Bass Fishing Magazine
Editor-in-Chief
Curtis Niedermier
FIRST CAST: CURTIS NIEDERMIER
Production Manager/
Graphic Designer
Michelle Dowling
Associate Editor
Justin Onslow
Senior Designer/Illustrator
Matt Pace
AIMING FOR
NORMALCY
Field Editor
Matt Williams
ike everyone else in this country, I’ve spent the last few weeks thinking about
COVID-19 and trying not to let those thoughts turn to worry. It’s difficult. This
is a scary situation, especially if you or your loved ones fall into one of the high-
risk categories, and even if you’re perfectly healthy but simply want to be able to
buy groceries without feeling like you need an N95 respirator and don’t want to
see your 401(k) nosedive into the cellar.
I’m not smart enough to predict what will be the long-lasting impacts of the pan-
demic, but in the short term, COVID-19 is having a big impact on tournament
schedules. In mid-March, FLW decided to postpone about three weekends’ worth of
tournaments (through April 5) and MLF postponed Stage Four of the Bass Pro Tour
in order to minimize the possibility of exposure to staff and anglers and to help slow
the virus’ spread.
The announced changes were met with a range of responses from fans of bass
fishing. Some thought we weren’t doing enough. Some felt it was the right call.
And others were outraged that the organizations would even consider a temporary
halt to tournament fishing. Frankly, we couldn’t win.
A few of the comments I heard from folks in the latter group were very emotion-
ally charged, which is a polite way of saying they were downright mean. I guess I can
understand the emotion, but not the reaction. Personally, I’ll never fault MLF or
FLW for wanting to protect the staff, anglers and fans. Fishing is important, but the
health and well-being of Americans is more important.
If you’re upset, all I can ask for is patience. MLF and FLW want to be hosting
bass tournaments as much or more as anglers want to be fishing them and fans
want to be following along.
I don’t know when tournaments will be rescheduled. I don’t know when we’ll
start fishing again. Even if I thought I knew, it wouldn’t do any good to print it in
this magazine because from the time we ship this issue to the printer on March 26
to the day it reaches your mailbox, a lot of things will have changed around the
world. I’d only be delivering old news. There’s no point in that.
What I can deliver to you here is the same thing we always try to bring our
readers: a quality magazine full of bass fishing content. I bet there are a lot of
magazines out there that are dedicating huge chunks of real estate to covering
COVID-19, toilet paper shortages and all. We’re not going to do that.
We’ll update you when it’s appropriate, and probably when it’s all over we’ll
report on the pandemic’s impact on the industry. But right now, what’s important to
us is what’s important to you: finding some sense of normalcy in abnormal times.
I hope you enjoy the tournament recaps, how-to articles, product reviews, fea-
tures, profiles and other great content that’s in this issue of Bass Fishing magazine
just like it is in every issue of Bass Fishing magazine. Stay home, read it and think
about bass fishing as much as you can. Maybe this magazine can offer a little
respite from all the bad news in the world.
In the meantime, please be safe until we can all come together again to catch ’em,
weigh ’em and pay ’em at tournaments across the world.
L
Curtis Niedermier, Editor-in-Chief
4
FLWFishing.com
Senior Editor
Kyle Wood
Digital Editor
Jody White
Staff Videographer/
Photographer
Rob Matsuura
MajorLeagueFishing.com
Sr. Director, Digital Media
Joel Shangle
Sr. Manager, Digital Editorial
Rachel Dubrovin
Sr. Manager, Digital Content
Development
Josh Gassmann
Digital Content Editor
Ellise Verheyen
Digital Content Editor
Olivia Fissel
Staff Writer
Mason Prince
President and CEO
Jim Wilburn
Executive Vice President and
General Manager, MLF
Don Rucks
Executive Vice President and
General Manager, FLW
Kathy Fennel
Vice President of Marketing and
Business Development, MLF
John Acosta
Vice President of Operations, FLW
Dave Washburn
Director of Account Services, FLW
Jenn Sonnek
FLWFISHING.COM | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING.COM | APRIL-MAY 2020