BPT / MLF Format Rules Needs To Change !!

[ChrisD46]

**To all who watch or are interested in the BPT / MLF  future success (this means you Boyd Duckett !!) : The format needs to change to count ONLY the top five (5) heaviest bass from each participant ... Yes , every bass can still be weighed - but only have the top five heaviest bass from each participant count . The main reason for this strongly suggested change ? The majority of BPT / MLF tournaments are a "dink fest" !! Who wants to watch that - seriously ? BPT / MLF has the top bass anglers people want to see - however , growing sentiment (like mine) does NOT want to see a grand total of "dinks" weighed in as it will erode viewership and prevent popularity and growth of the BPT / MLF . To conclude , feel free to shoot holes in my suggested revisions - but if the BPT / MLF does not adopt the "only top five (5) heaviest bass  count towards each participants total "- then I predict viewership will drop , advertisers will drop and revenue will diminish for the BPT / MLF  - when that happens (and it will without rules changes) then perhaps I will get your attention then ?  ... Come on Bpyd Duckett - do the right thing here for the future of the BPT / MLF and revise the rules to only count the five (5) heaviest bass weighed  ... Please put an end to boring dink fest BPT / MLF viewing the current rules have created .

[detroit1]

I like the format as - is, although it might need tweaking a little. There should be some kind of premium for catching bigger bass. Maybe incorporating a big 5 into extra points or something.  I don't care if they change anything or not- i'm still watching. I really don't care if others watch, or if they lose advertising. 2020 schedule (lakes) looks promising for bigger fish..so it might help a little. If it doesn't work, they'll be back to best 5 like the others. It was kinda sad watching E.E. hoist the championship trophy in front of 10's of people....

[12poundbass]

Don’t hold anything back, let it all out you’ll feel better. 

[MN Fisher]

22 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

Don’t hold anything back, let it all out you’ll feel better. 

What's this - the third thread we've had on this...or is it the fourth...I've lost count

[12poundbass]

1 minute ago, MN Fisher said:

What's this - the third thread we've had on this...or is it the fourth...I've lost count

I wonder if we can get another one by the end of the decade? 

[A-Jay]

A-Jay

[scaleface]

Doesnt make any difference to me  , I just dont watch it . 

via Imgflip Meme Generator

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

[DSTN]

Have you been talking to Luke Dunkin lately? JK. I don't know if the format that made MLF so much fun in the Cups/Selects format translates quite as well to a normal tournament schedule. But...it was only the first season of BPT so to expect it to be perfect is unreasonable. Give it a few years to shake out and for guys to adjust to the format. 

[Mike L]

2 hours ago, scaleface said:

Doesnt make any difference to me  , I just dont watch it . 

via Imgflip Meme Generator

Agree...

When they start talking about how they’re using what, I may start watching again. 
Understand, I’m not talking about a tutorial about every change, just saying what they’re using would be enough. 
 

I can figure out the why myself by looking at the water and conditions myself in the shot they give. 
Sometimes I’ll catch a glimpse of what they’re using when they flip one in or when they remove it. 

Also, a small snippet once in a while of the cast and how they work something back with a fish or not would be nice. 

Of course I’m assuming they want to increase viewer ship to increase ratings and sponsorship’s. 

 

Now It’s just boring as heck to watch. 
 

 

 

 

Mike

 

 

 

[jbsoonerfan]

Another one......I wonder if there are forums dedicated to racing where members write open letters to Jim France in the forum thinking he is going to read them and make sweeping changes to NASCAR? LOL

[OCdockskipper]

I think the a subtle change could do wonders, either;

• Keep the CWR format, but make it for your best 20 fish (or 15 fish or 25 fish, depending on the lake);
  or
• Your largest fish gets counted twice or 3 times.

The first brings back the size versus numbers strategy, if you choose the correct number for the lake in question.

 

The second gives everyone a punchers chance at the end.  Down by 20 pounds on a Florida lake where your top fish is tripled, start hunting an 8lb fish in order to snap off the leader at the end.

[mc6524]

^{I guess some people just don’t like change.  With the MLF you still have to catch fish.   How many of us weekend angles would love to catch 60+ bass in a da? The approach for these tournament fishermen is distinctly different than the traditional five bass weigh-in, but you have to admit, the MLF was successful enough to buy the FLW tour, and the Bassmaster’s cut the number of elite anglers competing and had to put in a lot of incentive money.  So, the MFL must be doing something’s right...}

[Jrob78]

[scaleface]

2 hours ago, mc6524 said:

  How many of us weekend angles would love to catch 60+ bass in a da?

I do it frequently .

[hoosierbass07]

Here's the rule I would like to see.  Keep the rules the same except, in the last period if you catch a bass that weighs more than any other bass caught that day, you automatically go to the top of the leader board, tied with the leader, or something similar to this.  That way, when you have four or five competitors at the bottom with no hope of winning or making the cut-off, let them switch tactics and go for one giant bass and if its the largest of the day, they go to the top or near the top.  

[slonezp]

6 hours ago, mc6524 said:

 ^{How many of us weekend angles would love to catch 60+ bass in a da?} 

That's why God invented Senkos.

I would much rather see a 3 day total of 15 bass @ 80 pounds or more than a 1 day total of 40 bass @ 40 pounds

[OCdockskipper]

7 hours ago, mc6524 said:

^{...the MLF was successful enough to buy the FLW tour...}

Don't forget that the MLF that we have all watched is different than the BPT.  IMO, a major component of MLF's success is the unknown fishing location and the single day of competition on it (i.e., no saving fish for a later round).  BPT tries to shoehorn the traditional tournament structure into the MLF format and it falls a little short.

 

Also, the money used to buy the FLW tour wasn't from the profits of MLF in their initial years (or the first year of BPT).  Those profits went to the owners of MLF and unless they all chose to reinvest by buying FLW, was gone.  Most likely the purchase of FLW was funded much like BPT was, through sponsorship deals on the front end.

[ChrisD46]

*Oh , I failed to mention -

 

• Forget trying to learn anything from the BPT / MLF anglers as they speak little about their techniques / set ups ... How about adding something similar to BP Elite : "Winning Ways" programming to help educate TV viewers ?

 

• If you are not a preferred supplier to BPS / Johnny Morris then you can forget about your products / lures  getting mentioned on BPT / MLF (and now FLW - don't forget that BPS / Johnny Morris own all of these now) .

 

• Lets face it , people like to see the drama of a weigh in (modern live well  techniques save bass just fine).

 

BPT / MLF contracts are for three years with a $50K buyout to leave ... Gerald Swindle and Brandon Palaniuk already bailed and I predict more will bail when they can afford to as they realize the format doesn't work for them or their fans .

 

Now I return you to the regular BPT / MLF programming : "That's a scoreable bass : 1 lb. 2 oz." ; "That's a scoreable bass : 1 lb. 2 oz." ; "That's a scoreable bass : 1 lb. 2 oz." ; "That's a scoreable bass : 1 lb. 2 oz."  ... Yawn .

 

 

[RichF]

It's pretty easy to figure out how they're catching fish. There hasn't been an episode or event where I didn't see what guys were throwing. Bladed jigs and senkos seem to reign supreme.

[Troy85]

I don't mind the smaller fish.  It gives me another perspective, I can watch BASS for 5 biggest, then watch BPT for numbers.  One thing I do wish they would change, is the zeroing of the weights after elimination.  There should be some bonus for the anglers in the top spots imo.  

[BassNJake]

On 12/29/2019 at 7:12 AM, ChrisD46 said:

**To all who watch or are interested in the BPT / MLF  future success (this means you Boyd Duckett !!) : The format needs to change to count ONLY the top five (5) heaviest bass from each participant ... Yes , every bass can still be weighed - but only have the top five heaviest bass from each participant count . The main reason for this strongly suggested change ? The majority of BPT / MLF tournaments are a "dink fest" !! Who wants to watch that - seriously ? BPT / MLF has the top bass anglers people want to see - however , growing sentiment (like mine) does NOT want to see a grand total of "dinks" weighed in as it will erode viewership and prevent popularity and growth of the BPT / MLF . To conclude , feel free to shoot holes in my suggested revisions - but if the BPT / MLF does not adopt the "only top five (5) heaviest bass  count towards each participants total "- then I predict viewership will drop , advertisers will drop and revenue will diminish for the BPT / MLF  - when that happens (and it will without rules changes) then perhaps I will get your attention then ?  ... Come on Bpyd Duckett - do the right thing here for the future of the BPT / MLF and revise the rules to only count the five (5) heaviest bass weighed  ... Please put an end to boring dink fest BPT / MLF viewing the current rules have created .

Tim Horton who is a part owner of MLF said they were getting over 223,000 viewers on discovery channel compared to 120 thousand for BASS on ESPN. He also said he promised you that their live coverage was not second to BASS in numbers either. He also mentioned that depending on the company those numbers may not lead to more sponsorship dollars. 

 

If you dont like it, dont watch it.

I enjoy tournament fishing, I love the pressure scoretracker puts on the anglers and I love watching the fight to make the cut line.

Come Saturday and Sunday I'm on the lake so I dont get to watch much live coverage.

Thats where they lose me and BASS still gets me to watch the weigh in.

 

I didn't like that a bunch of big name talent joined the USFL either.

But I still watched the games because I like football.

 

[12poundbass]

4 hours ago, ChrisD46 said:

*Oh , I failed to mention -

 

• Forget trying to learn anything from the BPT / MLF anglers as they speak little about their techniques / set ups ... How about adding something similar to BP Elite : "Winning Ways" programming to help educate TV viewers ?

 

• If you are not a preferred supplier to BPS / Johnny Morris then you can forget about your products / lures  getting mentioned on BPT / MLF (and now FLW - don't forget that BPS / Johnny Morris own all of these now) .

 

• Lets face it , people like to see the drama of a weigh in (modern live well  techniques save bass just fine).

 

BPT / MLF contracts are for three years with a $50K buyout to leave ... Gerald Swindle and Brandon Palaniuk already bailed and I predict more will bail when they can afford to as they realize the format doesn't work for them or their fans .

 

Now I return you to the regular BPT / MLF programming : "That's a scoreable bass : 1 lb. 2 oz." ; "That's a scoreable bass : 1 lb. 2 oz." ; "That's a scoreable bass : 1 lb. 2 oz." ; "That's a scoreable bass : 1 lb. 2 oz."  ... Yawn .

 

 

I see you’re taking my advice. I told you, you’d feel better. 

[Team9nine]

18 hours ago, OCdockskipper said:

I think the a subtle change could do wonders, either;

• Keep the CWR format, but make it for your best 20 fish (or 15 fish or 25 fish, depending on the lake);
  or
• Your largest fish gets counted twice or 3 times.

The first brings back the size versus numbers strategy, if you choose the correct number for the lake in question.

 

The second gives everyone a punchers chance at the end.  Down by 20 pounds on a Florida lake where your top fish is tripled, start hunting an 8lb fish in order to snap off the leader at the end.

These are both being discussed or in the works to some degree. The anglers sound like they’re pushing for a 10 or 12 fish “limit”, though the idea has to be ‘sold’ and receive buy-in from the owners, and the recent announcement of the “heavy hitters” addition will invariably play into most everyone's strategy at each event trying to capture a big bass.

[ChrisD46]

• Tweak the BPT / MLF rules a bit to improve the product and I'll watch more - they have most of the bass fishing stars no doubt.
• Yes , I too can usually tell what a angler is using as a lure category on TV but it would be better to have a "winning / leading gear"  two minute segment at the end of the 3rd period of each show (i.e. rod , line , reel & lure(s) . TV viewers become more educated and sponsors benefit (unless they are not on the Johnny Morris preferred list  - thus getting no air time) .
• Timmy may indicate that viewership is up on MLF is up on cable - however I believe at least 50% of that viewership is watching out of curiosity because it's new ... If BPT / MLF doesn't tweak the rules  , then the causal viewer will become less than thrilled and leave .