How many follow professional Bass Fishing?

Wow 44 lbs wins Sabine River. Nothing like watching a tourney with the winner averaging 2.2 lbs a fish.

Michael Best wrote:

Wow 44 lbs wins Sabine River. Nothing like watching a tourney with the winner averaging 2.2 lbs a fish.

I tried to watch a little bit of the live stuff and it was terrible. It was like someone set the world on fire if they caught a 1.5 pounder every 45 minutes. Even if there is a good location for the weigh in with sizable crowds, they need to remove the Sabine from the list of potential locations for a while. 44 pounds in 4 days for that part of the country is embarrassing, especially for 100 of the best bass anglers in the country.

I don’t disagree that it’s not too exciting to watch that event with the low weights and wouldn’t care if they don’t return, but a bunch of the anglers commented that they like the challenge of a grinder tournament like that and the nice hospitality and crowds. I’m sure they’ll be returning again.

Ya it was rather boring. But they cant always go places where there are Big fish. The reality is lots of lakes don’t have big fish. I know a few here in Minnesota where even those pro’s would struggle to get a much bigger average than 2.2 Lbs. Sylvia near Annandale and Big Marine near Forest Lake to name a few. There was a time that the fish in Big Marine were much bigger. Not the last few times Ive fished it but its been a few years now.

Ha! The last two tournaments I’ve had on Big Marine you won if you hit 9 lbs. Can depend on the time of year too though. Later that same summer someone won one out there with a 19 lb bag.

mahtofire14 wrote:

Ha! The last two tournaments I’ve had on Big Marine you won if you hit 9 lbs. Can depend on the time of year too though. Later that same summer someone won one out there with a 19 lb bag.

I would think a 19 Lb. bag would be one of the bigger bags out of there in awhile. Unless its gotten better since I last fished it. The 9lb. bag is more of the norm that I remember.

Has anyone heard about this?
I don’t really follow the Major League tail much.

Shuffield Disqualified from Bass Pro Tour Stage Five

Michael. Don’t see any link. Heard about what ???

https://majorleaguefishing.com/bass-pro-tour/shuffield-disqualified-from-bass-pro-tour-stage-five/

Apparently some of the pros were also catching the same fish off a bed 2 and 3 times, which is also addressed in MLF’s ruling.

Ford Guy 1 wrote:

Apparently some of the pros were also catching the same fish off a bed 2 and 3 times, which is also addressed in MLF’s ruling.

He also apparently hooked at least one fish outside the mouth which is also against the rules.

Thanks Ford guy.
Not sure why the link I tried posting only shows the picture.
Anyhow yeah catching the same fish multiple times and not letting the official see the hook before removing it.

If you want to hear the local hero’s feelings on cheating in bass fishing you can listen to this podcast. He cuts open a vein about it. Skip to an hour and nine minutes in and he goes into it. It’s a great conversation.

Good. I hate people who Break the rules and know they are breaking the rules.

I even watch the Classic Bass app to follow the guys. A buddy of mine fishes it. It wasn’t fast and furious on Whitefish today.

Keith Tuma finished in 75th at the St. Lawrence River but only dropped one place in the EQ standings to 6th. Those extra 25 places he picked up on Day 2 were huge. I’m guessing losing big fish was his bugaboo in this one, as a lot of other anglers were saying they couldn’t keep their best fish pinned. Tuma has a good track record on the Harris Chain, so the next two tournaments are key for him to finish in the Top 50. Watts Bar and Lake of the Ozarks, I think both have a reputation for being tough lakes.

I’m looking forward the Northern swing of the Bassmasters kicking off this Thur. on Lake St clair. Always fun when they fish the northern waters. So much fun watching them fight monster SM on lite line. The local boys should have a few good finishes in these next 3 I would guess.

Should be a great tourney. Sounds like the SM are everywhere and biting well. Due to the late spawn in the area the average size is down some. The average limit will probably be in the 18-20 lb. Ranger rather than 20-22 but still some great SM. I’m sure there will be some monster bags caught and some really big fish brought in.

Sure hope they don’t just sit there offshore with a drop shot watching their electronics for several days. Makes for a snooze fest.

That’s exactly what is going to happen Gim.

gimruis wrote:

Sure hope they don’t just sit there offshore with a drop shot watching their electronics for several days. Makes for a snooze fest.

I actually don’t mind it at all. On another note, it looks like the southern anglers are giving the northern crew a good run for their money.

gimruis wrote:

Sure hope they don’t just sit there offshore with a drop shot watching their electronics for several days. Makes for a snooze fest.

It may not be that fun to watch, but with money on the line its the most effective way. I enjoy watching all the long fights and the # of lost fish that comes with fishing SM

They are catching em so far but not a whole lot of weight.

mahtofire14 wrote:

They are catching em so far but not a whole lot of weight.

Its funny when a fair # of fishermen are getting close to a 4Lb. average of SM bass and we say not a lot of weight so far

mahtofire14 wrote:

That’s exactly what is going to happen Gim.

I know.

They could alleviate some of that if they had these northern smallmouth events earlier in the season which would bring in more presentations.

Guess I just had to say something. Someone just got a 6.6. In other news Mercer had Mark Zona on his podcast that he posted yesterday, and he goes into the cheating scandal on Cayuga lake from MLF. It’s pretty interesting and gives you some insider insight on what’s really going on.

Looks like about 8 fishermen already over 20lbs. All the midwestern fishermen look to be doing good as of now. My guess is it will take 84-85Lbs. to win this one. 56-58 after 3 days may get you fishing on the final day. If the wind really kicks in that could all change rather fast.

WOW !!! they caught them much better than a lot thought. Or at least more weight than a lot thought. 13 Bags over 22 Lbs. and 33 over 20. That’s some great fishing right there. That forward facing sonar is a big game changer is the sport for sure. Like a lot of technology I’m not a big fan, But can’t stop technology.

In the last few years fishing Jiggin raps vertical has become a big player on the Walleye tourney trail. I would think that technique would work well on smallmouth at this event as well. I wonder if any of these guys have given them a try. With the # of Northern fishermen that are familiar with them from ice fishing, I would have to guess someone tried them.

Anyone else feeling themselves getting tense just watching some of these guys hand land some of these SM.