FLW Fantasy Fishing Changes for 2014

Here is the Summery from BassFan:

My thoughts:  I'm happy, happy, happy, that they brought prizes back for all the events and went with lesser prizes, but more of them.  A+ FLW!!!

As for the new scoring system, I'm on the fence.  I thought it was hard enough to pick anglers under the old way of doing it and putting a salary cap on anglers will probably complicate the game more than is needed.  Sounds like a hassle, but we will just have to see how it works.

The New Look BassFan.com

As that I thought the old BassFan layout was one of the best webpage layout's I've ever seen, I'm not a big fan of the change.  Two thumbs down!!!

I Don't Think So Dude!

BassFan.com published an opinion piece by some dude named Steve Chaconas who uses the Nate Wellman scandal as a pretext to make the suggestion that the Bassmaster Classic should be an Elite Series Angler only tournament.

Here is his thesis in a nutshell:
But an even stronger argument that the Bassmaster trail is off track remains. The case is made for only Elite Series anglers to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic. Allowing anglers to qualify for the sport's biggest championship from lower-level competitions only opens the door for desperation and dishonesty.

No winners of the Opens, no collegiate champion, no Federation Nation anglers, no Bassmaster Weekend Series champion. Only Elite Series anglers should be in the “Big Game."
In my opinion this is nothing but crazy talk. I don't know about the collegiate champions, winners of the Opens, and Bassmaster Weekend Series champion, but if B.A.S.S. were to take the Federation Nation anglers out of the Classic than I as a fan would be done with the Classic. No blogging about it. No caring about it. This is something I have already done with the sport of professional baseball and hockey.

As far as I'm concerned it's the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society with it's Federations that built the foundation of the sport of bass fishing and the Bassmaster Classic so it could grow into what it has become today. Cutting out the grassroots tradition of participation in the Bassmaster Classic would be a monumental mistake. I highly doubt the new owners of B.A.S.S. would even entertain the idea and Elite Series Pro's would be cutting off their nose to spite their face to suggest such a thing. However K-Pink on Facebook seems to endorse the idea. I think less of Kevin Short now than I already did and he already wasn't one of my favorite pro's to begin with because he has put his foot in his mouth in the past.

As for the Chaconas contention that "Allowing anglers to qualify for the sport's biggest championship from lower-level competitions only opens the door for desperation and dishonesty." I think the desperation part is in the equation if it is Elite Series Pro's only. There certainly have been a fair share of unfortunate instances of lack of sportsmanship in the Elite Series over the years.

The only area where I think he has a point is where it comes to dishonesty. The more people you exclude and the more you put that smaller group under the microscope the less likely you are to have people try and cut corners because they simply wouldn't be able to get away with it. But I don't think the trade off is worth sacrificing something that makes this sport go round. The Bassmater trail is not "off track"; However, implementing Steve Chaconas ideas would do just that.

Current 2011 BassFan.com Money Rankings

One thing that is cool about BassFan is that they count the cash and rank the anglers by it. You hear about the $ rankings in golf all the time, but not so much in Pro Bass Fishing. That could be due to the fact that the sums really are not mind blowing and on the lower end, there is obviously has to be a pain factor for guys that aren't coming anywhere close to meeting expenses in an expensive sport.

At this point I think the number tend to skew in favor of the Elite Series guys because their season is over and the big money Bassmaster Classic starts the year. The Lucky FLW Angler that wins the Forrest Wood Cup will join KVD at the top.
Cool to see Brandon Palaniuk in 25th.

Out of the Loop (Not Really)

I'm chalking this one up to poor promotion and the fact that I don't pay much attention to Bass Zone.com
BTL or Bass Talk Live
If you want to know what it is all about Get Hook'd has the press release:
Z3 Media Offers New Experience for Anglers

I wonder if they sent the press release to BassFan.com and Wired2Fish and neither covered it because of the competition. Doesn't make sense as Wired2Fish has an add on the BassZone.com site.

Just checked and Basszone.com doesn't have a Facebook page.

Also just checked and BassFan.com doesn't either. Are you kidding me!!! My blog has a Facebook Page for goodness sakes.

My Thoughts On Six Idea's

BassFan Editor-In-Chief Jon Storm wrote an Op-Ed entitled "Upon the Cliff" where he threw out 6 ideas that he would like to see implemented by the new management at BASS and FLW.

Here are the 6 ideas and my thoughts.

1. The sport needs a unifying championship to survive. Period.

I guess a unifying championship would be OK, but I don't think it's something that is vital. Also I wonder exactly what Storm has in mind as there is a lot of different ways you can go with this. It isn't clear to me what a unifying championship would look like.

2. The sport needs a joint conservation, youth and legislative body to take on the antis and polluters. We must ensure there are players and a playing field for the sport in the future.

I view this one as another nice, but not necessary. It is not clear to me that having one big centralized initiative is better than having a diverse coalition of smaller initiatives of varying sizes.

3. Tours should be exclusive, not inclusive. Billy Joe shouldn't get to fish against Kevin VanDam, Skeet Reese or Brent Ehrler just because he's got a trust fund or a gas well in his backyard. Make it tough to get on a tour and demand a multiyear performance level to stay there.

On this one I think there are Pro's and Con's for both approaches. Obviously the Elite Series is more exclusive and the FLW Tour is more inclusive. I think there is room for both models.

4. The sport needs to ditch its focus on 1st-place payout and balance the payout down the field. Once you pay your dues to reach a tour, it should be a profitable or break-even venture to stay there. And fans simply don't care how much a pro athlete wins at an event.

I tend to agree with this point as I think it's something that will make the sport more sustainable for those trying to live the dream.

5. Outlaw made-for-TV events and formats, like the BASS post-season or the FLW Tour cut to the Top 5.

Obviously there are serious flaws with the BASS post-season that need to be addressed and scrapping the thing wholesale might be the answer. As far as the FLW cut to 5, I'm not really sure why he singled this out. Cut to 5, Cut to 10, Cut to 12 whatever cutting the field down makes sense to me.

6. Distribute house money fairly. As BASS stabilizes, it should use sponsor money to cut entry fees first, boost purses second. Same for the FLW Tour. But also, performance should dictate who gets FLW sponsor-team deals, not who you know, what you look like or which boat you drive. And FLW team money should go to tour pros only, not co-anglers.

I was right with this one until he advocated cutting out the Co-Anglers. As I've made clear on many occasions, I believe Co-Anglers are good for the sport. I think it is a feature that bass fishing has an avenue open for fans to fish with the Pro's while in serious competition. I think Co-Anglers should have a shot at incentives and a piece of the pie. This kind of gets to one of the Cons about making the sport more exclusive. I think as you make professional bass fishing more exclusive you limit the overall outreach potential of the sport. Kevin Van Dam can only be in one place at a time. More people are on the radar screen when you have an army of Tami Curtis's, Chris Ricci's, Matt Peters and Ashley Rae's. I certainly think more can be done to promote Co-Anglers and to get Co-Anglers out promoting themselves and the sport.

Good Read from BassFan...

It'd be nice to have a picture of the bait to show you, but alas, it belongs to Guntersville now. On day 2, Martin was paired with another pro (who shall go unnamed), and that guy also wanted to try the magic rattlebait after seeing it produce a couple more chunks for its owner. But a mighty cast resulted in a nasty backlash, followed by the popping sound that's familiar to anglers everywhere – amateur or professional.

Day To Remember, A Day To Forget Check out the whole story about Yelas getting schooled by a Co and the tale of another lost wonderlure.

I hope the Pro that lost the magic bait compensated Martin handsomely.

Apparently the people at BassFan.com, BassFanArmy.com, InshoreFan.com, OutdoorsFanweather.com and ShotgunFan.com have openned up another franchise: Walleyefan.com.

Here is the logo (Not a link)

BP's Revenge vs. Cyberfish (many months later)


Are You O.C.F.?

Daily Pro Site-ING= "Spin" gotta love the rolling surf sound effect with gulls. I think I'm gonna take a nap.

New Stuff:
Cool Looking Baits

But will they catch fish? I bet they will. I'll probably buy a couple if I ever find some loose change in my pocket this spring.

Note: Checked in Bass Pro Shops, these baits are selling for $12.99 a piece. OUCH! Maybe I won't be buying any. Rapala Husky Jerks and X-Raps are fish catchers for half the price.

BP Newswire:BassFan changes the Bass Professional World Rankings Formula.

State Farm is no longer the title sponsor of the BassFan World Rankings

I suppose it had to be done with all the changes going on in the world of Professional Bass Fishing right now. In case you are not aware there have been many major changes made between 2005 and 2006. BassFan recognized this and has acted accordingly. Under the new ranking formula here are the Top 10 Bass Fisherman in the World by performace over the last two years.

1. Kevin VanDam 228.590
2. Greg Hackney 216.084
3. Edwin Evers 195.297
4. Michael Iaconelli 194.939
5. Takahiro Omori 193.054
6. Skeet Reese 188.520
7. Anthony Gagliardi 186.264
8. Terry Scroggins 185.585
9. Marty Stone 185.188
10. Davy Hite 184.825

Full rankings here.

Of the Top 10 I don't have websites for 6 of them. What does that say?

2004 Bass Pundit's
"BEST!" and "WORST!"
Well, it looks as if Part 2 of my Tournament Review will have to come in the new year cause I gotta get this done now or it won't get done.

The Bass Pundit's "BEST!" will be given in 5 categories and "WORST!" in 2 catagories in this the inaguaral year of Bass fishings "BEST!" blog .

The Five Catagories for a Bass Pundit "BEST!" are:
Professional Bass Fisherman
Professional Bass Trail
Bass Fishing Web Page
Bass Fishing Bulletin Board
Bass Fishing Blog (Can you guess who's gonna win this one?)

The Two Catagories for a Bass Pundit "WORST" are:

Decision in Bass Fishing (Pro or AM)
Bass Fishing Tackle Add or Product

As that I, the Bass Pundit, am the blogosphere's pre-eminent self-appointed authority on all things Bass Fishing it gives me not only the right but the duty to honor certain bass fisherpeople as the "BEST!" of the best and "WORST!" in their area of contribution to the global world of bass fisherpeople. And after all what good is a Bass Pundit if they are not going to come up with such things at the end of the year. I suspect we will have many newly added categories next year. So without further ado, here I my "WORST!" losers and "BEST!" winners of 2004.

The first catagory on tap is:
"WORST!"
Bass Fishing Tackle Add or Product.

Dishonorable mentions:
#2 ALL STAR RODS AND Mark Davis:
This is for their absurd advertising campaign that portends to put an ALL STAR rod in the hands of the next person to break the World Record for Largemouth Bass. "Designed specifically to whip the next world record bass." and "I believe that the next world record bass will probably be caught on an ALL STAR rod..."
I'm sorry but with this add campaign, no they won't! Only a trout or walleye fisherman would buy into that hype. This add can be seen in the 2005 Bass Pro Shops Master Catalog P.156 and is probably in Bass Mags and other media they do as well.

#1 Ray Scott's Lighted Lures: Fishing crankbaits that have electronic innards that make em blink and make noise. Gimmick! At 8bucks plus, plus batteries it ain't one of the cheaper one's. BP's advice, look for em on Ebay. (To see click here.)

And the 2004 Bass Fishing Tackle Add or Product award:
"WORST!"
DANCIN BUZZBAIT by Bill Dance
A buzzbait where the wire is a foot or longer separating the buzzer from the hook.
Yes! I am sure it will catch fish but that thing has got to be one of the most aerodynamically prone to backlash lures in the history of bass fishing. Buzz baits already were about the worst offenders and then to stretch it's profile and constustruct a bait this way is asking for more cursing than catching. Also, what do you think is gonna happen when a fair sized Doggy, Pike, or Ski grabs that thing and bends it into a paper clip or outright corksqrew that thing around their mussel and wire their toothy mug shut in such a way that would make an MD proud? ( that is if they just doing snap it in two immediately) This monstrosity sells retail for a mere $5.99 a pop.Seen here

The next category is:
"WORST"Decision in Bass Fishing (Pro or Am)

Dishonorable Mentions:
#2 Byron "The Bachelor" Velvick:
Yeah, the BP thought it would be cool having a pro bass fisherman in the leading role of one the most popular RTV programs. That was until I and all of America realised what a wanker slime dog skankin psycho creep he is. Thank goodness the ratings on this one were pathetic from what I hear. There are a lot of upstanding and great Pro Bass fisherman and ole Swimbait boy did not come across as one of them. Sorry Dude! but the only winners on that show were the women that lost.

#1 The Bass Anglers Sportsmen Society and ESPN for starting up their new Bassmaster Weekend Tournament Series with such lousy rules for the Co-Angler (that's a person who fishes out of the back of the boat all day and does not get to choose the angling location). I am sure many of you are not familiar with the controversy but this was just a boneheaded move on ESPN/BASS's part that has raised cain amongst serious Co-Angler types and frankly makes no sense that the BP can see. I guess in not wanting to follow the FLW's lead they were perfectly willing to drive themselves into a ditch. Nice Move!

"WORST!"
2004 Decision in Bass Fishing:
FLW for the DQ of Kevin Snider
Here is a guy who fights up the boater ranks in his division all year in his boat, qualifies for and wins the regional as boater in his own boat that he has fished out of all season and then is stripped of his achievement on a technicality; a technicality if the rules were fully interpreted literally would disqualify many many of FLW winners past and present. This was a travesty and I hope either FLW comes to their senses or the guy gets a good lawyer. To learn more

And now enough with the negativity and lets move right on into the next phase of the Punditry.

"BEST!"
2004 Bass Fishing Blog:
BASS PUNDIT
OK OK so I am a homer but it's my blog and I'll call it "BEST!" if I want too. But a big reason why I started this site was that all the blog references I could find for Bass fishing were either snide remarks or wonderment about the subject. I did find one other Bass blog but it wasn't a pure blog, but was a blog attached to a Pro Bass Fishermen or two's site. I suppose the BassFan Army stuff could be considered blogging as well, but this site as far as I know is the first real Bass Fishing dedicated pioneer of the blogosophere. If that's not the case someone let me know, I searched Google but got nothing. Ah but now I have learned that I and another site are on Google. Try the Bassin Blog here . His is older but mine is better, so there.

Plus I've had a visit from Maryam of So I Want To Be An Astronaut who is a true force in Blogosphere, even though I had no idea at the time. She has a great site and is an inspiration and encouragement being a Kuwaiti young women who wants to reach for the stars or mars and grab them.

"BEST!"
2004 Bass Fishing Bulletin Board
Tackle Tour!
Ok Ok I just found this site at the end of the year and maybe it's Bass forum isn't the best out there but for talking tackle and bass tackle you probably can't beat this place. Plus Tackle Tour! has an amazing avatar collection which was the decisive factor.
"BEST!"
2004 Bass Fishing Web Page
BassFan.Com
Face the Facts man, BassFan is in a league of it's own. It has a silky smooth layout and is the hottest Bass Page on the Web bar none for the Bass fishing junky like me. A month worth of BassFan reading is far better than a months Bassmaster Magazine. The BP hopes to qualify for the BassFan Army in 2005. Details on that coming soon.

Ok so the next catagory is like Pepsi or Coke, there are only two players that matter and lots of people have a strong preference for one or the other. I'm a Coke man myself. In an upset it's:
FLW
"BEST!"
2004 Professional Bass Fishing Tour
This one is an upset because FLW through the BFL's made the "WORST!" decision of the year, has a second rate Fantasy Bass Fishing set up, and did not have, KVD, the biggest player currently in Pro Bass Fishing fishing the circuit; And ESPN/BASS has probably more familiar "name" anglers, a better Fantasy Bass Fishing set up, the innovative E50's, and the Bassmasters Classic. Yet the BP has to go with FLW because they did a better job of spreading the schedule, paying the Pro's and Co's, respecting the Co's, and keeping a bass addict like me on top of things with their instant results web streamed weigh ins and better than Bass pre, during, and after Tourny information in general. Plus it is just absurd that "The Classic" is not the highest paying touny in Bass Fishing. BASS needs to get their act together on that one.

Ohh thank goodness only one more catagory and that is the biggest "BEST!" of them all.

First the Bass Pundit's:
2004 Professional Bass Angler Honorable Mentions:
#5 Takahiro Omori
This is Japanese transplant has paid his dues and won the biggest tournament of them all. He had great finishes on both the BASS and FLW circuits, but the BP is simply more impressed with some others. Sure the Bassmasters Classic is what it is, but it is a limited field tournament.

#4 KVD
(That is Kevin "Fricken" Van Dam, the kid from Kalamazoo) He starts and ends the year as the #1 ranked Bass Angler of the year,. He wins the first overall Elite 50 championship which was a multi tournament competition against most of the greatest sticks in bass fishing ever, and he nearly wins the Classic for a second time continually showing them Southern, Western, and Eastern boys how it's done. That's why he is Kevin "Fricking" Van Dam!

#3 Shinichi Fukae
This was the year of the Japense invasion, even though Takahiro has been in the states for awhile. "Shin" won the 2004 FLW Angler of the Year despite knowing zero english and having never really fished in the USA before. Sure he got a sponsor's exemption and sure he basically lived on the lakes and probably pre-fished as much as anyone; "Shin" was the bomb for me in Fantasy and that's all there is to that. I saw that train rolling and jumped on it, "Shin" is a stud!

#2 Greg Hackney
The Hack Attack was AWWWWWWWWWWWWNNNNNNNNNNNNN! Simply amazing that this guy is not #1 with the year he had. He came in second by just a small amount for angler of the year on both the BASS and FLW tour and then he goes on to just kick more tail in the BASS OPENS and is now pre-qualified to fish the Bass Masters Classic. What am I thinking not putting this guy as the best Pro of 2004, especially with all the Fantasy points he gave me and the Posse. I like this guy, he's the real deal.

Drummroll Please:
2004 Professional Bass Angler
"BEST!"
Mark Davis
Mark is quite a guy and a pro's pro, when healthy is consistantly among the best on the water. This year he won an astonishing 3 tournaments, two in a row of which were Elite 50's against the best Bass Pro's ever. He gave me one huge score in Fantasy, but then I dropped him just in time for him to win those 2 in a row. I won't be a hater, that was my dumb move. Find out more about Mark at his website here.

Bass Fan Radio

BassFan.com is probably one of my favorite sites on the net. I love the layout and it's info on the Pro bass fishing and bass fishing in general is top notch. One of the many great features of the site is BassFan Radio where Pro's and people in the Professional Bass fishing industry are interviewed. They have quite a catalog of interviews you can listen to and they usually add one or two a week.

Wanna know about Tim Hortons' great catch and show down with the "Hack" on the big O than click here

Wanna hear Kevin Van Dam talk about being the #1 ranked Pro in the world and his thoughts on what makes him tick than click here

Wanna hear Takihiro Omori talk about winning the classic than click here.

There is a ton of good stuff there check it out.

The BP at Bass Fan.

Once again the BP was published in the BassFan feedback section. It's more like a "letter to the editor" than wide open comment section. I should have taken a little more time to craft my statement, but I figured they would edit it to be a little more clear where it wasn't. Unfortunatly, the only thing they edited was "The Bass Pundit" as part of my name.

Here's an excerpt (for full excerpt click the title of this post and scroll down).

Dave Maas of Lake Platte, MN writes:
My initial rections to the BASS co-angler changes were slightly negative, but nothing like the hysterics people seem to have at this point...

The topic of my "letter" was the controversial change B.A.S.S. has just made to it's Co-Angler rules. A Co-Angler is a person that fishes only from the back of the boat in a tournament and they compete against the other Co's; there is a separate tournament within the tournament. This type of tournament format is also sometimes called a Pro/Am.

The new Co-Angler rules at B.A.S.S. show a different direction in philosophy than FLW. The B.A.S.S.'s philosophy seems to view Co-Angler's as tourists with perks, while FLW cultivates Co-Anglers as a legitimate form of Bass fishing competition from it's lowest level, BFL (Walmart Bass Fishing League), to it's highest level, The FLW Pro Tour. In fact I think it was the FLW regime of tournaments that have changed the bass fishing nomenclature from "Am" to the now popularized term "Co."

The Bass Pundit doesn't think there is a right or a wrong answer as to which philosophy is better or more legitimate. Personally, I really want to try both at the highest level's of the "major league" trails. I think both sides are missing the boat in not giving the Pro credit in some way for fish that the Co-Angler catches. In FLW the weights are totally separate and BASS is now counting the Pro's weight with 3 fish for the Co, but the Pro's bass stand alone. I believe firmly the pro should get credit in some way for big fish the am catches because the pro chooses the fishing location and controls the boat. I will probably spell out how I think the Pro/Co formatt should be done at some later date.