There's a storm brewing in southern Florida, but not one of the tropical make. Instead, famed Lake Okeechobee is at the center of a controversy that could point to a changed climate in tournament scheduling, where fishing's two primary leagues will more than overlap dates – they'll overlap waterbodies too.
On Sept. 11, BASS announced its 2008 Bassmaster Open schedule,
with its Southern Open season to start Jan. 24–26 at Okeechobee.
Ten days later, FLW Outdoors announced its 2008 FLW Series schedule, with its Eastern Series season to start Jan. 23–26 at Lake Okeechobee.
When you add the 175-boat Open to the 200-boat Series, the sum is trouble. That would be a heck of a lot of tournament boats on the lake – too many even, some say, if Okeechobee was in good shape.
But Okeechobee's currently is desperate condition. The lake reached an all-time low elevation in May and June of this year. It's come up a foot since then, but the lake's a former shadow of itself, and a downright dangerous waterbody to navigate.
The low-water conditions may change, but anglers agree – the current double-up is untenable, and something's got to give. The trouble is, neither BASS nor FLW Outdoors seems to be in a "giving" mood.
A Crowded "O"
During the month of January, when the double-up is scheduled to occur, Okeechobee fishes notoriously small. The pre-spawn and spawning fish are generally grouped into two or three widely-known areas – the canals, the Monkey Box, and Moonshine Bay are a few past examples.
The fishing's typically of the bumper-boat style, where anglers jockey for position, or defense of their position. And that's with decent water levels.
Okeechobee's water level, measured by elevation, is currently at 9.81. A more typical fall level is 14 or 15 feet. In other words, it's about 5 feet low. Since the lake's basically a shallow bowl, a 5 foot drop is drastic.
Traditional fishing areas are high and dry, and the main lake is fraught with the peril of lost lower units.
"To have both tournaments at the same time is great for the economies, but not good for the fishermen," said Okeechobee resident and FLW Tour/Series pro Koby Kreiger, who plans to fish the 2008 Series. "The lake is very dangerous. It's dangerous to even run in the Rim Canal. With all the hurricanes and debris, we still don't know what's in there."
Bassmaster Elite Series/Open pro Preston Clark, of Palatka, doesn't see any way 375 boats could be on the water come January. "There's no way it'll happen," he said. "There's no way that it would happen if they had only one of those tournaments. It's too dangerous, and the only place to fish right now is in the Rim Canal and Kissimmee River. If they let them go out in the lake, there'll be 60 boats that come back without lower units."
FLW Tour/Series pro Mike Surman, who lives in Boca Raton, ran the lake last week in an airboat. "It's not doable," he said of the double-up. "It would be essentially a disaster. There's no Moonshine Bay, no canals off the lake, no Pelican Bay, no South Bay, no West Wall. Essentially, the only places are out in the main lake, and there are only 10 or 12 places out there that have any fish at all."
And Lakeland's Bobby Lane, who fishes the FLW Tour and Series, said: "It'll be boats on top of boats, and the guy who gets the lucky bite (will win). It's going to be horrendous. Why they did it I have no idea."
Rain could help the situation, but it would need to be rain of tropical measurements – somewhere between a depression and a hurricane. No one wants a hurricane, so the general consensus among the many sources BassFan spoke with is: One or both leagues must reschedule.
Two Leagues Apart
The current situation – meaning, the lack of movement from either BASS or FLW Outdoors to resolve the overlap – has roots that stretch back at least 6 years.
There was a day in bass fishing when both leagues were able to avoid the double-scheduling of dates.
Terry Scroggins feels 'one of the organizations needs to reschedule their event.'
But as competition evolved, the two leagues appeared to become more insular. Trouble erupted in March 2002, when BASS expanded its Bassmaster Tour to 10 events and scheduled a western swing on top of the historic Wal-Mart Open (Beaver FLW Tour) date.
A month later, FLW Outdoors released its 2003 schedule, and in fact two dates conflicted with Bassmaster Tour dates. BASS did change one of its conflicted dates, but not the other, and hence two-tour anglers faced a choice between the BASS western swing or Wal-Mart Open.
A year later, in Sept. 2003, FLW Outdoors moved its 2004 FLW Tour Championship up a month from the previously announced September date, which put it right on top of the Bassmaster Classic.
A few days later, FLW Outdoors chairman Irwin Jacobs moved the Championship back to September, and quelled the fire. At the time, he told BassFan: "I will not allow us to be in a date that could cause any sponsors, fishermen, or spectators the inconvenience or choice of trying to pick one side or the other. I have always said that whoever is involved in the world of fishing should do it the way that's best for the sport, (and) to have something like this happen is not best for the sport."
Things were well and good for the next several years, until the 2007 schedules essentially ended the era of two-tour pros. Four Elite Series and FLW Tour events were in conflict this season. Next year, two dates will be in conflict.
After BASS announced its 2007 schedule, and the four-date overlap became apparent, then-BASS GM Don Rucks said in a media conference call that, effectively, there was no active communication between the leagues about the schedules – that time had passed.
But through it all, conflicts surrounded dates only, which is why the Okeechobee double-up is at least a little perplexing to anglers. The two leagues will now launch significant events onto the same body of water at the same time.
What the Leagues Say
BassFan recently asked both BASS and FLW Outdoors the same two questions:
1. Was there any attempt by FLW Outdoors or BASS to communicate about the 2008 schedules in order to minimize conflict?
2. Is relocating or rescheduling the event currently under consideration?
BASS director of communications Jamie Wilkinson said: "It's unfortunate that FLW chose to schedule their event on top of ours. We have no plans to reschedule the event, although we are currently monitoring the lake levels and watching the (upcoming) Elite Series Wildcard Qualifier at Lake Okeechobee (Nov. 29–Dec. 1)."
FLW Outdoors VP of communications Dave Washburn said: "Our primary concern when setting schedules is taking care of our FLW Outdoors anglers and sponsors by working with hosts to hold events on productive bodies of water during productive times of the year, while avoiding conflicts within our own tournament structure."
Washburn added: "With 241 tournaments to schedule, including 192 bass tournaments, the options quickly become limited when selecting dates that work for all parties. Both BASS and FLW Outdoors work to take care of our constituents, and conflicts like this, unfortunately, are inevitable with the number of tournaments offered today."
FLW Outdoors declined to comment on whether rescheduling or relocation was under consideration.
So, at least from the outside, there appears to be an active stare-down. On the one hand are the anglers who say there's no way both events could take place. On the other are two organizations that don't, at least by appearance, want to change their dates or venue.
If there is movement from one side, FLW Outdoors might be the first to budge. Both Surman and Lane said they were told by FLW Outdoors officials that a backup plan's already in place, and if water levels don't reach a sufficient mark – maybe 10 1/2 or 12 feet – the FLW Series will relocate to the Harris Chain.
That would be fine with Elite Series/Open pro Terry Scroggins, who noted: "I think one of the organizations needs to reschedule their event to get on another body of water. I think it's the best thing to do."
Links Appendix
Some interesting reading from the 2003 dates conflict:
> Early Conflict In 2003 Tour Schedules
> Thirty-Day Off-Limits Major Issue, FLW Says
> B.A.S.S. Moves First FLW-Conflicting Event
> 2004 FLW Championship Will Be On Top Of Classic
> BASS Not Happy But Won't Move Classic
> Two-Tour Pros React To Championship Overlap
> Jacobs Says FLW Will Move Championship Date
> Open Letter From FLW Chairman Irwin Jacobs
