I've been a critic of MLF for several years now, but between the new team format and their decisions around FFS, I will be watching it and following it much closer next year. I've been loyal to B.A.S.S., even through the split, but they have a serious leadership issue and have lost me as a fan.
RE: NPFL's ban of FFS – Thank you for protecting the integrity of competitive bass fishing. I will always be a fan and support the NPFL for keeping the greatest sport ever REAL.
RE: Balog on tackle shops – I fished against Yurko 30 years ago. He was a fish-catching machine. He used some kind of reels that I'd never seen to pitch his jigs. I used to laugh at how he put his rods on the deck for everyone to see with his lures wrapped in aluminum foil – just a little intimidation factor.
BassFan says: From Balog: That reel was an "underslung" Garcia 507. It had a cult-like following around Ohio for it's ability to deliver tiny jigs and worms into heavy cover on a stout rod.
RE: Balog on tackle shops – Had my dream job at 12 years old. Bait and tackle store in my small town ... 500 population. Worked solo many times and made $1 an hour. Would have done it for free! Although counting out flats of nightcrawlers and red worms isn't all it's cracked up to be, being able to talk fishing with the few customers that came in was the highlight.
I can still remember the smell of the prepared catfish bait and the Mann's Wooley Booley spinnerbait that I still have in a package to this day. It's been downhill ever since that job ... LOL.
RE: Balog on tackle shops – Great article, Joe. Love articles that take me back to my youth. The mom and pop tackle stores are gone, but the memories are forever.
Wow! Many accolades to MLF with their new Team Series format. This is the way most of us came up, and we can relate. No more staring at a person's backside and watching them dunk and dip over the front of the boat. It's a winner and I'll be watching!
RE: Balog on Wheeler – When Livescope is banned and GPS are cleared for each tournament along with information and any other "outside the rules advantages", he will come back down to earth.
Thanks, BassFan, for the article on Rick Clunn. There are a couple minor errors. According to B.A.S.S. statistics, Rick finished 68th (not 69th) at the St. Lawrence, which was his 505th (not 504th) B.A.S.S. tournament.
BassFan says: Thanks for pointing those out!
RE: Clunn departing Elites – No great loss. Clunn is not “fan friendly” and will float off into the sunset, not missed. And before the haters chime in, I met him about 14 yrs ago at Toledo Bend. He wasn’t busy or fishing, just meandering through the crowd.
RE: Thompkins DQ – Another cheater. It's not difficult to follow the rules – this sport is going to hell.
Glad to see that B.A.S.S. not only performed a polygraph, but issued a DQ to JT Thompkins. Further, even more transparent by issuing a press release detailing the DQ. There needs to be more accountability and more transparency in this sport.
RE: Clunn's final Elite event – Rick Clunn is in the highest tier of all-time bass fishermen by any measure. His focus, intuition, unique insights and approach to the sport are huge. While a few of the current old guys can sympathize with what it must take to complete at the Elite level, I hope some of today’s young guns can one day appreciate the drive, professionalism and active mind required to be competitive at the highest levels at 78 years of age.
RE: Balog on Team Series changes – Thanks for coming off the fence, Joe. You’re absolutely right, the sport we’ve grown up with and love is gone. I attended both major tour events at Toledo Bend, where I reside most of the year. I witnessed the spot-and-run-down technique on the water. I watched the eventual winner chase a fish well over 200 yards while telling everyone how big it was. He finally caught it and was within 6 ounces on his guess. It blew my mind seeing these guys out in the boat lanes and standing timber chase these fish down. After seeing it live, it’s worse than I thought. I’m out!
It was such a pleasure to meet Trey McKinney at Champlain. He is going to go so far on tour.
RE: Balog on Team Series changes – I 100-percent agree with Joe’s comments regarding FFS in tournaments. Watching FFS fishing is boring and will impact how much I’ll watch tournaments where that’s most of the action. Enjoyed watching Seth Feider catch ‘em yesterday using that outdated pitching technique.
RE: Balog on Team Series changes – I agree with Joe Balog's take on sports and technology 100 percent.
Given that Joe is a conservation-minded angler, I'd love to have him write about the devastating effects that we are seeing from the round goby invasion, mainly on smallmouth bass populations. Long touted by the bass-fishing media as the greatest thing for smallmouth bass in modern times, we are seeing young smallmouth bass becoming downright scarce on Oneida Lake. Lake Ontario's south shore hasn't seen a strong class of smallmouth bass produced in decades. Lake Erie is still a great bass fishery, but DEC has noted that smallmouth bass numbers have declined EVERY YEAR since round gobies arrived.
Oneida Lake has an estimated 22,000 gobies per acre! N.Y. State still allows "catch and release" fishing during the spawn. Cayuga Lake has produced some monster bass over the last few years, given that records were set for both largemouth and smallmouth bass, but smallmouth fishing is dismal. It's slow even with FFS.
Some species are thriving thanks to the round goby – fishing for yellow perch has been terrific on Cayuga, Oneida and Lake Erie. Largemouths are also thriving. They spawn on softer-bottomed areas that don't have a lot of gobies. Unfortunately, the smallmouth bass is the big loser when it comes to the round goby. They may get big, but you won't have many as time passes by. Smallmouth bass anglers on Oneida Lake are very concerned, and rightfully so.
RE: Balog on Team Series changes – Mr. B., I couldn't agree more with your FFS opinion. Thank you for posting!
RE: Balog on Team Series changes – This is the best article that Joe has ever written and sums it all up perfectly.
RE: Balog on Team Series changes – I am in agreement with Balog, both organizations missed the boat on the FFS problem! However, to me the best solutions for B.A.S.S., BPT or the NPFL is to come up with two tours: Have six "Scoper" tournaments and six real fishing tournaments. These organizations have handled 12 tournaments before. If possible, then have one championship for each group. Make the entry fees lower and each division would be full!
I’m very happy for Mark Burgess on his win at the Federation Nation Regional. Nice guy and well deserved. Well done, Mark!
By B.A.S.S. Communications Staff LA CROSSE, Wis. — It might sound intrusive, but Chris Beaudrie of Princeton, Ky., exploited safe spaces to sack up a 19-pound
By B.A.S.S. Communications Staff
LA CROSSE, Wis. — Cool times could lead to hot action. So says Bassmaster Elite Series angler Seth Feider, as the Minnesota
By David A. Brown Special to BassFan
If you had quizzed the field on likely bait use prior to Day 1 of mid-July’s Bassmaster Open at Lake St. Clair,
