2008 FLW Tour Schedule

[Gator]

2008 Wal-Mart FLW Tour Schedule
Date Lake City, State
Feb. 28-March 2 Lake Toho Kissimmee, Fla.
April 3-6 Lewis Smith Lake Jasper, Ala.
$1.5 Million National Guard Open
April 24-27 Lake Norman Charlotte, N.C.
$1.5 Million Wal-Mart Open
May 15-18 Beaver Lake Rogers, Ark.
June 19-22 Fort Loudoun-Tellico Knoxville, Tenn.
$1.5 Million Chevy Open
July 10-13 Detroit River Detroit, Mich.
Forrest Wood Cup
Aug. 14-17 Lake Murray Columbia, S.C.

[bigbass111]

Why arent you whiner's not complaining about them NOT visiting the West. You bitched about the Elites not coming, one word HIPOCRITS if thats how you spell it.

[Rick G]

Thats because we have our own "National Guard tour" out West. You know, where the fishing is GOOD, and the fish are BIG. Most of those lakes on the "Tour" are dinkfest's. Rick G.

[sTony]

Oh come on now Justin,

A few theorists have studied the utility of hypocrisy, and in some cases have suggested that the conflicts manifested as hypocrisy are a necessary or even beneficial part of human behavior and society.

Western anglers have legitimate reasons to be disenchanted with BASS.

FLW on the other hand gives us the National Guard and Stren Series. Events where all of our anglers can jump in and compete and not just the back of the boat for a couple events every few years.

Start comparing apples to apples and I'll get your back amigo.

sTony

[gcopple]

Why arent you whiner's not complaining about them NOT visiting the West. You bitched about the Elites not coming, one word HIPOCRITS if thats how you spell it.

um...stren and series maybe?

[JT-Madera]

Hey Bigbass Bigmouth....as soon as BAss Posts their schedule for the BAss Western Opens and a Stren/Everstart Western Series we MIGHT give BAss a break...Otherwise you have NO wind in your sails...you are the hypocrite...

JT

[gt5bass]

Why arent you whiner's not complaining about them NOT visiting the West. You bitched about the Elites not coming, one word HIPOCRITS if thats how you spell it.

First most of aren't whiners but unsatisfied or disgruntled former customers. Big difference.

Hmmm...lets see, here is a simple possible explanation of why West Coasters jump all over BASS and not FLW...could it be because the Elites were the ONLY events that BASS brought to the West in the last couple of years and now they are gone yet again while FLW has been here now for 5 CONSECUTIVE years with the Stren (formerly EverStart) Series and brought out the FLW Series, tournaments West Coast guys can enter as pros, not just non-boaters, that have $100k 1st place paybacks,for 2007 and is bringing it back AGAIN for a 2nd CONSECUTIVE year in 2008.

Pretty simple...when ESPN/BASS matches the effort FLW puts forth for West Coast anglers for a couple of CONSECUTIVE years, then perhaps the West Coasters will get off their backs

[bigbass111]

So even if you have a skeeter or Triton you'll still win a Full purse thats advertised right!!! or is the * still part of FLW and there winnings.

[bigbass111]

Here is a interesting fact!! You Ranger guys need a new boat every other year right, to qualify for a FULL paycheck. Well there are only 15 guys a year that win (FLW TOUR/SERIES EAST & WEST). But there are roughly 550-600 of you giving Ranger 7-9K in profit plus the dealer mark-up for dealers. That means Ranger alone makes around $4,950,000-$5,400,000 just to pay you if your lucky 1-15 a year # is pulled. So Ranger pays out roughly $750,000 a year for that CONTINGENCY BONUS. Man they are some smart folks but boo-hoo bass for pulling $1.4 million from the majors. They all need to make some coin, I understand its a buisness. This isn't about east or west the FLW is the only one over here I know BASS has screwed the pooch on that. But wake up and smell the money, god knows your Genmar dealers are. One day it will hit you, what the heck am I doing 10k a year and 45-55K every other just to qualify WWWWOOOAAAAAA!!! Go ahead lets hear it now!!!

[mac (Doyle McEwen)]

I take it bigbass, you are still dealing boats in Florida..In all honesty I fully understand your rants and do not totally disagree with them, except for one big thing..BASS is not in the west and really has little interest in being there..FLW at least does have some representation..Now where you are with both tours being readily available, everything you say is perfectly valid..Now if you were out here, you just might think otherwise..The offering we have from FLW may not be earth shattering, but at least it is an offering..You speak from an area that has the offerings of both major circuits, your information is correct, yet it does not take into consideration all aspects..

mac

[bigbass111]

Mac,

You are correct, its not fair for me to compare the two for the WEST. Because BASS doesnt exsist over there anymore and you/we have every right to be upset. But remember I lived in Cali for 27 years and I know how we turned out #'s wise. We shot ourselves in the foot and complain about it. That's the truth period, but the way everyone is acting if BASS does go out west, no one will show and they will never come back. I don't want that to happen because I plan on moving back and want BASS to be their. BASS does more for the Angler than FLW by 100% they let you be you, not a puppet. And Rick as far as dink fest's your right for the most part. But don't you like change(PAD fields, Cypress tree's, Bridges, creeks by the thousands and no one for miles. It's funner then hell to catch all the fish you want on topwater, cranks or whatever you want to throw 10 miles down some creek where no ones been for 3 months. I fished alot on Clear Lake, Delta, shasta and so on with incredible results. But for the most part alot of these dink fest lakes are incredible. For instance I live 30min from Okeechobee now. Its 35 miles top to bottom and 30 widea big egg. The deepest part of the lake 4.5 feet (serious). Do you know how scared I was running across it for the first time. Its producing 30-35lb stringers every weekend right now (its 100deg w/95% humidity) for god sakes. A 4 day right now would rival Elites performance at clear lake. How about fishing a grass line or 1 rock 18 miles off shore sacking 30lb sacks with a rattle trap or spook. Its just as fun a chucking a swimbait down a dock edge. My point is give BASS a break they need to make money too and the west didnt provide when they came. Let's support them in the future or it will only be a new boat every other year to qualify for a living.

[DeltaDan]

Watching and reading of the tourneys on the web and TV- now for mabey 8-9 months....


I love to read the hard to catch stories and seperation of winning weights by just a few ounces. I also like to read and watch stories of BIG Blow outs like on the Delta and Clear Lake.


Mabey it is cause I like watch Golf on TV on Sunday also when it is all tied-up.

Mabey it is because I love to read Backdeck Pro's stories on WB.

Mabey it is casue I have never cought a bass bigger than 2.5 pounds.

Mabey it is because no matter the size of the winning weight- You gotta LOVE what they were able to catch under the conditions in when they had to show up to fish in -- no matter where in America they are.

....Sorta Like the SF Giants -- You sort of expect them to lose -- But they can pull a Hummm Baby out at the last monent to stay 12 under of .500% -- Even in last place- They can put a smile on your face when ever you can hear them on the radio, watch them on TV or see in person at the park....... Cause it is what you love to see in your heart. -- And that is what makes one happy.... aspecially when it gets down to the nitty-gritty of a 3 game behind race with 4 weeks to go........ Or the Nextel series and they get blown out from bad luck....

It's all good !! -- Even though I don't fish seriously -- I have great pleasure watching it on the web live when I am afforded the opportunity.

[Dewayne]

How many FLW events have you fished?


I am not one to complain about BASS coming back. Those who listened to them knew they would not come back every year with the Tour. On the other hand FLW has given us full schedules to fish with both the Stren and NG series. Add in WON Bass and Angler's Choice and we have more tournaments then time to fish.

BASS was not supported because they did not believe, treated us like ****, had a terrible product, and seldom followed through on their word. FLW has been the exact opposite. For you to make a comment such as "BASS does more for the Angler than FLW by 100%" shows that you have either never fished an FLW event or are just blind. If you want specifics I can give you many. I have fished both. FLW is drawing twice or more what BASS could ever draw because they treat the anglers well, listen to what we have to say, and bring good products. They have some rules that many of us disagree with. They are not perfect, but we understand them and why they are in place. If we have questions or comments we see the CEO many times each year and he is more than willing to talk to the anglers and hear what they have to say. When was the last time you saw anyone above Tripp at a BASS tournament? I never did.

[bigbass111]

I have fished several of the local BFL's out here. I will not fish the Strens or above due to there pay structure. I will not buy a Ranger just to win a Full purse. You can support that all you want but will not donate my money to Irwin Jacobs. There's plenty of trails out here that let the ANGLER promote himself. If you only knew what kind of money FLW sponsors paid. Try and make a LIVING with sponsors on the FLW, it is impossble. Unless your 1 of about 5-7 guys who still make less then someone who can promote themselves. If FLW is so worth it how come all their talent went to BASS huh... KVD, STEVE KENNEDY, DEAN ROJAS, ISH AND HE"S RANGER there's alot more too. FLW only gets BASS guys to convert that cant make it. THAT IS THE TRUTH!!!!! WAIT AND SEE SOME OF THE NAMES THAT QUALIFY FOR ELITES THROUGH THE OPENS. THERE FLW PRO"S THAT I HAVE SPOKEN TOO AND CANT WAIT TO CHANGE.

[RipnRog]

I for one will never forget how BASS fired all of the federation representitives. That to me was something I will never forget. They did this so they could have control of something that they should never have control of. I agree we did not fill the fields but they could have changed the fields so that they were full and then just qualify less to the classic.

You know the old saying where there is a will there is a way. I guess there was no will.

I am also very upset that the new Federation nation is being ran as a private club now. They have had this thing plenty long enough to get some word out on it and MY perception of it is they are keeping it for themselves.

BASS in my opinion is dead in the west.

[mac (Doyle McEwen)]

For you to say that FLW only draws those that could not make it in BASS is pure BS..I will admit there are a lot more unknowns fishing the FLW tour than there are fishing the Elite series..When the Elite was here this last spring I was amazed at the number of people fishing it that I had never heard of..I freely admit I did know or at least had heard of the majority..Can these people outfish everyone else, I doubt it..No doubt they can all probably out fish me, but then again I have never claimed to be fantastic, just good sometimes..It is true BASS can be a place to earn a living, if you qualify for the Elites and can afford to fish them..That doesn't really make them any better than another tour, just one with a higher profile name, for the time being..You can sing their praises all you want, it doesn't change the fact they advertise themselves as a national circuit, when the best they normally offer is strictly regional..BASS gets little to no support here because they are not actively seeking it..Yes they are in the business to make money, but they have eleminated a large portion of their potential customer base from ever participating..You can say how bad FLW is in their payouts, but from the way I see it out here, the payouts beat the hell out of anything BASS is currently offering us, or has offered us in the last ten years..When you are drowning, a balloon doesn't look all that bad, especially when no one is tossing you anything else to try and latch onto..BASS through ESPN was thought of being capable of reaching the same level as NASCAR..Unfortunately that is never going to happen..Two completely different sports, having little if anything in common..I do know the continuous complaining about the lack of a BASS presence in the west serves little purpose..We will support FLW, because FLW supports us..

mac

[bigbass111]

your right on MAC about what FLW has to offer to the average joe. But to a FULL time angler BASS is the only way. Or you will stuggle to keep you head above water. Off limits with the FLW TOUR is going to hurt alot of guys that stay on the road event to event. Feel bad for some of them that dont have the connections like Yelas and Nixon, Ohh well... I guess this debate will go on forever, sorry guys just an Opinion.

[M. Warner]

So if i fish the stren series out of my skeeter, i wont win the 25,000 or whatever it is, or will i win the money, but just not the boat? Please let me know. Also bass is supposed to come out west with the opens, but if your willing to travel to washington and oregon, thats where they will be according to the great source that i have been talking to. They are trying to get the weekend series on the colorado river also. But could someone let me know about the stren, and how it pays if your not fishing out of a ranger. I just thought that you won the full money, but not the boat. Is that correct?

[Rick G]

BASS and FLW both have their strong points. Your responce about "lilly pad fields, cypress trees, and creeks that go on for miles" really have no say in where those Org's have their tournaments. I'ts all about which city ponies up the $. Either one would have it in the LA River if the City put up the bucks and there was a Convention Center. We support what we have here and that is FLW, WON and A/C. Rick G.

[N.A.R]

WOW... what a mess!

M Warner...nothing yet on the weekend Series out west. I am in contact with ABA and they are still not sure what they are going to do. They did tell me that they will have an answer by August.

Hopefully FLW will fill that WeekendSeries/BFL gap that we have out west.

To the angler who started this debate.... Just look at your own boy Than there is no way he could do what he is doing fishing BASS they don't pay enough! Period.... Look at Brett Casey Jack Mark just to name a few that wasted there time with BASS!

We don't need to explain to you the goings on here in the West. You lived here in San Diego so your aware of what we experienced with BASS. Even though I don't believe you fished either BASS Opens here in the west or even FLW RedMan when you were here....SO WHY ARE WE EVEN TALKING ABOUT THIS? As they say....You don't have a dog in this fight!

Tony

[M. Warner]

Thats cool, i wish that the bfl would come back out, they told me last year that they would see about it, depending on the turnouts that they had for the strens and the series, but we will see here soon. I would rather fish flw just because the pay is better.

[N.A.R]

Well if RickG can answer my wish list and bring Irwin Jacobs to the BassAThon then that would be a perfect time to ask the man himself. If they would be able to bring the BFL backs.

[Dewayne]

Bigbass.

If I am not mistaken all the anglers you mentioned started off with BASS and fished both Tours when it was possible to earn some money. Once BASS made it impossible for them to do both they chose BASS. There are more that started with BASS and left to fish the FLWs.

The most recent BASS Open took in $158k in entry fees. They paid out $166k of which $50k was a boat. That is a grand 105% payback if you take the boat at face value. Do you think they pay $50k for it? It gets better if you look at Texoma. They collected $177k and paid back $166k. In both tournaments they collected entry fee over the level they state as a full field and yet paid back their stated $166k for a full field of 150 boats. Yip - They are looking out for you anglers real good. Wait it gets better still... Kissimmee 195 anglers pay entry fees totaling $195k to fish for $166k for a whopping 85% payback if you take the $50k boat at full value. Thank You BASS, May we have another. They get more successful and you guys get less money.

So now lets look at a Stren. Texoma had 150 anglers paying $123k in entry fees and collecting $109k in cold hard cash for an 88% payback. Oh yea, I dropped out the boat and the other $13k in Ranger bonus money from this calulation. We can add them back in if you like that would bring the payout up to about $162k (Assuming that the boat is worth $40k) for a payback of 131%

So even if you are a non-Ranger owner you can get a better deal fishing a Stren than a BASS Open. You also will get treated well at the FLW instead of lied to by BASS.

You keep BASS in Florida please. Us dumb Californians cannot afford the BASS version of love.

[redPHish]

Here Here Dewayne.

Mean old Ranger rewarding their customers with EXTRA money. Yeah that sucks paying $825 for a shot at $25,000 and 1/3 the field getting their money back.

We don't even want to get started on the no-entry fee championship because that's another $1million. Trust me the extra money collected from non-ranger owners does not equal $1 million. Course I did the math.

Hope your fishing is better than your arguing.

[bigbass111]

Rick, I wasnt talking about tournament locations. I know the $$$ dictates the venue. I was talking about your dinkfest remark of eastern lakes. It's fun to learn different techniques to a science instead of the typical c-rig, jig, dropshot and swimbait. I do so much better out here than the average joe because I grew up fishing tougher lakes and finessing conditions. But you got to give credit when credit is due. Not everyone can power fish and some of these fisheries are unbelievable. The best big fish lakes are on the west but there's more to fishing then that.

As far as never fishing any of the Opens. I could only afford (2) of the Opens on the West do to work and only being 20. I did however weigh 55 and some change for 10th when Aaron won in 02'. And I have fished the last 2 Southern's here recently with some success for my first time on these lakes. I also missed Angler of the Year by one point On the Bassmaster Weekend series last year. My work right now is First and fishing is second like all of you. But I am doing my reserch for my future in fishing and you guys are crazy to think making a living in fishing is possible by a better "payout" or only living on that. I hope you make top of the feild every FLW and make 60-70K a year, but you'll be sleeping in a box wishing you could sell yourself for what your worth. THAT IS THE TRUTH!!!

[crawdaddy]

We are in the "virtual" presence of real genius. It is a rare thing to have a triple negative. Come to think of it I have never seen it. I will forward this post to my 5th grade grammar teacher, she will be equally amazed.

[sTony]

Oh my lord, I can't believe you guys are arguing across country like this.

I won't waste my time talking about BASS because the bottom line is they're not here, they don't come anywhere near here, who's knows if they'll ever really come back and frankly who cares.

The fishing here is good, the fishing in Florida is good, hey Bruddah... it's all good. I don't care where the heck you get your boat wet, it's just good to be out fishing...period.

There are great anglers fishing the Elite Series and there are marvelous anglers fishing the FLW Tour. I don't even try to compare the two fields because it really isn't possible to do, it's apples and oranges.

Comparing the BFL experience out east to the Series experience out West is, again, apples and oranges.

My good and wise friend KB once told me you can get 10 bass fisherman outside and ask them what color the sky is and they'll all say it's blue. But they'll all tell you it's a different shade.

Now would you guys go wet a line, find a new topic and move on cause you all make wonderful points. There is no right or wrong, there's what's right or wrong for you.

sTony