FLW, BASS contrasting events

LITTLE ROCK — Besides showcasing the world’s best bass fishermen, two major bass tournaments in Arkansas in one week also demonstrated the differences between FLW and BASS.

They are vastly different organizations. Their tournament formats are different, of course, but they also conduct their weigh-ins differently. Their emcees are worlds apart in personality, and their anglers seem to be cut from different molds, too. The BASS guys, the veterans, at least, are aloof and more businesslike. The FLW guys are more relaxed, and while they are very talented, they don’t seem as driven, and they’re not as polished in demeanor. Those traits reflect the cultures of their respective tours.

Founded in Gilbertsville, Ky., FLW was originally the old Red Man Tournament Trail before business magnate Irwin Jacobs bought it. It was considered a blue-collar organization that catered to weekend anglers, and its personality is still very informal, familial and unassuming.

Though FLW’s tournament operations are still based in Kentucky, its corporate headquarters in Minneapolis, exerts greater influence over the tour’s brand projection. Consequently, the organization is starting to reflect more of a Great Lakes flavor.

For most of its existence, BASS was based in Montgomery, Ala. Its founder, Ray Scott, ran the organization with the goal of putting professional bass fishing on the same level as PGA golf, and BASS was largely an extension of his quirky, charismatic personality. That changed in the 1990s when ESPN bought BASS with the goal of melding it with NASCAR and moved its operations to Orlando, Fla. I preferred the new and improved flavor. Its staff was a lot more professional and didn’t play media favorites the way the Montgomery crew did.

Covering both tours is a joy. Their staffs and anglers are appreciative, and they spare no effort to ensure that reporters have access to anyone and anything we need.

BASS is still a big business, but under Jerry McKinnis’s influence, the organization is more accessible and more approachable than ever. Dave Mercer, a Canadian, is a great emcee for BASS. He’s fun and engaging, and he keeps the show moving at a brisk pace, but as BASS’s voice and face, he also imprints a distinctivenorthern flavor on the weighins.

BASS definitely runs its weigh-ins better. After the anglers weigh their fish, a staffer gets those fish offstage immediately and takes them to a live-release tank. Naturally, anglers pose a few minutes for photos with big fish, but for the most part, BASS does a superior job of caring for the resource that pays its bills.

At an FLW weigh-in, the fish remain on the scale for an excessive amount of time while the anglers gab about their day, plug their sponsors and greet their families on the Internet. And then, at the Beaver Lake tournament, anglers toted their fish about 200 yards down a hill to a live-release boat. At least they did put some water in the bag. The hotter the weather, the harder it is on the fish.

For awhile, FLW was light years ahead with its in-water weigh-in system. It was an aquarium with an integrated scale that kept the fish in good health where the audience could see them while the emcee chatted with the anglers. Nowadays, FLW only uses it for its walleye tournaments, which suggests that FLW values walleyes more than bass.

Attendance is always high at the two final rounds of FLW’s Beaver Lake tournament. Despite its remote location, Bassmaster’s Bull Shoals tournament attracted larger crowds. There was no seating, but the final two rounds drew more than a thousand people both days. The first two days outdrew the first two days of the FLW Beaver Lake tournament by considerable margins.

While professional bass fishing is traditional a southern sport, there’s no denying that a young generation of western anglers have become very prominent. You’ve got Luke Clausen from Washington, Brent Ehler, Luke Clausen and Aaron Martens from California, and Brandon Palaniuk from Idaho. Michael Bennett, who along with Scott Suggs of Bryant is one of only two anglers ever to win $1 million in a bass tournament, is also a Californian, but he no longer fishes professionally.

The most famous bass lakes are in the South, but Idaho’s Lake Coeur d’Alene is one of the hottest bass lakes in the country right now. Lake Havasu in Arizona has been excellent lately. The Green River and John Day River in Oregon are superb. The California Delta and California’s Clear Lake are world class.

The balance of power has clearly shifted away from the South. It makes one wonder if BASS might not try to tap into big potential West Coast markets by holding more Elite Series tournaments and maybe even a Bassmaster Classic there.