MLF Suspends Another Angler!

[Glenn]

BREAKING NEWS: https://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/mlf-suspends-watson-32924.html

[Texas Flood]

I wish they would say what the violations were.

[T-Billy]

Awe... James hurt poor Boyd's fragile feelings again. 

[MeatHead1313]

Absolutely ridiculous that someone can get a harsher punishment for hurting some feelings than cheaters and people willingly putting others at risk.  

 

[A-Jay]

24 minutes ago, Texas Flood said:

I wish they would say what the violations were.

I heard it was another excessive nogan size infraction.  It's like a lunar eclipse.

🤪

A-Jay

[webertime]

Hurt Ducketts feelings... get basically kicked out.

 

During practice Fish with a guide known for spot loading... get a tiny fine.  Oh the angler is  sponsored by Duckett too.  

 

Just as a person with common sense this is such a bad move by mlf.

[bowhunter63]

I seen James had a hat that said #FBD so maybe. Boyd is the beginning stages of crash and burning. MLF would do good to ship him out before there’s nothing left 

[Woody B]

12 minutes ago, bowhunter63 said:

I seen James had a hat that said #FBD so maybe. Boyd is the beginning stages of crash and burning. MLF would do good to ship him out before there’s nothing left 

 

I don't even know who these people are but it reminds me of Jim McMahon (Chicago Bears QB decades ago) getting fined for wearing a headband with "Adidas" on it.  He responded by wearing a headband with "Rozelle"  hand written on it.  (Pete Rozelle was NFL Commissioner)

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Boyd is arguably the most unlikeable pro in the history of Bass fishing.  

 

Badge of honor for Watson.  

[Tlauz]

I believe Watson was in danger of not making the tour next year anyway because of his AOY standings over the last few years. He wouldn't be there if they cut to the top 60 like they were talking.  Except for Toledo Bend he has consistently been near the bottom of most events.  He is more notable now for his antics than his fishing.  Seems like an attention grab on his part because he can't compete. He will now go on multiple podcasts and play the victim.  I enjoy listening to him and think he is hilarious, but no big loss for the tour.  He doesn't seem able to compete in the FFS age. 

[GReb]

Watson did numerous interviews this winter slamming MLF and Boyd. Said Boyd was this and that and had receipts to back it up and was only fishing because he felt he owed it to his sponsors.

 

The gist of their beef was in year 1 Watson claims he saw a top 10 angler one event fail a drug test and told everyone he was going to make the cut but then mysteriously the angler didn’t get DQ’d 

and Watson was left on the outside. He tried to confront Boyd and other officials and was basically told to F off and shut his mouth. And it’s been a major grinding axe since. 

[volzfan59]

The mlf and bd are a joke.

[Ski]

There is a right way and a wrong way to challenge, protest, debate and settle a disagreement. He clearly chose the wrong way and is in violation of a rule and is now paying for it.

Kind of reminds me of the NFL vs. Kaepernick ordeal. See where that got him. Pretty sure he did not care though as he was probably through with MLF anyways.

 

[Pat Brown]

This is probably the writing on the wall for MLF.

 

You can endanger lives or lie and cheat and still fish but you (validly) poo poo the boss and you're on the street.

 

Hmmmmmm....makes sense.

[T-Billy]

Watson was gonna be out after this year anyway. He makes most of his money in real estate. Not much to lose, may as well torch that bridge and have some fun at Boyd's expense on the way out the door.

[KP Duty]

On 3/29/2024 at 4:40 PM, bowhunter63 said:

I seen James had a hat that said #FBD so maybe. Boyd is the beginning stages of crash and burning. MLF would do good to ship him out before there’s nothing left 

This was the talk at the expo.  I didn't know Duckett was co owner of mlf.  I heard he ruined it by changing the rules/format.

[volzfan59]

On 3/30/2024 at 7:36 AM, Pat Brown said:

This is probably the writing on the wall for MLF.

One can hope.

[Troy85]

On 3/29/2024 at 4:40 PM, webertime said:

Hurt Ducketts feelings... get basically kicked out.

 

During practice Fish with a guide known for spot loading... get a tiny fine.  Oh the angler is  sponsored by Duckett too.  

 

Just as a person with common sense this is such a bad move by mlf.

I think it was last year.  Duckett was crappie fishing on Gville with his grandson during the 30 day off limits.  I think he got a 10 minute penalty.  I'm sure there wasn't any ill intentions, but still, fishing on the lake during the 30 day off-limits should warrant more than a 10 minute delay penalty.  So there is definitely a double standard when it comes to MLF penalties. 

[volzfan59]

@Troy85, I've said it before, at mlf the rules are merely suggestions for some of their angler's, Boyd included.

 

I want one of those #FBD hats or T-shirts. Hope Watson is selling them.

[Woody B]

I heard that #FBD stands for "Fishing Boat Docks" 

[volzfan59]

1 hour ago, Woody B said:

I heard that #FBD stands for "Fishing Boat Docks" 

Yeah, it sure does 😉

[Troy85]

12 hours ago, volzfan59 said:

@Troy85, I've said it before, at mlf the rules are merely suggestions for some of their angler's, Boyd included.

 

I want one of those #FBD hats or T-shirts. Hope Watson is selling them.

I always felt that way about their initial invitations when they were starting up.  It was like, what was the criteria that decided who received invitations and who didn't?  Other than, how can we hurt BASS as much as possible. Granted a lot of the people from BASS that they invited were the power hitters so it makes sense that they were chosen, but still it always rubbed me the wrong way they way they went about doing it. Like, Jesse Wiggins got an invite to BPT, but Scott Martin didn't.  Don't get me wrong Wiggins is a great angler, but it was his first or second year on the Elite Series.  How does he get invited over Scott Martin?
I always felt that they should have released some kind of guide for who got invites(even if Duckett just made them up and didn't follow them).  Tier 1 invites were for guys with, a certain win%, or amount of winnings, etc. Tier 2 invites.  I know its their organization and they can go about it anyway they choose, but  it always came off as an attempt to kill off BASS, and it turned me off to the BPT from the start.  
 

[volzfan59]

@Troy85, That is exactly what happened and why I despise all things mlf, won't even capitalize their initials even though it's poor grammar.

It was reported that boyd and company wanted to buy B.A.S.S. and they (B.A.S.S.) said no. I don't know if that is true or not. They formed the bpt and tried, unsuccessfully, to ruin B.A.S.S. by luring away the majority of the Elite field with promises that they had to know weren't sustainable. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about capitalism and the free market. If mlf/bpt had a better mouse trap, all they had to do was advertise it, angler's probably would have flocked to it. That's doing it the right way. FLW never tried to ruin B.A.S.S. only to compete with them. I was a fan and member of FLW until they sold out to mlf.

When Sam Walton started Walmart, it wasn't to kill Kmart or any other store, only to compete. Now, when his kids took over things changed a lot. I'm talking about Sam.

You're right, some posted criteria for the initial bpt angler selection would have been nice, but we all know why they chose who they chose and did what they did. Just like we all know that #FBD doesn't mean "fishing boat docks".

[Stratocat_Joe]

4 hours ago, Troy85 said:

I always felt that way about their initial invitations when they were starting up.  It was like, what was the criteria that decided who received invitations and who didn't?  Other than, how can we hurt BASS as much as possible. Granted a lot of the people from BASS that they invited were the power hitters so it makes sense that they were chosen, but still it always rubbed me the wrong way they way they went about doing it. Like, Jesse Wiggins got an invite to BPT, but Scott Martin didn't.  Don't get me wrong Wiggins is a great angler, but it was his first or second year on the Elite Series.  How does he get invited over Scott Martin?
I always felt that they should have released some kind of guide for who got invites(even if Duckett just made them up and didn't follow them).  Tier 1 invites were for guys with, a certain win%, or amount of winnings, etc. Tier 2 invites.  I know its their organization and they can go about it anyway they choose, but  it always came off as an attempt to kill off BASS, and it turned me off to the BPT from the start.  
 

I could be mistaken but I'm pretty sure I heard that Scott Martin was invited to the BPT but turned it down.  What's sort of ironic about this situation is that Watson has previously been open about the fact that the only reason he was invited to join MLF/BPT in the first place was because BD knew he had the money to pay to play.  Now, it appears that BD doesn't need Watson's money anymore.  Plus, they're getting an early start on cutting the field, too.  Watson had already made it clear he wouldn't be fishing there next year. 

[Stratocat_Joe]

It's also interesting that you mentioned Walmart and market forces.  When Sam Walton started opening stores, he saw an opening in the market for smaller, rural localities.  K-Mart had a corporate policy to not go into towns without a certain population size (i.e. 50,000 people).  Sam started out by targeting smaller communities (some with less than 10,000 people) to build market share before moving in to larger communities to compete with other department stores like K-Mart.  Walmart also developed a competitive advantage with their own distribution system in the 70's, which lowered the cost for them to distribute goods.  Eventually, Walmart became who they are and K-Mart became...history.  Dollar General has recently copied Walmart's strategy by going into even smaller localities.   Comparatively, MLF filled a void in the bass fishing market with their original, made for TV product (i.e. the Cups), and were doing well with that product.  However, they tried to evolve and grow too fast, before they had the necessary market support, amidst an evolving "distribution system" for media content. They also alienated a significant portion of the core bass fishing market with their marketing tactics.  It's not unusual to see newer businesses rapidly expand to only then contract, if not downright implode, once the new excitement wanes.  We'll see what happens with MLF...