Mike Long is just too good!

[Mattlures]

Today the held a WON bass tournament on Lower Otay lake. This is the biggest tour out west.

Mike Long and his partner John Kerr came in with 38lbs and change. The second place team had 23lbs and change.

Mike and John beat them by 15lbs!!! It is almost pointless to fish against them. You are fishing for second place.

[Supermat]

That's just awesome! Man am I glad I'mnot competing with that pair!

[FIN-S-R]

We have 1 of those teams here in eastern oklahoma...The christie team. Jason christie is rollin...took my $$$ last week. I think he is about to go pro, so maybe we will get a break from him...until the next B/A comes along- he got 17th in the texoma open...he rules eufaula and grand....

[frogtog]

Take him out of his comfort zone. If he is still good he might want to try going

pro. 8-)

[burleytog]

Take him out of his comfort zone. If he is still good he might want to try going

pro. 8-)

That's the thing about it.  We've got a lot of guys around here who own certain lakes.  Put them on another lake and they barely get a limit.

That is one thing that amazes me about the professionals.  They can pretty much go to any lake and catch fish.  For most it takes a long time to learn a body of water.  For others, one look at a map will tell them all they need to know.

[Mattlures]

2  days before this tournament Mike went to lake he has only fished a couple times and caught the lake record. His Partner John Kerr Won his first Pro Tournament he ever fished. The US open(which is in another state)and beat all the big names for $100,000.00 so I guess they can still fish out of their comfort zone! Also I believe John will fish the FLW in 2008 while Mike has no intention of "turning pro" He said he job pays realy well and he gets plenty of time off to fish pluss he has to send his kids to collage. Mike Long is the single greatest bass angler that has ever fished.

[frogtog]

Can you get him to come on the web so we can pick at him a little. ;D He

might be a learning tool for us.

[Mattlures]

Mike and John have their own section in a forrum on another site. It is similar to how Doug Hannon has his section here. The site is San Diego based. 

 

Also this pair wins the southern CA Won Division every year. They do not own a certain Lake, They own So Cal.

Mike has 6 bass lake records and a couple more for I believe trout and Crappie. He Also had 2 other bass lake records but they have recently been broken so he only has 6 current ones. He has 2 bass over 20lbs and around 50 over 15lbs

BTW he is humble and would never say or think he is the best, thats just my opinion.

[jomatty]

i hope those guys were talking about the other guy mentioned by another poster and notmike or john when they were taking about owning a particular lake. thats great that kerr is gonna fish the FLW.  cant wait to see how he does.  always wondered how some of the trophy hunters would do on one of the tours and if they could adjust to having to target 3 lb fish

[roadwarrior]

I guess it's all about the money.

I can't picture a trophy hunter getting any other pleasure from catching "tournament bass."

Wow! It's a monster!

14" and nearly a pound! Just four more and I can start fishing for a 3 lb kicker!

[kbj3579]

You know what really get's old, RW? Just about everytime I come on here and read in the tournament section, you have to post a negative comment about tournament fishing. I know your a moderator(which means this may get deleted) and you have to read all the posts so that you can edit them, but how about editing some of your comments. I'm not trying to start some big mess here, but like I said it really does get old. You don't have to like tournament fishing, you don't have to understand it, and the way I see it is you can state your opinions on the subject under the proper discussions about tournament fishing, but all the time and constantly bashing tournament fishing, come on man, lay off. I have my opinions about...well I'll stop there and edit myself. I really don't want to get kicked off here, and I really do enjoy this site, although I don't post that much. All I'm asking is for a little respect to the people that enjoy fishing, whether it's tournament fishing or getting a bucket of minnows, a case of beer and trying to fish for the biggest fish in the lake. Thanks for your consideration.

[Cephkiller]

You know what's even more amazing is that some of these guys manage to win a tournament without a single Shimano.   ;D

[Mattlures]

RW I dont think its "all" about the money. By nature we are all competetive. Some will deny this but deep down we all are to some extent. You get glory by catching huge fish but you also get it (maybe even more) by beating your fellow angler. It also seems that tournament fishing and trophy hunting are starting to become similar. They are scheduling more tournaments durring the spawn and they are scheduling more big events out west. The use of swimbaits in tournaments is quickly becoming common place. This is the perfect oportunity for a guy like John to make a verry good living catching bass. I think the big orginazations realize that bigger bags are better for buisiness. It makes for much better TV which bring in money from sponsers and the big fish sell more merchandise. Think about it your watching a tournament on tv and see Aaron Martins catch an 9lb limit dropshotting Robo's. and next week you see Aaron catch a 40lb limit using a swimbait. Which bait do you want to buy?

I dont see John fishing for small tournament fish unless he has to. Either way I am sure its pretty exciting to win a tournament.

[earthworm77]

Matt, is that a 5 fish bag???...if it is, at almost an 8lb average, it ain't tournament squeakers we're talking about. When will Mike be writing a big bass only book? I've read Siemantels, Murphy's and Hannons, I'd love to read what a modern day big fish guy has to say. Also, it has been a year since the Weakley fish was caught...anybody see that fish out there this spring?

[cart7t]

Mike Long is the single greatest bass angler that has ever fished.

In your opinion of course.

[The Unabasser]

I just finished reading Sowbelly by Monte Burke...I have on opinion on Mike Long but I will keep it to myself....

[Mattlures]

Craig, yes 1 day limit of 5 fish. They also dumped two big fish first thing in the morning that were around 10lbs each.

Unabasser dont beleive every thing you read. Mike took Monte out to San V for his interview. The whole time they were out there Monte kept trying to get dirt on the other trophy hunters. He kept asking him questions about all the other guys. Mike ended the interview early and brought Monte back to the dock. Obviously Monte was not happy about this so he painted Mike unfavorably in his book. Monte also greatly exaggerated the fueds between all the guys. The day after Mac caught the 25.1 Mike Long and John kerr and Mac, Jed, and Mike W were all on the dock talking and Mike and John congratulated them. There were no hard feelings. I enjoyed reading Sowbelly and I think it is a great read but like I said Monte took it out on Mike L. He also mentioned how Mike gets to fish on clossed days. While this is true, it is only at one lake and he has to bring a member of the press or local celebrity. He would bring the Padre players out. Also every single one of his lake records were caught durring regular open days.

Catt yes it is my opinion but I am not alone in this.

[Ky_Lake_Dude]

WOW!

[Rob G.]

Interesting post to say the least.

[fourbizz]

Mike Long is the single greatest bass angler that has ever fished.

In your opinion of course.

And mine too.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Mike Long is the single greatest bass angler that has ever fished.

In your opinion of course.

Thanks for defending me Cart!!   ;D ;D ;D

Mike Long is the single greatest bass angler that has ever fished.

In your opinion of course.

And mine too.

4bizz- please remove my number from your phone (j/K)  ;D

were these 2 guys a few of the original big bass hunters in Cali (meaning is this a product of experience) or have they just stumbled on something special?

[Mattlures]

Murphy and Crupi and kodata were the first but these guys have been doing this consistantly for the last 20 years

[Fish Chris]

Going strictly by the numbers, nobody in the history of bass fishing has ever come close to the number of bass over 15 lbs that Mike Long has caught {something like the high 40's..... but hey, I've caught 4 ;-)}. Detractors will point to his inside connections.... his few days on closed water.... Or whatever.

But this is the way I see it;

You have guys out there like myself who just absolutely love to fish, and are blessed to be able do it a bunch, in great places, that hold a lot of big bass, and because of this, they {I} end up doing relatively well.

Then you have the one guy who really was born with a special, big-fish gift, Mike Long. It's a lot like Motzart on the piano, or Michealangelo with painting. Not to say that these guys didn't put an extraordinary amount of their lifes energies into their passions.... But I am saying that 99.9999% of the populous could play a piano, paint, or fish for trophy bass, their entire lives {and even be completely passionate about it}, and still never get close to the accomplishments that these guys have achieved.

Oh hey Matt, I know this is not normal, but I'm really not out to do better than anybody, except "Fish Chris". For myself, the competition is strictly between me and the fish. My goal now is to catch 100 fish over 10 lbs.... and of course to stick a new PB :-) .....and it would be nice to stick a few more 15's in the mean time. But as you see, these goals have nothing to do with anyone else.

Peace,

Fish

[d-camarena]

Interesting thread from back in the day

[J Francho]

25 minutes ago, d-camarena said:

Interesting thread from back in the day

I'll say.  It really WAS about the money.