Come on man... for how many years was BASS owned by ESPN? And before that they were a huge TV thing for years and a many related and successful fishing shows were born and spun off as a result of the “BASS - Big stage, Big Fish” brand. Roland Martin, Hank Parker, the king Bill Dance, Jimmy Houston, etc... all of those guys media exposure and success in subsequent TV markets is directly related to BASS... MLF - they are only really known for trying to create a second rate reality TV show based on what Ray Scott did with the concept of old BASS and the secret destinations equal boats, etc... sure, their format is different, but it’s been criticized more than praised. The Fox Sports deal had nothing whatsoever to do with MLF and certainly wasn’t influenced by MLF’s rerun coverage on sub par back channels owned by the same entity as MLF itself. Sure, I’ll give you the coverage of BASS degraded while under the ownership of ESPN, but it has never went away and BASS themselves weren’t in control of the TV coverage... ESPN was. So, come on man... cherry picking and revisionist history - me?

Did I join TFF to bash MLF exclusively, no... did I join TFF to discuss MLF, yes... when I joined there was an ongoing MLF discussion and it seemed logical since it’s a tournament fishing type discussion site and the Florida dedicated side seemed dead at the time and nothing else really exists. I will reiterate that being an industry insider or just an astute observer from the outside is irrelevant, and anything I’ve ever commented on or put forward has already been publicly disclosed or discussed, and or speculated out loud about. Am I a fan of the BASS tournament fishing scene, yes and have been since I was a young boy. You don’t have to be an insider of the industry to hear anecdotal stories about how MLF has conducted themselves behind the scenes with sponsors or anglers, because it’s been talked about somewhere, on someone’s YouTube channel, social media account, etc... and it’s typically widespread, not just here on TFF where I may bring it to light for discussion and debate. Further, I have never come out and said they’ve stolen money. Have I used terms like snatch purse, etc... yes, because I truly believe that’s what they have done. Some argue it’s business, some argue it’s their right to do what they want... my argument is their whole platform has been to make the industry bigger and better for the anglers, yet there has been example after example of them doing things that are completely contradictory to their mission statement.

Let’s start at beginning and formation of BPT - that was a high pressure tactical maneuver that was executed by a dozen or so disgruntled BASS insiders. There is no doubt in my mind there was a huge carrot dangled in front of those who they were trying to influence, and that was the “no-entry-fees” big show. Well, here we are just 2 short years in and look at how that has worked out for them. It wasn’t but a short time after their first season that they acquired FLW after failing to acquire BASS 3x. The first order of business for MLF once the sale of FLW to them was announced was to arbitrarily cancel the FW Cup. All the arguments for MLF are based on it being their right to do so, and the unsubstantiated claims FLW was headed for bankruptcy and MLF saved them. A contested estate battle, yes... bankruptcy, no. That action alone set the ever lasting tone and there is hardly no one standing up for all the anglers who got cheated out of a huge purse of money that they believed was going to be available to them to fish for. Contrarily, there sure is a many (on TFF) that are defending MLF... question is, just how was that beneficial to the sport and the anglers of? Next was the revelation of another underhanded move by MLF - the Bass Federation kid who won the “live the dream” package. It took a major social media blast by the kid and the Federation to get MLF to just honor the long established commitment that FLW made... MLF was originally telling them to go pound sand, just like the anglers who got cheated out of the FW Cup. Keep in mind, the two primary stakeholders in MLF are multi-billionaires, and yes, that matters if they don’t want to look hypocritical to their mission statement of growing the sport and being better for the anglers. and all that happened prior to 2020 season start. i wont rehash it again, but much, much of the same has happened during the 2020 season, and from my perspective no one here on TFF (accept me) is holding MLF's feet to the fire about doing whats right for growing the sport and the betterment for the anglers... no matter how you slice it, thats a lot of purse money that was originally slated to go to anglers was taken away... have i called it snatched off the angler table, yes because it seemingly was... but the word stolen didn't come or originate from me. Where did that money go that it helped grow the sport and make things better for the anglers? Thats the question... do you have the answer? start with 2020 FLW Pro AOY award that was reduced by $100k from historically what’s been paid out using the term “TBD” in the posted rules. Being good for the industry and the anglers is subjective, and it’s not just me who recognizes what’s happened...

So, if the 2019 was staged in 2019 and the 2020 was moved to 2021, there wasn't an big event in 2020, right??? It's pretty easy to say the "moved" it, but in reality they canceled it... Now, if they double the money for the scheduled 2021 event no harm no foul... But if it's the same payout somebody got a big bonus and it wasn't the fishermen... Dan

The definition of purse snatching is theft. It’s literally a type of theft. All of the sudden, you’re using rational thoughts and discussions. I’m all for it. Keep it up. The forum and your posts will be better off.

Well so far, Big O has been correct on more issues than Dubee. Look at the number of guys that left already, some with no backup plan. Guys aren’t leaving because it’s great over there.

Well so far, Big O has been correct on more issues than Dubee. Look at the number of guys that left already, some with no backup plan. Guys aren’t leaving because it’s great over there.

look at the big picture....5 fishermen leaving out of the original 80 isn't exactly a mass exodus,94% of the best and most established pros believe MLF is now the dominant fishing trail, the wave of the future and the television ratings prove this.......all the yapping about them postponing Redcrest is ignoring the fact that every major sport has had numerous cancellations this past year due to the covid 19 pandemic....MLF is providing 800 hours of TV exposure and a venue where the fishermen share that revenue along with revenue from the cities where they hold events and exhibitor income at their championships.....also if MLF hadn't of bought the FLW,it's almost certain FLW would have ceased to exist.....

look at the big picture....5 fishermen leaving out of the original 80 isn't exactly a mass exodus,94% of the best and most established pros believe MLF is now the dominant fishing trail, the wave of the future and the television ratings prove this.......all the yapping about them postponing Redcrest is ignoring the fact that every major sport has had numerous cancellations this past year due to the covid 19 pandemic....MLF is providing 800 hours of TV exposure and a venue where the fishermen share that revenue along with revenue from the cities where they hold events and exhibitor income at their championships.....also if MLF hadn't of bought the FLW,it's almost certain FLW would have ceased to exist.....

Well so far, Big O has been correct on more issues than Dubee. Look at the number of guys that left already, some with no backup plan. Guys aren’t leaving because it’s great over there.

It's funny that the handful of guys saying big o is well spoken and provides proof. Are the same guys that have always hated BPT. He said Redcrest was cancelled and the owners kept the money. Wrong. It is next month. He said the owners kept all the money for the cancelled BPT tournaments. Wrong. They let the BPT anglers fish the last 3 FLW tournaments and added over 1.5 million to the prize money. He has claimed many times MLF has lost "massive" amounts of sponsors due to how shady they are. Then when asked to list this massive amount of sponsors that left. He says he doesn't know but Boyd said they lost sponsors due to covid. Anyone can take all of his claims and prove them wrong. The only was on here that keep saying he is well spoken and provides proof are the guys that have hated BPT since it was formed. And Dan, no I'm not on their payroll. I have zero stake in it. It wouldn't affect me one bit if the went out of business tomorrow

It's funny that the handful of guys saying big o is well spoken and provides proof. Are the same guys that have always hated BPT. He said Redcrest was cancelled and the owners kept the money. Wrong. It is next month. He said the owners kept all the money for the cancelled BPT tournaments. Wrong. They let the BPT anglers fish the last 3 FLW tournaments and added over 1.5 million to the prize money. He has claimed many times MLF has lost "massive" amounts of sponsors due to how shady they are. Then when asked to list this massive amount of sponsors that left. He says he doesn't know but Boyd said they lost sponsors due to covid. Anyone can take all of his claims and prove them wrong. The only was on here that keep saying he is well spoken and provides proof are the guys that have hated BPT since it was formed. And Dan, no I'm not on their payroll. I have zero stake in it. It wouldn't affect me one bit if the went out of business tomorrow

I don’t like Duckett and what he stands for, I don’t think anglers deserve to be paid to fish, if they don’t win. Nobody is forcing them to fish and it’s obvious that most don’t make the number of sales that they think they do.

If I told you that I was giving you a bonus check in 2019 and you didn’t get it, how does that benefit you? So again, unless they have 2 Redcrest in 2020, that money disappeared.