I’m up early this morning (insomnia sucks, but you might as well make the most of it), and what should I find on the TV but LIVE coverage of the Bassmaster’s Classic — competitive bass fishing’s annual homage to its best anglers.
It’s a genuine event; would it help or hurt fly fishing to do the same?
By any television standard, the production is stunning: live broadcasts right from the boats of top anglers, a crew of announcers, realtime standings, helicopter shots, 70 mph boats, in-depth Web coverage, lazer light show at weigh-in, and yes — plenty of air time for the high-voltage, in-boat antics of the more “demonstrative” anglers.
Modeled on NASCAR, today’s competitive bass fishing scene includes all the elements of good drama (or high camp): a core of experienced veterans, a youth movement, big crowds, a national audience of fans, groupies (yes), and even controversial anglers who yell and scream every time a bass is brought into the boat, polarizing those who watch them.
Couple it all with lots of TV time and a healthy dose of Web 2.0 technology, and you’ve got a traveling circus.
The question I have for the Undergrounders is this: is that kind of show a good or bad thing? Is bass fishing the better for it, or has the sport suffered at the hands of big bucks and media hype?
And finally, would fly fishing benefit from a competitive series? Or is that the nightmare scenario?
I created a simple poll, but I’m really interested in your comments — pro or con. Let ‘er rip, Undergrounders.
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I like the idea of a competition, but like the perversity of fly fishing itself, the goals should be substantially different. Like in a BASS tournament, sometimes a yutz lucks into lmiit–that should be rewarded, not derided (talk about bringing in new people). Also, the person bringing in the most stylish skunking should get a substantial bumper. I also like the idea of an angler and his caddy with their heads together, planning how to approach a beat.
But awards aside, fly fishing is perfect for TV. The light’s good, the fish hold still, the water’s clear, and the process–if we assume, for example, a dry-fly hatch–is highly telegenic. Imagine focusing the technological resources of an NFL football game on a single skilled anglers drifting a tiny fly to a pod of rising trout. I could have a ball with an HD super speed five cam setup, a spotter, and a telestrator.
Think of the buzzwords
“Ooh–Lefty–he dropped that mend a tad short, wouldn’t you say?”
“Yes he did, Tom. Let’s go to the mendometer.”
It’s time for the AllState Good Hands Tippet Timout!
“The referee’s been under the hood for a while, Tom.”
“That he has, Lefty. We have the same angles and it’s clear that rainbow was only half out of the water before he came unbuttoned. Rufus needs the jump point but it’s not gonna happen, and he’s going to lose 20 feet of beat he can not afford.”
Dave
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I think it would be appropriate as fly fishing has a couple of centuries of esoteric nonsense that would perplex and puzzle the crowd.
It also allows all of us time wasters a legitimate job to aspire to – give us a Nomex jumpsuit festooned with corporate sponsors and a comely lass on each arm, what better to motivate youth to join the fray?
Unfortunately we lack a venue for a fuel injected V-8, which is the secret behind both NASCAR and BASS, then again some fellow removing his transom and engine in a riffle would be fun to watch…
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I myself think I televise pretty well, and also believe that — given my writing and marketing background — no one is better equipped to develop the standard media cliches needed by every sport before it can truly succeed on the world stage.
Sadly, the sport’s been tried on the television stage and been found wanting, even though the producers located a couple of egomaniacs and personalities prone to violent fits of temper.
Obviously, fly fishers missed an essential element to the formula, though at this point, I’m unsure what that might be.
Perhaps the stakes aren’t high enough (sudden death, anyone)? Or waders have eliminated the “sex” element.
Or maybe it’s something else entirely.
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Just as an additional thought; right now the Tarpon of Boca competition is on the satellite, but it’s up against much more intriguingly titled competition, including “Sex slaves in America,” “Totally Outrageous Behavior,” “When Animals Attack III,” “Make me a Supermodel,” and the usual sports programming.
Gentlemen, we’ve got a long ways to go.
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With my nervous remote finger I’d be watching “Make me an outrageous Supermodel Sex Animal Slave” – and it would really piss off my better half.
I can’t think of a better rainy Saturday vocation.
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The thing about the BASS tournaments is that they’ve turned into the fishing version of NASCAR.
Would you really want a fly fishing tournament like that taking place on your favorite river? Be careful what you wish for.
You’d end up with a bunch of ultra competitive type A folks competing for prize $$$ and competing for prize $$$ can make people say and do ugly things.
Think the fish and the resource might end up suffering as a result of this?
Personally, these types of tournaments have no place in fly fishing though that’s probably pretty apparent from my comments already.
Brian
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good lord what in the world are you all talking about?
I can barely follow along. I love it though!
I think I agree with some, all and none of what’s already been said. I’m still reeling from the images of KBarton setting up his tivo to watch ‘Make me an outrageous Supermodel Sex Animal Slave’.
As for fishing competition on TV, I say no thanks. I’m 100% all for some fresh media within the sport, and I like the idea of more blood-pumping, high octane documentaries. But the competition element doesn’t appeal to me.
frankly I don’t think we could pull it off. the characters in nascar and bass fishing are so illustrious and accessible. by the the time the flyfishing version aired it would be a soul-sucking saccharine version with some uptight, clean-cut egotistical yuppies that believed deeply and passionately in their own BS
pass.
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Just what the sport needs, a bunch of “professional athletes” on the water geeked out of their minds from deca durbolin and HGH.
Still, I’d watch it if they hired Buck Laughlin as the commentator.
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It would never work. The Bassmasters stuff is successful because it’s got the fast boats, monster hook sets, etc. Watching a trout fishing tournament would be worse than watching golf
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Pro sports and their ultimate contests become alters of capitalistic nonsense. Pro football used to be fun before it became bogged down in big money and rules. The players were tough, gritty kinds of characters, they are now a bunch of overpaid, whining mega star cream puffs with no more character than a sack of potatoes.
I just signed my youngest kid up with Junior Bassmasters, not with the idea that he becomes another aspiring “Bubba” bass pro but learn how to catch a fish that he is intrigued with. While I support Bassmasters efforts of bringing kids into fishing I’m not sure I support the current culture of competitive sports and all the attendant trappings.
There is also the matter of this entourage invading our rivers. I think the results would be worse than “A River Runs Through It” ever dreamed of being. You’d end up with Nestle sponsoring the fly fishing equivalent of Snidely Whiplash on your favorite tributary of the Sac! In Montana we’d have Ted Turner being sponsored by TNN. You think the Madison has to much Viagra in now, just wait.
Nay, don’t even think such heretical thoughts, keep out little secret quiet.
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All fun aside, no, I don’t think fly fishing will ever develop a significant commercial tournament angle — though I admit to wondering at all the reasons why.
Bass are certainly far more tournament friendly than trout (they’re more aggressive and survive a lot of handling) and yes, even a medium-sized lake can swallow up a lot of competitors in a way few rivers can.
Without the boats, trucks to tow them, the electronics and the suitcases of lures, fly fishing is a less gear-intensive enterprise, which offers manufacturers less of a profit incentive to develop a tournament trail.
Finally, there are the anglers themselves. It’s one thing to hammer a hookset and hoist a bass into the boat, but fly fishers get pretty squeamish when a brown trout gets handled for more than a couple seconds.
I’d suggest the basic psychology of fly fishing falls far outside the competitive norm; whatever our reasons for fly fishing, it’s likely that adding a competitive angle doesn’t enhance the experience.
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The day I start seeing flyfishermen wearing
“clown suits” invading my river, will be the day I…… well I won’t quit, but I will find a more remote river.
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Bah, Wimps!
I don’t buy the “quiet sport” stuff at all, especially after 30 years of witnessing clown antics in the parking lot.
“How many you get – I caught 10″ – you lads count fish, grabs, bites, and long line releases – just like a legitimate weigh-in, the only difference is no corporate sponsorship or babes hugging your arm during the parking lot recitation of daring do..
“How would you like your favorite river …” – doesn’t hold water, because you’re only there 6 times a year. While it remains your favorite, you can’t see your way to share it with TV?
A bowl of popcorn, a warm sofa – and the howls of glee that result when the “expert” walks past where he should fish, and fishes someplace you know has nothing but dinks? That’s entertainment.
I think we’re missing the point entirely. While we all prefer the untrammeled solitude, we’re not able to convey the important message to the masses… fisheries are precious and delicate, and bugs and water quality dictate fishing quality.
Do you seriously think that fly fishing caused the BASS guys to release their catch? Nope, the TV cameras have likely promoted catch and release far more than all of our squeamishness over the last couple of decades.
Fly fishing on TV would allow a “bully pulpit” that we’re sorely lacking, a place to talk conservation and influence voters – to recapture some precious focus on OUR issues.
Our mainstream media is dismissed out of hand, and we lack tangible clout in any of the political venues. Tournament coverage would garner us a precious “foot in the door” – all we have to do is find enough characters to make us interesting..
That’s the hard part.
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I quit bASS fishing because of all of the houligans on the lakes. bASS boats and beer cans. Please don’t take away my walk in the woods.
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Kbarton, I don’t buy it. Catch & release was promoted by the BASS guys to make tournaments more palatable; locals and fisheries managers weren’t about to let tournaments descend on a lake, kill 10 fish from each boat, and then move on.
If our mainstream media is dismissed out of hand, it’s because it’s an assemblage of bland, lightweight content. In truth, the mainstream fly fishing media rely on others to do fly fishing’s heavy environmental lifting while they focus on printing “conflict of interest” destination stories and warm, comfy gear reviews.
It’s “new” media outlets – blogs, a few of the video guys, and the other emerging online channels — that are providing the emerging bully pulpit.
Television has always been sold to the highest bidder, and though a few conservation organizations mount shows (Theodore Roosevelt Foundation, TU, etc), it’s done damned little to save fisheries.
That’s why the TV angle escapes me; imagine what little we’d know about the Pebble Mine disaster, TU national’s attempt to end access lawsuits, the Klamath dams issue, and a host of others if we relied on mainstream ff mags (FR&R excepted) and weekend television…
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Point taken, but I’m having none of it…
“Catch and Release” is a good thing, it doesn’t matter what the motivation was – the fact that it’s an accepted practise is the goal. BASS was able to convey that message inside of a decade to its legions of followers – via the Tube.
The “average guy” – the citizen that doesn’t even fish, gets the bulk of his media from the Boob tube. He doesn’t read newspapers, he stopped subscibing to magazines, and on occasion he has substituted a web site for a periodical. Even the web is going “video” in its interaction with humans – it’s obvious that full motion video is the preferred medium.
We need access to that same platform if we’re wanting to get heard.
We’re agreed on mainstream fly fishing media, they serve little purpose – save themselves, and as a tool for the vendor community.
TV requires vast sums of money, which is unheard of in our little “niche” sport. The only thing we have that’s worth those dollars is the spectacle we can generate; make it compelling enough (and carbon neutral) and we may find an audience.
What’s plain is the stage is set for some simple folk, evidenced by the below snippet from a foreign journalist covering the BassMaster:
“Yet none of the competitors I met at “meet the media” (300 of us) was lining up excuses. No blaming their travelling, sponsor commitments, boat, tackle, last night’s party or the ref (in this case, God). I can’t remember the last footballer I interviewed who said: “If there’s anything else I can help you with, here’s my mobile and home number. Thank you for your time,” as did at least six of my interviewees.”
Richard Petty nearly achieved “diety” status, and a couple of toothy fly fishermen on a Cheerios box couldn’t hurt our cause one bit.
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T. Chandler once again nails it on the head, “adding a competitive angle doesn’t enhance the experience.”
That’s what I try to convey to my clients who are intent on the friendly comp between pals…largest fish, most fish etc…
“Well, how about let’s just enjoy going fishing, together, quietly.?”
As far as increased viewer/user base “saving” our troubled waters (nobody mentioned this, but it often comes at defense of “popularizing” fly fishing) I call bullshit. 100,000 more anglers “slaying” it every weekend on your local stream does nothing. I say let our “sport” have some attrition. Seperate the posers. Those of us left who truly love this “sport” need to rally like hell and ALL GET INVOLVED to fight for what’s right.
Again, to quote Tom: “It’s “new” media outlets – blogs, a few of the video guys, and the other emerging online channels — that are providing the emerging bully pulpit.
Television has always been sold to the highest bidder, and though a few conservation organizations mount shows (Theodore Roosevelt Foundation, TU, etc), it’s done damned little to save fisheries.” I totally agree.
Adding more bodies to a war is old school tactics that never worked. We need to become lean, mean and efficient in our politics and our partnerships to save what’s left and improve what we have. I mean come on, what is truly good for any fishery also has intrinsic values beyond the success of the just the fishery.
Wow, sorry if I’m a little O.T…as far as fly fishing comps…yeah they are pretty gegh.
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Give a bunch of cheerleaders in bikinis fly rods and put them in a cold river, and sure, I’d watch.
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Whoa, dudes. We got actual thoughtful commentary here (OK, the bikini thing’s borderline, though accurate). I love it all.
It’s an interesting idea that fewer of us could do more with less (courtesy the Internet I gather).
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I once read that fishing and sex had this in common: If you’re competing at it, you’re doing it wrong. I agree with that in principle. Although when my buddy and I fish the one who does least well buys the beer afterwards. We have no firm definition of what “least well” is.
If this idea ever *did* become successful in fly fishing, a good idea of what it’d be like can be found by reading:
Bass Madness: Bigmouths, Big Money, and Big Dreams at the Bassmaster Classic (Kindle edition)
This was one of the funniest and saddest books I read last year.
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Peter;
That book is the Kindle edition (amazon’s e-book reader), so don’t buy it unless you’ve got one.
An excellent older book on the same subject is Bass Wars: A Story of Fishing Fame and Fortune
written by Nick Taylor.
What’s true about competitive fishing it that it’s largely taken over the sport of bass fishing. Would the same be true of fly fishing?
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I remember seeing something on, I believe, Versus, that was an attempt at tournament fly fishing – two man teams from different areas of the country, etc. The finals were on a pellet-enhanced stream in North Georgia. The fish were measured then released on the spot. To me, it seemed a bit silly.
I cut my teeth bass fishing, and I still enjoy going for them. As Ben Hogan once said about comparing tournament golf with the average golf played on a weekend, it’s two different sports. I watched the finals of the Bass Masters Classic last night, and what those guys were doing could not be described as “recreation”. It certainly wasn’t like the bass fishing I did as a kid.
I don’t think we’ll have much to worry – I can’t see tournament fishing transferring to fly fishing – it just doesn’t mesh.
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There was already an ESPN outdoor games competition or something along those lines that took place on a river in PA and the little truckee river in CA. If you watched either of those( for some reason I did) it was a tell tale example of a how lousy and boring it would be. I am of the school of thought that fly fishing needs some promotion and definetly some interest to a younger generation, but there has to be a better way.
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I remember the ESPN Outdoor Games; I couldn’t bring myself to watch the fly fishing competitions for more than a few minutes, but remember finding the dog (retriever) competitions to be wholly fascinating.
From a purely intellectual and visual perspective, fly fishing’s a little like chess; the higher up the competitive food chain you go, the less understandable the sport becomes to the average fan.
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I don’t think anyone has to worry about the buba’s allowing fly casters in. I have been a fly fishing guide, outdoorsman, did a show here and there on espn,,,and make no mistake ESPN/BASS has no plans to ever have a fly rod only tournament. FLW won’t comment, though if you read their rules, and can make up a short enough rod and get your crank and chug partner to go along with it you can fly fish.
most of the regional circuits fish under ” BASS ” rules so on that level, there is little chance. I do wonder why Sage now prmotes a rod that is allowable on the BASS circuit, when its not an allowed method of fishing
Going back into to the middle 70′ the original BASS out of Ala, did have 1 day fly fishing events before the 3 day pro series. It lasted 1 year, and as Dewey Kendrick told me way back then, not to worry mike as good as fly fishing is, this type of fishing will be back, so much for that idea.
over the years, myself along with some others from the fly fishing world have gone off to do charity events, gotten with clubs to promote a fly fishing only events its all been good, I still dont see what the big deal is.
it makes you wonder how effective that spinner bait fly would be dropped along a cut bank with a huge bass slurping it in, while your crank baiting buddy comes up empty handed
if by some weird chance a Bass fly rod series starts up please someone let me know I will be there
all the best Capt Michael Farnham
Bass on the Fly , Mid Atlantic Fly fishing
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