EDITOR’S NOTE
ANSWERS, FINALLY
I
feel like all I’ve been writing about in my columns lately is change – changes
to the magazine, changes to FLW tournaments, changes in the industry
and changes that have stirred a lot of emotions (good and bad) in all of you
bass heads. I guess the one thing that isn’t changing for the moment is the
topic of this editorial because there are more changes to report.
In mid-October, news broke that Major League Fishing had signed a letter
of intent to acquire FLW. The deal was finalized around the first of
November, officially bringing together two fishing industry powerhouses.
I say “bringing together” because that really is how this change happened.
Despite a lot of gloomy, doomsday social media comments and speculation
after the announcement, the FLW brand remains. The lights are still on in
FLW’s Benton, Ky., headquarters, where the staff is continuing with the busi-
ness of bass tournaments and publishing fishing content.
More importantly, tens of thousands of anglers at all levels will compete
under the FLW banner again in 2020. I’m a big fan of that.
Like any business acquisition of this scale, there will be a few changes that
don’t sit well with some people. However, I venture that if you read the entire
feature outlining the future of MLF and FLW on page 54 of this issue, you’ll see
that the revisions to FLW’s roster of tournaments are far and away positive.
For the vast majority of FLW’s competitor members, not much is chang-
ing, except that many anglers will enjoy lower entry fees and more opportu-
nities to compete in their preferred circuits.
Of course, a lot more attention has been cast toward the announced
changes at the top of the FLW tournament hierarchy, where the FLW Tour
has been rebranded the FLW Pro Circuit.
The new Pro Circuit will be the qualification route for the MLF Bass Pro Tour.
Due to this change, a lot of folks have taken to calling the Pro Circuit a “AAA”
league. I have a different perspective. With $100,000 to each winner and more
than 312 hours of TV coverage, plus live broadcasts and a strict qualification
metric to get in, the Pro Circuit compares to any traditional five-bass weigh-in
professional tournament circuit out there. The biggest difference is that now
our bass fishing mountain has two peaks where the sport’s best pros can com-
pete – the five-bass-limit Pro Circuit, and the catch-weigh-release Bass Pro Tour.
I know many folks want to hold on to the “old school” FLW. Rocking the
boat is never easy. Then again, smooth seas don’t make great sailors. When
Irwin Jacobs launched the FLW Tour back in the late 1990s, he did a lot of
boat rocking in the industry. But he also re-energized the sport with bigger
payouts and more sponsor participation than ever before. MLF and FLW
have a similar opportunity to effect lasting change by combining the biggest
media platform the sport has known with a grassroots foundation that wel-
comes anglers at all skill levels. I expect big things.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, this magazine isn’t going away.
We’re actually expanding it to six issues in 2020. There’ll probably be some
rebranding and redesigning (we’re due for it anyway) before the first “new”
issue reaches your mailbox in 2020, but I think that’s change most people
can appreciate.
4
Curtis Niedermier, Editor-in-Chief
Editor-in-Chief
Curtis Niedermier
Production Manager/
Graphic Designer
Michelle Dowling
Associate Editor
Justin Onslow
Graphic Designer/Illustrator
Matt Pace
Field Editor
Matt Williams
Contributors
Matt Allen, Joe Balog, TJ Maglio,
Sean Ostruszka, Joel Willert
FLWFishing.com
Senior Editor
Kyle Wood
Digital Editor
Jody White
Staff Videographer/
Photographer
Rob Matsuura
Letters to the Editor
FLW Bass Fishing
30 Gamble Lane, Benton, KY 42025
[email protected]
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, Controller
Tommy Boaz
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 I WINTER 2020