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September 2015
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Terry Bonsell of Keyser, WV writes:
Wednesday, September 30, 2015 -
John Marley of Belton, TX writes:
Wednesday, September 30, 2015In just a matter of a few years the B.A.S.S. Opens have become the true feeder series and the FLW Tour should now be considered triple-A.
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Andrew Jacobson of Austin, TX writes:
Wednesday, September 30, 2015RE: Kayak bassers – Great article. I happen to live in the epicenter for kayak bass fishing tournaments - Austin, Texas. I'm fortunate to have fished in both the KATS and CCKF tournaments and appreciate the opportunity to compete against some world-class bass fishermen. The sport has grown exponentially the last few years. We're all looking to the future for a national tour and even higher levels of sponsorship.
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Paul Wallace of Cambridge City, TN writes:
Monday, September 28, 2015RE: Golden tickets for Classic – I have always thought winning any tournament should get you more than $50,000 or $100,000 dollars. That's a piddly amount in professional sports. Jordan Spieth just won $22 million this year golfing. Any Elite win should get you 2 to 5 years exempt status and all of your entry fees (don't get me started on entry fees for professionals] for 1-2 years. Win the classic and you get a 5-year, 10-year or lifetime exemption (pick your number)as long as you fish a full season on the Elite tournament trail.
While golf sends its retired superstars out with an emotional, sincere effort (see Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson etc.) at their last British Open or Masters, fishing just lets our older stars fade away.
There needs to be a reason to keep deserving pros who've won championships in the eye of the paying public.Anyone with a lot of cash can attempt to be a professional fisherman. We need to start rewarding the true professionals who have won consistently.
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Mark Melega of Rices Landing, PA writes:
Monday, September 28, 2015RE: Kayak bassers – While launching for a club tournament this weekend I talked to some guys fishing a kayak tournament. I thought this was great! By the end of the day I didn't think it was so great anymore.
It would seem that some of the paddlers targeted our bass boats to find good areas to fish. I personally had three around me. First there were two, then one called on a cell phone for another guy to come up lake and fish by the silver bass boat. I asked how long it took him to paddle 7 miles up lake to fish by me and he says he was fishing "below the dam" and loaded his rig and drove up to the headwaters, then unloaded a 4-wheeler and towed his "yak" down a trail till he found the silver bass boat (me).
Others in my club had yaks between them and shore many times. I watched as one guy called more yaks to fish near one of our guys and three more showed up and surrounded him. I did not expect this, but since this is new to our area, maybe the yak guys don't know any better. I wasn't going to complain about this but thought others should know what happened.
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Mike Cheeks of Cartersville, GA writes:
Monday, September 28, 2015RE: Barbie-pole bruiser – Great video! Love the excitement of that little girl! More tackle boxes, fewer X-Boxes. Way to go, Avery!
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John Gaulke of Ithaca, NY writes:
Friday, September 25, 2015Regarding Sonar's reflections pertaining to "balance," competing and fishing at the highest level requires sacrifice. Any pro at any sport or other endeavor would acknowledge that, whether tennis, swimming, golf, music, art, etc. What's being sacrificed? Balance. They are mutually exclusive. This idea that one can be a perfect husband, provider, parent, worker, have time to stay fit – aka living a life of balance – is a modern concept and fictitious.
One of the reasons many pros like KVD and others do well when they are young and hungry is that they aren't balanced. They aren't distracted by their wives, kids, promotional activities and the like. There are plenty of great anglers out there who have laid off of their fishing careers in order to have kids, advance their other interests and save their marriage. It's just a matter of what's most important to you.
Good luck.
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Jim Liner of Pintlala, AL writes:
Friday, September 25, 2015RE: Kayak bassers – Chad and his crew have been to our place (Ray Scott Outdoors) several times. They are a first-class group and great represenitives of the kayak world.
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Rob Dixon of Lewistown, PA writes:
Friday, September 25, 2015RE: Balog on golden tickets – I love that there aren't any "provisionals" for the Classic and each angler has to truly fish their way in. If we put people in based on what they have done in the past then the sport would be full of 60-year-olds and have no sponsors.
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Pat Leach of The Colony, TX writes:
Friday, September 25, 2015RE: Balog on golden tickets – Joe, I totally agree with your choices, particularly Rick Clunn and Gary Klein.
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Greg Vinson of Baxter, TN writes:
Wednesday, September 23, 2015RE: Martens' season – Great read on one of the top anglers of this generation. I believe Aaron will further cement his legacy in the years to come and I look forward to watching him. He seems to be such a genuine guy as well and is a credit to the great sport of bass fishing.
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Jack Boyd of State College, PA writes:
Tuesday, September 22, 2015RE: Sonar's reflections – I'm sure Sonar is a good guy, but enough with the struggles, man. He picked a college across the country, bought an RV, bought a bass boat and managed boat gas and entry fees while being a student. That's far from normal, so please write about your fishing, not about your pretending to have normal-people financial struggles.
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John Marley of Belton, TX writes:
Tuesday, September 22, 2015RE: Menendez DQ – Kind of like Skeet Reese finding that sixth fish in his livewell after the weigh-in a few years ago. Hmmm, maybe Trip Weldon had a little talk with both of them before they "self-reported" themselves.
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Bill Rice of Eagle Point, OR writes:
Monday, September 21, 2015RE: U.S. Open – Too bad the best anglers are now locked out of one of the great all-time bass fishing events.
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George Kramer of Lake Elsinore, CA writes:
Monday, September 21, 2015U.S. Open reflections. Congrats to Roy Hawk, a worthy U.S. Open champion! But to those many competitors held hostage by B.A.S.S. and FLW, my sincere condolences. Once there was respect in the sport both East and West. Ray Scott and Forrest Wood (and many other luminaries) came to Las Vegas to honor the tradition – now 33 chapters strong.
But in their greedy pursuit to strangle each other, the "nationals" have spit on the most unique and challenging contest in the sport – a single, stand-alone event placed at the end of summer to avoid interfering with livelihoods of the established pros.
The Open drew 168 pros (336 total anglers) and might have topped 180 or more if the "battery circuit" had not pinched the calendar a week later.
The Open is getting bigger. It will not shrivel because of blatant calendar-hogging. And one day, when the "bigs" need more players and more support, they can come hat in hand. But it's going to take a lot more than a peck on the cheek.
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Steve Kirby of Columbus, OH writes:
Saturday, September 19, 2015RIP Harold Sharp. The sport of bass fishing has not only lost a legend, we've also lost a spokesman for what the sport should be (and still can become).
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Paul Wallace of Cambridge City, TN writes:
Friday, September 18, 2015RE: Sharp's passing – I will certainly miss Harold Sharp's input on this website. I have enjoyed his comments for years. What a treasure of bass fishing history we've lost.
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Tom Baldwin of Cedar Hill, TN writes:
Friday, September 18, 2015RE: Sharp's passing – We will miss your knowledge and wisdom about our sport of bass fishing. Rest in peace.
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Jason Houchins of Clarksville, VA writes:
Thursday, September 17, 2015RE: Sharp's passing – Prayers to his family. I didn't like half the stuff he commented about, but I respect and appreciate the contributions he gave to the sport of tournament bass fishing. RIP, Mr. Sharp, and thank you.
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Dave Krantz of Albany, GA writes:
Tuesday, September 15, 2015RE: License churn – I find this very hard to believe, particularly that only 4 percent of fishermen renew their licenses every year. Not sure what methodology they used but that is obviously in error – they need to go back and check their data-gathering.
I know there are a lot of casual fishermen out there, but our lakes and rivers are crowded with fishermen like myself who have renewed their licenses their entire life.
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Scott E. Morris of Noblesville, IN writes:
Saturday, September 12, 2015RE: Schenck leaves FLW Tour – There is no substitute for true talent and Shad Schenck is a great example of just that! He demonstrates through his daily activity and commitment to others what a hard-working, self-motivated leader should be. On and off the water he has exemplified what it means to be a good person. Life is a book full of wonderful chapters and the best books are those that when finished are remembered for each chapter within.
The fishing world has, and in some fashion will continue, to benefit from those chapters of Shad Schenck's life. Congratulations on such a wonderful career and we all look forward to what great things you'll do in the future!
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Kent Thomson of Northern, UT writes:
Friday, September 11, 2015RE: Elite lunker hunters – Way to crunch those numbers. Those are some good stats!
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James Barron of Pilot Point, TX writes:
Friday, September 11, 2015RE: Elite lunker-hunters – Great read, Ken. Gives me an idea on which pro to study more. I personally don't care that much to catch bass under 5 pounds. I trophy-hunt and the smallest line I use on my home lake is 20-pound P-Line Xtra Strong or 60-pound braid. I've got three double-digit bass so far.
I'd like to see a part 3 of this article showing which baits caught the most big bass and the number of bass caught on that bait. My guess is jig No. 1, worm No. 2, crankbait No. 3.
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John Gaulke of Ithaca, NY writes:
Friday, September 11, 2015I'm excited to see that the Elites will be back on Cayuga Lake, my home lake. The timing of this event will make for tougher fishing in some ways than last year's contest with largemouth bass likely post-spawn.
The negative with the timing of this tournament is that Cayuga's smallmouth bass will be spawning at this time. The smallmouth population took a severe hit in the mid-2000s and has yet to bounce back. The fish available are quality fish and will likely be guarding eggs/fry at this time. Unfortunately, Cayuga Lake has a recent invader in the form of a very dense goby population.
Pulling these big smallies off of beds will clearly be detrimental to the spawn this year. I'm just hoping for a warm spring, which should advance the spawn timing.
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Mark Poulson of Oakley, CA writes:
Thursday, September 10, 2015I think it is a disservice to the Elite anglers to schedule on the same days as FLW events. It is hard enough to make a living as a fishing pro without being limited in the number of opportunities they have to compete and possibly earn a paycheck.
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Terry Bonsell of Keyser, WV writes:
Thursday, September 10, 2015RE: License churn – Cost, cost, cost. License cost increase. Transportation cost increase. Tackle and bait cost increase. The outlandish out of state fishing license cost. Also increasing loss of access to fishing water. The general overall cost of living eats into recreation dollars.
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Jon Storm of Fredonia, NY writes:
Wednesday, September 9, 2015RE: License churn – Every state should offer scaled license discounts at time of purchase to enable and encourage multi-year license purchases. Offer $20 for a year, $30 for 2 years, $35 for 3 years, as an example.
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John Argese of Taylors, SC writes:
Wednesday, September 9, 2015RE: License churn – I've had a license since 1975. I've used it some years more than others, but it's the best way to spend an afternoon.
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Bryan Klinger of Ponca City. OK writes:
Wednesday, September 9, 2015RE: License churn – I realize we are in the minority of licensed fishermen/women, but my wife and I have our lifetime licenses. I've had mine since I was a teenager, like many other anglers I know. So technically we do not purchase a license every year. It's been almost 30 years since I have purchased one and yet I fish 100-plus days a year. What percentage of licensed anglers are in the same boat as I am?
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Tom Prime of Wellesley Island, NY writes:
Wednesday, September 9, 2015RE: Menendez case resolved – Good for Mark to pursue this! I was not aware of this law and this has happened several times to me, as I'm sure it has many anglers. I give the courtesy of not fishing a dock that is occupied unless the people say it's okay. All states should have this law!
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Russell Hoyle of Newton, NC writes:
Wednesday, September 9, 2015RE: Menendez case resolved – I fully support the finding. Anglers have every right to fish public waters. Property owners should understand when they place a dock on a body of water, they're not staking a claim on the water under the dock. In my opinion the fine should have been much heavier. Thank you, Mr. Menendez, for standing up for all anglers.
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Jack Miller of Pickerington, OH writes:
Tuesday, September 8, 2015Great to see the outcome of the Menendez case. It would be nice if BassFan could do an article listing the states with similier laws to protect anglers from actions of this type.
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Frank Thomas of Marion, NY writes:
Tuesday, September 8, 2015RE: Menendez case resolved – Mr. Bishop, I've had encounters with guys like you before that were similar to Mark's and it disgusted me. So if you're reading this, I hope you have the decency to follow up your fine with a sincere apology to Mark.
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Steve Clapper of Lima, OH writes:
Tuesday, September 8, 2015RE: Balog on the move – I spent Labor Day testing the new Ranger Z522D (quite a vessel) with Mark Modrak when he stated he couldn't believe you were moving to Florida. I told him that you had mentioned to me many months ago of your desire to move to Florida. I dismissed it, thinking you would never leave the North with all the great fishing we have here (especially brown fish).
Mark asked me if I had read your piece on BassFan last week. I answered no, that I had not and that I read BassFan almost every day. He told me I better go home and bring it up as it was quite an article! Well, I did and as you talked of tears, they welled up in my eyes as I thought of all the great memories we have shared.
I thought of the enthusiasm we had as we made unbelievable boat rides across the rough waters in hope that we could catch fish quickly enough and have enough time to get back without beating ourselves to death!
I recall the last day of practice before the B.A.S.S. Open that you won when you called me and asked if I was still on the water. I answered yes, I was many many miles from where I had put in. You told me it was getting late and you had already checked into our room. I said I had made a run to check one more spot before dark and, having been there only about 10 minutes, I had caught two toads. I told you the graph is loaded and there must be a bunch of drum mixed in. You said no, they are bass. I said okay, I'm out of here.
You made mention of the size of the waves and I recall that day as I went to the harbors just to survive catching largemouth because it was too rough for me on the big lake.
I recall of a day while I was recovering from cancer treatment when the UPS man delivered a big box of old Bassmaster videos and books with a note from you stating that you thought I might enjoy looking at them while recovering. In addition, all the phone calls and text messages to check on me and how I was doing will never be forgotten!
I appreciate the kind words and I will always treasure our friendship! I wish you and Kim the very best and pray all your dreams will come true.
P.S. – Go find one of those little hidden bass lakes and I'll come down to make more memories!
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Jeff Mitchell of Kewanna, IN writes:
Tuesday, September 8, 2015RE: Menendez case resolved – Now that Mark Menendez's harasser has plead guilty, Mark should sue him for harassment and injuring his income/sponsor potential. If Mark fails to make the Classic, that's $10K plus the exposure that he would get for his sponsors and his ability to get additional money from sponsors for a Classic appearance. I generally don't encourage lawsuits (even though I was married to a great plaintiff's lawyer for many years), but in this case our freedom and opportunity to fish needs to be defended.
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Jon Storm of Fredonia, NY writes:
Saturday, September 5, 2015RE: Balog on the move – Great piece, Joe. And hoping you find great peace at your new destination.
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Danny Taylor of Florence writes:
Friday, September 4, 2015RE: Balog on the move – It would appear that B.A.S.S. has managed to overcome the sponsor hurdle, so yes, it is past time FLW does the same. I have to admit, I rarely follow FLW or their anglers because, unlike B.A.S.S., I don't know who sponsors which angler. B.A.S.S. anglers are identified by their sponsor. I would bet just about everyone knows who is the primary sponsor of Kevin VanDam.
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Barry Christopher of North Lauderdale, FL writes:
Friday, September 4, 2015RE: Balog on the move – You'll love Florida fishing for 5 minutes until you begin encountering the spray boats destroying non-impacting habitat. Hydrilla control is one thing, but spraying Kissimmee grass patches around cypress trees, etc., etc., etc. ... that is gonna really bug you.
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Tom Harkman of Eufaula, AL writes:
Friday, September 4, 2015RE: Ceisner opinion – I couldn't agree more. While it didn't prevent Bryan Thrift from winning on Eufaula, it certainly was a hindrance. He fished 70 to 80 spots a day the first 3 days, until day 4 when he said, “I hit 40 to 50 spots on Sunday because it took me so much longer to line up on some of my spots and figure out where everything was."
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Duane Snyder of Hanson, KY writes:
Thursday, September 3, 2015RE: Balog on the move – Joe, you're a true ambassador to the sport! Love your articles. You always tell it how it really is and they're always a very interesting read. Thanks for sharing this one and enjoy your new life!
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Joe McKinnon of Waltham, MA writes:
Thursday, September 3, 2015RE: Balog on the move – Great article! I hope you continue to write. It is sad to hear you will not be fishing the Erie events. It's been great watching your results. Good luck in Florida.
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Ryan Chandler of Hebron, IN writes:
Thursday, September 3, 2015RE: Balog on the move – Great read, Joe – my favorite thus far. You are a true legend of the Big Pond. Best of luck in Florida.
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Jeffery Cox of Saline, MI writes:
Thursday, September 3, 2015RE: Balog on the move – I remember years ago leaving St. Clair running to Erie with you and Clapper. Pipkens and myself we were still young in our fishing years but had found what we thought were the winning fish. No one but you guys stood in our way. We couldn't catch you and of course you guys stopped right on the waypoint.
It ended up being an awful day of fishing for us and we wondered what if we could have beat you there. Then later that day at weigh-in and Steve told us it was horrible – all the fish moved or just wouldn't go. I remember thinking that's Erie. That's what we were learning and both of you knew.
Good luck in Florida. Thanks for everything!
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Keith Chapman of Gainesville, FL writes:
Thursday, September 3, 2015RE: Balog on the move –Great article, and good luck with your move south. As a transplant from the east side of Cleveland, I can relate to your love affair with Erie. Contact me when you arrive, we can spend the day at Bienville Plantation!
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Dan Mason of Mitchell's Bay, ON writes:
Thursday, September 3, 2015RE: Balog on the move – Great article, Joe. Good luck in your new adventures.
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John Maniaci of Sterling Heights, MI writes:
Thursday, September 3, 2015RE: Balog on the move – Best of luck to you, Joe. Gonna miss our chats at the ramp.
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Philip Borsa of Redford, MI writes:
Thursday, September 3, 2015RE: Balog on the move – Great read. I was one of those co-anglers who won with Joe. Good luck in your new adventure.
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Charlie Hartley of Grove City, OH writes:
Thursday, September 3, 2015RE: Balog on the move – You write about the Great Lakes as if they were a beautiful lady. I understand your love affair with them and your sweet spot for Florida. I have great respect for you and all the Erie legends you mention in your story. I have learned from all of you!
I'm in Florida from Halloween through Valentine's Day. Please go fishing with me – I'd love to show you some of my favorite winter Florida honey holes. Good luck.
P.S. – Can I get all your old waypoints? LOL!
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Charlie Hartley of Grove City, OH writes:
Tuesday, September 1, 2015Aaron Martens 2015 AOY! Couldn't happen to a nicer guy! Aaron is an incredible angler! Now go win the Classic! Big fan!
All Topics
September 2015
Dock Talk
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By Dustin Wilks Special to BassFan
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Johnston Wins By A Bunch At St. Johns
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
