Swindle and Palaniuk coming back to BASS

[BassNJake]

Gerald Swindle and Brandon Palaniuk are going back to BASS.

They qualify for a legends exemption and will fish the BASS tour in 2020.

 

This will open 2 spots on the BPT, no word on if they will invite 2 more.

 

https://m.bassmaster.com/news/swindle-palaniuk-returning-elite-series

 

Not sure how they got out of the 3 year contract with BPT, but with Boyd being involved $$$ is king.

Makes Luke's comments about it not being all roses at the BPT hold up even more

 

[fishballer06]

I had a feeling we would see if you guys come back. I wouldn't be surprised if a few more come.

 

Ike made a comment to Scott Martin on his podcast earlier this week saying something along the lines of "What would you think if three or four spots were to open up here soon in the BPT? Would you change your mind about BASS and switch?" 

[Glenn]

Expect more of this to come....

[Tim Kelly]

That's great news as far as my interest in pro bass fishing goes. I found last year really difficult to be interested in. I don't enjoy the BPT format at all, FLW seemed distracted and BASS was a bit less than it might have been with so many new faces. I expect I'll be following BASS much more enthusiastically again this coming season.

 

[EWREX]

fantastic news and more to come for sure. i think a lot all of these angler's had a slight reality check this past year. i'm pumped for this coming season!

[Hawkeye21]

So they lost Palaniuk and Swindle but gained Thrift and Dudley.  Thrift is a huge addition.

[Tlauz]

I would expect around 25% or more will eventually return. (That still means a large chunk left). I think some will miss the 5 fish limit and others just can't compete.   I think people who hate the BPT don't realize what a great opportunity it created for others.  There were people who fished the Elites this year who may never have if all the top pros hadn't left.  BASS will create some new stars and some will return. BPT will do well also.  It seems like a huge win for fans.  I will continue to watch both.  It actually works out well for both BPT and BASS. BPT gets to add add Thrift and Dudley and BASS gains a little star power. 

[GReb]

Love this move. Hopefully a few more will return. I don’t have a preference between Elite and MLF but from a fan perspective it is exciting to have interest in both tours. A few big names moving back to Elite will really help increase it. 

[NorcalBassin]

I hadn't paid much attention to any of the tours this year and just assumed all was great with year one. It would be great to see the Elites get more big names like this... seemed headed way too far towards a monopoly and moves like this will help keep that from happening.

[Jeff Browning]

I think I'm in the minority, but if you quit your job can you just come back??  They didn't just have a bad season or two and not qualify for the Elites; they up and quit, BP was one if the first to go.  I wonder if they went to try BPT knowing they had a bridge back to the Elites before they made their decisions.  My opinion is that ALL of the guys who jumped ship for greener pastures (AKA Quit) should be forced to re-qualify.   70+ of them left BASS without regard for what happened to the tour.  I watched both he BPT and Elites last season and enjoyed it.  But don't think the Elites should have a revolving door if you quit.  They made a choice and actions have consequences. What about all the guys trying to qualify the right way?

 

If they are really better than everyone else; qualifying shouldn't be a problem.

Edited November 28, 2019 by Jeff Browning
Continue thought

[Jrob78]

15 minutes ago, Jeff Browning said:

I think I'm in the minority, but if you quit your job can you just come back??  They didn't just have a bad season or two and not qualify for the Elites; they up and quit, BP was one if the first to go.  I wonder if they went to try BPT knowing they had a bridge back to the Elites before they made their decisions.  My opinion is that ALL of the guys who jumped ship for greener pastures (AKA Quit) should be forced to re-qualify.   70+ of them left BASS without regard for what happened to the tour.  I watched both he BPT and Elites last season and enjoyed it.  But don't think the Elites should have a revolving door if you quit.  They made a choice and actions have consequences. What about all the guys trying to qualify the right way?

 

If they are really better than everyone else; qualifying shouldn't be a problem.

I agree with you 100% in principle but BASS is in need of household names and quite frankly they don't have too many of them right now. They are allowed back in by way of the "legends exemption" which is given to anyone who has won an AOY title or Bassmaster Classic. This is how Rick Clunn and David Fritts (currently) and Paul Elias (in years past) fished the Elites, so precedent has been set for this.

 

The bottom line is BASS probably feels like they need them more than holding a grudge over last year is worth.

[Jeff Browning]

I wouldn't say BASS needs names.  They guys who came over from the FLW last year, and the guys who stayed on the tour, really showed well and in my opinion.  I haven't enjoyed watching the Elites in the past nearly as much as I did this year.

 

Clunn, Fritts and Elias didn't quit the tour, they didn't qualify on points.  To me that's not the same thing.  BP and Swindle showed no allegience or appreciation for the organization that gave them the platform they had.  BASS was under new management and, maybe, if they'd stayed and tried to affect a change instead jumping ship things would have changed.  

 

I don't know.  It's nothing personal for either of them.  I enjoy watching their videos and attending their seminars at BU.  I just think that if you abandon ship and try and take all the talent with you, you shouldn't be able to use the legend rule.  I don't feel it's a grudge, just what's most fair to all of the guys in the Opens or Nation who are trying to get to the top.  They had the top seat, chose to leave and yes, should have to face a consequence for their disloyalty or actions.

 

So - do the bottom 10 or so anglers drop off the Elites to make room for the guys who qualified from the Open and the Nation?  I can't find anything online about how you stay on the Elites once you get a seat at the table.

[YoTone]

i wouldnt be surprised if there was a cash incentive to switch back.

but yeah i dont think ive ever watched mlf live. its just a train wreck of  schedule  to watch. 

 

[Smalls]

I’m curious how they got out of that 3 year contract they had with MLF. 

[EWREX]

20 minutes ago, Smalls said:

I’m curious how they got out of that 3 year contract they had with MLF. 

money talks 

[OCdockskipper]

19 hours ago, Jeff Browning said:

I think I'm in the minority, but if you quit your job can you just come back??...

Like a lot of things in life, it depends.

 

How did you leave your last job?  Was it done upfront and with the employers blessing?  Did you show your employer what was offered and explained why you were considering leaving?

 

How valuable of an employee were you?  Is it in the companies best interest in having you back?  How did you conduct yourself when you were employed there?

 

Relationships are the unseen side of business, I believe that both Swindle & Palaniuk have great relationships with the powers that be at BASS.  Now if someone like Ish Monroe wanted to come back, his history of battles with BASS most likely would not help him. 

[Adam.love05]

Good for both of them.. The  grass isnt always greener on the other side.. They both realized that and decided to go back to their roots.. Its humbling for them to do that as I'm sure they both lost out on some money.. 

 

I dont respect how MLF bashed BASS to gain their fame.. Theirs enough anglers for 2 different tours.. No need to be hostile towards each other..

 

IMO I'd rather see them fish it out for their best 5!  Anyone can catch the snot out of those pounders on a wacky rig or shaky head.. I do wish BASS did a catch weigh release format though.. 

[Troy85]

8 hours ago, Adam.love05 said:

I do wish BASS did a catch weigh release format though.. 

They do for the Texas Fest event every year.  I bet as time goes on they will move and more of their events to the catch weight release format.

[Adam.love05]

52 minutes ago, Troy85 said:

They do for the Texas Fest event every year.  I bet as time goes on they will move and more of their events to the catch weight release format.

I'm hoping so.. Then just do like they do with the texas fest.. If its over "x" inches you can bring it in to show.. That way the fans still get something to see if they so please

[Tim Kelly]

55 minutes ago, Adam.love05 said:

I'm hoping so.. Then just do like they do with the texas fest.. If its over "x" inches you can bring it in to show.. That way the fans still get something to see if they so please

Funny. That always strikes me as a really daft thing to do and completely counter to the intention of the format. They do need to work out a way of replacing the weigh in with some sort of alternate cliff hanger. Whether they stop the live scoreboard a couple of hours before the end, or maybe the commentators guess the weight rather than knowing the actual weighed weight, so that there is still some tension and expectation at the "weigh in". It needs work. BASS should definitely ban boat flipping fish into the cockpit. I hate that.

[A-Jay]

46 minutes ago, Tim Kelly said:

Funny. That always strikes me as a really daft thing to do and completely counter to the intention of the format. They do need to work out a way of replacing the weigh in with some sort of alternate cliff hanger. Whether they stop the live scoreboard a couple of hours before the end, or maybe the commentators guess the weight rather than knowing the actual weighed weight, so that there is still some tension and expectation at the "weigh in". It needs work. BASS should definitely ban boat flipping fish into the cockpit. I hate that.

Perhaps the 'Top Five' could settle it like they do in NASCAR ?

A-Jay

[Columbia Craw]

Drama

[OCdockskipper]

I was thinking more about this today and I wonder if an issue for some of the guys who are shunning or leaving BPT is with the their format, fishing an 8 hr day where it is pedal to the medal the entire time.  If you look at most other sports or competitions, the competitors are on the playing field for typically less than half that time and in many sports, are just observing for a good portion of that time (baseball for example).  Having to focus for that length of time is d**n near impossible.  With the heaviest 5 format, you can get a decent limit early and then spend the rest of the day trying to cull up, which is a lot less stressful and requires less focus than continually having to catch a fish or fall behind.

 

It made sense for the original MLF format to have 7 1/2 hrs of fishing, they were going to an unknown lake with no practice.  With BPT and having a couple of days of practice, they should cut the fishing day down to 4 hours.  The shows would likely be more competitive and it is more reasonable to expect a person to focus hard for 4 hrs instead of 8.  For events on medium to large reservoirs, maybe you could have a 30 minute period for anglers to get where they want to go, that way the longer runs aren't punished by losing fishing time and the shorter runs can graph stuff or check out other areas without the event starting.

 

They also need to make a change to there being no difference between finishing 2nd thru 20th in the qualifying rounds.  If they want to zero the weights, maybe each spot higher you finish means 3 more minutes of fishing the following round, i.e, the winner of the round gets 4 hours, the guy in 10th has 3 1/2 hrs, the guy who slid in at 20th gets 3 hrs.  Some kind of award or advantage for doing better in the early rounds.

[billmac]

I'm a little torn about this.  I grew up with BASS and I have an affinity toward them from long association.  However when I got back into fishing and interest in tournaments, I was really disappointed to see how roughly the fish were treated.  I was immediately impressed with the MLF rules for fish handling.  I thought perhaps the big exodus toward MLF might prompt BASS to adopt some better fish handling procedures.  Doesn't look like that's going to happen.  Likewise, I don't think it would be a big stretch at all for MLF to go to a best 5 while keeping the CWR model.  I've never liked the weigh-in side show anyway, but that's just me.

[scaleface]

Good .