MLF Format

[FryDog62]

I enjoy watching the competition and various personalities, but after watching a couple seasons now I am growing a little tired of the "catch everything" format.  I know they want something different than the typical BASS/FLW tournament of 5 best fish, but when the average size is 14 ounces to a pound and a half, I get a little bored with it.  

 

I especially noticed this watching the Summit Cup Championship in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.  These are home waters for me and to watch the finals and probably over 100 fish caught - and the largest was 3 1/2 pounds.  These are waters where 4, 5 and and even a few 6 pound fish are not common, but are in relative good supply.  To catch that many fish between 6 great anglers and not even a 4 pounder, I think its more of an issue of the format not the quality of fish in the lake.  

 

I don't know how many times I heard "Oh, its a GIANT" and they weigh it at 2 1/2 pounds...  really?  I think the fisherman are getting conditioned...

 

Maybe reality is somewhere in between - it doesn't have to be the 5 biggest, but maybe only count fish over an acceptable size (12 inches is way too small IMO).  I've always been a fan of quality over quantity and I would rather see the Pros figure out how to catch premium fish in waters where the average/amateur fisherman like me goes.    

 

Just my 2 cents worth ~

[WRB]

It's a good format IMO.

You would think KVD would have an advantage fishing northern natural lakes like around Grand Rapids MN...he finish last in the finals and is a numbers bass angler. I can't stand to watch Ike's antics, he was last angler I thought would win the MLF title but he did win.

The format is intense and gives the Elite or or top tournament pro's from various trails a chance to go fishing for numbers head to head and very entertaining and educational.

Tom

[A-Jay]

28 minutes ago, FryDog62 said:

I enjoy watching the competition and various personalities, but after watching a couple seasons now I am growing a little tired of the "catch everything" format.  I know they want something different than the typical BASS/FLW tournament of 5 best fish, but when the average size is 14 ounces to a pound and a half, I get a little bored with it.  

 

I especially noticed this watching the Summit Cup Championship in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.  These are home waters for me and to watch the finals and probably over 100 fish caught - and the largest was 3 1/2 pounds.  These are waters where 4, 5 and and even a few 6 pound fish are not common, but are in relative good supply.  To catch that many fish between 6 great anglers and not even a 4 pounder, I think its more of an issue of the format not the quality of fish in the lake.  

 

I don't know how many times I heard "Oh, its a GIANT" and they weigh it at 2 1/2 pounds...  really?  I think the fisherman are getting conditioned...

 

Maybe reality is somewhere in between - it doesn't have to be the 5 biggest, but maybe only count fish over an acceptable size (12 inches is way too small IMO).  I've always been a fan of quality over quantity and I would rather see the Pros figure out how to catch premium fish in waters where the average/amateur fisherman like me goes.    

 

Just my 2 cents worth ~

 

I really like the show and the format quite a bit.  I make a concerted effort to watch every show.  (DVR)

The one exception being that although I actually have talked to the guy at shows and do genuinely like him in person, I do not like Ike's over the top foolishness on camera, it's irritating and seriously detracts from what is other wise an entertaining 60 minutes of TV.

 As for the size of a score able bass, I see why they do it and I don't totally disagree with the premise.  However, having 6 guys beat docks for 12 inch bass gets old fast.  I'd like them to impose a rule change where at the start of each period there is a "target size bass" that has to be caught before any of the other score able bass can be placed on the score tracker.  Maybe like a 2lb fish in the first period and then a 3lb fish for the 2nd & third periods.  Just something that would make guys get off the deliberate dink fest they routinely seem to get on just to keep up.  They obviously have the skill.

A-Jay

[RichF]

I think there is another thread where this topic was discussed at length.  I agree with you a 100%.  I don't get overly excited watching the biggest names in pro bass fishing catching a bunch of 12-14 inchers on drop shots, finesse worms, and wacky rigged senkos.  I like a lot of things about the format but I'd also like to see a few things changed.  

 

It's still, by far, the most entertaining bass fishing show on TV though and I'll keep watching it.

[38 Super Fan]

Quote

 

I like the format, but I agree that it can be boring watching them catch little fish one right after another. Fishing to me is all about trying to catch the biggest fish.

[wdp]

46 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

The one exception being that although I actually have talked to the guy at shows and do genuinely like him in person, I do not like Ike's over the top foolishness on camera, it's irritating and seriously detracts from what is other wise an entertaining 60 minutes of TV.

A-Jay

Exactly. He seems great in interviews and very polite & informative during instructional videos. But when I watch him during competitions, I immediately hit either the mute or FF button. 

 

To me the big difference is the live score tracker & how a lot of the episodes go down to the wire. I think it makes it more exciting and intense. The format I think reflects how most people fish. Don't we all like to catch more fish but still manage to catch a few good ones in the mix?

[FryDog62]

"To me the big difference is the live score tracker & how a lot of the episodes go down to the wire. I think it makes it more exciting and intense. The format I think reflects how most people fish. Don't we all like to catch more fish but still manage to catch a few good ones in the mix?"

 

I agree, but wonder if you could capture the same excitement but with a minimum 15 inch or 2 lbs...

[RichF]

I think there's some editing going on that actually makes it seem more "wire to wire" than it probably is.  

[12poundbass]

The dink fest does get boring at times. With that said I look at it as informative. I probably not on the level of experience as most of you so if I can look at what they're doing and do it on my lake and catch more fish in going to do it. Of course I want to catch bigger fish but if I can go out and catch more fish I'm going to do it. So I'm mixed on my feelings. I like seeing monsters caught but I also like how they have to figure the lake out as fast as possible and it helps me out.

[FryDog62]

Yes but figuring it out to win a dink fest is different than figuring out a lake's patterns to catch both quantity and quality are two different things --

[WRB]

Dink fest...Aaron Martens caught 88 lbs of bass in 6 hrs from one of those Grand Rapids MN lakes he had never even heard of before fishing it and very few were under 2 lbs. 

Tom

[OCdockskipper]

AJ hit the nail on the head, you can tweak the scoring as needed if you want to have larger bass targeted.  You could reward bonus points for target or largest fish, change the minimum size, or a bunch of other creative things.

 

As boring as some think it is to watch smaller fish caught, it is more boring to watch someone go an hour without a bite.

[A-Jay]

32 minutes ago, WRB said:

Dink fest...Aaron Martens caught 88 lbs of bass in 6 hrs from one of those Grand Rapids MN lakes he had never even heard of before fishing it and very few were under 2 lbs. 

Tom

 

That was an impressive school of Smallies he got on.  And they that were serious about choking that jerkbait he was throwing.

 I did particularly enjoy the "Crazy Laugh" he was doing after like the 30th or 40th fat bass. 

That's the kind of crazy I can relate to.

A-Jay

[12poundbass]

10 hours ago, FryDog62 said:

Yes but figuring it out to win a dink fest is different than figuring out a lake's patterns to catch both quantity and quality are two different things --

I do agree with you, I'd much rather see bigger fish caught. The problem though is if they were to target bigger fish the show it might not be as popular. Like OCdockskipper said watching someone go an hour or more without a bite is pretty boring. I watch Bassmaster live from time to time and it can get boring and they're chasing after a hand full of big bites. Maybe for the elimination and championship rounds they could head to big bass lakes like Falcon, Fork, Okeechobee, Mille Lacs lakes. 

[RichF]

13 hours ago, WRB said:

Dink fest...Aaron Martens caught 88 lbs of bass in 6 hrs from one of those Grand Rapids MN lakes he had never even heard of before fishing it and very few were under 2 lbs. 

Tom

 

That's like the only time that has ever happened in the MLF.  He happened to stumble across a massive school of good fish.  To me, that's not figuring anything out.  That's pure luck.  But, this is the kind of thing that could happen more often if there was some kind of new size restrictions imposed.  It would force guys to do what Aaron did and we'd likely see more occurrences like his. 

 

 

[WRB]

Remember the MLF happens after the regular tournament series are completed and they try to find lakes that the tournament trails don't fish to even the field somewhat. Shaw Grigsby, Bobby Lane, Greg Hackney have all caught big bass during MLF contest when fishing Florida lakes in the fall when these event occur. MLF is a numbers game where 3 or 4 bass out weigh 1 larger bass, the anglers are always trying to find biger bass and that drama is what makes this interesting IMO. Live FLW and Elite events is like watching corn grow...boring unless edited into 1 hour.

Tom

8 minutes ago, RichF said:

 

That's like the only time that has ever happened in the MLF.  He happened to stumble across a massive school of good fish.  To me, that's not figuring anything out.  That's pure luck.  But, this is the kind of thing that could happen more often if there was some kind of new size restrictions imposed.  It would force guys to do what Aaron did and we'd likely see more occurrences like his. 

 

 

KVD did the same thing when he caught 86 lbs of smallies, you get lucky when you at the top of your game. These anglers are skilled at locating bass quickly, they can't control the time or weather. Aaron gave up on smallies during the final because it was cloud covered and targeted LMB in the reeds with a buzz bait, broke off a big bass that may have won it, he placed 2nd behind Ike. KVD blanked the 1st period trying to make smallies bite and never recovered.

Tom

[Bass Turd]

I think it would make it very interesting if a bonus were awarded for larger bass. Double points over 5... hmmmm think of the possibilities...

[Team9nine]

I like the format just the way it is. Still plenty of decent sized fish caught in most events along with a few big ones. They start making it more like every other event out there and I'll stop watching. 

[FryDog62]

I still think a 15 inch limit wouldn't be so bad and again maybe a happy medium.  Maybe instead of catching 100 fish total they catch 60.  That's still filming of a fish caught every minute on an hour long show.  Would hold my attention better anyway.  

 

Personally, when I'm fishing with a bunch of guys and someone catches a 12 inch 14 ounce fish we're kind of embarrassed and slip it back into the water hopefully before anyone else notices ... and we're strictly amateurs at best...

 

 

[RichF]

2 hours ago, WRB said:

These anglers are skilled at locating bass quickly

 

MLF does a good job making the audience think this but I just don't really see it.  99% of the events play out the same way. Each angler finds the most obvious shoreline structure and goes to work.  To me, that's not locating bass quickly, it's just doing what the majority of bass anglers do.  The only difference is, these guys are better than most at actually fishing.  Some guys pick the right point first, the right pad field first, or the right set of docks first.  Then they all rotate.  I think Marty Stone and the anglers themselves do a great job of making it seem like their decisions are made by this in-depth, analytical thought when really, they're just doing what was stated above (99% of the time).  

 

 

55 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

 They start making it more like every other event out there and I'll stop watching. 

 

I wouldn't necessarily stop watching but I totally get where you're coming from.  MLF is so good because it's so different from traditional tournaments.  I think there could be some improvements but it's so popular right now, I don't see anything changing in a good while.

 

 

33 minutes ago, FryDog62 said:

Personally, when I'm fishing with a bunch of guys and someone catches a 12 inch 14 ounce fish we're kind of embarrassed and slip it back into the water hopefully before anyone else notices ... and we're strictly amateurs at best...

 

Haha. I can relate.  Maybe because I'm also from the great white north (way Upstate NY).  I would like to see bigger fish caught (or attempted to be caught) on the show because that's what I relate more to.  I fish for big ones every time I go out.  I may only catch 10 - 15 a day but 7 - 10 of those will be over 2 and a quarter.  

[OCdockskipper]

42 minutes ago, FryDog62 said:

Personally, when I'm fishing with a bunch of guys and someone catches a 12 inch 14 ounce fish we're kind of embarrassed and slip it back into the water hopefully before anyone else notices...

 

Apparently Ike isn't part of your fishing group...

[FryDog62]

3 minutes ago, OCdockskipper said:

 

Apparently Ike isn't part of your fishing group...

 

No, but we do have one 'screamer' in the group.  If he weren't a relative of one of the guys he'd probably get voted off the island

[WRB]

If you gave me a detailed lake map the first thing I do is locate high potential structure areas that should hold baitfish and bass because that is one of my skill sets. 90% of bass anglers always fish shore cover becuase that is where a higher % of number of bass live in most lakes. I only fish shore cover if forced to do that, usually during the spawn, because larger size adult bass spend more time in deeper structure. The last 5 years more bass anglers have become aware of deeper structure bass fishing. The MLF format awards total weight is the goal and 5 bass out weigh 2 bass a high percentage of the events, numbers dominate the total weight. If I was to fish a MLF event my target size bass would be 2 to 3 lbs, the size most tournament bass anglers fish for, something I rarely do.

If anyone thinks the elite professional bass anglers don't know how to quickly locate bass they are kidding themselves, these guys make a living catching fish.

Tom 

 

 

[Team9nine]

1 hour ago, FryDog62 said:

 

Personally, when I'm fishing with a bunch of guys and someone catches a 12 inch 14 ounce fish we're kind of embarrassed and slip it back into the water hopefully before anyone else notices ... and we're strictly amateurs at best...

 

 

 

No offense meant, but it's a sad reflection on the sport, and the current media/tournament mentality when you feel embarrassed by catching a bass. They can't get big by not being small, first. I love catching them all, big or small ?

 

-T9

[RichF]

I don't see how your hypothetical approach to fishing an MLF event addresses the point.  I'm not saying the Elite guys can't find fish.  But to say they are so skilled at finding them quickly based off MLF events isn't accurate.  They are simply looking for and fishing the most obvious stuff.  That's not finding bass quickly, that's just fishing for bass in spots most anglers would deem high percentage spots (and would also likely fish).  

 

And I definitely disagree that the highest % of bass live around shoreline cover in most lakes.  It may seem that way because those are the easiest fish to actually target, so 90% of anglers do just that.