Jerry McKinnis did an interview a while back. I'm pretty sure there are a lot of folks wanting to see people fishing both trails and he talks about it. I think he was actually signed up to fish an FLW event (after he bought BASS).

Lucas moved to BASS in 2014. Last year in FLW was 2013.

And say he goes to bassmaster, doesn't win and now looks like a chump. You don't think having his own tv show makes him a lot more than $100k per year?

And go ahead and post your annual income for me to scrutinize.

So, not being familiar with the big tourneys, what is the order from lowest to highest?

Its somewhat confusing, tour level is the highest, Bassmaster Elites and FLW tour, Elites seem to have more notoriety. There are also some stand alone events like the Texas bass classic and the US open that could be considered majors, along with each tours premier event the bassmaster classic and the forest wood cup. AAA level is the feeder series, Bassmaster opens and FLW costa series. Everything steps down after this.

Scott Martin is a chump. His shows are boring and nothing but a 30 min commercial. I loved that Benton called him out last season.

Elite Series is still the best IMO. With the invent of the "bass live", Elite series have enable more viewers to participate as well. Good on them.

Hopefully both tours can continue to run and be profitable. However, I don't see them combining in a partnership. If it does happen, I think one overtakes the other.

3rd ranked angler in the world. Some chump. What did Benton call Martin out over last year? Or are you referring to the 2005 otw whining?

Martin's current run - going on 2 years - has been impressive. His ability to market is impressive (and annoying). Do I like him from a fan's perspective - no not really much at all but how can anyone deny his catching success?

He's a douche bag. Met him in person a couple times and to see how he treats other pros is ridiculous. Benton called him out on Smith Lake last year I think it was. Final day of the tourney and He rolls into a pocket to find Benton fishing a spot that he had fished previous 2 days. Benton also fished that spot just different times in the day. Martin got all butt hurt over it and Benton did the professional thing and left. He called Martin a cry baby to his face cuz he was being one. I don't care if you are so called #1 in the world. Class goes both directions. He would be a nobody if it weren't for his dad. Let's be real now. Yes he's a good fisherman, but a decent and humble person he is not.

I've met and visited with him several times at TTBC. I never got that impression of him. I base my opinion of people off how they interact with me.

Anyone can be friendly to your face. I choose to watch how they treat others when they aren't looking. Things they say about others to make themselves look better. Just like that Smith Lake event. He specifically looked at the camera and tried to make Benton look bad. Benton did the right thing and left.

Same for the Ike/KVD spat last year. Ike was actually there fishing before VanDam pulled up. TV made it look the way it did. In reality KVD was wrong and should have left but Ike was the bigger man and left.

Just because you're one of the top guys doesn't give any right to bad mouth or be-little anyone. End of the day they are regular guys like you and me but they get to fish for a living. Not a bad thing to do in my opinion.

I wouldn't judge these anglers by who they are on the water when their wallets are on the line. It was a pretty jerk move by Martin in that tournament, I would have told him to kiss my hiney. I've wondered if flw wouldn't have some $$ incentive to keep the big names there like Rose, Wheeler, Dudley,etc. They're pretty much the face of flw. I'm sure the elites will have room for new faces, there are some names that I constantly see at the bottom of the standings now who probably can't survive on endorsement deals forever.

Yep, my buddy had him as a guide many years ago, my buddy had nothing but good stuff to say about him as well.

Now in my opinion, Roland is the db.

That's right, they are regular people and when it comes to money & life there will be disagreements.

Benton and Martin got into it because they had fished the same dock throughout the week, caught good fish off of it, and made the final cut. Martin had fished the spot more that Benton. Martin had a shot to win the event, Benton did not. Benton made it to the dock first on day 4 and Martin got pretty irate when he showed up and saw that his best spot was claimed. Yelling ensued; every other word was "dude".

I'm not sure if this makes Martin a chump. I would have been mad too, but I am often a chump.