FLW and its professional anglers with snide comments. Balog looks forward to seeing FLW "hammers" leave the organization? Maybe Lefebre was "star struck"? Really?
Dave and many other pros are not intimidated by which logo is worn on the upper right side of their jersey. Both the Bassmaster Elite Series and FLW Tour have top-notch anglers of equal abilities. You degraded the PAA anglers in the past and continue to degrade those of us who make our living on the FLW Tour. Real bass fans follow both organizations. Show the FLW "hammers" some respect.
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Dennis Pentecost of Milford, IL writes:
Monday, October 9, 2017RE: Anderson Media and B.A.S.S. – Investment! They want to make money. It can never be considered a professional sport as long as the pros are fishing for each other's money.
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Ian Versfeld of Cape Town, SA writes:
Sunday, October 8, 2017RE: Black Bass World Championships – Coverage of the event can be seen on the YouTube channel JUSTFISHING.
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Jon Bondy of Windsor, ON writes:
Friday, October 6, 2017RE: Balog on Lefebre – Another great article about the realities of the big leagues.
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Phil Moy of Lakeport, CA writes:
Thursday, October 5, 2017RE: Clear Lake spraying – As director of the Lake County Water Resources Department, my department processes all the weed-control application permits. Also, no herbicide application is allowed once the water temperature reaches 80 degrees. Save hydrilla control efforts that use sinking pellets, there has been no weed-control activities on the lake since May.
The recent water-quality woes are related to the dense cyanobacterial bloom that lasted most of the summer. The poor bite for the FLW event was more likely attributable to the significant drop in water temperature during the weeks preceding the event.
Regarding the lack of grass – I've heard others comment on that this year. It may be related to the early and dense algal bloom shading out rooted vegetation.
My staff and I do care about the fishery and understand its importance to the regional economy.
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Robert Karbas Jr. of Franklinton, NC writes:
Thursday, October 5, 2017RE: Balog on Lefebre – Dave is a hard worker, very skilled and has always been a class act. He will prevail, I'm sure.
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Bobby Colson of Mt. Juliet, TN writes:
Thursday, October 5, 2017RE: Balog on Lefebre – From watching BASS Live to Facebook during a storm to the Classic Bracket to Ultimate Match Fishing, I feel like I have gotten to know Dave. Good luck in 2018 ... I'm a fan.
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Bryan Heaberlin of Lake Helen, FL writes:
Wednesday, October 4, 2017RE: Clear Lake spraying – The spraying has got to be reeled back in. It is so bad here in Florida that we actually started a Facebook page called Save Florida Lakes and Waterways. On it we have videos of the operators just spraying everything – trees, the banks or whatever gets in the way. We have a video of them emptying tanks in a boat basin which caused them to go in circles for over 30 minutes while it emptied.
We have met with Corps of Engineers and I can promise you they will not admit fault for anything. They will meet with you and say anything you want to hear, but it changes nothing. They have so many guys that need that check that they just send them out to spray, regardless if there is anything left to even spray. You can see examples of this in Florida, as they were already spraying our lakes just days after the hurricane. As a result we have massive fish kills all over the state. They will blame this on tannic acid, but if that was the sole reason, we certainly wouldn't have any fish left.
Good luck on stopping them – it will take a Herculean effort to get them to stop.
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Melissa Fulton of Lakeport, CA writes:
Tuesday, October 3, 2017RE: Clear Lake spraying – I have been the CEO of the Lake County Chamber of Commerce since 1990. Our Chamber sponsors the Clear Lake Team Bass Tournament every March. This tournament was originally called the Record-Bee Bruno's Tournament, homegrown by local businessmen and a 100-percent payback format. It's too bad when comments of this nature go viral. We respect the bass fishermen/women who come to Clear Lake year-round, both the pros and the families. Don't go off on a tangent until you talk to the people who really know what is going on with Clear Lake.
Unfortunately there are "locals" who think they know what is happening and start speculating and putting their own spin on it when they don't have a clue. If the pros start throwing out comments without true research, then you will hurt this lake. Please take the time for some research before you send out half-truths.
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Garrett M. Dixon of Colusa, CA writes:
Tuesday, October 3, 2017RE: Clear Lake spraying – The spraying of an aquatic weed herbicide has a horrible effect on a lake, let alone the best bass fishery in our nation! What are people thinking? Why try to ruin such a beautiful gem? The hot water algae bloom and lack of oxygen we've experienced for decades here. The fish made it fine through those times and they also weren't spraying everything in sight that bass live in! I blame the weed spraying added with our horrible weather circumstances from this summer and our lake soured! Thanks to whoever thought that spraying native vegetation was a good idea.
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Mason Hite of Payson, AZ writes:
Tuesday, October 3, 2017RE: Clear Lake spraying – Great comments. Arizona has lost thousands of fish during the summer "golden bloom." Manage the grass and the chemicals to allow a strong fishery!
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Johnny McLean of Little Rock, AR writes:
Tuesday, October 3, 2017RE: Clear Lake spraying – Until bass fishermen unite and bring these types of issues to the forefront, nothing will change. Professional bass fishermen should be leading the charge since they have a platform and their livelihoods depend on it. However, only a few, like Randy Blaukat, are willing to speak up.
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Jack Muton of New Orleans, LA writes:
Tuesday, October 3, 2017RE: Clear Lake spraying – With the known hypoxic environmental lake water conditions in August, I can just imagine how bad the tournament bass kill was after the all-day transport in a boat livewell – 60% - 80% total kill. Yikes!
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Chuck McCartney of Rio Vista, CA writes:
Monday, October 2, 2017RE: Clear Lake spraying – Need to let as many people know about this as possible. I live on the California Delta and they do the same here. And yes, it kills fish.
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October 2017
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