There's a general rule in sports – actually, in the universe itself – that says any rapid period of unchecked expansion must eventually be followed by some form of contraction.

If you think of the last several years as the "Big Bang" of competitive fishing – a time when leagues expanded from the tour level all the way down to the weekend and team level – then 2007–08 is certainly the point at which the fishing universe seemed to reach its boundaries.

Hence the recent contraction. A few examples:

  • FLW Outdoors killed its saltwater trails, cut the FLW Tour and Series fields to 150 (from 200), changed its Stren format to 3 days, nixed the FLW Series East/West Fishoff next year, canceled the Texas Tournament Trail and I'm told 2009 is the do-or-die year for its walleye Tour.
  • The In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail ceased operation.
  • BASS farmed out operation of its Weekend Series to American Bass Anglers, canceled its Bassmaster Majors and cut back heavily on bass TV programming (anybody remember Loudmouth Bass, BassCenter or live Classic coverage?).
  • There's whispers that some regional, independent trails will either merge or trim their schedules.
  • There's a widespread effort to centralize many regional-trail schedules, to help cut travel costs.

    But at the same time, there has been some expansion:

  • BASS created the WBT, brought back the Northern Open division and began a TV-centric saltwater series.
  • American Bass Anglers added its Grand Slam Pro Bass Tour.
  • FLW Outdoors announced an ambitious new college circuit.
  • There's an effort on the walleye side to organize a new angler-owned tour.
  • Last but not least, the PAA announced a new series and turned the Toyota Texas Bass Classic into a genuine championship.



    When you put it all together, I think that yes, there's been some more expansion, but we're certainly in a period of contraction at the top levels of the sport. That's not necessarily a bad thing though. Too many events have watered down the significance of a tour-level win. Too many pros have cut a wide swath of mediocrity. Too much turnover in sponsorship has robbed identity from even the top-name pros – especially in FLW, but also in BASS.

    And the sport still doesn't have a unifying championship, the best pros still don't fish against the best pros, and your average BassFan can't remember who won Angler of the Year 2 years ago, or the winner of the last Wal-Mart Open at Beaver Lake.

    As advertising and sponsor dollars continue to dry up, and as the boat industry continues to suffer, I predict yet more contraction. Maybe an FLW Series division will dry up. Maybe BASS will cut to 75 or even 50 pros (remember, a 75-boat Elite Series was the plan in early 1997, but was later scrapped).

    It's tough to get a bead on the future of tour-level fishing, and the picture got much blurrier yesterday with the PAA's announcement. But I sincerely believe that bass fishing struggles to thrive as a fractured, two-league sport. If the PAA's new series gets legs, that means it'll become a three-league sport.

    And under the universal law, something more will have to give.