Out of the more than 300 million people living in the U.S., only a very small percentage give a hoot about bass fishing. But most of those who care at all, care a lot. For that small minority, it's a passion in the truest sense of the term.
In the eyes of many, that type of zeal has been lacking at BASS for the past several years – not from the
on-the-ground folks who run the events and programs and disseminate information about them, but from the top levels of ESPN management in Bristol, Conn., where the important decisions are made. A lot of the participants and most ardent followers began to feel as if BASS were just one small spoke in the company's extremely large wheel, and the No. 1 objective for it had become minimizing its negative impact on the overall bottom line.
The pending sale of BASS to a three-headed group led by longtime insider Jerry McKinnis has those same people hoping – and in a lot of cases, already believing – that the passion of founder Ray Scott and the other pioneers of the sport will soon be restored. They're convinced it'll be more than a bottom-line business to the new trio, all of whom have left big imprints elsewhere and are coming into this venture with their eyes wide open. Their interest in seeing the sport move forward goes far beyond black and red ink.
BassFan recently conducted a survey of some Elite Series anglers to find out in which direction they thought the new ownership group should initially move – i.e. what is their most pressing concern about the organization at present, and how could that be alleviated. Their opinions varied, naturally, but the restoration of passion at the top was a common theme.
Following is a sampling of their responses.
Mark Davis
"I think the new ownership group will certainly know what they're doing – not that this group didn't, but I just don't think ESPN fully understood what it was getting into. One positive that Jerry and his group have is they know where the sport's at and where it's been.
"I hope they'll do some things to protect the heritage of the 40 or so years the sport's been around, and I think they'll be sensitive to that. And we're in a tough economic time right now, but we have to find a way to get the group of anglers healthy again – there's a few guys making some real good money, but by and large, most are suffering and living year to year. If you're in the "big leagues" of a sport, you're not supposed to be starving to death and we have to get beyond that.
"I know the new group is aware of that and I'm sure they'll take steps to make it better."
Boyd Duckett
"I think what happened with ESPN is they realized they weren't going to get the return on their investment that they thought they would and they said, 'Okay, we moved in this direction and we didn't get what we were looking for, now let's balance it.' It became a property that had to be managed and they had to do whatever they could to try to make it break even, and being in business, I understand why things like that are done.
As a businessman himself, Boyd Duckett understood why ESPN made some of the decisions it did in regard to BASS.
"The good news now is the owners are three individuals led by Jerry McKinnis and they have a personal desire to see this work – they're not a corporation. There's going to be a resurgence of effort and that's exciting. We're dealing with people who want to grow the sport.
"There was a lot of thrust and enthusiasm a few years back that's gone away for a while, and we need to get that good momentum back."
Tim Horton
"It'll be nice to have ownership that has the same type of passion that the anglers do for the sport, because that's what it needs to be successful. And I'm not just talking about tournaments, but also seeing license numbers and participation grow. When participation grows, we all benefit.
"I think it's really important that we have programs that reach out to youths. Again, I'm not just talking about tournaments, but doing things in the schools. With the right creative approach, a lot of good things can happen."
Gary Klein
"I really don't have one answer for that one, but this is an investment for Jerry and I appreciate him having the confidence and the commitment to the sport to want to see it move forward. That says a lot about his character right there.
"There needed to be a change of leadership to get somebody involved that has a vision, and I feel that with Jerry, we'll have that. I don't see any negatives to this and I wish it would've happened a lot earlier.
"I have no idea of what Jerry's vision or plan is, but I know he has one. And with him being involved, it's going to be good."
Kevin VanDam
"One of the things that excites me most about the future is we'll have ownership by people who are truly passionate about our sport and also have tremendous expertise in their respective fields. Jerry is over 70 years old and he didn't need to take on something else to try to make money, but he's in it because he knows BASS can be a lot more.
Kevin Short would like to see the Elite Series return to a more expanded schedule.
"ESPN did a lot of great things and I think it's great that the tournaments and the Classic will continue to air on ESPN, but there were just so many areas they're involved in.
"The new owners have a lot of connections and a great track record and they've all been successful in everything they've done. I'm just really fired up about it as an angler and for somebody like my nephew (Jonathan VanDam), who's dreamed of having a fishing career for a long time, I think this is an extremely positive step."
Kevin Short
"I've been drafting a whole tablet of notes to send to Jerry and the first one is I want to work some more – eight tournaments feels like a part-time job. We need to have somewhere around 11 or 12 and they need to be spread out a little more than all in the span of 14 weeks.
"When you look back at '06 and '07, those were the best schedules we ever had – border to border, coast to coast, February to September. In my mind, that was the benchmark year for the schedule and getting back to something like that needs to be up toward the top of the list. I know that it will cost money, but I really think somebody can find a way to make it work.
"The second thing is that somebody needs to reach out to the sponsors from 8 or 10 years ago that turned their back on BASS for whatever reason and say, 'Hey, do you want to be involved again? We're going to try to make something out of this.' I was always a strong supporter of ESPN – even though they did some boneheaded stuff, I still think they've done a tremendous amount of good for the sport of bass fishing. Some of the boneheaded stuff involved the long-term sponsors of BASS, and we need to get some of those companies back.
Greg Hackney said that Jerry McKinnis' deep understanding of the sport will be a big benefit for the anglers.
"Another thing, and I'm sure Jerry and (co-owners Don Logan and Jim Copeland) all understand this, is that whatever's good for BASS as an organization is good for the fishing industry in general. When BASS is rocking and rolling, the whole industry rocks and rolls. A strong BASS helps everybody from the pro angler down to the guy who fishes four or five times a year."
Davy Hite
"I can't think of one particular area, so I'll just say there's a lot of work to be done and leave it at that. I'm particularly pleased that Jerry is a partner in this deal because he's a great guy and a great ambassador for this sport. He's fished tournaments and he's very knowledgeable about what the anglers have to go through.
"He's been around and he's seen things that were successful and things that failed. It's a great situation with his knowledge of the history of the sport."
Greg Hackney
"I think the new management's going to take it back to where it was a few years ago, which I think is the best it's ever been. We had the Elite 50s, and then I feel like Jerry had a huge hand in getting the Elite Series started, with the 11 regular-season events. I think without a doubt it's going to be better because Jerry really understands the sport. The main thing is he understands who he can sell it to and who the viewers are.
"The biggest deal is I don't see those guys buying it to babysit it. It's going to be good for the fishermen and hopefully (the new owners will) make some money out of it."
