Fans of the Bass Pro Tour were greeted with fireworks last week as the league’s top pros put on a show at previously discreet Louisiana fisheries. Lake D’Arbonne, Caney Creek and Bussey Brake showed up for those of us interested in watching big bass come to the boat. Really big.

I’m sure to get bumped by a pro fishing historian here, but I can’t remember the last time a fish the size of Randy Howell’s 12-14 was weighed in a major bass tournament. Even more spectacular, loads of other monsters were caught. I had to laugh when I saw Bryan Thrift nonchalantly lift in a 7-plus by his fishing line, smiling like an 8-year-old. Gosh, that looked fun!

I’m sure I wasn’t alone when I did a quick map search to find out exactly where these bodies of water are, and how long it would take me to drive there. I mean, who doesn’t like wrestling pigs out of flooded buckbrush? I was anxious to learn more about these new fisheries. Well, new to me, anyway.

But I doubt my enthusiasm was shared by the anglers who call these lakes home. The last thing they need, I figure, is a bunch of traveling bass junkies thrashing their lunker holes. Too late now, I ‘m sorry to say.

Such brings up a good topic, and one that is regularly debated among tournament participants and fans alike. Should the pro circuits be contained only to large, high-profile fisheries? And should the same venues cycle, or repeatedly change?

I keep tabs on reader feedback from time to time, and I’m often greeted by fans angry that the big events repeat locations. But, on the other side of the coin, I myself have been subjected to the invasion of out-of-town anglers once my home lake got “discovered” by the big leagues.

Let’s start with the repeat issue. Fans of the sport grow tired of events being held over and over at the same venues, especially when the fishing is less than stellar. They want to see their favorite pros dissect new bodies of water, utilizing a number of techniques, producing unpredictable catch rates. Repeats rarely give us that opportunity. I can think back to FLW’s insistence on starting the season at Beaver Lake, and how that tournament became a shaky-head competition, complete with 8-pound limits. Not the most entertaining thing to watch.

The anglers, from what I’m told, also grow tired of repeats. Without question, as I interview pros from both major tournament trails, they all profess excitement about going to new locations when the schedule allows. BPT pros regularly comment how this continues to be a primary direction of their representative angler group – researching and trying new fisheries.

But there’s credit in the repeat argument. First, routinely including known fisheries allows much easier planning on the part of the tournament crew and anglers, in terms of launch ramps, accommodations and infrastructure. It also allows anglers to know, in advance, what to pack – a really big deal when attempting to coordinate a multi-month road trip.

And going to the “same old places” is typically the way professional sports operate, much for the reasons discussed. Wimbledon’s been played on the same courts for 150 years. The Masters started at Augusta in 1934. This is not a new concept; in fact, rarely do major sports change venues. Why should bass fishing be any different?

The answer, of course, is that fans and participants both long for something fresh, something unknown. A place like Bussey Brake, where Randy Howell can haul in a fish so big that it looks like a wild boar of the bayou. Where a top pro sets the hook and, just for a second, wonders what he’s gotten himself into. And it’s not commercial, loaded with boats, or subject to the same predictable patterns and outcome.

But, then, don’t ask the guy fishing that same lake after work on Tuesday. Don’t interview him once next spring comes, and 10,000 bass anglers from all over the country decide to take their vacation in West Monroe, Louisiana. Because you won’t like what he has to say.

He’ll say get back to Toledo Bend or the Potomac or Chickamauga.

Or even Beaver Lake.

Because you can’t have it both ways.

I find it hard to pick sides on this one. Selfishly, I love to watch my favorite athletes dissect a new fishery at every stop. But I still sympathize for the after-work guy. But then, I understand the impact big tournaments can have on a local economy and the tackle shops and motels and ma-and-pa restaurants, and I want to see everyone benefit.

But maybe it should be up to them to attract the crowds. The locals. The group that includes that guy fishing after work, rather than the big tournament trail.

Acting as The Great and Powerful Oz, with the crystal ball, unknowingly deciding his fate.

(Joe Balog is the often-outspoken owner of Millennium Promotions, Inc., an agency operating in the fishing and hunting industries. A former Bassmaster Open and EverStart Championship winner, he's best known for his big-water innovations and hardcore fishing style. He's a popular seminar speaker, product designer and author, and is considered one of the most influential smallmouth fishermen of modern times.)