I voted #1 because I despise the theater/drama, and those loud assed announcers that make it seem like the WWF. Number two would work for me also due to lack of theater.

I currently fish both a points five fish format and a MLF style format 2 times each and every month. I like them both but I find the MLF more fun.

Because we only fish at Lake Fork, on Thursdays, the fish are not effected that much. But we also do not have any penalties.

Slot fish count because of the immediate release.

No doubt the every fish counts format can be fun. I enjoyed watching it on MLF, but for a full time professional tour, I think it is a waste of talent.

IMO it’s the equivalent of watching professional baseball players hit off a tee. Sure can be fun to watch with amateurs or young kids, but not what I expect from professionals.

Put 80 amateurs on a lake and a handful will almost always land on a school of fish and wear out the small fish. What makes these guys different than the rest of us is they can more often than not find quality bites. That’s what I expect to see watching a pro.

That’s the reason I am the most irritated with the BPT is because they took the best anglers in the world and put them in a format where more little fish is gonna win way more often than someone that finds a pattern on quality bites.

I will take 5-10 quality bites a day over 50 small fish any day.

I Want to watch Hackney seek out 5 lbers. I want to watch KVD find that offshore school of giants. Can’t do that anymore. About time you find that quality bite, you’ve been left behind by those on a school of 1 Lbers.

For the pros themselves, I don’t think format matters a ton. This is a job, they are going to go wherever they have the better opportunity to make a dollar. Can’t blame them for that. They also aren’t going to criticize their employer. I bet we see tons of changes and turnover once that 3 year contract is up.

I guess I just have to face the fact that it’s not about me, it’s not about the long term fans and supporters that helped professional bass fishing get to where it’s at today. Because without fans, there are no sponsor dollars and few are making it on tournament winnings alone. Today it’s about getting the new audience, and it’s apparent that it does not matter what the long term supporters want.

I fish both formats every other week but paper all the fish. Weigh ins for me are wasted time.

But watching the MLF on TV is great. Having to wake up on Saturday morning at 6 AM, when I am not out doing something, to watch the rewinds is asking a lot. But I have not missed any as yet.

However having said that we may fish an open this year just for fun.

Until these organizations figure out how to bring in large live audiences using other methods, the 5 fish weigh in is the only fan centric option, and that has its limits. Personally, I think the tournament organizers such as BASS, FLW, MLF, and all endemic sponsors, etc... have missed a huge opportunity over the years to turn “every tournament” into a huge industry show type of festival, loading the onshore day up with fun and games for families while the anglers are out on the lake fishing. Doing something like that for at least for the weekend portion of the tournaments would not only draw in more crowds to support the tournaments, but businesses in the local communities could benefit too.