Nobody ever told them they had to fish for a living. They can get a different job if the money they need isn’t there.

You don't hear much complaining from half the guys that would have made more money. These guys only work less than half the year. Get a real job too.

I would imagine if this goes the way most of us think, getting in the Opens to qualify for this is going to be gridlock the first morning entries are taken.
I don't know if it was coincidence or they new this was coming but I got a letter in the mail yesterday from MLF wanting me to fish the BFL or the Toyota Series in 2025. I can afford the BFL.
I also wouldn't be surprised at all if the BASS Open entry fees took a big jump. If the demand is what I think it will be they could do it and get away with it and offset some of the cost for the Elite series and pay deeper.
Another thing I think we'll see is a sudden rush of folks that left the Elite series for financial or other reasons suddenly flood the Opens.

This is correct answer if we are being brutally honest

Absolutely....those that want to have found or will find a way.

Thanks for the real story Mark. The leg humper comment was hilarious! That guy obviously doesn’t know you.

THIS

Talk that they might increase the Opens field size to 300

1000%. These guys can go get a real job and fish on the weekends like everyone else.

Looks like mom and dad didn't set him down and tell him how real life works... You can become a doctor, lawyer or Indian Chief and draw a dependable salary or become a commission salesman, gigolo or pro bass fisherman and bank on yourself... Dan

You can't please tournament bass fishermen. The expectations at the highest levels of tournament bass fishing are just unrealistic. People need to get the idea out of their head that one day pro fishermen will get paid like pro athletes of popular sports. It's never gonna happen. Tournament bass fishing is gambling. Pure and simple. You are always going to be competing for other peoples money. That's the game. If you have expectations otherwise, you probably need to start thinking about a career change and put bass fishing back into the hobby category where it really belongs.

There has to be a long-term strategy or potential sponsor agreement to justify the decreased payouts in the first year of this format. Certainly, some of the brass at BASS reviewed some anglers' earnings last year and compared them to what they would be in 2025. It is extremely simple math to do some eye-opening comparisons. If they didn't do that before making the announcement, then the people in charge are exponentially dumber than they should be given credit for. This did need to happen at some point, I would just have to hope the long game is worth the short-term squeeze.

In order for this to work; correct me if I'm wrong, they are going to redistribute the payouts across the board to make this work so overall even thought there will be no entry fees there will be less money paid out across the field or per place?

Furthermore, I think the anglers' biggest concern at this point may be maintaining the cash inflow from the sponsors they currently hold. I could definitely see company XYZ saying, "well, they don't have to pay entries anymore so we can decrease our monetary commitment to Joe Blow Angler and still get the same exposure." If that happens, then the anglers are really going to be taking it in the shorts. I would like to think the industry is tighter than that but at the end of the day it is about making money and cutting that expense inflates the bottom line.