ReedFish

I believe it was towards the end of the show: https://www.basszone.com/post/btl-replay-08-17-20-lucas-surman

Tom's son has quite a history with the law (public information). Add price gouging to that. However, when on the phone with him, Surman never asked what it would cost...seems very odd to me. Wither way, when Tom heard what happened after the competition, Tom called Surman and told him that he owed nothing. Really good interview with Surman on Bass Talk Live podcast about this matter, can be found on basszone.com Social media is great at two things: 1- Making someone look a lot better than they really are 2- Making people look a lot worse than they really are

Reminds me a lot of when KVD had his decade...although Wheeler hasn't had a decade yet, I don't see him slowing down at all. Very fun to watch and love his candid remarks on film.

BPT vs BASS = two totally different products. I have enjoyed the variety and new formats that MLF has created. Both leagues will adapt and hopefully flourish making the sport bigger and better than ever before. MLF: as for stealing guys, there was no gun to their head, just a lot of promises and agreat business plan. How much in entries have the MLF pros paid in the last year...$00,000. Pretty good business plan the way I look at it. I am sure there will be more movement back to BASS. The MLF format isn't for everyone. I have fished a few years under the MLF rules and have fished a couple decades under the 5 fish limit, both are very different and offer their challenges. The MLF format is much more mental than the 5 fish limits, surprise weigh-ins...that is for sure. Enjoy the sport and participate in an MLF if you can, you might be surprised.

Great report, being a Marshall is worth every penny it costs. I highly recommend it also.

Paying out more places, like 1 in every 4 teams that sign up can help this problem. Same thing happened in our fun weekly night events, but when you are paying out 4 teams with 16 boats there... no one seemed to care as bad. Also, as long as they are following the rules, can't blame them for showing up and winning. More payouts and spread the money around, also I would get rid of big bass, or make it a small amount. Typically in these "fun" events the one that gets the big bass will also be near the top. Perhaps make the Big Bass prize less money or your entry back. That may give you more money for 3rd place and 4th place...etc.

LOL...true

2# minimum will make this a much more interesting game to follow!

yeah, now...but when he played I didn't now that! ?

In regards to Tharp's "quote" I definitely see this as a concern for anglers and their sponsors. BASS and FLW were better for them to create and promote their own companies they worked for. MLF is more about the organization than the anglers when it comes to this part of the equation. The new MLF TV coverage which promised their "own branding" is not what BASS can do. Hard to see, hear and know what anglers are doing when all you see is a couple seconds of a hookset and then the fish being weighed. Now, do I think Tharp is in financial trouble...no...do I think pro bass anglers play that card waaay too much...YES. He has made over $2,000,000 in his life from earnings. That doesn't include any local events or sponsorship money earned. He is 50 years old, married and has no children. I think a lot of people forget that MLF is $00,000 entry fees. Here are some facts: 20 of the 80 MLF guys made under $20,000 this year, 5 of them made $0000. There are many expenses to these events, anyone that does local or club tournaments know the costs of that, it just magnifies that much more when you travel 10 or more hours to get to a location. While MLF gives these anglers a professional league to compete in for $0, the angler himself still needs the backing to get around the eastern part of the country and compete. It is all about exposure and sponsor branding, if the companies aren't seeing that, the consumer certainly is not. I loved MLF when it came out, awesome format, show up and catch as many fish as you can with a few minutes to ride around (BTW, I miss those ride-around comments a lot). I watch live when I can and read the articles, but when I watch a TV show, I want to learn about fishing, how did they find the fish, the baits choices etc. MLF doesn't do that anymore, it's a sprint to the end timer. A good fishing show, but nothing like it once was in my opinion. It seems like MLF is turning fishing into a mainstream sport, which is good for the sport as a whole...but if Joe sitting on the couch watching doesn't hear Mercury Motor, Quantum Rods, Berkley baits...Joe will not buy those items if, and I say, if he was an angler. I love Yankees baseball and follow it throughout the year and see pretty much every game thanks to MLB.tv, but I couldn't tell you what kind of shoes my favorite player wears, or what cologne he uses. Two totally different sports but when you focus on the whole game, you don't see the individual things that influence your consumer choices. With all this, I believe there will continue to be more changes to formats and "players" moving to leagues that suit them the best.

Pretty skeleton crew from what I see. A lot of opportunity for the rookies climbing on board to qualify for the BPT.

Perhaps another "business" move much like KVD. Shimano owns G-Loomis, so perhaps it was them saying, "hey it's time you fish our rods too, not just our reels."

Skip up to 25mins and listen from there. Just some honest thoughts from one of the best in the game.

The kid can fish, but comments like that will hurt his $$$ game in the long run. BASS Stats: Started in 2011 at the OPENS level, left to go to MLF in 2019 78 Career Events (includes Opens) 1 win at a Central open 33 times in the money Total money from BASS: $341,759

What he said ^^^^^

He stated in a recent podcast that he was invited to the MLF, but not the very first round of invitations...but shortly after that. He has no hard feelings about MLF, just wasn't the right timing. He also stated that joining BASS has been on his mind for awhile, and the timing was right to do it this year.

I cannot find the order to know exactly the size. After testing it again it appears that the blade is getting caught on the open part of the split ring causing it to twitch and dive in all directions. When I line the blade up on the solid part of the "O" ring it runs true. Research says size 2 for the "O" ring... does that sound right?

I bought the needed parts to build a dozen or chatterbaits from LPO. When trying the chatterbaits they do not run smoothly, very erratic blade movement. When inspecting the setup, I am pretty sure this has to do with the "o" ring as it attaches to the eye of the jig head. Has anyone else come across this? How do I solve this problem?

This looks great to me, a true grass-roots all the way to the Major Leagues. Nice to see the increase in the Costa Series (AA Ball) to 8 divisions instead of 5. A lot of options for pros next year, competition is good in the end!

Does your club have their own liability insurance on events that you host? In my opinion that is the only reason to be affiliated with BASS or FLW clubs...they do offer some coverage on events in case of a worse scenario happening during your club event.

Been a part of BASS since the 90's and fished in BASS NATION events since then too. At the club level BASS is simply status thing. I don't know about a lot of other states, but here in Iowa most tournaments are open events, or series events that a person/company runs. Bass Nation events are way down in participation and clubs are drying up, some don't even have club events, they just fish the state events. Don't get me wrong there are a handful of big BASS Clubs in Iowa and they have a great following, however in the minds of BASS NATION you pay a lot to play only to advance to the next level. In the state of Iowa, if you don't have 2 weeks of vacation to burn up on the 1 Bass Nation State tournament and the Regional tournament then why fish them, no money for winning, only the opportunity to advance. I'm not saying this is bad or wrong, but to most people it isn't possible with work and family schedules. In my mind the Elite series "was" the best show on earth, fish for 3/4 days and bring your best 5 to the scales. They had so many great names/people fishing the events it was quite a spectacle. This year...barely watched any of it, same for many of my friends. Are the anglers fishing this year on the Elites as good as the big name that left...I can't say, however I do know that BASS did lose a lot of fans to MLF just because of the names. With FLW and MLF merging they will be the complete show/league. From what I understand in the last week it will set up much like Professional baseball(I remember early in the MLF days Boyd comparing the two). The MLF will be the "pro" level, and the FLW Tour will be "AAA". Costa Series will be for the "AA" guys and the "BFL" will be the weekend anglers or the "A" guys. At the AAA, AA, A level angler will pay to play, once you hit the majors you won't. "A", "AA" and some "AAA" baseball players have real jobs to support their habit and dream of making it in the Big Leagues one day, Boyd has created that same scenario with professional bass fishing, one of his major goals when he started MLF many years ago. Kudos for this opportunity, and if anglers don't like the setup, I'm sure BASS will keep things exactly the same for anglers wanting 5 fish weigh-ins for the BASS Opens and the Elites...which have become much better payouts/cost than before MLF.

Hard to find a combo for $100, but the Quantum Throttle baitcast combo fits this perfect. $99 Comes in three different rod lengths. I have not used the rods, but have used the reel, it is surprisingly good for the price.

That is a true treasure, very nice, thanks for sharing!

If you are a "DIY" guy, buying reels off eBay is a good way to build your arsenal for cheap. As mentioned a lot of people use their equipment, but never take the time or $$$ to take care of their reels. When they aren't performing perfectly anymore they sell them. A tear-down with the proper oil and grease and the reel may be as good as new. I personally do not buy used rods...you just can't "fix" a rod that has been abused.

Long time Quantum user and have used many other brands too. Like some have said, the man using the rod/reel is the key to catching fish. KVD/Wheeler/Ehrler/Evers could use a Zebco202 and beat me on tournament day this weekend. I will say that there is a HUGE difference between Quantum reels and QuantumPT reels. When speaking to people about Quantum I always ask what reel they are speaking of. If it is a Quantum then yes, it will be for the guy that fishes a few times a year, that is why they are under $80. QuantumPT are for the weekend warriors/Pros that might fish 60+ times a year. Big difference in the branding there. Strike King owns Lew's, so KVDs time was up at Quantum, he had to follow along. Brauer, Hackney, Lee all followed the "big company" rules and have switched brands recently. BTW, my PT's are not for sale.