I think MLF needs a rule change

[Smokinal]

Not sure who else saw this, not this past weekend but the weekend before, Takahiro brought one in and noticed another one following it. He asked the official  if he can throw another line and he was told yes. So, as he throws a drop shot to that fish, he has the first one dangling from his rod standing straight up and tucked under his arm. The whole time the fish is bouncing off his back.

They then weight the first, he releases it, picks up the second rod and says, verbatim "Oh he choked it".  Well, he choked it because it was left there for 3 minutes while you weighed and released the first fish.

 

Now, I'm no Mr. Conservation here but if the driving motto behind MLF is fish care, that rule needs to change.

 

There was no fish handling violation called with the first one bouncing off his back and they didn't show the hook removal of the second that choked it, because it was probably already in his gullet.

 

I'm a Tak fan and this is not his fault; he's only playing the rules. I just think that rule needs to be adjusted (removed).

[TnRiver46]

I don’t think they actually care about conservation, they just want to make a dollar like everyone else. Especially now that they own and operate the biggest or second biggest 5 fish limit tournament trail in the world complete with weigh ins (the practice they failed against before purchasing FLW)

 

sounds like a pretty talented multi task by tokahiro! In the words of the referee from celebrity death match, “I’ll allow it!”

[bowhunter63]

I still don’t follow it much. 5 biggest still are the best. One thing it did was open up the door for a lot of new talent at BASS . But your right it’s about money. 

[RichF]

I've been 'majorly' turned off by MLF for awhile now.  I've said it before, MLF is essentially a few guys trying to own the entire industry.  Yes I get it...capitalism...but as a ridiculously passionate bass angler, I have a hard time believing what they're doing is good for the sport.  And of course, along with their general business practices, their constant brand plugging, senko slinging, and annoying catch phrases have put a 'major' dampening on their likeability...for me anyway.

[billmac]

I want to know the catch phrases!

 

I think you could have a 5 largest system without the ridiculous boat flopping and fish hugging that kind of turned me off BASS tournaments.

[Finessegenics]

10 minutes ago, billmac said:

I think you could have a 5 largest system without the ridiculous boat flopping and fish hugging that kind of turned me off BASS tournaments.

Yeah. I pretty much exclusively follow BASS but I find it ridiculous that nets aren't allowed. I know it's all in the name of the fish's safety but I feel like the fish flopping around in the boat isn't any better...There's also the added danger of anglers getting hooks jammed in their fingers. I think they should just allow nets with rubber, which I have heard are less harmful (and less annoying for us as anglers) than the traditional mesh. 

[MarkVA]

9 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

I don’t think they actually care about conservation, they just want to make a dollar like everyone else. Especially now that they own and operate the biggest or second biggest 5 fish limit tournament trail in the world complete with weigh ins (the practice they failed against before purchasing FLW)

 

sounds like a pretty talented multi task by tokahiro! In the words of the referee from celebrity death match, “I’ll allow it!”

I saw the same thing in a redfish tournament that was structured like MLF.

[GReb]

3 hours ago, Finessegenics said:

Yeah. I pretty much exclusively follow BASS but I find it ridiculous that nets aren't allowed. I know it's all in the name of the fish's safety but I feel like the fish flopping around in the boat isn't any better...There's also the added danger of anglers getting hooks jammed in their fingers. I think they should just allow nets with rubber, which I have heard are less harmful (and less annoying for us as anglers) than the traditional mesh. 

My assumption is the drama of landing fish or losing them at the boat is too much to lose by allowing nets. 
 

I have no problem with either format. The 2 Lb minimum in most MLF events this year was a drastic improvement. 

[hoosierbass07]

I'm an MLF fan or was a real big fan but my biggest problem with MLF is it seems they are editing and cutting from one angler to the next too quickly and not showing as much "fishing" as they once did.  Now they seem to focus on hookset and reeling in the fish and angler saying something for the camera, then they quickly cut to the next guy doing the same thing.

 

  Another big problem - they are on the Discovery Channel which I consider total 100% trash.  Another problem, I see them on Outdoor Channel, Discover Channel, Sportsman Channel, and CBS Sports Network and I'm not not exactly sure what MLF tournament I'm watching, I mean, it all looks the same.  With the NFL or baseball its either regular season or playoffs.  Even college football or basketball its regular season or bowl games or playoffs.  With MLF, it looks more and more the same.  

 

 I did watch a little of the last tournament on Discovery Channel and it looked more and more like they were trying to fit in with all the the other reality TV trash shows on that network.  Not good.  MLF needs to hire new editing experts. 

 

 

[Larry S]

Personally I like the MLF format better than the fish in the livewell all day long . Anyone whos spent any time at a tourney weight in has seen the fish kill that goes on. Its worse as far as kill goes in the hot weather, but spring your pulling spawning fish off the beds. the MLF format does less damage IMO . Now the every fish counts does bother some but for most anglers we all enjoy catching 30-40 fish in a day. 

[zell_pop1]

4 hours ago, Larry S said:

Personally I like the MLF format better than the fish in the livewell all day long . Anyone whos spent any time at a tourney weight in has seen the fish kill that goes on. Its worse as far as kill goes in the hot weather, but spring your pulling spawning fish off the beds. the MLF format does less damage IMO . Now the every fish counts does bother some but for most anglers we all enjoy catching 30-40 fish in a day. 

They can do both ya know, 5 biggest count but you do not keep them in the live well all day, or do like the big Texas Tournament use to do you can bring in your biggest to show the fans.

Also agree they should be able to use rubber nets or rubber coated nets like the redfish tournaments.

[IrishJig]

I like that they don’t use nets.  It’s brings an added level of difficulty to the competition.