By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor

Michael Neal has no intention of sounding the least bit cocky or overconfident when he says he hasn't felt a need to fish a lot during the long break between tournaments caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Tennessean, who finished 5th in the final 2019 MLF Bass Pro Tour points standings, is in that same position after three events this year. He's logged yet another runner-up finish (the fourth of his career while still pursuing his initial tour-level victory) and has posted seven placements of 12th or better in nine outings dating back more than a calendar year.

He's done some fishing since returning from the last derby at Lake Fork a full month ago, but only for crappie. He's done a considerable amount of turkey hunting and kept tabs on his other business – he's the owner of the Dayton Boat Dock tackle shop and grill at Lake Chickamauga.

When a return date is eventually announced, he'll pick up his baitcasting gear again.

"I just feel like the (MLF) format fits me so well because it's the way I've always fished," he said. "I feel like I can fish a little now and stay in a groove and then and pick up where I left off.

"I've always been a guy who tries to catch as many fish as I can in a day and weed through them. A perfect example is Florida – when I go there I have zero punching gear, ever. I'll have a stickbait of some kind rigged up, and other than that it's swimjigs, vibrating jigs, swimbaits and swimming worms. I just try to generate as many bites as I can in a day."

Change in Buying Habits

Neal's shop is primarily stocked with hardcore bass stuff, but he hasn't been selling a lot of that lately with the lack of tournaments at Chickamauga. The exception has been plastics (he mentioned Big Bite Baits Trick Sticks and Fighting Frogs) used to entice bass on the beds.

He said he's still moving a fair amount of product, however.

"As far as local business, it's definitely up over what it normally is," he said. "Dayton's a relatively small town (pop. 7,400) and with people off work and out of school, they're going to go fishing with their kids or grandkids or whatever and most of them are going out for crappie or bream. The out-of-town business, though, has slowed way down because there's not as much bass fishing going on.

"We're selling minnows like crazy, and also worms and nightcrawlers. The live-bait sales have been way higher than any other year."

He describes himself as an "average at best" turkey hunter and hasn't yet bagged a tom this year.

"I haven't gotten to go in three or four years because I've been fishing so much at this time of year and it's like I've had to learn it all over again. I've taken some buddies out to let them try and get one and it's definitely harder with multiple people.

"I've had days where I've had an encounter that was close enough to get a shot off, but it doesn't happen every day."

Awaiting the Call

Neal looks forward to the day when he's notified by MLF officials as to when and where the 2020 season will resume. He misses the competition – particularly the frequent ScoreTracker updates that occur throughout the day at BPT events.

"ScoreTracker is my favorite thing about MLF," he said. "A lot of guys say they hate it, but I can't figure out how anybody can hate it. You've got to use it to your advantage and if you don't let it rattle you, it can be the best tool you have.

"The way I use it is if everybody else seems to be catching them and I'm not, I have to either change presentations or locations, or both. Otherwise I stick with the old adage that you don't leave fish to find fish; they're just not biting right now.

"It's not very often that you don't hear anything for very long," he concluded. "These guys are always catching something."