1. B.A.S.S. sold most of itself…to itself (sort of).
Lot of rumors last couple months something was a-happenin’, and guess it was. Group called Anderson Media bought a controlling interest (majority of shares) of B.A.S.S. — but sounds like they already owned part of B.A.S.S. so…anyone else we should know about have a piece??
Right now they’re saying biz as usual, which for the most part is good. Stuff that stuck out to me:
> Anderson was founded in AL (now in TN? I think this is the company?) so at this point it looks like B.A.S.S. will always be an AL company…though part of it is in AR. [Heard the AR folks have advanced east as far as the Mississippi River but haven’t been able to cross cuz old man Harper’s ferry was washed out. Told Jerry to hit the ford up north in TN and then loop down south and attack from Montgomery, but by then he’d hung up on me so….]
> B.A.S.S. co-owner (still?) Don Logan has known the Andersons for 30 years. Since I don’t know Don I can’t tell if this is a good thing or not, but will say I’ve never heard a major complaint about the guy — which is an incredible compliment considering that this is bassin’. [Bruce Akin on the other hand is a Tide fan…which is why whenever I see him I ask how Auburn’s doing…seriously. Everyone else takes things too seriously man, it’s FISHING!]
> Not sure from the company overview if Anderson really knows media but who cares — they own TNT Fireworks mang!! [As a kid I used to take the train to Chinatown in NYC to buy fireworks every year for July 4. Not gonna say whether it was legal or my parents knew, but I loved me some fireworks! Just nothing that could hurt my hands…. Kids, don’t do this because nowadays you could get in trouble for it.]
Also Tim Horton says the Andersons have a good rep.
Believe we’ll get an idea of what kind of company Anderson is by how fast they change things. Recommend they go slow….
2. Jesse Wiggins triple-qualified for the Classic.
From a Bassin’ Cat release: #stout
> …accomplished that feat by winning the first and last Southern Opens of the year, and squeezing in a 37th place finish in the Elite Series points race….
Jesse’s selling his Bass Cat Puma.
4. FL: Mission 22 bass derby at Kissimmee Oct 22.
Charity derby that “brings local awareness in the Fight to End Veteran Suicide.” More on Mission 22 here, get there if you can.
5. TX: Lake Fork dock owner fired warning shot??
Guy telling the story said the dude didn’t want him fishing the dock, but didn’t fire at him. Either way that’s over the top man, dang.
6. 2018 BFL schedule and rules out.
7. TX: Thieves stealing boat trailer parts at Hubbard.
8. TX: ShareLunker program changes.
They’re changing the name to Bass-heads United for Big Bass Abundance, or BUBBA.
> The ShareLunker participation season will now run each year Jan 1-Dec 31…but only those entries collected Jan 1-Mar 31 will be accepted as broodstock for spawning.
> …the new year-round participation season will allow for anglers catching bass 8 lbs or larger to submit information about their catch through a web application in four categories: 8 lbs or larger, 10 lbs or larger, 13 lbs or larger and 13 lbs or larger with a spawning donation.
> The goal is to increase the number of participants in the Toyota ShareLunker program and expand large fish catch rate data for fisheries biologists….
Wonder if this has to do with what seemed like fewer ShareLunker fish (13+ lbs) being caught?
FL has already jumped on the bandwagon with their somewhat new Trophy Catch program. CA should do something like this, other states too.
9. WI lake drawdown to kill exotic veggies won’t work…
…but they’re doing it anyway? That’s the way I read it. They want to kill milfoil and “starry stonewort, a fast-growing large algae,” near shore.
10. DC: Mike Nussman retiring from ASA.
Huge deal. The ASA basically is the lobbying arm for recreational fishing, and Mike in my opinion has done a stellar job. Thank you Mike!
The board has his replacement, just not announcing it yet.
11. Anniversary edition Vision 110 X.
Google translate says: “mega-bus” “wan ten.” Google isn’t 100% so here’s what I think I get from it:
> The X is slimmer, has flatter sides and is actually 115 mm long instead of 100 mm.
> It may cast farther because of a different “center-of-gravity movement system” called LBO II.
> Seems like it’s Japan-only (for now?), limited edition and part of Megabass’ 30th anniversary.
Some pics and deets from the Megabass Japan website (can’t link it here because the site has an issue) and here too.
12. 3 new Favorite rod models coming Nov 1.
Here’s a peek at one of ’em:
13. Win a new Okuma Epixor XT spinning reel.
Check the reel on TW.
14. Lots of peeps promoted at Rapala.
Congrats to ’em all!
15. Fisherman now head of Daiwa’s parent company.
Kazunari Suzuki. In the release the parent company said, “Starting in 2012, our company shifted strategies from defensive to aggressive…” — which Daiwa has for sure done in the last few years in U.S. bassin’.