RE: Kennedy's big one on video – Watching Steve Kennedy's fish catch, I know this will be controversial, but it's a perfect reason not to have co-anglers in a boat. If that co-angler had jumped the gun or tried to net that fish early, it probably would have been lost. In this case, Steve was lucky that he had a good netter in the boat.
Professional bass fishing is about the professional fisherman – not the quality of the netter in the back of the boat.
RE: Balog on MLF – I sincerely enjoy your column each week. I think its great to have a writer like you who just tells it how it is. The ending portion of your colum stuck out to me with the note about fish care – particularly culling on a carpet. I think it would be great if you wrote an article about that!
I had the chance to marshal in the Elite Series event on Lake St. Clair last August, and that was one thing that really disappointed me about these anglers. Watching Ott DeFoe on the first day cull a smallie after leaving it on the floor of his boat for 2 minutes and then leaving it floundering on the surface is just sad. Even being a young college angler, I've always been the angler in the groups who worries about fish health and care, and it just pained me. Rick Clunn did the same thing the next day, leaving three smallmouth bass bouncing around on the hot carpet, losing all of their protective slime covering.
I have the utmost respect for these anglers and think very highly of them, and by no means am I just pointing fingers - these are the only two anglers I had experience with (Mark Davis only caught seven on the third day and only culled once.) Even with stuffing 25 pounds of bass into a bag and then into a livewell and pretending like they can breathe just fine is silly. I'm not saying I have the miracle cure, but I just think we should take another look at the way we handle our tournament weigh-ins.
I get the whole "it's just a fish" thing, but these fish are what many of us, including myself, live for. I just think we need to do a better job taking care of them so they're around for many years to come.
RE: Balog on MLF – All the talk about using bass tournaments as a "revenue source" will not miss the eyes of the state conservation departments who are in charge of developing fishing as a sport to be enjoyed by the public. They do not spend time and money developing great fishing as a revenue source for someone out of state.
B.A.S.S. was formed to create organized membership that would promote our sport. FLW was organized to sell boats – the more tournaments you have, the more boats you need. Both very good ideas.
MLF's idea to use bass tournaments as a revenue source will get the attention of states that spend time and money developing "our" sport for the public to enjoy.
RE: MLF format – If you trust everyone in your club/group and you have a smartphone or tablet in every boat, it might work.
RE: Balog on MLF – I can never understand why there are so many people who pretend to actually care about the lives of this fish we all love catching, yet they poke their old-fashioned culling clips through their lips, they let fish flop around on their dry carpet, they use old-fashioned nets that rub the slime off their fish, etc, etc. There are so many good clip-on culling tags out there now. You can get a good set for $15, and dont give me the "they fall off" stuff. I've been using the cheapest ones Bass Pro Shops offers and they have never fallen off a fish. You can buy a rubber net for less than $30 at Bass Pro Shops. These extremely minimal expenses to help care for fish should be required to fish in organized tournaments.
RE: Balog on MLF – What's wrong with trying to make a profit with a system you developed and charge a fee to use? If you feel the system is better for the fish, I would think you would encourage its use. Do you do your coluum for free?
Anglers fish for pay and the money has to come from somewhere. I am confused.
RE: Balog on MLF – I don't see the adoption of Scoretracker by bass clubs as realistic. Some anglers are tech savvy, some are not. I cannot see everyone in a club required to have a smartphone to update scores throughout the day. There is also the matter of calibrating scales so everyone is on a level field. I just don't see too many clubs having the resources available to make Scoretracker work.
All fish do not count in MLF. I've seen that all bass must be at least 12 inches.
RE: MLF format – Don't like the movement away from the old "let's see whatcha got, put 'em on the scales." Takes away the weigh-in excitement.
RE: Balog on Howell – Very good article. It's so refreshing to have a winner without the vulgarities and screaming going on. Years ago when Randy was a rookie, I emailed him about the hook size he was using on a certain bait at that time. I got an email back real quick answering my question. I was really surprised that he took the time to do it. Hope Randy continues to set such a great example of what a champion should look like!
RE: Donna Menendez dies – Mark, love you man, my heart aches for you and yours. Hang in there.
RE: Guntersville weed control – Can anyone explain why TVA is spending up to a million dollars to control aquatic plants growing in their lakes? TVA built the lakes to store water used to generate electricity to sell to the public and industry. They make money selling electricity, they also control flood waters to protect property that generates industry near the lakes. This sells more electricity.
Again, the question is how can TVA make money by controlling aquatic plant growth in their lakes? TVA does not mow the lawns of homes located on the lakeshore, why should they be responsible for the plant growth in the water near these homes? If they would look for a use for the aquatic plants such as a food source for cattle, horses or hogs, then it could be harvested a few feet below the surface and create an industry that would develop harvest machinery to cut and bail it just like they do hay. This would remove the plants from sight but provide a harvestable crop of animal feed that is free to anyone who would harvest and sell it.
Why is TVA interested in spending a million dollars to control plant growth in their lake? How much money can TVA make doing that?
My condolences to Mark Menendez and his family for their recent loss.
RE: MLF format – 75 bass for 75 pounds is great for normal, everyday anglers. I take friends and kids out all the time to catch micro-bass. When I'm in tournament pre-fishing mode, these same people don't want to go out when I tell them we'll bend the hooks over and just raise the fish a little.
I guess the question is do you want to pre-fish/fish tournaments to have the most fun (big fish, lots of fish, fun boat ride, win a few bucks) or fish like a regular person? If you don't like a 49-pound, five-fish bag, then just read the Tips and Tackle articles and don't complain about the Pros and Tours part of this informative site.
I felt the same way about Wellman, then he followed up the incident with a qualification to the Classic under a microscope.
I've always been told there's always three sides to every story – his side, the other guy's side and the truth. Maybe Wellman's only crime was being socially inept.
RE: Balog on Howell – I would like to say thank you for this great story. You did a wonderful job putting Randy in a good light. We need more great men of faith to be talked about.
RE: MLF format – It would be nice, but not doable. In team tournaments you would have to have three people in the boat. Smaller boat would suffer. Also, bedding fish could be caught several times. When different scales are used, there is a chance they are not consistent.
RE: MLF format – I think this is a great concept that would benefit not only the anglers, but especially the fish when fishing in hot weather. It is always a challenge to keep fish alive and unstressed during an 8-hour tournament day when water temps start to creep into the 80s. Even with all the advances in chemicals, oxygenators and livewell technology, it's still a challenge to make sure your catch survives. I think this would help the overall survival rate of released fish.
RE: MLF format – This would work for some of our local events, especially for a club fun day or some select team events. One in particular would be the Badger Childhood Cancer event I fish every year on Lake Wisconsin. There is no money on the line there and we get a large number of boats. I'm afraid at some of the open tournaments it would not work unless it is a 100 percent "draw" tournament. I simply think that unless it's a draw tournament or a one angler and official, it would be a cheater's paradise. Unfortunately, I have seen enough garbage around our area that this system would be abused.
RE: MLF format – I agree that weigh-in of the fish on the boat and releasing at that point is best for the fish. However, we have an entire tournament industry based on live weigh-ins. Hard to imagine the Bassmaster Classic and the Forrest Wood Cup on pay-per-view without the live weigh-in. Running the lakes are part of it unless you revert back to the "hole course" used by Ray Scott. Either way, chasing numbers or big fish, anglers will run the boats.
RE: MLF format – How could you keep everyone honest without a marshal, which is unrealistic for most tournaments?
RE: MLF format – I like the weigh and release except two things. Cull to the biggest 5 fish. At some point there will be a sight tournament and an angler will catch the same fish multiple times.
RE: BassFan Gear – Quality shirts. Ordered both types and got them in the mail yesterday. Great value and well worth the price. You guys did a great job!
RE: MLF format – The use of the words "legal" and "scoreable" in describing bass that can be counted in the MLF scoring technology is misleading. Does this mean they must measure a size limit to be counted? If you use this system, do you need a smartphone, pad, tablet and/or a computer onboard to record your catch? If so, does this not run up the cost of tournament angling? These items are not cheap and someone must operate them, which cuts into your fishing time. Plus, you must pay MLF a fee to do this.
I agree that you should be able to count the bass that you catch during a tournament and I suggested a system a few years ago that would do that, but no one seemed to interested.
Bass tournaments should be based on bass fishing skill, so the more bass you locate and catch, the more skill you need. Today's format in which you can only count five bass, regardless of the number you can catch, encourages long, time-consuming runs looking for a big bass. It also encourages heavy equipment to hook and land big bass.
If you could count every bass you catch, then you would spend your time fishing instead of burning gas. You could also use lighter tackle and spend more time improving your bass-fishing skills. All the above would make bass tournament fishing cheaper and more enjoyable.
RE: Potential record spotted bass – Sounds like the cops need to talk to the guy who owns the grocery store scales.
BassFan says: It's actually quite common for bass to lose a considerable amount of weight after spending several hours in a livewell. Besides, a grocery scale that registered lower than actual weights would benefit the customer rather than the store.
RE: MLF format – The format is exciting in a made for TV event, but I don't think that it necessarily puts a premium on locating and catching the biggest fish and thus the largest stringer. I think it is much easier to locate schools/numbers of smaller fish, which MLF is more prone to.
RE: Balog's talk with Tak – I taught the Wilderness/Nature Awareness portion of the class Rick Clunn offered in 2003, as Joe mentioned attending. Takahiro Omori did go on to win the Bassmaster Classic in 2004. While I realize that pros seek local knowledge and have hired local guides before tournaments, I don't agree with that behavior. I've always respected Rick for his "I fish against myself" attitude and not against competitors. Has pro bass fishing become "all about the money at any cost?" I sincerely hope not.
RE: MLF format – I think all B.A.S.S., FLW and local tournaments should use this format – less stress on fish, Isn't that the reason we want bass released alive? Also stops those who have time to pre-fish their own honey holes and equals out the playing field as seen on MLF.
It makes every fish count – there are more 12-inch fish than 8-pounders. Instead of running around, everyone would learn to fish an area better, maybe finally stopping the insanity of $60,000 boats at 75 mph versus a jonboat with a 10-hp motor. It would be great to have a bag of 75 bass for 75 pounds and beat a guy catching 49 pounds on five fish at Chickamauga. Both are great accomplishments on public waters. Maybe more adults would fish with their children. This would definitely expand participation.
There is a Lowrance app that will help Lowrance users on and off the water. It can be downloaded to a phone or tablet, which will allow the user to use it on the water. I fish the FLW Tour and sometimes I forget how to get the tide charts, moon phase and loading waypoints. This past tournament I had GPS coordinates from Google Earth and needed help loading them in a Lowrance unit.
This app will walk you through these problems just like someone is sitting next to you, telling you step by step how to perform these tasks. This is a nice tool for anyone on the water with a Lowrance unit. We all forget things that we don't use regularly. This app can be found Google Play, go to SonarCards. I hope this takes some of the confusion out of using your Lowrance unit.
RE: MLF format – People want to see fish at a weigh-in and unfortunately, without marshals in every boat, people will cheat
RE: MLF format – I think the MLF format is an interesting idea and I enjoy watching the show. However, it is not a cure all for tournaments. It appears the average weight is smaller in this format because it appears you are looking for numbers of fish over weight. Shaw Grigsby's 30-plus pounds on five fish last week, in my opinion, is more impressive than KVD's 80-plus pounds on 40 or so fish in the MLF at Alpena.
RE: MLF format – An angler should be rewarded for all of his/her fish catches. In MLF, big fish still matter and still make a difference. Also, it's better for the bass. The MLF style is the future of tournament bass fishing. When I first heard of the MLF format, I was skeptical, but in my opinion, it works. The one issue is that most tournaments can't incorporate an impartial observer to prevent cheating.
RE: MLF format – Neat concept, but it would have to be a draw tourney or have an observer on board to weigh the fish. This complicates things, but if you had a two-day tourney and cut the field for the last day it would be a fun format.
RE: MLF format – Question: Can this format be tweaked to show the best five fish?
Still get a sick feeling seeing Nate Wellman's name in the Elite field!
RE: FLW College Championship – I'm not surprised the Minnesota kids won. Good fishermen in Minnesota practice a lot with offshore, deep-water structure. I'm not so sure a lot of "bank bangers" from down south have that skill.
RE: This Year's Christie – Brett Hitte I feel has the best odds because he already has one major victory this year and 14 more tries to go. I don't know why Ish Monroe is on the list and apparently according to the votes so far only three others disagree with my opinion.
RE: Balog's Talk With Tak – Last year, when the Elite Series was in town, one morning before pre-tournament cut off about 6:30 a.m. at Nelson Park landing on Pool 7, I noticed the first one to launch was Tak's silver RV and empty trailer along with my hometown idol Tom Monsoor's Chevy.
RE: This Year's Christie – Davy Hite will win this year.
RE: This Year's Christie – Joe Sancho. I know Joe and have fished with him many times over the last 30 years. You don't know Joe!
RE: Balog's Talk with Tak – The truth will set us free. Good interview Joe. I think a lot of guys start depending on information too soon on these days. All these top anglers can do it without help, but time and money force them to use all available resources. With angling being what it is information will only give you a starting point. If you want to excel at it you need to get down to basics first. I prefer to be self reliant myself, but I am not paying my mortgage by catching a bass. Don't judge.
RE: Balog's talk with Tak – A fisherman telling the whole truth, imagine that! I am even more amazed at how Joe Balog can repeatedly turn out great articles.
RE: Sonar on colleges – Great work, as usual, Miles. I look forward to reading about the collegiate scene as you and Casey O'Donnell bring it to us. After all, y'all certainly have some experience and insight to lend to it. And y'all always did make a great team.
RE: Balog's talk with Tak – Finally someone tells the truth!
RE: This year's Christie – Why did you not put Jason Christie as a choice in this poll? He's my pick to do it again!
RE: Dove's Dixie Electric deal – Way to go, Kurt! Not a more deserving angler in the Elite Series. Very hard working on and off the water.
RE: Balog's talk with Tak – Great article, Joe!
RE: Balog's talk with Tak – Great read. Knowing Joe from childhood and now having a chance to fish with him is an honor with all he's accomplished. Great job, Joe!
RE: Balog's talk with Tak – Interesting indeed.
RE: Yelas' ambidextrous flipping – Going to try this approach this year, give my body a rest while I keep fishing. I usually just go to spinning tackle to lighten the load, but learning to flip with my other arm is the way to go.
RE: This Year's Christie – Jason Christie will be the next Jason Christie! The dude does it year in and year out.
RE: Talk With Tak – As an avid bass fisherman, I really enjoy following the touring pros. Joe's inside look articles are fascinating and I look forward to each one. Please keep 'em coming, Joe!
On a different note, having watched the movie, "Bass Man" many times, I was intrigued to learn that you were one of Rick Clunn's students and would enjoy hearing your take on that experience.
RE: This Year's Christie – My choice is Jason Christie to do it again.
RE: This Year's Christie – As much as one would like to see a triple win in one season from their hero, the odds are just so high that it's not likely to happen. It could happen, just not likely. Jason really is the one to me with the best chance or another angler fishing both circuts. The talent out there is so strong that someone is lucky to win two. By the way, never count out KVD!
RE: This Year's Christie – Randall Tharp has all the tools in his box to win almost every week.
RE: This Year's Christie – Jason Christie will win at least two tour events. I am surprised that you left his name off the list.
RE: This Year's Christie – Kevin VanDam. After following him for many years, he's the most incredible fisherman to adapt to any conditions.
RE: This Year's Christie – Randall Tharp. One heck of a good fisherman and fishing both tours I feel gives him one of the best chances.
RE: This Year's Christie – I would think that no one is this year's Christie. Jason is a different angler, his own type, but I would have love to see you put his name on this list to choose from. It seems only fitting that you would have done that. This is an angler who has preformed like this for years and I highly doubt we will see that change anytime soon.
RE: This Year's Christie – Jason Christie can repeat.
RE: This Year's Christie – Evers is burning up inside after the Classic and Hite is on a roll.
RE: Montgomery's busy year – Good luck to fellow Clemson grad Andy Montgomery. He may need it as he just upset the fishing gods at Hartwell. A Clemson Tiger alum who bleeds Tar Heel blue?
RE: Fan poll – KVD a fan favorite? I remember when they used to refer to VanDam as the Tiger Woods of bass fishing. Now, that comparison might be appropriate again – if neither wins another major event anytime soon.
Fished an EverStart on the Potomac River as a non-boater with Joe Sancho. One heck of a nice guy. Good luck, Joe!
By MLF Communications Staff
EUFAULA, Okla. – Through five days of fishing at the MLF Bass Pro Tour event on Lake Eufaula, central Oklahoma’s notoriously
By MLF Communications Staff
EUFAULA, Okla. – Rising water. Falling water. Muddy water. Clearing water. Fish moving into flooded brush and onto beds. Oklahoma’s
By MLF Communications Staff
EUFAULA, Okla. – After a week of erratic weather and fluctuating water levels and clarity, conditions are finally stabilizing
