(Michael Jones has written about recreational and professional fishing for more than two decades. A former BASS senior writer, he's authored several books and is currently Big Bass Zone co-columnist for BassFan.)
Rick Clunn's recent two-part interview on BassFan raised a lot of hackles in the bass-fishing world, because his comments appeared more than a little self-serving. Like many, I was taken aback at what seemed to be a heavy-handed approach to a subject that Rick shouldn't have tackled in the first place.
There's simply no way for him to win this argument.
Yes, the landscape has indeed changed in professional bass fishing – especially in the televised world where the mantra of "What have you done for me lately?" is (and always has been) an irrefutable part of that business.
It's clearly a case of "Be careful what you wish for." In the 1980s and 1990s, pro anglers longed for the day when tournament events showcased their talents, elevated their recognition factor, increased their sponsorship dollars, and made the competition earn what they deserved.
For some, it's come a little too late. For others, it's arrived in a form that it is – not under the benevolent leadership of a Ray Scott.
Now, it's all about business.
Back in the day, it was also all about business, but with a difference. Ray Scott was building a business and a sport. This was his business model and his mission statement.
Now we've got different entities with different business models. The ultimate goal of all these is, of course, to be successful. If they're successful, the sport thrives. One follows the other just as it did for Ray Scott and Helen Sevier.
The difference, however, is this: These new bass-fishing organizations, i.e. ESPN/BASS and FLW, are not pioneering a sport. Ray Scott already did that. They're building upon something in ways that don't necessarily place the good of the sport ahead of the good of their business. For them, the bottom line comes first. And is that so bad?
Unlike Scott and Sevier, who faced a much clearer path because their business was the sport, these modern organizations are working in a more complex world.
For those of us on the sidelines, it's difficult to separate our emotional attachment to the sport from what makes for a profitable business. That's not to say that we can't recognize what's best for all involved. It's just that we're not cutting the checks.
Perhaps the toughest reality for us all to accept is that these tournament organizations – and that's what they truly are – no longer serve as the custodians of the sport.
We are.
If, as a group of participants, we choose not to make their success or failure our success or failure, then we might have something.
But as long as we link our fortunes to the business models of ESPN/BASS or FLW, or any other organization that emerges, we as fishermen are selling ourselves and our futures short.
Professional bass fishing is not about you. You don't have the keys to the executive washroom.
The days of Ray Scott's BASS are over. That ship sailed a long time ago. This constant hand-wringing over what any organization should do for the betterment of the sport is wasted effort. Go fishing, buy your boats, purchase your tackle, and make decisions based on what makes sense to you.
Worrying over Rick Clunn's exclusion from a tournament or the fortunes of Mike Iaconelli rate right up there with concerns over Lindsay Lohan's rehab or Paris Hilton's prison sentence. They're not doing it for you, so why should you care?
