FIRST CAST : JUSTIN ONSLOW
WELCOMING A NEW SEASON
While this February-March issue is the first
issue of Bass Fishing you ’ re receiving in 2021 , it ’ s also the first we ’ ve produced since the jubilant passing of 2020 – a year we ’ ll all remember and one many wish to forget . With the new year comes a new fishing season , and I want to offer something to think about as we dive into a new season of catching fish , perhaps to replace the New Year ’ s Resolutions you made more than a month ago that now may be as forgotten as half the lures at the bottom of your tackle box .
As difficult as 2020 was , it was a year that reminded us all how challenging life can be , and how important it is to stick together – to care for one another , to lend a helping hand , to put aside our own wants to make sure our neighbor and our fishing buddies , our closest friends and even total strangers have what they need .
In 2021 , let ’ s all resolve – truly resolve – to be stewards of the sport of bass fishing and examples of the kind of humanity the sport so often embodies . Let ’ s resolve to be less contentious and more conscientious . Less selfish and more generous . And let ’ s try to remember the people and the things that made us all fall in love with the pursuit of our favorite fish so we can be that catalyst for others .
The 2021 tournament season is already under way . In many ways , life is going on as it always has . The sun rises , the sun sets . Repeat as many times as possible . It ’ s what we do between dawn and dusk , though , that will truly define what 2021 can be .
This year marks the first time many of you will be fishing under the Major League Fishing umbrella . That ’ s a big change on its face , but the heart and soul of MLF and the former FLW brand is unchanged . The people who weigh your fish and call your number at boat check and take your calls at the MLF offices are the same wonderful people who were doing the same things in 2020 . The only thing that ’ s changed is the logo on their shirt .
If you ’ re an angler who will fish any of the six MLF circuits in 2021 , things aren ’ t going to change for you all that much , but you know a change has taken place . It ’ s ineffable , yet abundantly clear . In the same way , understand that whatever changes you choose to make this year don ’ t have to be monumental to have an impact on the people around you and the sport you love .
Instead of celebrating the passing of 2020 , it ’ s time to revel in the start of a new chapter we get to write together . New seasons are new beginnings , and while the beginning of our fishing adventures may have started years or decades ago , this is a great time to get back to what made us all love the sport : the camaraderie , the adventure and the shared passion for chasing around green and brown fish .
WE ARE BASS FISHING .
jUSTIN ONSLOW , MANAGING editor
6 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | FEBRUARY-MARCH 2021