US Open, Lake Mead 2011 national coverage.

Post Reply
Oldschool
Posts: 1508
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2007 7:29 am

US Open, Lake Mead 2011 national coverage.

Post by Oldschool »

The US Open is a major 3 day tournament with Elite bass pro's, however zero national attention or coverage. Fully realize that the west coast isn't considered the homeland of bass fishing, but no mention nationally, although the ICAST event is fully covered by the fishing media.
Great stories; Aaron wins his 3rd title, 13 year old Texan wins big bass honors and donates his check to wounded warriors, Rick Clunn and Gary Klein available for interviews...
Tom
Last edited by Oldschool on Thu Jul 21, 2011 10:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
elfish16
Posts: 978
Joined: Thu Oct 23, 2008 12:13 pm
Location: Ventura

Re: US Open, Lake Mead 2011 national coverage.

Post by elfish16 »

Tom,

this is what I was getting at in my post a couple days ago. BLOWS my mind that this thing gets zero attention. And even out here on the west coast, the buzz was LOW!
Eric Elshere

https://donssmokinsalmon.com
https://maxima-lines.com
User avatar
Brian D.
Posts: 4032
Joined: Sun May 08, 2005 8:12 am
Location: Deep South
Contact:

Re: US Open, Lake Mead 2011 national coverage.

Post by Brian D. »

I with you guys on this. Come on WONbass... this is your opportunity to promote the heck out of your major tourney and get national visibility. The blog was good, but it needs to be promoted on the front page instead of some buried link. Daily videos clips of the draw, blastoff, angler interviews, etc. would be nice as well to promote sponsors and the anglers. Look at Basszone (or even Tami Jennings' report, for that matter) and see what can be done with just a little bit of time and effort.
~~ I'm trying to think but nothing happens ~~
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8MhaihAw7I&feature=related
User avatar
tunaman
Posts: 4838
Joined: Thu Aug 31, 2006 12:26 pm
Location: Now in Henderson, NV

Re: US Open, Lake Mead 2011 national coverage.

Post by tunaman »

SOS... that has been the case since I first became involved, and initially I was blown away myself. I've since gotten over it and accept it as fact. It is a shame, as the US Open is IMHO one of the most grueling tests of angler's mettle, but for whatever reason the rest of the country seems to be ignorant.

Roger
Tight lines forever!
http://www.tunaman.org

*DISCLAIMER* - This post is in no way meant to be offensive. If you feel it is, please re-read then PM me for an explanation if it still offends?
drew
Posts: 1112
Joined: Thu Apr 12, 2007 1:30 pm

Re: US Open, Lake Mead 2011 national coverage.

Post by drew »

Is there even a write up other then the WON blog and results? Is there a story, video or interviews?

It is one of the most incredible events. It tests your skill, body, mind and equipment to the extreme.
WON BASSIN
Posts: 497
Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2010 10:10 am
Location: San Clemente
Contact:

Re: US Open, Lake Mead 2011 national coverage.

Post by WON BASSIN »

Last post before hitting the long road home to my family...

The situation is this.... Everything can be improved, and there is always room for improvement. But you have to remember we are dealing with the National Parks services on this tourney, as Lake Mead is a National State Park. They have very tight guidelines on what can take place on their land. We where no even allowed to show banners at Callville Bay that had tag line, such as #1 on the Water, or Never Stop, or Best tackle solutions. The permit process is a very cumbersome process, and they have very strict guidelines regarding photos and film especially. Things will improve, as we have already come very far just in the last year since last years Open. We hear you and will be working on getting this event its due recognition. Aaron and I spoke after the event, with Gary Klein, and we have some great plans to boost the turnout at next year’s event. I look forward to planning next years US Open, and I have not even left this one yet!
Billy Egan
WON Bass Director
bille@wonews.com
949-366-0248
Oldschool
Posts: 1508
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2007 7:29 am

Re: US Open, Lake Mead 2011 national coverage.

Post by Oldschool »

I have no issues with WON and believe you put on a fantastic event. Way back in the dark ages of B.A.S.S. when I thought making a living tournament bass fishing would be more fun than being an aerospace engineeer, I fished one of the All American events Ray Scott was promoting. Some things have changed over the years for the better and a lot hasn't, the west is still looked at differently than the rest of the country in regards to competitive bass fishing.
I'm sure both Gary and Aaron want this event to be accepted as an equal to other major events and would love to get some of those good 'o boys fishing B.A.S.S. on Mead at the US Open. My hats off to Rick Clunn for coming out and fishing several Opens. B.A.S.S. held one of the early Classics on Mead and never returned, maybe it was the restrictions that chased them away? There were several top pro's at the ICAST that could of fished and didn't.
Tom
elfish16
Posts: 978
Joined: Thu Oct 23, 2008 12:13 pm
Location: Ventura

Re: US Open, Lake Mead 2011 national coverage.

Post by elfish16 »

I love looking at the list and seeing Rick Clunn, Gary Klein, Aaron Martens as the BASS pros that take the time out to fish this incredible spectacle! Where else are you fishing for this prize under such grueling conditions??? I always wonder what new name from the BASS or FLW circuits will be there...these three above always seem to be there! :D
Eric Elshere

https://donssmokinsalmon.com
https://maxima-lines.com
Kevin
Posts: 1885
Joined: Sun May 15, 2005 10:52 pm

Re: US Open, Lake Mead 2011 national coverage.

Post by Kevin »

It sounds like you guys did an awesome job Bill. What surprises me is that nobody from BassFan contacted you or anybody else from WON for daily updates and stories. They either have no feature writers or get everything from the event orgs themselves.
richjh
Posts: 28
Joined: Thu May 05, 2011 3:43 pm

Re: US Open, Lake Mead 2011 national coverage.

Post by richjh »

From all I could tell from the blogs and photos was that Bill Mays was on his own and did a fantastic job -- but I would have to say someone should have written a final story for the blog or WON Bass that actually said who won the U.S. Open, etc with the usual quotes, rundown on tactics etc. A release like that could have been picked up by the national press. Again, Bill did a great job but I have no doubt he had to hit the highway and drive 9 hours back home after the awards. Last year Rick Clunn said it's time to restore the stature of the U.S. Open. I think it's obvious there is still a huge gap.
WON BASSIN
Posts: 497
Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2010 10:10 am
Location: San Clemente
Contact:

Re: US Open, Lake Mead 2011 national coverage.

Post by WON BASSIN »

Guess you shouldn't have left then Rich. The National Park services did not have an employee last year that imposed every requirement upon the 2010 US Open. There where many restrictions, just not worth the cost. It just did not make sense. We could not even fly most of our sponsor banners, since they do not allow banners with tag lines.

This years US Open was a Home run, full of great stories and moments. Ask any angler there, I am sure they will have a story to tell!

I was as proud as I have been in a long time, to be part of this years US Open. The anglers involved where all class act anglers and a hell of a lot of fun to work for this past week.

By the way Bill Mays and Brad Schweit did a stand up job.
Last edited by WON BASSIN on Thu Jul 21, 2011 8:06 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Billy Egan
WON Bass Director
bille@wonews.com
949-366-0248
User avatar
Ray L.
Posts: 5559
Joined: Sat May 07, 2005 7:53 pm
Location: Laguna Niguel

Re: US Open, Lake Mead 2011 national coverage.

Post by Ray L. »

sorry but I think the coverage is so much better than years back. I was reading the blogs as well as bass zone. There is still another story on bass zone as well. The reason for the delay on who won is because the awards ceremony is later back at the hotel. They try and make it a surprise on who got what. Wow just give it some time it gets better every year.Heck I remember the only coverage was the magazine a few years ago.
Ray L.
Sponsors:
www.legendbassboats.com
www.waderods.com
www.allengmc.com
www.gambler-bang.com
orange county circuit breakers



Five alive is good for me
User avatar
Nunyo Bizness
Posts: 527
Joined: Wed Mar 14, 2007 7:52 pm
Location: Westchester
Contact:

Re: US Open, Lake Mead 2011 national coverage.

Post by Nunyo Bizness »

Maybe the rest of the country doesn't understand it yet, but the rest of the world does. There were several countries with anglers there and I got to fish with BASS elite pro Morizo Shimizu who has won 2 tournaments at Mead and placed 5th in last years Open. Yeah there were a few wrinkles, but for the anglers, it was a well run event. The staff at the lake should be shown a great deal of appreciation. They made sure we got to are trucks, made sure we were cool and it was just as hot if not hotter for them....you guys rock! Thanks WON Bass, it was great.

John
I came , I saw, I Cleaned and Dried.
jrbasspro
Posts: 459
Joined: Thu Jul 20, 2006 10:41 pm
Location: Lancaster CA

Re: US Open, Lake Mead 2011 national coverage.

Post by jrbasspro »

Billy do you have the dates for next year, for health reasons i cant make july but i can make mid to end sept, you know when temp are down around 101 instead of 110 but that couple degrees makes a differance.

walt kondracki
listen to that gut feeling!!!

"keep it clean and dry"
Post Reply