In a conference call yesterday with its Athletes Advisory Council, B.A.S.S. appeared to give tour pros everything they asked for in the Nov. 12 meeting about the Busch patch, though a few grey areas still exist for a few anglers.

The two biggest issues at the time of the Nov. 12 meeting were the Busch Angler of the Year (AOY) patch -- particularly the dominance of the Busch beer logo in the patch -- and exactly what AOY winners would be required to do for Busch if they won. (The larger issue of ESPN/B.A.S.S. tying the patch to points was not aired by the pros as an item of concern at that meeting.)

The Patch

According to Council pros who were a part of yesterday's conference call, the Busch logo has been substantially toned down in the new version of the patch (click here to see it). "The CITGO is bigger, the AOY points deal is bigger and Busch is a lot less dominant," said Paul Elias. "It's more of a B.A.S.S. logo and Tour logo than a Busch logo."

"We asked them to change the patch to be more representative of the Tour, and they did that," Jay Yelas said. "Now it's a patch I don't have a problem wearing. It represents the Tour and the AOY program."

The Council unanimously gave the patch its stamp of approval, he said. "The season is starting in a month so there wasn't time to talk about it with the whole PAA membership. We felt B.A.S.S. made a good effort to meet our demands about the patch, and while it's not perfect, it's not time to go back to Busch to split hairs over minor details."

The Council's attitude was "let's make it work for this year," he said. "Let's go with it."

"For most part the patch is a non-issue," Elias added.

The Requirements

In its early-November letter to Tour pros where B.A.S.S. first announced the "no patch, no points" rule, it stated that the AOY winner would be required to participate in three Busch media appearances, and his likeness used in point-of-sale, radio, TV and Internet ads.

While many see those as benefits, some pros with strong religious, moral or other convictions didn't like it. For example, Council member Mark Davis doesn't want to, as Elias put it, "have a poster (of himself) next to a bunch of beer." And Davis is not alone in that. "Several people won't do it," Elias said.

But B.A.S.S. apparently changed that too. "Three weeks ago (those winner requirements) sounded like an ultimatum," Yelas said. But B.A.S.S. reworded the language to state that the AOY is only required to reach an agreement with Busch, and that the AOY has the right to disapprove any proposal Busch has, he said. "Busch also doesn't want to force the AOY to do any promotion the angler is uncomfortable with."

"If that doesn't happen, then shame on B.A.S.S. and shame on Busch because that's not what we want to see happen," Elias added.

Overall, B.A.S.S.'s stance yesterday was viewed by the pros as "a big change," Yelas said. "They were saying, 'Hey, we just want to make this thing work.' And Busch is willing to work with the AOY to find something that he is okay with.

"At this point that's all we can go with because I don't think Busch even knows the exact specifics of what it wants to do (with the AOY winner).

"There's still a distinct possibility that the AOY and Busch may not be able to come to an agreement, and that's the grey area that's still out there," Yelas noted. "The likelihood is good that they will work something out, but we can't cross that bridge until we get there."

Positive Meeting

The patch issue seems to be dead, but as Yelas said, the AOY endorsement requirements still contain some grey areas. Regardless, Elias said he thought the meeting was "positive."

"They did redesign that patch, and I thought that was a positive on Busch's part because they definitely made some concessions. They're definitely not near as dominant on the patch as they were.

"And if B.A.S.S. sticks to their word about trying to make the AOY as comfortable with the (Busch) endorsement relationship, then that's a positive too. I think they will."

Other Items Brought Up

Other rule changes run by the Council include:

> Doing away with nets, no doubt because of Ray Scott's influence

> Implementing a "no-information" rule, which the anglers want, for the 30-day off-limits

> Doing away with the anchor rule, where boats must stay 50 yards away from an angler who has his anchor in the water. Apparently pros use it more to keep other anglers from fishing an area than for anything else.

Notable

> Some pros, some in the industry and some fans are now referring to the BASSMASTER Tour as the Busch B.A.S.S. Tour or just the Busch Tour. Maybe CITGO needs to start its own controversy.

> The Busch patch has caused some or all anglers who run Rangers wrapped in the logos of FLW Outdoors sponsors to be in conflict with their contracts if they wear/display the Busch logo. The fallout over this is just starting. But so far 7th-ranked Clark Wendlandt (sponsored by Kellogg's) will not be fishing the BASSMASTER Tour next year, and Randy Blaukat (sponsored by Fujifilm) will fish the first six B.A.S.S. events but won't accumulate any points. This also brings up a host of questions about other anglers and the BASSMASTERS Classic. BassFan.com will delve into this tomorrow, starting with an interview with Wendlandt. Don't miss it.

(Editor's note: This late-breaking story was compiled too late in the evening to get comments from B.A.S.S.)

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