Bass Fishing Oct - Nov 2020 | Page 6

FIRST CAST : JOEL SHANGLE

continuing the evolution

In late September , while this issue of Bass Fishing magazine was on the

presses , Major League Fishing announced the birth of the Major League
Fishing BIG5 . This next major evolution in the sport of competitive bass fishing will welcome the five five-fish-limit circuits of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit , Toyota Series , Phoenix Bass Fishing League , Abu Garcia College Fishing and High School Fishing fully under the MLF umbrella starting in 2021 .
About evolution …
If you ’ re a longtime reader of this magazine and / or a bass angler with some appreciation of history , you ’ re already well aware that evolution has been a major ( very positive ) characteristic of the tournament organization that is now the MLF BIG5 .
Some of you knew it in the 1980s ( and probably fished it through the mid-1990s ) as Operation Bass , which held its first tournament on the Barren River in Glasgow , Kentucky , in 1980 . Operation Bass contributed multiple first-ever / seminal events in the evolution of the sport of bass fishing – the first $ 100,000 award ( in the 1984 All-American ), the first television news program dedicated to tournament bass fishing , etc . – in its 42-year existence .
Even more of you came to know it when Operation Bass evolved into FLW ( for Forrest L . Wood ) and FLW Outdoors in 2001 , and grew into the largest bass-fishing organization the world has ever seen .
Along came the sport ’ s first $ 250,000 ( and then $ 1 million ) tournament payday , and the face of a fisherman ( FLW pro Denny Brauer ) on a box of Wheaties . Along came the first organized high school and college fishing programs . Soon thereafter , the name evolved to Fishing League Worldwide , and the brand welcomed 10 countries into the fold under the International Division flag .
And now the evolution to Major League Fishing ’ s BIG5 .
About potential …
Kathy Fennel – who as the company ’ s Executive Vice President and General Manager has been part of the monumental growth of the organization since the early years of Operation Bass – is matter-of-fact about the creation of BIG5 : “ Merging the FLW brand into the Major League Fishing umbrella is the next logical step in our company ’ s evolution , which now includes a broader reach than any of us thought possible in our formative years .”
As many of you finish out your 2020 BFL , High School , College and Toyota Series seasons and begin to plan for 2021 , I know you ’ ll have questions . Naturally , “ What will BIG5 mean to me ?” will be tops among those .
I encourage you to read up on the what / when / where / why of BIG5 on the new FAQ page recently published at FLWFishing . com and MajorLeagueFishing . com . In the meantime , take Kathy ’ s words to heart : “ The key to our success lies not in a name , but in our unwavering focus on providing the best possible tournaments for anglers , fans , hosts and sponsors – our family . Uniting with MLF under a single brand makes the whole greater than the sum of the pieces . The letters may be different , but the people and the values will remain the same .”
joel shangle , executive editor
MLF Bass Fishing Magazine Executive Editor Joel Shangle
Managing Editor Justin Onslow
Production Manager and Graphic Designer Michelle Dowling
Lead Designer and Illustrator Matt Pace
Field Editor Matt Williams
FLWFishing . com Senior Manager , Digital Production Kyle Wood
Managing Editor Jody White
Content Producer and Editor 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
Major League Fishing / FLW President and CEO , MLF Jim Wilburn
President and CEO , MLFLW Boyd Duckett
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 , MLF Todd Walker
Vice President of Operations , FLW Dave Washburn
Director of Sponsorship Sales , MLF Chris Bork | chris . bork @ majorleaguefishing . com 901.229.4797
Director of Sponsorship Sales , MLF Meade Arseniadis | meade . arseniadis @ majorleaguefishing . com 612.940.0419
Director of Account Services , FLW Jenn Sonnek | jenn . sonnek @ flwfishing . com 651.235.4770
4 FLWFISHING . COM | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2020