There's plenty of bigger fish in Table Rock, but you have to fish for them differently and it's a much slower process than catching a ton of schooling spots. Last time gardnerjigman and I were on Table Rock, we found plenty of nice fish, and I promise none of them ate a drop shot or Ned Rig.

Need more bad sportsmanship and rod smashing on the side of the boat. This is what draws the viewers and pumps the ratings! "skeet reese"

1 hour ago, KHNC said:

Need more bad sportsmanship and rod smashing on the side of the boat. This is what draws the viewers and pumps the ratings! "skeet reese"

Ok you gotta tell me.....who does your hair and nails? You got it going on! ?

I usually try to get Lady Gaga's dude to hook me up! 

26 minutes ago, KHNC said:

I usually try to get Lady Gaga's dude to hook me up! 

He was on vacation and you got Rupaul? ?

I would love to see a fun MLF version like the Pros vs the Joes. Fish local lakes “amateur Joe’s” know and see how close it is. I bet a lot of the amateur Joe’s would surprise the pros.

5 hours ago, reelfast said:

I would love to see a fun MLF version like the Pros vs the Joes. Fish local lakes “amateur Joe’s” know and see how close it is. I bet a lot of the amateur Joe’s would surprise the pros.

I and all my friends have been known to catch a lot of 1 lb 1 oz bass 

I guess I'm old school.  I enjoyed the mlf when it was a fall deal after they'd fished the elites etc. I find myself less interested in professional fishing now than I've ever been. Its taken everything I've ever known and turned it on its head. As a kind of side deal it was cool. The novelty has worn off now and I'm not a fan of it. Maybe itll grow on me but I miss the way it used to be already. 

4 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

I and all my friends have been known to catch a lot of 1 lb 1 oz bass 

Yup.. and you guys probably would have a huge leg up on knowing where they are at on a local lake. I think a lot of guys could be pros if they had the opportunity: sponsor money mostly. 

Wheeler was catching some big fish in the world championship fianl. Kinda have to wait for the MLF show, but based on what you can see in Wheeler's footage the field was fishing the bent-pole pattern. Lost a lot of respect for Amart and Tak for poaching so blatantly. Lost respect for Ike awhile back so no loss there.

25 minutes ago, redux said:

Wheeler was catching some big fish in the world championship fianl. Kinda have to wait for the MLF show, but based on what you can see in Wheeler's footage the field was fishing the bent-pole pattern. Lost a lot of respect for Amart and Tak for poaching so blatantly. Lost respect for Ike awhile back so no loss there.

I agree that was pretty lame. All that water to cover and they fish right on top of him.

 

I'm still made at Ike because he never sent me the gift package he promised when I was on his Ike Live show.

12 hours ago, reelfast said:

Yup.. and you guys probably would have a huge leg up on knowing where they are at on a local lake. I think a lot of guys could be pros if they had the opportunity: sponsor money mostly. 

Those guys would still beat us bad but at least we wouldn’t zero! The lakes here all have keeper limits higher than 12” or 1 lb 

10 hours ago, redux said:

Wheeler was catching some big fish in the world championship fianl. Kinda have to wait for the MLF show, but based on what you can see in Wheeler's footage the field was fishing the bent-pole pattern. Lost a lot of respect for Amart and Tak for poaching so blatantly. Lost respect for Ike awhile back so no loss there.

Yeah I see enough of that crap on the water everyday, made me sad to see it at a “world championship” although that seemed pretty rinky dink for a world championship 

13 hours ago, reelfast said:

Yup.. and you guys probably would have a huge leg up on knowing where they are at on a local lake. I think a lot of guys could be pros if they had the opportunity: sponsor money mostly. 

When I bought my boat I told the salesman my next stop was the Bassmaster classic

He said, "Every hillbilly with a boat thinks they could win the classic."

We both got a good laugh because it has some truth to it.

 

A lot of guys that think they can be pros start by fishing the BFL's as it is cheap compared to the Opens or the Costa's

Win a couple AOY's at the BFL level and then you'll have something to offer sponsors

Now that all the major trails require you to qualify to fish them the best of the best will fishing the big  3 MLF, BASS and FLW. 

11 hours ago, Koz said:

I agree that was pretty lame. All that water to cover and they fish right on top of him.

 

I'm still made at Ike because he never sent me the gift package he promised when I was on his Ike Live show.

That's pretty crappy of him.

Some people might not agree with his personality, but it's his character that is reflected in these (non)actions

11 hours ago, redux said:

Wheeler was catching some big fish in the world championship fianl. Kinda have to wait for the MLF show, but based on what you can see in Wheeler's footage the field was fishing the bent-pole pattern. Lost a lot of respect for Amart and Tak for poaching so blatantly. Lost respect for Ike awhile back so no loss there.

Although the bent pole pattern sucks, MLF does nothing to prevent it.

Actually, scoretracker might encourage it.

 

If it isn't against the rules, then why is someone at fault for doing it?

How do you enforce something that is not in the written rules?

 

 

7 minutes ago, BassNJake said:

Although the bent pole pattern sucks, MLF does nothing to prevent it.

Actually, scoretracker might encourage it.

 

If it isn't against the rules, then why is someone at fault for doing it?

How do you enforce something that is not in the written rules?

 

 

I would say they are at fault just based on ettiquitte . Nobody likes getting rolled up on like that, wheeler sure didn't. Aaron martens will always be second place if he just keeps following whoever is in first and trying to copy them. That's exactly what he did to KVD in the classic on the Louisiana Delta 

3 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I would say they are at fault just based on ettiquitte . Nobody likes getting rolled up on like that, wheeler sure didn't. Aaron martens will always be second place if he just keeps following whoever is in first and trying to copy them. That's exactly what he did to KVD in the classic on the Louisiana Delta 

Kinda playing devil's advocate here...

I don't disagree, however if its not against the rules then what can he do?

These guys are not getting points for etiquette.

 

Dude has made a pretty good career by just following other guys around trying to copy them.

 

What about the tourneys where guys are fishing right on top of each other sharing water willingly?

Hard to make a rule where in certain instances the players don't even want it enforced.

 

I just think this is a bad part of fishing and the MLF format causes it to happen more often because you know who is catching them. Just fire up the motor and go see where they are.

Even if you dont fish the same spot, just knowing a guy is catching them on a point or a channel swing is something that can be duplicated elsewhere on the lake. 

6 minutes ago, BassNJake said:

Kinda playing devil's advocate here...

I don't disagree, however if its not against the rules then what can he do?

These guys are not getting points for etiquette.

 

Dude has made a pretty good career by just following other guys around trying to copy them.

 

What about the tourneys where guys are fishing right on top of each other sharing water willingly?

Hard to make a rule where in certain instances the players don't even want it enforced.

 

I just think this is a bad part of fishing and the MLF format causes it to happen more often because you know who is catching them. Just fire up the motor and go see where they are.

Even if you dont fish the same spot, just knowing a guy is catching them on a point or a channel swing is something that can be duplicated elsewhere on the lake. 

You get ettiquitte points when you lay your head down at night. I'm not saying the guy always follows around and tries to copy people, just saying he will never win that way , we've seen it fail twice on the biggest stage. Honestly I wouldn't even be proud if I won that way. Then again I would never do it in the first place 

4 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

You get ettiquitte points when you lay your head down at night.

Then again I would never do it in the first place 

I agree.

People that lie, cheat and/or steal have some way they justify it in their mind at the time.

I just dont think they revisit these actions to find how they can be better people or their justification holds more weight than their moral compass.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For me the BPT missed a huge opportunity by keeping the catch and release format but taking the biggest 5 fish.   It's definitely a dink fest on most waters.

 

They came to Table Rock twice and the average fish catch for the winner was around 1.3-1.4 lbs.  Those are 12"-14" fish, not keepers on any tournament I've ever entered.  Why would I want to watch that?  I can catch fish like that all day as well, no interest to me.

I don't think it would be a bad idea to mix it up, maybe have some events where you count everything, and others with a higher threshold, say 3 lbs, and maybe a traditional 5 biggest.  Let viewers see some versatility.

4 minutes ago, billmac said:

I don't think it would be a bad idea to mix it up, maybe have some events where you count everything, and others with a higher threshold, say 3 lbs, and maybe a traditional 5 biggest.  Let viewers see some versatility.

I don't watch MLF precisely because it's a dink fest. I think if it was either a threshold or 5 biggest I'd watch it...but this 'count everything you catch' is for the birds as the guys are going for quantity over quality.

This does bring up a question: On the BASS and FLW tours, are they actually targeting bigger fish, or are they simply culling the dinks that MLF is counting?  I'm sure there is some of both, but I kind of doubt that most of them are targeting big fish.  I could be wrong.

They do both, just depends on the angler , the body of water and situation  . A common strategy that has been used for decades is to   catch a limit then target larger fish . 

10 hours ago, billmac said:

This does bring up a question: On the BASS and FLW tours, are they actually targeting bigger fish, or are they simply culling the dinks that MLF is counting?  I'm sure there is some of both, but I kind of doubt that most of them are targeting big fish.  I could be wrong.

Well right now, both BASS and FLW are targeting fisheries that are pumping out the biggest fish right now.   This is a definite indicator of preference for quality over quantity.  Winners of the MLF events typically average sub 2 lb fish.

I really enjoy the MLF/BPT format.  I enjoy hearing the pro's comments and watching their techniques.  The skill they display is impressive.  It's competitive fishing of a different sort.  Watching a weigh-in at a BASS or FLW event is fine but it doesn't really help me to become a better fisherman.  Also, I'm a huge fan of the MLF "weigh and release" philosophy.