New tournament circuit announced today

[12poundbass]

8 minutes ago, J Francho said:

If I was a young, up and coming angler, this would be the thing I'd be shooting for.

Are you saying you're retiring? 

 

Seriously though this does sound like a pretty good gig, and I'll bet it gets even sweeter after all the details are revealed. I'm wondering if they'll reveal the payouts which I think MLF typically keeps quiet don't they?

[Team9nine]

I'm guessing they'll start leaking out at some point after the meetings since all that will be disclosed to the 80 guys selected. I've seen everywhere from 100k to 1 mil thrown out there. Most logical answer I've seen said triple, so if I had to guess, I'd say 250k to win, 50k to play....might be way off - who knows.

[n8cas4]

3 hours ago, J Francho said:

If I was a young, up and coming angler, this would be the thing I'd be shooting for.

You would NOT get the invite unless you showcase your "star power" and talent in B.A.S.S. or FLW events.  

 

This bombshell is good for the chosen 80 anglers, but in terms of growing the sport, it seems to me like the next few years will actually be a step back in growing the sport.  Hopefully 1 step back and 2 steps forward over the next 5-10 years.  It's a important model in nearly EVERY sport:  a strong farm system will make for a strong sport / league.  MLF does not / will not have a strong farm system for several years.

[J Francho]

Just now, n8cas4 said:

You would NOT get the invite unless you showcase your "star power" and talent in B.A.S.S. or FLW events.

We've seen quite a few young stars rise from seemingly nowhere the past few years.

[RichF]

I want an invite...who do I have to pay and how many Instagram likes do I need?  I'm averaging 25 - 30 per post;)  Is that enough?

[J Francho]

3 minutes ago, RichF said:

Is that enough?

You can get a 10% coupon code and put the logo on your jersey. Check out my content!  Crushing it in 2018!

[sully420]

I like everything about this. Think of all the different lakes they will be able to fish and the whole country will be fair game even Mexico many. It's about time anglers got a chance to have ownership and input into the tour they fish. The financial incentive will allow everyone to fish to win. Edwin Evers was on BTL and made it sound like 2019 will be his last classic of he makes it. It also sounds like you fish MLF only. Can't wait to see how this plays out.

[OCdockskipper]

I don't think live coverage will be an issue, I would expect it to be along the lines of a golf tournament.  The are tons of cameras at PGA events so nothing is missed, but most of the live shots are of the leaders or those making a run.

 

I don't see how any pro short of KVD would turn down an invite.  The payouts and lack of entry fees make the tour similiar to golf & tennis.  The current setup puts fishing in with things like Poker.

 

I recall the original MLF mission statement talking of how MLF wanted to compliment the BASS & FLW tours, not compete with them.  I wonder if that has changed.  If this is successful, I think it kills the Elite Series but doesn't hurt the Opens.  BASS started out with all tournaments being opens, they may be forced back to it.  That might make the Classic similiar to the US open out here in the West, the last remnant of a past tour.

 

I wouldn't be surprised to see some kind of melding of MLF & BASS down the road, like what happened with the NFL & AFL.  BASS brings a large membership & history to the table while MLF will have the star anglers and the money.  They are both better together than seperate. 

[n8cas4]

Edwin Evers talked in an interview on basstalklive today about this 2019 bassmaster Classic being the last classic he fishes. 

 

Crazy. 

 

They talked about FLW surviving this because of their pay to fish instead of qualify to fish...and the structure of their opens and BFLs. BASS clearly the hardest hit.  

[redux]

I missed that last part about FLW not having a qualifying system. Didn't they just announce that they are going to a qualifying system, reducing field size, and dropping co-anglers to move to a more professional model and to address the concerns of the field? Did that change in the past few weeks?

 

Definitely weird to think about the BASS legacy walking out the door and rebuilding somewhere else.

 

They ran a sound bite from the Ike Live show three years ago after the EE interview. It was obvious who Ike was complaining about, but does anyone know what large endorsement deal KVD did for "free"?

[Team9nine]

Under the new format, and with more anglers, I think you'll see a lot less 12 inchers...a lot better mix of offshore vs bank beating.

[JCovas]

You got to consider the dilemma here. BASS just lost at least 70 or 75 of the top pros in the industry.

 According to qualifications for the Elite Series rules must change in order to refill the slots. They can't just say Hey! to the top guys over at FLW, we need you to come down here so we can have a true Elite Trail now that our top guys have left. Basically they're going to have pull from a lot of lower ranked anglers from  the Opens that are not proven Elite anglers.

 What are the possibilities that you send out 70 invitations to the Opens guys to compete in the Elite Series and every one of these guys can afford to compete at that level?

 Obviously there must be some change in the format or cost of entry to fill this void of anglers because most fishing the Opens could probably not pay the entry that the Elites pay. Also there will be less sponsorship funds coming in next year because of the formation of the new League.

 Think about this! If you were in FLW top level Pro or let's say mid level pro that was earning your entry fee back on tournament earnings. Just living off sponsorship dollars which means you're probably scraping by.

 Wouldn't you want to go over to bass now and Cherry pick the Elite Series? Consider there you probably won't be competing against 175 of the top sticks in the country only a little more than a diluted field of open anglers. 

Obviously BASS will have to offer better concessions to top-tier guys wanting to fish their Trail to lure them in. Without top-tier guys it's hard to consider them a true Elite Series.

[Logan S]

I know there were many BASS anglers unhappy about the way BASS handled many things this year...It wouldn't surprise me if some of the talk about anglers leaving forever and it being impossible to fish both tours turns out to be almost a kind of scare tactic to get BASS to compromise with the anglers in one way or another.

 

It wouldn't be the first time BASS and the anglers had it out with each other...  

[JCovas]

4 minutes ago, Logan S said:

I know there were many BASS anglers unhappy about the way BASS handled many things this year...It wouldn't surprise me if some of the talk about anglers leaving forever and it being impossible to fish both tours turns out to be almost a kind of scare tactic to get BASS to compromise with the anglers in one way or another.

 

It wouldn't be the first time BASS and the anglers had it out with each other...  

It is no scare tactic. They are GONE!

[Logan S]

Maybe...But unless you're one of the secret insiders we really don't know anything yet.  I just wouldn't be shocked if it turned out to be not quite as earth-shattering as it appears right now.  BASS is apparently already cancelling the western swing (though they haven't confirmed it), which is one example of them trying to compromise already.   

 

We'll just have to wait and see...But don't think for a second that this slow-roll info release isn't intentional.  

[n8cas4]

It will be interesting to see how BASS responds, but it is happening. I couldn’t believe it either, until I heard Edwin Evers say this will be his last bassmaster Classic. He’s not fishing both trails.  I don’t think any angler can or will. The Elite series will no longer be elite. 

 

I want to see what happens when a young future star develops from the new Elite series. What could BASS do in the future to not lose that new star  angler to the Bass Pro Tour?

[12poundbass]

1 hour ago, Logan S said:

  BASS is apparently already cancelling the western swing (though they haven't confirmed it), which is one example of them trying to compromise already.   

 

They have confirmed it. @Glenn posted it on here Wednesday I believe. They're replacing them with some TBA events in the Southeast. 

[Logan S]

37 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

They have confirmed it. @Glenn posted it on here Wednesday I believe. They're replacing them with some TBA events in the Southeast. 

I don't doubt it, but BASS themselves haven't said anything about it...At least that I've seen.  Nothing on their site about it.  Also, lots of the big names are still featured prominently on the BASS site.

 

I'm not saying anything one way or the other, nothing official regarding who's going and who's staying has come out besides anglers interviews...I've seen all those.  All I'm saying is it wouldn't surprise me if much of what's been said/speculated so far was part of some negotiating tactics.  

 

Lets also be real here...This stuff is still mostly rumor-mill at this point (the stuff that hasn't been released yet obviously)...Some of what was said early on as 'fact' turned out not to be entirely accurate (like the top 75 from BASS -AND- FLW leaving).  

[Team9nine]

When the dust settles, and if the full details ever come out, it will make for one heck of an interesting read. Some stuff will be known sooner rather than later, but some stuff may take a few years before people fully understand what's about to go down.

[RichF]

I say let them leave! More room for dreamers like me;)

[OCdockskipper]

As I was thinking about which big name pros would jump from the Elite series to MLF, I thought of one that I think won't.  Gerald Swindle fished for a year or so on the MLF Selects and then backed off (possibly injury related).  He is an extremely loyal person and theoretically would be the Top Dog on the Elite Series if the KVDs and Amarts left.

 

It would be interesting to hear his rants from the Elite stage if he does indeed stay. 

[punch]

The new BassTalk Live that just got posted has details about the "packet" that BASS gave out with all the new updates. Pretty impressive. 

[Tim Kelly]

Must make them wonder whether they'd be in this mess if they had rolled it out a few years ago. 

[Logan S]

BASS Plan Highlights for those that don't want to listen, it's a strong counter offer...

• Reduced field size to 80
• Classic spots to top 40, so top half qualifies
• BASS contributing more money to pot overall (67% more supposedly)
• Changed payout structure, guaranteed checks for all anglers - last place still pays $2500
• Returning Elite pros get a bonus, which added to guaranteed payouts means they will pay no entry fees for the whole season (they'd actually come out ahead $500)
• New Elites don't get bonus, but with the guaranteed payouts their effective entries fees are cut in half
• Live streaming cameras in ALL boats for all tournaments on final 2 days (BASS says every single angler will be live at least once during season)

Some other stuff I might have missed.  Still nothing about cancelling western swing from BASS themselves.  BASS supposedly fired some shots in the presentation too, saying something to the effect of "The Elite Series will continue to be the only major tournament series that you actually need to qualify for." 

 

Sounds like a win either way for the anglers, I'd recommend listening to the podcast from yesterday (don't think I can link, but it's a popular one that everyone has been getting info from already) if you're interested in all the drama like I am .  

[Jrob78]

Sounds like BASS is trying to make it a tough decision. It might be too late for a lot of guys though.