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Mlf did the same thing but had to go back to entry fees it won't last. People are tired of watching people looking at there damn live scope ban the damn live scope
I don't see this as bad at all. We see guys make the Elites, and then just camp out and do nothing. This forces them to perform or go away. Which also creates new faces, when they leave. Guys like Scott Martin, and Miliken can't win an elite tournament or perform at that level can go back to doing YouTube. I think it should be treated like baseball
You know why because people are not fishing bass masters anymore there moving to MLF
Another pro said he would have made 23000 more with the new format so you are always have winners and losers!
I don’t watch tournaments because I don’t learn much. I get most of my info from YouTube, like your channel. Live scope is boring to watch. Imagine being a co angler and your driver is live scoping all day. Good luck with that.
I don't think a lot of people that first heard the news paid attention to the payouts.. but you can't complain about entry fees and then complain about payouts at the exact same time. But all I know is if you come in 21st place or above is going to suck… No more 10,000 to 50th place.. B.a.s.s has turned into a joke
I don't think it's as bad as they say. Do the math again.
No cost to compete -45k$ off the top
Sponsorship $ is what you are actually working for. This depends on the angler.
Tournaments are now low yield. But still $$$ based on how well the performance is
Figure out YouTube $$$ or other income sources
Should be better competition for top spots
New Anglers probably every year
Push older guys out?
🎉🎉🎉 only see positives honestly.
Those non endemic $$ are gone because they didn't see a return. Bass fishing is a tiny part of fishing.
Many IE's out there. The "pay to play" complaint is gone as far as entry fee's however. The turn over next year will be greater.
BASS FISHING AS A SPECTATOR SPORT IS PATHETIC…..END PRO BASS FISHING
Bassmaster needs to think outside the box for revenue generation.
The old sponsorship model (for them) just won’t cut it anymore. Like you said, non-endemics are mostly gone.
They also need to drive youth fishing more which will pay dividends over time.
Bass needs to change their production format. The magic is gone and they need to bring it back without the middleman network overheads. I PREDICT: Star Link Mini Mobile, for every boat, will save the day for the pro tournament industry. They'll see higher revenues with lower sponsorship rates because their profit margins will double by ditching the Cable Networks. Advertisers will see the justifiable ROI's they were expecting. It's a Win! Win!
If fishing tournaments had a lot of women at the top and young black men you would see a bunch of new money coming into fishing!
I’m in the same place you are Tyler. At first, i was ecstatic. I couldn’t believe it. I thought, yes, they finally got this right and felt it was amazing news. Then digging a little i started to deflate. Although i want to believe it’s still a step in the right direction, it looks like payouts were sacrificed too much for all the reasons you discussed. Thanks for giving your mostly objective opinion on this. It will be interesting to hear what the elite guys have to say in the coming days.
If you are a pro you should have sponsors or you should not be in the elites in this day and time with the internet if you can't sell your brand just go get yourself a real job unless you can catch them every time this is not the place for you!
Well if you want the same payouts they can just put the 45,000 thousand back if that will make the cry babies happy if it was me I would cut the field to 40 elites that's plenty to keep up with for the fans.
Tyler, off topic but, I know a good knot you haven't tested yet. The "Double Dragon Loop Knot".
Seems like 6 of 1 half dozen of the other kinda delal. That's my first impression, at least.
I can't watch it. Looking at the back of someone's head. No skill in video game fishing
The expenses will far outweigh the benefits to a lot of anglers. Next year(2026)you will see the tournaments condensed back to 3 states or so. Will be all southerners again.
Guys driving from Canada, Minnesota, or far west will have too high of expenses to win $500.
Lmao these guys used to pay $45k to stare at their screens and wiggle their worms for days on end? Dang boys, you can do that at home for free.
Great topic and awesome investigative journalism. You need to ask the anglers who continually get in the top 20 what they think is a sustainable income to live on; with all the televised events, they are celebrities, even if how minor it may be. Then… ask the guys who regularly place in the top 50, if it’s worth it to them. If the televised events are not receiving the views to please the sponsors, then the sponsors go elsewhere, hence YouTube, tik tok ect. Example: I buy more lures from YouTube videos than I do watching the televised tournaments. Anglers hide their baits so well, it’s not worth waiting or watching it.
My .02$ worth
Start your own league. Do like golf did. And make bass fishing exciting? Maybe soft plastic fishing only or spinnerbait? Or Sunday only topwater baits
I think that this is an ugly thing that Bassmaster has done with their payout. Now, there are anglers that just fish Elite tournaments because they are financially set, for exposure to their company, and their brand. I have a feeling that Bassmaster lost a lot of sponsor money, because the way the economy has been doing. Bassmaster then had to restructure the payout and try to keep the big names they have fishing in the Elites. Is their payout a good thing overall, no its not. I think that Bassmaster may rethink this before the starting of the new season. Let's not start blaming Bassmaster because we don't what's really going on behind the closed doors, they may be having money issues, and this is the only way to stay afloat until the storm passes.
Let me give you an example:
I know nothing about bass fishing, absolutely nothing, but I have 350,000 followers on YouTube.
Walmart exec sitting at a meeting in their corp office deciding where his advertising money for their sporting goods should go. Let’s see, to some Professional Angler with 30,000 followers on his social media accounts or to the dude who reaches 350,000 viewers???? Even though the dude knows nothing about the sport, he can fake it and promote Walmart….thats reality. Hope I explained that clearly enough.
Once I heard, I liked!
Once I saw the payout…👎🏻
Sad day for the elite series.
Professional bass fishing is a hobby, not a job. Actually a rich boys hobby….
My answer Pro bass fishing is Bass setup like the NFL or Nascar and have teams with the title sponsors being the owners. 10 Teams with 8 anglers per and the base salary is negotiated or use Aoy for a tiered pay system, anglers are still free to find other sponsors for income while bass handles the entry side of things. Bass has its sponsors and chambers of commerce still investing and making money. Just a rough idea but im sure they could make it work
I can’t even see how that new pay scale is even sustainable.
They need to get the sponsors to put up for the payouts
Well Tyler, I’m glad you said it…. My friend texted me about this and how excited he was at this idea and I hate feeling like I’m a nay-sayer, but my first reaction was “how will they pay the anglers?” Like you mentioned, back in the earlier/mid 2000s, tournament bass fishing was at its peak. ESPN bought the rights for Bass. After spending millions, the return they hoped for was not materializing, so they cut their losses. Walmart, did the same later with the FLW tour. I love tournament bass fishing, I think it’s a great sport, but sadly without some serious non endemic companies sponsoring tournament trails, I have to say the future for tournament bass fishing is bleak. I hope I’m wrong, and I hope that this finds a way to work out for the anglers who rely on it for a living.
Good points
I just watched a video that had a guy say he has won 1. whatever million in his career and paid 1.2 million in entry fees. sounds like BASS just fixed that problem. Its an individual sport like tennis the man or woman that wins gets the biggest prize everyone else make a whole lot less. As it should be. I stopped watching BASS events when they stopped coming to the western side of the country.
Them boys at BASS and MLF just ain’t real smart now are they.
Who cares about live scope fest boring
The math don't lie. A far worse deal than before, but many will buy into it.
“This is not a career, this is an opportunity.” -Dana White
No one outside the top 10 should be paid anyway….. participation trophy after that……
Think it could be a mistake but maybe not but im sure if it is they will correct it but if it works it works thats all i can say indont fish pro just a viewer and casual
I couldn't care less about watching tournaments anymore..
I liked the old days of Bill Dance myself…
I think while the payouts are low….I think they will grow. Just like wages/taxes, they will go up over time. Actually the only opinion that matters is what the anglers think. My guess is they will like it. I know thats what a glers prefer at lower tournament levels. I also think it will draw more legacy anglers back to BASS.
Pro Bass fishing was doomed when live scoping (cheater boxes) became the only way to win.Actual fishing knowledge and skill went out the window.Bass Tournament fishing is a loser not only for fisherman but sponsors as well.
If you qualified for the Elite series and csnt obtain sponsorship and get a few top tens a year shouls go home
But now sponsorship still has to pay and will…bass anglers are cry babbies
Starting to reward the top guys…..that's a good thing. You shouldn't get a check for 50th place 😂. You're in 50th. There's what 90 anglers? Come one top 20 pay out. And as of now everyone gets a 5k increase from last year. That's 45k for nothing different.
It's a bad deal I wouldn't go to the elites piord
I don't understand how they thought anyone would get behind this…
Enjoy all of your videos and was happy to see this quick post on this. Interesting stuff for sure…but most of these guys shouldn’t be settling for anything less from sponsors regardless of entry fees, right? They aren’t paid to fish, or paid to be in the tournament series rather. They’re paid to promote. The sponsors are getting the same amount of deliverables, promotion etc. I’m sure they’ll try, but you’d be silly to take anything significantly less IMO.