By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor
The scaled-back 2013 FLW Tour schedule caught some pros by surprise while others say it was to be expected given the still-stagnant economy and slumping field sizes.
Either way, the elimination of the four Opens that were offered in 2011 and 2012 will pose an even stiffer challenge for those who make a living with a rod and reel in their hands.
While the pros BassFan spoke with say they remain committed to fishing FLW tournaments, some said they’ll have to explore other options in order to fill gaps on their calendars next year. For some, that’ll mean increased participation in EverStart Series events, which suffered cutbacks on the payout side for 2013, and possibly B.A.S.S. Opens.
“As of right now, I’ll fish all six Tour events, but obviously I will have to fill in the gaps with other stuff,” said Illinois pro Chad Morgenthaler, who’s fished the FLW Tour since 2004 and fished all four Opens last year. “That’s the bad part. I’ll probably fish some EverStarts and B.A.S.S. Opens, but that’s not exactly what I’d hoped for because the money’s just not there. They changed the EverStarts around to make a couple places better, but took money out elsewhere. That makes it hard because expenses will be the same or more and the payouts aren’t going up.”
While FLW cited a "an adjustment to the current market demand" as the reason for shuttering the Opens, it’s been speculated a significant sponsor loss may have forced FLW’s hand.
The Opens were a derivative of the old FLW Series, which was a national circuit in its first year (2006), before being divided into Eastern and Western divisions from 2007-10. In 2011 and 2012, a four-event Open schedule was offered to supplement the Majors and paid back Tour-level purses and offered the Top 5 finishers in points early entry into the following year's Forrest Wood Cup.
“I don’t like it,” said Stetson Blaylock. “I didn’t fish the Opens this year just because we’re having a baby soon and I didn’t want to miss those first few months. I like the Opens because it gave us guys something more to fish in the fall other than sitting around the house. In a normal year where I would’ve fished them, without those tournaments, I’m going to have to go find a small job just to get through the winter now.”
To recap, here's a look at next year’s FLW Tour schedule, which consists of six events spread over five states in the Southeast and Midwest:
> Feb. 7-10 – Lake Okeechobee – Clewiston, Fla.
> March 7-10 – Smith Lake – Jasper, Ala.
> April 11-14 – Beaver Lake – Rogers, Ark.
> May 16-19 – Lake Eufaula – Eufaula, Ala.
> June 6-9 – Grand Lake – Grove, Okla.
> June 27-30 – Lake Chickamauga – Dayton, Tenn.
> Aug. 15-18 – Red River (Forrest Wood Cup) – Shreveport/Bossier City, La.
In terms of the elimination of the Opens being tied to field sizes, it's hard to tell. Of the six Opens held in the last 18 months (four in 2011 and two so far this season), the smallest field was 135 boats last September at Lake Champlain.
Field sizes in the Majors the last two years have dropped off through the season, going from 163 at Lake Hartwell to kick off this season to 126 at the season finale at Champlain. Last year, the drop off was similar (158 at Beaver Lake in the opener to 123 at Lake Pickwick).
Following is what several FLW Tour pros had to say about the schedule itself and the elimination of the Opens:
Dave Wolak
“I just fished the FLW Majors this year and I was comfortable with that pace and was very happy with what I saw. I did the whole tour (Elite Series and FLW Tour) back in 2005 and with changing over and fishing FLW this year, it was something that was right on pace with what I wanted to do. The six events was, I think, a very comfortable amount and a fiscally responsible amount of events for what they’re going to offer next year.
“Making a living is a relative term. If you’re solely looking to make a living off of straight-up tournament winnings, that’s a hard game to play. I don’t care if it was in the heyday of fishing or the current moment – it’s a hard thing to do. If you have other sponsors and other promotional opportunities and you have other things that you can do, this is the type of year where you’re going to need to do that and we’re all going to need to do that because it’s a time when there needs to be a sense of responsibility. And that’s not just in fishing, but in everything that’s going on in this country.
“I haven’t sat down and thought about when I’m going to go pre-practice or taken too much into account. I don’t do that much anymore. Whatever’s dished out, I go show up and do my best and figure it out while I’m there. I don’t do a lot of information seeking or pre-practicing anyway. I just feel it out as it comes and sometimes that works to my benefit and sometimes it totally doesn’t.”
Koby Krieger
“We all knew something was coming from all the rumors we heard throughout the year. I don’t know if I was expecting a six-tournament schedule and not maybe an eight-tournament schedule, but it caught me a little off guard, but it’s something I can deal with.
“I fish for a living so that’s what I’m going to do. I’ll fish the six tournaments for sure and probably at least one division of EverStarts.
“I’m happy with the places we’re going. Every place we’re going to I’ve been to a time or two and it’s all in the right time of year for my liking. I’m excited about it and we’ll get through next year and hopefully some more sponsors will come on board and we’ll have even more the year after it. I’m hyped up about it and I know a lot of people might be talking doom and gloom, but I learned long ago that there are lot worse things going on in the world than just having six tournaments to fish.”
Dave Wolak won't be affected as much as others by FLW's decision to cut the Opens from its 2013 schedule.
Stetson Blaylock
“I’m still leaving my options open. I will do something more next year. I just haven’t figured out what it’ll be yet. I’m weighing my options and want to see what my sponsors want me to do more than anything.
“The toughest one that I see is Lewis Smith. I’ve never been to Eufaula, but I’ve heard it’s not near as good as it used to be so I don’t know what to expect. Any time you go somewhere new, you don’t have any preconceived notions about where or how you should be fishing. Beaver is coming on, but it’ll be the same old, tough Beaver. The guys will catch them there and the fish are getting bigger. If we hit it at the right time, it could be as good as any place we go.
“I’m maybe a little different than anybody else in that I don’t really look at the schedule right away. I’ll read up on the lake and what they’ll be doing when we get there, but I’ve learned during my short time out here that you can put too much thought into it too early. I’ll take what I need and then see what happens when we get there.”
Terry Baksay
“I was very disappointed in the six-tournament schedule and it’s really disappointing for a Northern boy like me. It’s the absolute worst schedule for a Northerner, so I’m going to have to think long and hard about whether I’m going to do it. I just might have to stick to the EverStarts and Northern (B.A.S.S.) Opens.”
J.T. Kenney
“I know FLW is doing everything they can do and I totally understand that, but it’s really hard for me because now I have to make my living 6 weeks out of the year. I know I fish a lot of EverStarts and stuff like that, but tournaments where you can make at least $10,000 is where you make your money. Now I only have six chances at it and it sucks.
“I want to be very adamant, I’m not blaming FLW. I know they’re doing whatever they can do. They’re not having fewer tournaments to have fewer tournaments, but it sucks for me. When I first started fishing, everybody fished the B.A.S.S. Top 150s and the FLW Tour. It’s what you did. I wish it would get back to that. I wish we could fish both. Next year, the Elite Series guys are going to have that option, but the FLW guys aren’t so that sucks, too, for us. Now, the B.A.S.S. guys just got more tournaments and we got less.
“Personally, I love the schedule. I don’t like Beaver or Smith Lake because they’re deep, clear lakes, but early April at Beaver means they’ll be on the beds so I like it that week of the year. And with Smith Lake in March, if there’s a time you want to fish a deep, clear lake it’s either when they’re on the beds or right before they go on beds.
“Okeechobee’s great any time of year, especially in February or March. All the rest of them are going to be offshore ledge-fishing type lakes and that’s what I love to do now. For me, I think it’s going to be sweet. It just stinks there’s not four more of them.”
Tom Monsoor
“That’s a goofy schedule. I’ve not been to most of those places like Eufaula or Grand. I’d rather have gone to Chickamauga in the spring like the last time we were there.
“I’m lucky to be able to fish their circuit. It’s a great circuit. They’re the best thing going by far. B.A.S.S. has 100 guys and it’s easy to fill (a field) with 100 guys. It’d be tight to get into an FLW (Tour) event in there with 100 guys. An extra 50 is a lot of guys. It is what it is and I’ll make the best of it. I’m happy to be part of it.”
