Bassfan Feedback

• Rob Wilkinson of Fredericksburg, VA writes:

  Friday, June 28, 2019

  RE: Balog on fishing literature – There definitely is a vacuum when it comes to covering the various bass tours in a book format – most of the books out there are dedicated to the pursuit of bass. These books are nothing more than expanded magazines on tips and tactics, definitely not something that really keeps your interest. The only book on competitive bass fishing that I thought was worth the read was: "Bass Wars: A Story of Fishing, Fame and Fortune" by Nick Taylor. Even though this book is dated, it was absolutely enlightening to see a glimpse behind the curtain of the competitive bass scene. I would love to see another book like this document the tours of today, all of the stories behind the showmanship we see on TV today.

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• Kevin Crabtree of Sellersburg, IN writes:

  Thursday, June 27, 2019

  RE: Balog on fishing literature – I'm one of those "content devourees" you speak of. I've witnesed the depth of content decrease in fishing magazines over the past 10 years. More pictures with shorter, more basic articles year after year. Unfortunately, the publishers are only adjusting their content to what society prefers. Sadly, the newer generation wants to click a link and get a quick fix. I hope you find a market for your desire to publish deeper content.

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• Randy Rigg of Bean Station, TN writes:

  Wednesday, June 26, 2019

  RE: Cancer claims Henry – Jonathan was a first-class man, he will be missed by many. I was blessed to have known him. He had the talent to be on top of the leaderboard, I hoped see him fulfill fishing dreams. I am so proud of his commitment not only to the fishing community but to his Lord and Savior. A life well-lived!

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• Pat Leach of The Colony writes:

  Monday, June 24, 2019

  RE: Best tiebreaker format – I voted "other" because however it is written into the rules at the start of the season is how they all understand ties will be resolved. There isn't any need for discussion later in the season or any hard feelings if it doesn't go your way.

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• Johnny McLean of Little Rock, AR writes:

  Saturday, June 22, 2019

  RE: Tacorante DQ'd – I am guessing that about 100 percent of the "pros" would tell you that they find their own fish, but the facts show otherwise. Pretty sad that tournament fishing has sunk to this low over the years and it's the primary reason I have lost a lot of interest. Anybody can catch fish with someone else's waypoints. I suppose big money corrupts everything.

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• Rob Dixon of Lewistown, PA writes:

  Wednesday, June 19, 2019

  RE: Tacorante DQ'd – I'm not sure why it's allowed for a "pro" to get waypoints from someone else to use for a tournament. That seems so ridiculous. Just one more example proving any above-average bass angler could be a "pro" if they had enough money to try. Kind of sad.

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• Pete Dubois of Mountain Home, AR writes:

  Wednesday, June 19, 2019

  RE: Fagerstrom's passing – I was just thinking and talking about Stan last week. I used to visit with him often at the International Sportsman's Expos held all over the West. Mostly my side of the conversation was about the little Shimano baitcast reels he used. I bought lots of them because of his reviews and advice. I loved watching him in his casting demonstrations, although most of those techniques were not practical in the real fishing environment. The industry has lost a great ambassador. Find the hot spots upstairs, Stan – we'll all come visit one day!

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• Skip Bennett of Texico, IL writes:

  Wednesday, June 19, 2019

  RE: MLF's grant from Alabama – Tax dollars at work. I really like MLF, but finding out that the anglers went from fishing lakes to joining the government swamp by taking tax dollars to fund a union organization is disturbing.

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• Joe Kalinich of Shohola, PA writes:

  Friday, June 14, 2019

  RE: Arey's insurance plight – And I will bet that everyone has full confidence in law enforcement – not.

  Not that hard at all to believe that law enforcement would decline to do the right thing, and they wonder why people have lost confidence in them.

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• Steve Linden of Hickory, NC writes:

  Friday, June 14, 2019

  RE: Tucker's best season – Good to see J Todd Tucker is back on tour and doing well. I had the pleasure of spending a day on Lake Norman with him a few years back. Super nice guy who busted his butt to make sure we caught fish and had a good time.

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• Steve Brown of Oakland, TN writes:

  Thursday, June 13, 2019

  RE: Balog on teams: Joe, you’re correct on all points, except where it “might” be acceptable at the pro tour level. Case in point: What if Nitro’s pro team co-op’ed on the Bass Pro Tour? It would create an unfair group of “made guys” overpowering the field and especially the up-and-comers. In an 80-angler field, and with a strict no-information rule, I think it prevents the creation of a “Hendricks Team.”

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• Paul Gross of Atlanta, GA writes:

  Thursday, June 13, 2019

  RE: Arey's insurance plight – Sad. Another blatant reason that, unfortunately, police/municipalities are a cash-oriented business. They make the laws. They interpret the laws and have deep pockets to protect themselves. If any citizen were to sideswipe a police/emergency/fire vehicle, they would be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

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• Ken Bragg of Fayetteville, WV writes:

  Wednesday, June 12, 2019

  RE: Arey's insurance plight – As an Insurance agent for 18 years, I have seen this happen and worse. My client was hit by a city vehicle and Travelers denied the claim based on “government immunity". In another case, my client was hit by a police officer on his way to an emergency. In that case the state law says that in an emergency situation there is no liability. Make sure your policy is adequate to provide for your needs in these situations. It stinks and makes no common sense, but then in government, not much does.

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• Chance Huiet of Hardin, TX writes:

  Wednesday, June 12, 2019

  RE: Arey's insurance plight – Go figure, the police do something wrong and try to walk away from it. I'm a big police supporter, but these types of stories are way too familiar nowadays. They need to step up and admit wrongdoing and fix his boat.

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• Jim Liechty of Ft. Wayne, IN writes:

  Wednesday, June 12, 2019

  RE: Arey's insurance plight – Sounds like BS to me. From my understanding, your insurance carrier needs to go ahead and repair or replace, and they can then deal with the other insurance carrier. That is why we pay good money for coverage. If not, it might be time to switch carriers!

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• Kevin Crabtree of Sellersburg, IN writes:

  Wednesday, June 12, 2019

  RE: Arey's insurance plight – I feel for Matt. It's a helpless feeling when an honest person who approaches people and daily life with utmost respect is put between a rock and hard place. Bass boats and outboard motors are a huge investment and sacrifice for the vast majority of people. No person like Matt wants to sue, even if clearly justified. Especially when it involves their small hometown. It's unfortunate that large organizations can stall and/or skate by obvious accountability issues. Mistakes happen. but step up! Do the right thing and fix or replace Matt's boat.

  It doesn't sound like they will. I hope Matt's insurance steps up in this case. What's the purpose of paying premiums if it doesn't work when you need it? It's easy to say "it's just a boat." But for pros and very passionate anglers, it's more than that. To make that type of sacrifice and be left without is a word much stronger than frustrating after enough time passes. In Matt's case, it affects his ability to do his job and disrupts daily life at an unnecessary level. Good luck, Matt, and I hope this can be put behind you In the near future.
  

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• Hank Snow of Orlando, FL writes:

  Monday, June 10, 2019

  RE: Balog on spraying – I am an advocate of control of plants through mechanical methods. Spraying chemicals is as bad, if not worse, than the runoff causing the overabundance of aquatic vegitation we currently have. The rush to start spraying again smacks of someone trying to make a buck at the environment's expense – and ours.

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• Dan Phillips of Lawrenceville, GA writes:

  Sunday, June 9, 2019

  RE: Tiebreaker methods – Winnings should be split by the two who are tied.

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• Martin D. Lamb of Albia, IA writes:

  Wednesday, June 5, 2019

  RE: Balog on Table Rock – Well Joe, in your last piece you made the statement "don't shoot the messenger." The problem is the message was flawed with lots of assumption and very little fact. Now that we are down to the final ten, we see that nothing about the second event on Table Rock is a "repeat." Only two from the first event Championship Round found their way back the second time, and the patterns/tactics that got them there have changed as well. What about the fish being beat down? Well, how many anglers eclipsed the old record for fish/weight? If anything, this scenario of back-to-back events has proven beyond the shadow of a doubt how the negative impact to a fishery is greatly reduced by the BPT format. The fish obviously did not suffer undue stress from handling, riding around in livewells and being redispersed into the lake

  In my opinion, the back-to-back events were just what bass fishing needed. There is no way B.A.S.S. or FLW could have held two events in one month on the same fishery and had better production the second go-round – the fish would have never recovered that quickly. On a side note, there is one glaring difference I notice with the BPT anglers ... they are having fun! They are enjoying the sport again. After all, isn't fishing supposed to be fun? They have rediscovered that.

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• Chad Aaron of Lawrenceburg, TN writes:

  Sunday, June 2, 2019

  RE: Balog on Table Rock – Keep calling 'em like you see 'em, Joe. In such a small niche industry, it's often very difficult for the anglers and writers themselves to speak honestly about their situations when it might ruffle the feathers of their employers, and I can't blame them. These guys don't get 10-year, $45 million contracts. Very few are making bank, but many are just getting by, living the dream. So they bite their lip, keep their head down and keep grinding to pay the bills.

  Our sport needs more of these honest opinion pieces that aren't filtered through rose-colored polarized glasses. Truthful writings invoke dialogue, spark ideas, which hopefully lead to changes for the betterment of our sport, our industry and our resource.

  For now, we'll just depend on old Joe to tell it like it is.

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