Thoughts On The Major League Fishing Format? 2024
TNBassin' reply :
Been watching MLF, and I gotta say I really like it. I love that all fish that are keepers go towards the total weight and not just the best 5. Watched an extended episode that I had already seen on their website, and enjoyed it immensely. You really got to see more in depth stuff than what the Outdoor Channel shows, and you can really see the personalities of Greg Hackney, and Denny Brauer really shine. I never laughed so hard at a fishing show. I might spend the cash for all of the extended episodes. It was that good. Anyone else drinking the MLF kool-aid??
J Francho reply :
Yeah, I dig it. Back before they even started filming, I talked to Boyd Duckett at length about it, and it has really lived up to the hype. I guess the pros really have fun with the format, too.
Darren. reply :
Not yet, really need to check the webisodes as I don't get the Outdoor Channel.
A-Jay reply :
I am a fan as well.
Looking forward to the next event.
It's all about the coverage; tournament official and camera on every boat.
The Classic pales in comparison and should consider adopting a similar format.
Simply shrink the field to a manageable number of anglers.
I understand the mindset of having competitors from various bass entities and the importance of having a high number of angling participants contributing to the increase in Sponsor Dollars.
The NFL Super Bowl only has 2 teams playing and their sponsors appear to do OK.
The past and current Classic format causes a very watered down spectator event simply because of shear number of anglers participating.
Back before the social media explosion, this format worked fine. Now, It's a Dinosaur and I fear it will suffer the same fate if changes are not made soon.
A-Jay
prjavelin reply :
anyone that hasnt tried it yet should!!! its an amazing format and you get to meet the pros up close. its amazing. I love it. we will be getting another cup in april as per their facebook page.
aavery2 reply :
I have purchased the last two seasons of MLF and have enjoyed the coverage as well as the format. It may not be perfect, but they seem to be on to something.
MemphisFF reply :
It's funny you're talking bout this show, went to BPS today and Edwin Evers was talking bout the show and the format of it, and how some are doin this type of tournaments in Texas..
Josh Sifuentes reply :
I find it quite exciting and fun to watch. I just wish there was more of them.
TNBassin' reply :
I really can't get enough of this. For better or worse, these guy's personalities really come out with this format. Denny Brauer and Greg Hackney had me cracking up constantly. I loved it when Iaconelli was screaming like crazy after catching a nice fish, then it switched to Hackney and you could hear Ike going off. Hackney then proceeds to say "if he was my kid, he'd be getting a spanking right now" lol.
Dinky reply :
I really like it. Sounds almost corny to say it, but it is exciting and suspenseful--though not tingley!
CKFishin reply :
Its the cat's meow....
Felix77 reply :
I enjoy it. It's different. It definitely makes the classic look archaic.
They need to find a way to do events live in order to gain any traction with other sports. In this Twitter/Facebook age watching it a week later seems old.
J Francho reply :
Live fishing would be incredibly boring.
MemphisFF reply :
I watched the one on a lake in NY and Ish was killin it.. First time watching it all the way thru I really enjoy it.. I saw where Evers and Tak were fighting over docks funny stuff and The Squirrel, lol
BassinB reply :
On 3/7/2013 at 9:54 AM, J Francho said:Live fishing would be incredibly boring.
I really dont think it would. If they switched from angler to angler often enough with some decent commentators i would think it couldnt be possibly more boring than golf.
CKFishin reply :
On 3/10/2013 at 12:27 PM, BassinB said:I really dont think it would. If they switched from angler to angler often enough with some decent commentators i would think it couldnt be possibly more boring than golf.
I don't think you could be more wrong... Live fishing would be incredibly bad not to mention its 8 hours... How do you block an entire channel for 8 hours?
BassinB reply :
You wouldnt have to block a channel for 8 hours. You could televise the last 3-4 hours of fishing a day up until weigh in. And supplement the broadcast with higlight clips of the morning if not much is happening. That doesnt seem to far fetched to me.
Nave reply :
On 3/11/2013 at 3:40 AM, CKFishin said:I don't think you could be more wrong... Live fishing would be incredibly bad not to mention its 8 hours... How do you block an entire channel for 8 hours?
He can't be "wrong" it's merely his opinion.
J Francho reply :
What you need to realize, is MLF was created to be a TV product from it's ***. BASS Elite events are tournaments, and TV coverage is secondary. I'm not even sure live broadcast is possible from boats in many of the locations they fish.
A-Jay reply :
On 3/11/2013 at 10:04 PM, J Francho said:What you need to realize, is MLF was created to be a TV product from it's ***. BASS Elite events are tournaments, and TV coverage is secondary. I'm not even sure live broadcast is possible from boats in many of the locations they fish.
Exactly - great point J.
So this is where Mr. McKinnis needs to adapt.
Think of it this way - how do you and your sponsors reach the largest tackle buying audience ?
I say it is not by catering to the few hundred spectators that follow the anglers around, which are more of a nuisance than anything else. I know the waters they fish are public and there is no way around it - but it's like having fans on the field during a ball game - PIA. Nothing wrong with watching the take off or the recovery / weigh-in but the encroaching seemed especially bad this year for whatever reason.
Fans can and should continue to attend these events as the Boost to the local economy is nothing to sneeze at.
I believe some of the consideration as to where these events are held must involve an updated and more current media profile. There is almost no way around it.
By reducing the number of anglers there could be a camera boat with each competetor with a "B.A.S.S" official on board who could monitor the spectator boats. Although there would be no legal authority to make boats move away - I bet if fans were politely asked to stay at least as far away as the BASS official, most would comply. But leaving the anglers to fend for themselves is just asking for trouble. Almost had some this year and it's only going to get worse.
Perhaps the MLF events were like a mini test run to work out the bugs before the BASS makes it's move that way. I certainly hope so.
A-Jay
IowaHusker28 reply :
In the middle of watching the free episode right now. I am already spending a few bucks on a couple more episodes. Shaw is cracking me up. I like all the commentary by the anglers, you can really get inside the head of an expert; which is really cool in my mind!
solo_bro reply :
I felt like u got to know the angler so you can easily match a face and personality with the name. I love the format as well balls to the wall, out catch each other in a total weight.
Basspastor reply :
On 3/11/2013 at 3:52 AM, BassinB said:You wouldnt have to block a channel for 8 hours. You could televise the last 3-4 hours of fishing a day up until weigh in. And supplement the broadcast with higlight clips of the morning if not much is happening. That doesnt seem to far fetched to me.
FLW did this exact thing on Fox after a Packers/Bears game back in 1999 with the Ranger M1 tournament. They even had Joe Buck doing the play by play and interviewing the anglers. I'm not sure if they ever did it again. I think they had an hour, but it might have been two hours or an hour and a half. That was back in the day when they were talking about bass fishing being the next Nascar. Those dreams are long gone now. Neither BASS or FLW could make it happen. I suppose it could still happen, but that seems pretty unlikely to me.
I enjoy MLF and maybe it has the potential to grow or maybe it will go the way of the M1, the Elite Series Majors and a handful of idea's that didn't last.
TrapperJ reply :
i'd be happy if i could watch it the weekend its happening, how much harder would it be, to devote an hour a day on the 4 day tourney. 1 hour on Thurs, Fri, Sat, and Sun. Give me an hour program of that days highlights show the weigh-in, we dont have to see everybody weigh-in, and call it good.
Trying to cram 4 days of fishing in one hour its just to much.
LIke the Elite series didnt it used to come on Sats? Now it seems like early morning sunday unless it comes on later too. I know ESPN sold BASS so I'm guessing it's on its way out with ESPN maybe? which might be a good thing. It needs to be moved to a more Fishing friendly network, WFN, Outdoor, or NBC Sports, and then maybe we would see a format change.
jhoffman reply :
Id like to see them trim the classic and the cup to 15
Top 10 in points
5 Regional Qualifiers
prjavelin reply :
couple more days and the new cup starts!!!
MemphisFF reply :
Gonna watch tomm, I was watching fishing Texas and they had a episode with Jeff Kriet he's got a hilarious personality, and I enjoyed him in this..
Brayberry reply :
I love this tourney, all the new rules, penalties, lake being sectioned off, the anglers personalities, etc
MarkH024 reply :
Less Ish...more Cougar aka Sheli Sanders.
jhoffman reply :
I dont get Ish's big following, he does terrible more times then he does well.
2013
Okeechobee - 94th
Lewis Smith - 85th
MarkH024 reply :
On 4/5/2013 at 8:27 PM, jhoffman said:I dont get Ish's big following, he does terrible more times then he does well.
2013
Okeechobee - 94th
Lewis Smith - 85th
The guy can catch them there is no arguing. He's definitely in the top 20 for BASS pro's currently as I see it. I just don't like listening to him....drives me insane.
tstone reply :
Last year he won at Okeechobee with 108-5. He can fish, that's for sure. He also did well in MLF that was on last night at Istokpoga.
DJ Funk reply :
I would love to be able to do an MLF style tournament!
How would you pull it off, if not everyone has an Ipad, and the same calibrated scale?
I'd love to see thorough details, as my club has tried to think of a fun way to have a tournament during the spawning period, which can only be CMR styled tournaments.
solo_bro reply :
i was soo surprised Shaw Grigsby didn't make it to the next round on the lake in Florida. He came out the gate cracking skulls.
Quillback reply :
On 4/7/2013 at 4:09 PM, solo_bro said:i was soo surprised Shaw Grigsby didn't make it to the next round on the lake in Florida. He came out the gate cracking skulls.
Yeah it looked like he would make it at the beginning. I forget who it was, but Shaw seemed a little ticked at the other guy moving in on his spot.
It's hard for me to get excited with the Florida type fishing, guys hook a fish, surf them over the weeds and flip them into the boat. Or if it's a nice fish, it gets wrapped up in a mass of weeds, they move the boat to it and haul it, with weeds, into the boat. It's really boring to watch IMO.
Then you have Ish throwing topwaters in a canal, catching 1 lb. fish, not that I blame him, looks to be a good strategy, but just not that fun to watch, he just speed reels them into the boat. (Yawn).
MarkH024 reply :
On 4/7/2013 at 9:49 PM, Quillback said:Yeah it looked like he would make it at the beginning. I forget who it was, but Shaw seemed a little ticked at the other guy moving in on his spot.
It's hard for me to get excited with the Florida type fishing, guys hook a fish, surf them over the weeds and flip them into the boat. Or if it's a nice fish, it gets wrapped up in a mass of weeds, they move the boat to it and haul it, with weeds, into the boat. It's really boring to watch IMO.
Then you have Ish throwing topwaters in a canal, catching 1 lb. fish, not that I blame him, looks to be a good strategy, but just not that fun to watch, he just speed reels them into the boat. (Yawn).
Id have to disagree. Fishing in super thick vegetation is a challenge. Its very easy to get unbuttoned when they tangle with masses of pads and weeds.
I dont burn my fish across the weeds like you described but i understand why they do in competition. Objective is to get them in the boat and you cant play them in conditions like they were fishing. Most of them anyway.
Quillback reply :
I'm sure it's challenging, but IMO it's not fun to watch. And I totally agree that the tactics they are using are what you have to do to get fish in the boat when fishing those weed bowls. But it's so boring to watch. Again, just my opinion, but I probably won't spend much time watching while they're doing the Florida thing.
MarkH024 reply :
I hear ya. I like it because i do a lot of slop and frog fishing so i can relate. Then again i love watching any bass fishing so I'm never really bored.On 4/7/2013 at 10:19 PM, Quillback said:I'm sure it's challenging, but IMO it's not fun to watch. And I totally agree that the tactics they are using are what you have to do to get fish in the boat when fishing those weed bowls. But it's so boring to watch. Again, just my opinion, but I probably won't spend much time watching while they're doing the Florida thing.
I enjoyed seeing Hack pull up that big gator. That thing was not small by any means.
tstone reply :
I liked it because it's the type of fishing I do. Seeing spots you've fished at Istokpoga then seeing how the pros fish them is awesome.
moguy1973 reply :
I know they are using a different scale than they were in the last season of MLF (Berkley 35lb precision digital scale) but does anyone know what those grippers are they are attaching to the bottom of the scale to hold the fish by the mouth with? I looked on Berkley's website but didn't see anything that looked like what they were using...
J Francho reply :
Here you go!
http://www.thefishgrip.net/
moguy1973 reply :
On 4/9/2013 at 12:52 AM, J Francho said:Here you go!
http://www.thefishgrip.net/
I thought that might be it, wasn't sure though. Seems to work a lot better than the gripper style scale they used last season.
J Francho reply :
I think they were using the JR. version. here's the original version:
TNBassin' reply :
On 4/6/2013 at 10:14 AM, DJ Funk said:I would love to be able to do an MLF style tournament!
How would you pull it off, if not everyone has an Ipad, and the same calibrated scale?
I'd love to see thorough details, as my club has tried to think of a fun way to have a tournament during the spawning period, which can only be CMR styled tournaments.
No need for an ipad. Just use phones and text periodic updates or weights to the marshals. The scale issue....I'm not sure what you would do there unless you had a "master scale" that used at the end of the tourney to get final weights. Everyone would have to agree on that of course. Let marshals use whatever scale they have to give unofficial weights, then use the master scale at the end for finals.
FishinDaddy reply :
On 4/8/2013 at 10:31 AM, tstone said:I liked it because it's the type of fishing I do. Seeing spots you've fished at Istokpoga then seeing how the pros fish them is awesome.
Yep, Edwin was fishing "my" tree and Ish was in "your" canal.
JellyMan reply :
I enjoyed it. Especially when Ike flipped out again lol. That guy's great. I've been watching it on demand. Waiting for the next one.
MemphisFF reply :
Was that a duckett rod that broke at the reel seat area? Just curious bout that as I have several
MarkH024 reply :
On 4/12/2013 at 9:14 PM, MemphisFF said:Was that a duckett rod that broke at the reel seat area? Just curious bout that as I have several
Yes it was. Timmy Horton snapped it like a twig.
MemphisFF reply :
On 4/12/2013 at 9:29 PM, MarkH024 said:Yes it was. Timmy Horton snapped it like a twig.
Yea he did..
MarkH024 reply :
On 4/12/2013 at 9:54 PM, MemphisFF said:Yea he did..
Props to him for landing the fish. What was ironic, the first or second commercial after that happened was for Duckett rods. I haven't watched any of the extended casts on these episodes but was anything said by Horton on what/why that happened? He didn't really say anything about it after he hand lined it in.
MemphisFF reply :
He's not gonna say anything he's a sponser..
mtaag3 reply :
I saw that episode where the rod snapped. I was amazed. I was actually going to ask a question about the Duckett rods as it seems most of those pros seems to use Duckett. I was curious if they're that much better or they just sponsor well.
The show is interesting and I enjoy watching it. I don't know how tournaments work but I like this one.
J Francho reply :
One guy breaks a rod flippin' in the jungle doesn't mean a thing. I wouldn't say "most pros" use them, but there are a half dozen top flight names using them. They're well made, if not a little better than others at that price point. If I needed more rods, I'd be looking hard at them.
moguy1973 reply :
I thought this lake would produce a lot bigger bags of fish. Seems they are catching a lot of dinks that weigh...The last lake in NY had a lot more fish being caught (up to 20 fish in a bag) and the weights were even similar. I guess it's just that much harder to find the fish in this lake? I was expecting them to be pulling out 8-9-10lb Florida bass left and right...Guess not when you don't have time to scout the area and practice first...
TNBassin' reply :
I broke down and bought the "bass pass" last night. I had a $3 coupon from Fishhound so that knocked it down to $12 and some change well spent. I freaking LOVE MLF more and more. I just hate seeing when "my pros" don't make the cut. Not having Hackney, Shaw, or Brauer in the mix sucks. I laugh so much watching those guys.
Grantman83 reply :
I actually enjoy that they show the rods breaking as it shows that it happens even to the top guys. Bobby lane broke 2 Veritas rods, 1 spinning and one flipping. Brauer broke a rod with fish on and had his reel pop out of the reel seat on another.
Just makes me feel better know that it happens to the best as well lol..
MemphisFF reply :
Jus watches it and saw Lane throw his rod and reel in the lake, wondered if he fished it out..?
keith71 reply :
Rods break,part of fishing.Most of the pros have a dozen or so laid out o the deck,cant tell you how many times they step or lay down on them when they get excited landing a bass. Sixty five# test braid does not yield to a log on a hook set and these guys and most of us swing for the fences on a jig bite.
AR Fishin Hodge reply :
I think it is epic. I can sit and watch someone that can really knows what they are doing for a really long time. Last nights episode the big ones were turned on before the Hurricane. Hackney hooking a gator was awesome. I like watching Tak and Ish fish, Biffle is fun, Ehler is great. For TV you can't get any better than the way this sets up. It is super back and forth with everyfish counting and limiting the lakes into zones is a pretty good idea, leading to more drama over spots. For TV fishing I think casual fans are going to really like it if they give it a shot.
MemphisFF reply :
On 4/27/2013 at 1:45 AM, AR Fishin Hodge said:I think it is epic. I can sit and watch someone that can really knows what they are doing for a really long time. Last nights episode the big ones were turned on before the Hurricane. Hackney hooking a gator was awesome. I like watching Tak and Ish fish, Biffle is fun, Ehler is great. For TV you can't get any better than the way this sets up. It is super back and forth with everyfish counting and limiting the lakes into zones is a pretty good idea, leading to more drama over spots. For TV fishing I think casual fans are going to really like it if they give it a shot.
I agree
TNBassin' reply :
I love MLF like I said, but I wanna see them do a tourney where it's not all flipping and pitching. How about some reservoirs for some deep cranking, or drop shot etc? By the time I'm done watching MLF, I'm gonna have the flipping power of Denny Brauer. MLF needs a tad more variety on the type of fisheries that are chosen.
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