Balog’s Bass War
Dream Teams

Current Columns

• Tough Read

  Thursday, December 21, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Wearing many hats in the outdoor industry, I find it important to keep abreast of the issues facing sportsman all across America. After all, my passions often more

• Death-anol

  Thursday, December 14, 2017

  The clerk at Lowe’s was understandably skeptical. Here I was again, just like yesterday, returning a leaf-blower that would no longer start. Two blowers in two more

• My Own Man

  Thursday, December 7, 2017 By Joe Balog

  My dad’s a live-bait guy. Taught to hunt and fish by a sustenance-driven father, filling a stringer was always the goal of the day. Later, it just kind of stuck more

• The Ever-Changing Business Of Fishing: 2018

  Thursday, November 30, 2017

  Just as autumn marks the return of great bass fishing to much of the country, the pre-holiday period also brings with it the most dreaded duty of professional more

• Young Man’s Game?

  Thursday, November 16, 2017 By Joe Balog

  I have to hand it to FLW Magazine. While many print publications seem to load their pages with small snippets of nonsense, FLW continues to push the throttle forward more

• Fishlife Crisis

  Thursday, November 9, 2017

  There was a time in my life when I fished or hunted nearly every day. Bass season turned to duck season; ice-fished yellow perch melted into open-water crappies. more

• Back Where I Need To Be

  Thursday, November 2, 2017 By Miles Burghoff

  When it comes to my continuing journey to become a professional tournament angler, I have seen many milestones. I have also seen a few setbacks. Moving to more

• Political Science

  Thursday, November 2, 2017

  It might be hard to believe, but I don’t make a habit out of creating controversy in unnecessary places. While many in today’s world just love to create problems more

• Viva Las Vegas

  Thursday, October 26, 2017

  At one time, the professional bass fishing Triple Crown was represented by three of the sport’s highest paying events: the Bassmaster Classic, Red Man All-American more

• The University Of Ranger

  Thursday, October 19, 2017 By Joe Balog

  At this time next week, two of the best teams in college bass fishing will compete in a tournament that will likely be the highlight of their careers. The event more

• The Little Known, Most Important Fish in the Ocean

  Thursday, October 12, 2017 By Joe Balog

  I recently attended a fascinating presentation that really got me thinking. Uniquely, the focus was on forage-based management for predator species, a principle more

• Wake-Up Call

  Thursday, October 5, 2017

  Dave Lefebre is, hands down, the best bass fisherman I’ve ever been in a boat with. While that doesn’t always equate to the a room full of trophies, Lefebre was more

• Asterisk*

  Thursday, September 28, 2017

  I still remember the first time I witnessed an unfair advantage in a national bass tournament. Roland Martin, credited at the time as being the greatest tournament more

• New Museum A Tribute To Wildlife Conservation

  Monday, September 25, 2017

  My amazing journey in the fishing industry has taken me to some awesome places and has allowed me to meet many exceptional people. I can’t really explain how all more

• September Madness

  Thursday, September 21, 2017

  Despite God’s attempt to continually surround me with bad weather, I’m now back in my Florida home, moving forward with cleanup. Hurricane Irma was reported by more

• The Open Question

  Thursday, September 7, 2017 By Joe Balog

  There’s been a bunch of chatter in the world of professional bass fishing recently over changes made to the Bassmaster Opens and how they will affect aspiring more

• Dropping Bombs

  Thursday, August 31, 2017

  Although he may not play one on TV, John Crews is a businessman. Known to his fans as a touring pro and perennial Classic qualifier, Crews may be more talented more

• Colorado Pride

  Thursday, August 24, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Sometimes, as bass fishermen, we forget to consider others. You see, time and again we’ve been told how bass are America’s most popular game fish, primary drivers more

• Generation Y

  Thursday, August 17, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Well folks, we have a champion. Keeping up with the current trend, Alabama’s Justin Atkins, a former college fishing star turned hopeful pro, shocked the FLW world more

• Champions

  Thursday, August 10, 2017 By Joe Balog

  This week, we’re welcomed by one of bass fishing’s biggest events, the annual FLW championship, appropriately coined the Forrest Wood Cup. After all, it was Wood’s more

• Pioneers

  Thursday, August 3, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Most of us have spent a few sleepless nights in our lifetime. Parenthood is probably the leading cause; stress in the workplace another. Occasionally, a girl can more

• Kong!

  Thursday, July 27, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Nearly every piece of modern bass fishing equipment has a KVD model. There are KVD boats and motors, depthfinders and trollers. Of course there’s rods and reels more

• Buckets, Bat Lures And Lunch With An Old Pal

  Thursday, July 20, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Each summer, the ICAST show serves as a place and time to gauge the status of our industry. To reflect, if you will, on the progress we’ve made toward fooling more

• Extreme Measures

  Thursday, July 13, 2017 By Joe Balog

  The biggest news in fishing this week comes from Lake Mille Lacs, where anglers and area business owners nearly held Minnesota's governor hostage as a means of more

• Thrift’s Secret

  Thursday, July 6, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Tournament anglers, at any level of competition, mature over time. Travel experience, combined with hours spent practicing and playing the game, naturally increase more

• Hard Evidence

  Thursday, June 29, 2017 By Joe Balog

  For years, Gord Pyzer has been an impartial voice for fishing throughout much of Canada, often walking the delicate line of subject matter between preservation more

• Payoff

  Thursday, June 22, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Another season is in the books on the FLW Tour, and with it came more business-as-usual than surprises. As expected, Bryan Thrift took down the Angler of the Year more

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  The Ups And Downs Of A Weekend Angler

  Monday, June 19, 2017 By Tim Carini

  Like many BassFans, I’m a weekend angler who enjoys the thrill of local and regional tournament competition. During the week, I’m the ad sales guy for BassFan, more

• Not A Solitary Jouney

  Thursday, June 15, 2017

  Tournament bass fishing is commonly called an “individual sport.” In my opinion, this classification is only partially correct. When your boat number is called more

• B.A.S.S. Blueprints

  Thursday, June 15, 2017

  The cover of the latest edition of Bassmaster Magazine caught my eye: Tournament Fishing Turns 50. While I often struggle to find unique content in today’s bass more

• Istokpoga’s Water Woes

  Thursday, June 8, 2017 By Joe Balog

  At one time, Florida was unquestionably the bass fishing capital of the world. Today, such claims are debatable as California, Texas, Alabama and others make a more

• Unintended Consequence

  Thursday, June 1, 2017

  I couldn’t grasp what I was looking at. The plant appeared to be hydrilla, but it was nearly transparent. I picked it up out of the bucket of mullet I had just more

• King Of The Castle

  Thursday, May 25, 2017

  Some of you may not know the name Nick Prvonozac. However, if you’re a tournament fisherman anywhere near the state of Ohio, you would. Because chances are he’s more

• End of an Era?

  Thursday, May 18, 2017 By Joe Balog

  With the arrival of the Bassmaster Texas Fest, a new chapter in the history of tournament bass fishing begins this week. To the best of my recollection, this will more

• Forefathers

  Thursday, May 11, 2017 By Joe Balog

  I was saddened to learn of Guido Hibdon’s continuing struggle with cancer. Hibdon’s legacy makes him seem a little bit older than his 70 years; a fishing-family more

• Headlines

  Thursday, May 4, 2017

  The bass world is buzzing this week with recent developments on multiple fronts. Perhaps most noteworthy is the lawsuit filed by Jerry Rago – regarded by hardcore more

• Return On Investment

  Thursday, April 27, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Ironically, I recently found myself engaged in nearly the same conversation with three different marketing professionals at three different times. The subject more

• A Jolt Of Reality

  Monday, April 24, 2017 By Miles Burghoff

  Every once in awhile you need a wake-up call – a reminder that you’re still a work in progress. Tournament fishing is full of these reminders, and they are more

• Purpose

  Thursday, April 20, 2017 By Joe Balot

  The only thing that mattered was that fish. As he laid awake in bed, for the first time in his life, the 12-year-old boy had found a purpose. He’d spent most of more

• Gunslinger

  Thursday, April 13, 2017 By Joe Balog

  John Murray was sitting on his couch, eyes glued to the screen. A self-admitted ESPN junkie, Murray was witnessing what he viewed as the culmination of his lifelong more

• A Period Of Growth

  Sunday, April 9, 2017 By Miles Burghoff

  I've learned many things about who I am as a competitive angler in 2017 thus far. With a handful of tournaments in the rear-view mirror, I feel I've established more

• Classic Notebook

  Thursday, April 6, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Each year, I attend the Bassmaster Classic, wearing the hats of both a press observer and ravenous fan. While there, I gather the pulse of the industry and its more

• Did That Just Happen?

  Thursday, March 30, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Banners that hung from the rafters showcased past champions. I’d seen many crowned in person, but all were familiar to me, special in their own way. Classic wins more

• Tournament Bass Meets 2017

  Thursday, March 23, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Each year, the Bassaster Classic combines the world’s most prestigious bass fishing tournament with a barn-burner of a trade show, equating to a win-win for more

• Classic Picks

  Thursday, March 16, 2017 By Joe Balog

  As promised, this week finds me deep in the Classic playbook, trying to separate potential winners from overrated anglers hyped by the press. My goal is to again more

• The Classic Is Coming

  Thursday, March 9, 2017 By Joe Balog

  As a warm-up to fishing’s big show, over the next few weeks we’ll feature an inside look into Classic XLVII. Today I open my pocket-sized notepad to reveal insight more

• Final Chapter

  Wednesday, March 1, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Over the past few weeks, we’ve discussed the X-factor in bass fishing, how it’s made champions of some and proved evasive to others, and how slight modifications more

• Another 'X'

  Thursday, February 23, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Last week, we discussed the X-factor in tournament fishing, noting how some competitors seem to lock into the secret far more often than plausible. This week, more

• “X”

  Thursday, February 16, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Perhaps the greatest quest in angling is the endless search for an X-factor. Here at Balog’s Bass War, we often bring such a quest to fruition by getting to know more

• Bridge Out Ahead

  Thursday, February 9, 2017 By Joe Balog

  What an eye-opener! I recently attended the Bassmaster College Central Conference Regional at Sam Rayburn, and was quickly awakened to the student bass more

• Ripe For The Picking

  Thursday, February 2, 2017 By Joe Balog

  I listened intently to what he was saying; after all, Jay Yelas has always impressed me as a pretty level-headed guy. He’s certainly been around the block in the more

• Versions Of The Truth

  Thursday, January 26, 2017 By Joe Balog

  As a young fisheries and wildlife student at Michigan State University, I quickly learned the world wasn’t always as it seemed. The vast wildernesses throughout more

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  Good Start To 2017

  Wednesday, January 25, 2017 By Miles Burghoff

  This is going to be a good year. In recent memory, I cannot recall feeling so enthusiastic, hopeful and confident in my fishing and career aspirations to begin more

• The Good Ol’ Boy Network

  Thursday, January 19, 2017 By Joe Balog

  “An observer was on the bank, and he was kinda picking at them. No matter where they go, or what they do, people pick at them.” Isaac Payne was trusting me more

• MLF Surges On

  Thursday, January 12, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Big news in the tournament world came this week with the announcement of the new MLF World Championship, as well as a network deal with CBS Sports. I think we more

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  Undisputed

  Thursday, January 5, 2017 By Joe Balog

  What a dummy. Prior to our holiday break, I compiled a list of tournament statistics for your review that included major victories and the attributable lure more