^^^ This guy will be in his medium jersey instead of 2x !!!!

the big picture is the ability to see the popularity explosion of high school and college bass tournaments and the future impact it is going to have on manufactures and television.......those kids are already fans of the sport.....and...they will be purchasers of boats and fishing tackle...�.and the MLF guys saw the big picture and the impact it will have in the next few years...

It's a niche sport. Only so many people will ever care about it. Plenty will fish that don't care about tournament fishing or even dislike it.

I would rather they didn't grow it. It's just more people on the water, more pressure. It's nice to be able to fish a area without a bunch of other boats if you like. It seems about right sized.

Look on the bright side. If MLF causes folks to want to bass fish, they will likely only want to catch 1 pounders and live release them.

As for the watching the live presentation? HAHAHA. wow. That would bring back a whole new meaning to �it was a grind�. I DVR the current version and can almost get through an hours worth before I just start fast forwarding. Live? Are you kidding me? 8 hours of LIVE!?!!?!!! What a grind!

When MLF started several years ago how many of you would have believed 68 elite series pros would one day leave Bassmaster to fish a new tour with a completely different format?
Might want to do less second guessing and see how this works out.
Lots of folks with more knowledge and investment think it�s going to be a success.

All I know is if a tournament with the depleted Elite Series fishing for the biggest 5 is on one channel and the studs on MLF are fishing for 40 1lbers are on another channel, I�m gonna be watching the guys trying to catch the biggest 5.

they didn�t all just decide to love PITA and have a heart about fish care. They jumped at a chance for more money. Period. Chasin dollar bills.

I'm not sure bass fishing will make professional wrestling levels.

If Johnny ain't making money off it how long will it last? I think he views it as a commercial with fishermen.

If the ratings aren't as good as expected, when two anglers are competing for a certain spot, they should let them fight, like they do in Hockey. I bet that would get the ratings up in hurry...

Hack -v- Ike would be PPV.

Somebody needs to put a fishing rod in Conor McGregor�s hands and give him a boat
Whatever happens next would be worth watching

I can't see the appeal for a sport growing 1 pound at a time. The big weigh-ins, 30 pound stringers, and the tournament atmosphere are what builds fans. Is MLF doing away with all that? The true "professionalism" of our sports stems from who can catch the 5 biggest fish over the course of 4 days, and not who throws a shaky head the best to catch one pounders. I love MLF in its current format. It is a great supplement to BASS and FLW. Thinking of it in terms of business, I am not seeing how it helps exposure. Okay so you're going to broadcast it on TV. What about when you go to the CLASSIC and every major vendor has a booth introducing their product to the fan-base? Is MLF going to replace the CLASSIC? I highly doubt it. What about at a regular Elite event on days 3 and 4, you have pro's representing their brands at booths at the weigh-in. How will MLF replicate that in their current format? Are the still providing jerseys and boats with their own sponsors? Meaning if you have a conflicting sponsor do you now have the drop them? Time will tell, but there are alot of unanswered questions and quite a bit of uncertainty. I think BASS and FLW continue to do their thing. I also do not have a problem with what JM said about everyone leaving the Elites is replaceable. They are. BASS has been around a long time. Legends have come and gone and more will be made.

Ish and Poche. Whoops, already saw that one.

back in early days (70's) of tournament bass fishing,boats and motors went from 25 hp stick steering/14 ft boats to 150 horse motors and 17 ft boats in a just a few years...prices were jumping just as quick and I made the prediction that "when boats got to $10,000.,people would quit buying them and stop tournament fishing"...�
there's 80 pretty smart guys and two television networks that believe there's a future for MLF style of fishing....


p.s. I also thought Duck Dynasty wouldn't last two episodes without being cancelled...