Klein, Yelas Won't Fish FLW Tour Next Year

Gary Klein and Jay Yelas are two of the world's best tour pros. Currently they're ranked 4th and 5th in the world, respectively, and one reason for that has been their good performance on both tours. But neither will be fishing the FLW Tour next year.

That's a big statement, and not just because they're two of the world's best. Both have done well on the FLW Tour.

Yelas (Skeeter/Yamaha) earned FLW Angler of the Year (AOY) honors in 2002, and as a result got his photo on the Kellogg's Corn Flakes box -- as all FLW AOY winners do -- and in The New York Times. Not bad for the only full FLW season he'd ever fished (this year he only fished 4 FLW events). His total FLW winnings are $105,800, and he had four Top 10 finishes including two last year.

Klein (Triton/Mercury) hasn't won any FLW titles, but has had a long and productive FLW Tour career. He started fishing the tour in 1997, the year after it began, and through this year his winnings were $451,985. That averages out to $64,569 per year. He also had 11 Top 10 finishes in those 7 years, including two wins. He qualified for every FLW Tour Championship except for this year's.

Both are bowing out of next year's FLW Tour for what boil down to time reasons, as in time on the road. Klein made his decision after FLW Outdoors announced its championship date change, but Yelas made his decision months ago. Here's what they have to say about it.

Klein: No Sense Fishing Without Championship

"I called (Monday) and got a refund on my (FLW Tour) deposits," Klein said. "I'm not fishing any more FLWs." (Editor's note: This interview was conducted before Irwin Jacobs' announcement that the FLW Tour Championship will be moved off the Classic dates, but Klein still won't be fishing the FLWs next year.)

"I felt like I brought a lot of credibility to the FLWs when they first started, and it's just a shame that we as professional anglers who have supported both circuits are forced to make a decision.

"But really, it was an easy decision for me," he said. "BASS created the sport, and made it to where there was an opportunity to make a living at professional fishing. If not for BASS, FLW wouldn't be a forum either. My loyalty to BASS means I will fish that and be as competitive as I can."

He added that the most important factor in his decision was his family. "I thought about the fact that last year was the most hectic spring schedule we ever ran. It was the first year I'd been on the circuit without Jana (his wife) and (their daughters). I work hard at what I do and she works very hard at what she does.

"Looking at this spring schedule, we thought we might try it (again). But if you (combine) the (tour) schedules this year, there's one 10-week spread where you're gone for the whole 10 weeks. Being totally away from the house and my family (for that period) was a hard thing for me to try to do next year. So when I saw (that FLW scheduled on top of the Classic), I went ahead and (dropped FLW). To me that meant they weren't putting any thought into us (anglers), so I decided I wouldn't support them all year.

"If (his wife) is putting forth the effort that I am, and I'm gone for 10 weeks and qualify for the championship but can't fish it, what's the point?

"The problem I have is that guys like Irwin (Jacobs, FLW Outdoors chairman) don't understand or truly appreciate the sacrifices we make with our families to support the circuit," he said. "But I'm not using that as an excuse. This is just my situation with my family."

He added: "I don't know if there are any stats to back this up, but I think much fewer people know that David Dudley won $500,000 at Richmond vs. Mike Iaconelli winning $200,000 at the Classic. I think there's no comparison."

Yelas: Doesn't Affect Plans

Though Yelas "found it very disappointing that FLW made that move," he'd already decided that he wasn't going to fish the FLW Tour next year. "I wasn't planning on fishing FLW anyway," he said. "I'd already made that decision 3 months ago.

"Ultimately I'd like to see both tours spread their schedules out a little bit to work with the pros to where we could fish both tours. But it seems like just the opposite is taking place. Both tours are making it so we can't fish both tours.

"That was pretty much the way it was this year anyway," he noted. "I fished both tours and was home 3 days a month for 5 months -- and that's why I decided not to fish both tours next year. It was already not even reasonable to fish both tours, because of the time constraints, but (the FLW date change) puts the nail in the coffin and forces everybody to make a decision. But I guess it was inevitable. You could see the writing on the wall.

"A lot of us would really like to fish both tours. I'd personally love to fish both. Both are well-run professional bass tournament trails, and it's a pity that the top fishermen in country can't have two different tours to fish. But that's the way it is."

Notable

> For pros who are choosing between the tours, time on the road, particularly in the spring when BASS has so many tour events, seems to be more of a factor than the overlapping championships. Time is why pros like Denny Brauer (Ranger/Evinrude) and Randy Howell (Triton/Mercury) and Marty Stone (Triton/Yamaha/Citgo) opted out of the FLW Tour before or during the 2003 season, and why pros like Clark Wendlandt (Ranger/Yamaha), Dan Morehead (Ranger/Evinrude), Dion Hibdon (Ranger/Evinrude) and others decided not to fish the Bassmaster Tour. But again, which tour a pro decides to fish ultimately boils down to his boat and motor sponsors more than any other single factor.