That means "clean slate" in Latin. And just in case you think I know that because I'm a closet Latin scholar, I'll tell you right now I only know what that means because it was the rumored album title of the Van Halen reunion with David Lee Roth – which didn't happen – a few years ago.
(You're thinking: Uh...okay.)
It's a good title for this piece because it's clean-slate time in bass fishing, especially for BASS. (This qualifies as the "open letter to BASS" portion of this column.) BASS, it's time to start over – if you want to.
Forget about ego. Forget about wars with FLW. Forget about launching 50 new programs at the same time. Just get the Elite Series right, which means get the world's best pros fishing it.
If you have the best pros, you'll have the best events and get the most fans. At that point it really doesn't matter what you call it. Call it the Super Duper Best Of All Time Series or call it the Burnt Toast With Butter Series. It won't matter. Take the ego out of it, and get your house in order. (By the way, who's in charge of that house?)
I don't know for sure, but I'd bet that if you did just a few key things right – like focused on getting the best pros, got rid of those ridiculous entry fees (you still can) and let pros run their own boats every day, for starters – a good chunk of the top pros who "defected" to FLW this year would return.
And you might also get some great new talent that you've so far priced and "policied" out of BASS.
(If it matters, I'm not sure FLW would care, either. Irwin Jacobs has said several times on the record that FLW has waiting lists out the kazoo for its events, and that for him it's more about selling boats than anything else. So if it's about moving boats, why should he care who's fishing as long as it means more new Rangers in the tourney fields?)
At this tabula rasa point, who cares how or whether these pros "qualify" to fish the Elite Series for 2007 – "qualification" still being an ambiguous term in this sport, unfortunately. Who cares where they fished this year? Just get them there, get it going and then start the whole qualification thing later.
I'm talking about guys like Larry Nixon, George Cochran, Jay Yelas, Mark Davis, Stacey King, Ron Shuffield, Luke Clausen and Tommy Biffle (who's leaning toward only fishing FLW right now), among others. Anyone there recognize those names?
Buhler? Anyone?
If you have to beg them, do it. Just don't make any 11th-hour, during-the-season or during-the-event rule or program changes, for crying out loud.
You opened the door to such a move in the new Elite Series packet you sent out, where you stated: "BASS reserves the right to extend the Elite Series field."
While you're at it, also reserve the right to decrease the entry fees proportional to the number of guys who sign up (or you let in) beyond the minimum number. I know you have to make money, but they do too.
And remember: Your overwhelming goal is the best field. I like your "Kevin VanDam Tour" idea, aka the small-field Elite Series. But hey, the more competition for Superman, the better. (No offense to the other guys – you know what I'm saying.)
You also have this in your pocket: The vast majority of the top pros in the world want to fish BASS. Make it possible for them. Better yet, make it easy for them. If you don't, you're nuts and your ego is getting in the way.
In fact, you couldn't have a better time to do this than now. Pros can't fish both tours anymore because the dates overlap. And there's too dang many tournaments to fish both. Again, make it easy for the top guys to pick BASS.
You already have the best tournament TV coverage and the biggest magazine. Use them (the right way) to support the Elite Series – meaning support the pros who fish the Series. THEY are what angler-fans want to know about, not how great the Elite Series is.
And the more you say how great and "elite" the Elite Series is, the more people won't believe it. Scrap the hype. Just get the product right, and let it do the talking.
We need one top league in this sport (by fan vote), and even after everything that's gone down, BASS still has the best shot to be it. I might be wrong, but I hope you go after it. Start over. Tabula rasa.
Happenings on the 'Other Side'
There's a decent amount of talk about non-Ranger pros who fish FLW events switching, or thinking about switching, to Ranger boats. That's because of the huge incentives for fishing out of a Ranger next year (very smart).
I don't make my living fishing, so I won't presume to give advice to people who do. But if I made my living mostly on winnings, I'd certainly look at a Ranger deal.
And if that deal made sense? Honestly, I'm not sure what I'd do.
Do you jump boat companies to stay afloat financially right now? Do you go for a short-term FLW sponsor wrap deal and risk losing a longtime sponsor? Or do you figure bass fishing won't look the same 5 or 10 years from now, so you just stay the course and let the chips continue to fall?
Tough decision.
Another move might be to get other pros who run your brand of boat to ask your boat company (and other sponsors) to match, or come close to, the Ranger incentives for FLW tournaments. That sort of "guerrilla" marketing works, and surely would put a stop to any switching.
Of course, you have to know that whoever has the deepest pockets wins in that game. Then again, it's not about matching dollars ad infinitum (a little Latin again). It just comes down to whether a manufacturer values its pros enough to keep them from literally "jumping ship."
Just go in with your eyes open. As a non-FLW sponsor company, you have to be okay with the fact that even if your angler wins an FLW tournament, FLW Angler of the Year and the Forrest L. Wood Cup in the same year, he'll never be seen wearing non-FLW sponsor logos or fishing from a non-Genmar boat in FLW media.
The fans probably don't like that on principle, but I'm not sure they'll care that much. Because we at BassFan will cover him (or her) and you – the sponsors. We always do.
Maybe something to think about, anyway.
Jay Kumar is the head cheese at BassFan, and occasionally manages to hook one.
