EDITOR’S NOTE
THE FLW LIVE EFFECT
S
ince FLW Live launched earlier this year, fans have gained more access to what
goes on in an FLW Tour pro’s bass boat than ever before. I hope you’ve been
watching, and I hope you tuned in during the 2017 Forrest Wood Cup, because
it was the most exciting three days of fishing to air so far on the FLW Live program.
From Anthony Gagliardi’s 6-pounder within minutes of the day-one takeoff to Justin
Atkins’ final-day flurry for the win, it was a nonstop hawgfest. And don’t worry if you
missed it because you can still watch the entire show on FLW’s YouTube page.
What’s striking about the FLW Live program is how quickly it has caught on, and how it
is not only changing the spectator experience, but at times the pros’ angling experience.
While pros aren’t allowed to follow the show while they’re fishing, and FLW’s mar-
shals can’t relay to their assigned pros what’s happening with the rest of the field,
sometimes it’s unavoidable that a pro will pick up on what’s happening on the show.
For instance, on the final day of the Cup, South Carolina favorite Brandon Cobb
began the day with the lead. Shortly after takeoff he’d amassed an armada of some
60 spectator boats. Gradually throughout the morning, the conversations and reac-
tions from members of his gallery got louder as they watched on FLW Live as Cobb’s
main competition, his Tour buddy Atkins, put on a show.
Cobb says he didn’t know for sure what was happening – he was too focused on
fishing to hear what his gallery was discussing – but he definitely noticed a change
mid-morning when the crowd dwindled by about half as spectators left him and ran
to watch Atkins and Travis Fox, who was also having a big morning. He eventually saw
some of his former followers with Fox and put it all together.
Did the realization that his competitors were catching fish change Cobb’s approach?
Not at all. Cobb knew he was on the best program to potentially win, and he was dialed
in. Plus, despite spending only a few years on Tour, 27-year-old Cobb is remarkably lev-
elheaded. He just doesn’t get riled up – the result of many years of tournament experi-
ence already, thanks to his FLW College Fishing and BFL background.
Still, the spectator shift did impact the tournament. Cobb struggled at times to
direct traffic around his best cane piles, and each time he changed spots some of the
boats ran over his fish – fish that he planned to come back to later – and delayed the
fish from setting back up on the cane piles he was fishing. The traffic eventually threw
off his timing. When his crowd dwindled, it helped Cobb, but was too late.
Conversely, Atkins began the day with only a handful of spectators. By the time
Cobb’s crowd got to Atkins, he’d already sacked up most of his weight, so the addi-
tional fans simply served to get him even more fired up as he put the finishing touch-
es on his championship.
It was a minor storyline this time, but I promise the “FLW Live Effect” is another fac-
tor that pros will need to learn to manage as the show continues to gain popularity.
In the meantime, I’ll keep watching to see how the sport’s best pros execute their
craft, and I hope you will, too. And I want to offer my congratulations to the crew that
made FLW Live possible for a great first season, including FLW Senior Content
Manager Jesse Schultz, FLW television producer Peyote Perryman, hosts Travis Moran
and Rob Newell, Network Engineer Doug Chessor, Operations Engineer and Mobile
Promotions Manager Dave Likens, Mobile Promotions Administrator Bobbie Likens,
Mike Auten’s crew at Commonwealth Productions, and all of the cameramen and
support staff who made it possible.
Kudos, and thanks for taking us all on this ride.
4
Curtis Niedermier, editor-in-Chief
Publisher
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editor-in-Chief
Curtis Niedermier
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FLWFISHING.COM I OCtOber 2017