MLF Bass Pro Tour anglers vote no entry fees for 2019

TULSA, Okla. (Oct. 30, 2018) - The professional bass anglers who comprise the 80-man field in Major League Fishing's (MLF) new Bass Pro Tour have voted no to required entry fees for their participation in the 2019 tournament competitions.

The no-fee decision is the first of its kind for a high stakes professional bass fishing series and reveals the kind of autonomous authority the Bass Pro Tour participants have as a group for guiding the future of their events and the sport.

No entry fees means the cash payouts per event will be less than initially announced, although still higher than what the anglers have become accustomed to on other trails. Another advantage to this decision is that the anglers effectively eliminated one of the greatest expenses and upfront cash hurdles professional anglers had to incur annually.

"What brought this great group of anglers together in the first place was the allure of being able to ultimately control our own destiny because collectively we now make the rules," said Gary Klein, who was instrumental in the formation of MLF and the Bass Pro Tour. "It's all about the big picture of what we want this sport to be and getting it there. We call this 'Major League' Fishing for a reason and no entry fees is a monumental move in our achieving that distinction."

The MLF expansion with the new Bass Pro Tour has advanced rapidly since being announced in mid-September. It was made possible when Bass Pro Shops and Outdoor Sportsman Group (OSG) pledged additional support to an already long list of MLF sponsors.

In addition to the pro tour, MLF will continue its popular Cup events and General Tire World Championship, airing on Outdoor Channel and CBS, respectively. All events will use the same entertaining MLF format of catch, weigh and immediate release of bass during competitions.



MLF Pro Angler Bobby Lane lands a dandy largemouth to help his total score. MLF's exciting catch, weigh and immediate-release format for all scorable bass landed in competition has made for exciting television and kept Major League Fishing atop Outdoor Channel's first and second quarter ratings for three years in a row. (Click to enlarge/download)

"Things are moving fast and each new step this group takes seems to be another giant leap in bringing attention to fishing," MLF President and CEO, Jim Wilburn said. "It's a pleasure to watch the enthusiasm and sincerity of the greatest bass anglers in the world as they take the reins in advancing the sport to the benefit of everyone who loves to fish."

MLF airs on Outdoor Channel, World Fishing Network, CBS, CBS Sports Network and Discovery Channel, and is available on-demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV).

For current MLF schedules, rules and sponsors, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.

So are they reacting to BASS basically paying guys that were already qualified?

Professional rodeo and professional fishing are the only two professional sports that I�m aware of that you have to pay to play. You�re competing for each other�s money.

No entry fee is a step in the right direction of a true professional sport (MLB, NFL, NBA, MLS, NHL, PGA, etc)

I�m ready for the schedule to be announced and the season to begin.

Exactly right on here. I've always considered bass fishing to not be a true professional sport because of this aspect. When 60+% of the field loses money every year in the Elites, which is considered to be THE TOP, then its not a real professional sport. It will be awesome if this can work out the way they want it to.

if I understand this correctly,the most appealing thing about major league fishing is now the television,venue and sponsor income instead of going to B.A.S.S. or FLW is going to the anglers just like the PGA.....again like the PGA the anglers are going to make the rules and choose the venues they will fish...it's going to be very interesting to see how much income each fishermen realizes at end of the year.....
major league fishing has jumped to the top of outdoor viewing in less than 3 years whereas "weigh 5 biggest fish" type tourneys have been around for almost 50 years and still has small viewing audience so maybe it's time to try a different format.....

if you think you are an expert at predicting what television audiences will view,who would have thought "Duck Dynasty" would have achieved the success they did....and...generated the type income that made multi millionaires of all of the family and their employees/friends....

That's a big step not having to pay out of pocket to compete. How it should be on the top tour.

Most sports that have a payout require an entry fee or membership fee.

PGA does not have an entry fee. They have a 100.00 per year membership fee and players have to pay a 50.00 locker fee at the clubs where tournaments are held.
The PGA has contracts with all three major networks that are in the billions. Plus the giant sponsorships for each tournament.
MLF does not have these type of TV contracts or sponsors I don�t see how they will sustain higher payoffs. I also can�t figure out how TV exposure is going to make the pros more money.
Hope they do well as it is an entertaining format but the PGA it ain�t.

No entry fees isn�t feasible. They money has to come from somewhere. Sponsor money will pay a portion but is that something you can rely on year in and year out? I wouldn�t. My experience if it looks and sounds to good to be true. It probably is. Definitely don�t wish MLF to fail, but I haven�t quite figured out exactly how they plan on paying for things. Seems like the exposure will be less than they were getting with BASS, which won�t set well with sponsors. Time will tell.

agree it is not the PGA yet but with the growing popularity of high school and college bass fishing,it certainly has the potential to grow far beyond where it is today....you mention the contracts PGA has with all the major networks,it appears the fishermen in MLF are saying why should we let the owners of B.A.S.S. put TV money and the money paid by the various cities in their pockets...

Well how many of you guys would pay to watch guys fishing? Zero I�d think, it�s not a professional sport, fishing will never be big. Pipe dream.

This exactly.

I bet you own at least 1 fishing jersey

Sport or no sport......I know after a 3 day tournament I always feel like someone beat me with a bat!

You, Me and Everyone that fishes will be paying the entry fees with higher boat, motor, tackle, bait and fishing related equipment prices.

That's where the money will come from.

Those guys didn't create and grow this for nothing.