1simplemann

I was wondering the same thing. I missed the weigh in yesterday due to work. Update, I just check on the BM site and BM Radio had an interview with Skeet. He said he just blanked. He caught them every day in practice but they just weren't there for him yesterday. He did lose a couple fish.

Team9nine, Thanks for the rules description. The slight touches are now explained. On the other hand, BL clearly trapped the fish against his body to gain control. 3 times! He was called on it once. He's a veteran MLF competitor. He know the rules and so should the boat official. 4 minutes of penalties not called. If I was Strader when I look back at the footage, I would be ticked off. Strader should be in and BL out.

Incidental contact I get. Makes sense. 3 times BL trapped fish against his body blatently.All pretty much identical offenses. Nothing incidental about them. 2 no calls and 1 penalty. Not sure why the inconsistancy.

What's with the fishing landing penalties not being called? I just watched the sudden death round at Winyah Lake. 2 out 3 time's Bobby Lane clearly trapped fish against his body and didn't get called. There were other times where fish were slung in the boat and their tails dragged the deck. It wasn't obvious but that what it looked like when I rewound the DVR. Another time that was clear was when a fish tail was dragged across a cooler. I don't recall the angler's on those FLV's but in the case of Lane it was totally clear twice. 4 minutes of penalties not called. It affected the the outcome because Strader caught his 2-3 minutes after Lane did. Did anyone else see these?

Time will tell.

Lee, BP and Wheeler are on their way. Time will tell but they are a threat anytime they are on the water.

I suspect that there a lot of reasons but I think that the biggest one is that the younger generation has caught up. They are hungry! Some of these guys eat, sleep and breath fishing. They have more drive and less family commitment so they throw their absolute all into it. The learning curve is much shorter. All the techniques are right on the internet to learn. Back in the day, it took some of the "legends" years to master their skills. Clunn and Fritts cranked, Shaw and Klien flipped, KVD power fished and so forth. They taught us how to find and catch fish. The younger generation was paying attention. It took years for the legends to find their spots. Now, with today's technology the young guns can find them in less than a week or days or hours. They are willing to look, look, and look some more till they find what they are looking for. Wheeler went to Cherokee for a week and did nothing but graph. He had 800 waypoints! If you apply that and good fishing skills, your gonna win or at least do well. The older guys might not be putting that much into it so therefore their results are not what they once were even though they are not doing anything different than what they did earlier in their careers. Their skills haven't diminished. KVD struggled for few years. Still competitive but not winning. He said "fishing history" was big part of the problem. He was fishing where they once were instead of where they were. He basically said that he realized that he had to step up his game to remain competitive. That's why I like the MLF format so much. Here's a lake, a map, and a boat. Go fishing! It's a true test angling ability.

I wouldn't expect to notice much during an actual MLF event itself. Afterward I would expect it. I would be willing to bet that there are few more fishermen in town around Alpena these days. I certainly had never heard of Hubbard Lake before and would be willing to entertain the idea of going up there and fishing the area. Did it bother you that MLF showcased your home lake?

I was reading about the economic benefit that the Classic and other tournamants have on the host town. It sounds like if they are done properly then they are a huge boost to the local economy. With all the national attention Alpena has been getting from MLF, I'm sure that they're bottom line has improved. They had the facilities and the fishing to put on a good show. That got me thinking that there are others place around the country that probably similar to Alpena that could use a shot in the arm that MLF could possibly provide. I talked to a local club guy at a quality fishery where a 25lb bag is pretty common. They have the facilities and the fishery. The opinion I got from him was "How would that benefit us?" He mentioned some fisheries that went downhill or decreased after the word got out about the quality of the fishing. He didn't come right out and say it but he was against MLF or some other organization coming to his area until someone could show him how MLF could benefit his club and fishery. I made the point that it would add to the local economy and also raise awareness to the value that LMB and SMB have. This is an area where trout and walleye are king. Bass are viewed there as a non native species and F&G wants them gone even though they are here to stay. Incredible fishery. It could hold some bigger tourney's and easily hold a MLF event. So if you were a local angler that had a great fishery, would you want a MLF tourney or something similar to come to your home lake and/or area and showcase your state or would you like to keep it to yourself and other local anglers. To me, I would want to show it off. Seth Fieder wanted to show off Mill Lacs.(Which he did!) The fishing has stepped down a little since then but it's still a world class SMB fishery. I talked to a local guide. He said the AOY tourney's had been a huge shot in the arm for local economy. Plus raised awareness that they need to be protected. They now have the Mill Lacs SMB Aliiance which has helped make strides at protecting the fishery. There are pro's and con's to both sides. Just want hear from some fellow bass'rs.

Mille Lacs and the Great Lakes have been getting a lot of press the last few years. Rainy Lake might be a sleeper spot for SMB. I've personally never been there but I have always heard good things about that place. On GE, the place looks like SMB heaven.

What about Rainy Lake? It has a good reputation for numbers and quality.

Yes, if there was a "Western Division" for Opens the western angler would have to travel farther than eastern anglers. That's the whole point. Now they are being forced to travel to the east just to compete. So if you are good stick out here and you have aspirations of qualifying through the Opens then A. You better have deep pockets to afford the extra added mileage to travel out of your region not 3 time but now 4! B. You better have a lot of free time because 4 - 5 weeks off isn't going to cut it. C. Have experience on that type of fishery. If a western angler was at least in his home region he probably have some experience on the fisheries as well as his competitors. So basically it's not really about who is the better stick. Instead it's about the guy who has the most time, $$$, and local knowledge. I'm saying is that BASS is giving eastern anglers particularly southern anglers a better chance at qualifying for the Classic and/or the Elites. Can a western angler do it? Yes. But the path to do it is much smaller now with the new Open's format. There are plenty of fisheries out here to hold a Western Open and you would only need 3. Just about every western state has a top notch fishery. Most have more than one.

Anybody else see this?

IMO The "best place to compete" is where the best fishing is. If that's the case then why is BASS down in AL right now trying to catch 2 lb'rs? Boring! The reason is because it's close to their home office and the expenses are lower to put on tournament there. There are several western warmer fisheries right now that could put on a better tournament than what Lake Martin is showing off. BASS says right on the cover of their magazine "The Worldwide Authority On Bass Fishing". That title isn't even close. If they really want to claim them they are the leading authority then they should show off the whole country because the west has some phenomenal fisheries that equal anywhere in the country. BASS better wake up because WRB is right. BASS isn't the only game in town. FLW and especially MLF are growing.

I think what WRB was saying is that the path to get to participate in the Elite's has narrowed. For a western angler to even qualify, he is going to have to travel CONSIDERABLY farther and longer than any other regional angler. Therefore northern and particularly southern anglers have a time and a financial advantage over western anglers. In essence they have home field advantage. The visiting team can win but over time the home team always has the better record. Once a western angler makes it to the Elite's, travel is going to be a factor for everybody, but again the western angler doesn't have the advantage. It just suck that BASS basically forces western anglers to move in order for them to be successful. I realize that's not true in all cases but A- Mart and several others wouldn't have moved unless they thought that it would help their careers.

I agree. The question I have is, Is it the community support that pays the bills or the boaters? Other trails have tournaments out west every year, so why can't BASS? They profess themselves to be the world leader of bass fishing.

I just saw on another site where MLF anounced 5 new selects. Brandon Coulter, JT Kenney, Jason Lambert, Jordan Lee, and Justin Lucas. Does that mean the field has increased or are 5 previous selects out? If so, who's out?

We've already had this discussion. Unfortunately your right, the west no longer exists to BASS. People on here stated that BASS has tried the west before but didn't get the turnout yet 154 boats just showed up at Lake Havasu for a FLW Costa. Sounds like a pretty good turnout to me. BASS is also making it so a guy has to bee pretty well off and have a lot of time off to compete.

Very interesting footage. He went a long time without catching anything. I would have left. He almost did but turned around. A simple bait change and it was on!

JC has a good record on Hartwell. I look for him to do well. J-Pow is another. Either one of these guys could pull it off.

I'm shopping around for a used boat. I have found several that I'm interested in. One is in Canada. Is there anything that I need to be aware of when bringing it back into the States? I was concerned with customs issues or hidden fee's.

JF, He's right. They are different boats. One's a Basscat and one's a Ranger.

M.I.K. Good catch. Honestly, I can't tell from the wrap but his console is clearly black and the one in the pic is red. Same thing with the Power Poles. Also one is a Bass Cat and the other is a Ranger. I didn't look close enough. Still a good catch though.

It would be interesting to know his reasons for using both companies. Also while reading the article, near the end, there were photos showing the back side of his electronics. They all clearly said Lowrance but the front photos showed Hummingbirds. Any ideas? Decals?

With this no info rule, Britt Myers doesn't win at Winyah Bay last year. He even thanked the local guys that helped him. BP could easily have researched earlier tournaments to find out where they were won. I have to agree with you RichF, there's no way MM finds a canal 200 miles away without some help. This new rule should level the playing field a bit.