1. MLFers get Froggggg Togggggs.
2. 2019 FLW Tour schedule and no more cos.
Good bunch of lakes:
Jan 10-13 — Rayburn, TX
Feb 7-10 — Toho, FL
Mar 7-10 — Seminole, GA
Mar 28-31 — Grand Lake, OK
Apr 11-14 — Cherokee, TN
May 2-5 — Chickamauga, TN
Jun 27-30 – Lake Champlain, NY
And a smaller field:
> …the FLW Tour will also switch from a priority-entry system to a qualifying system with a 150-boat field starting with the 2020 season. This system will reward performance and ensure that the FLW Tour field does not balloon to 186 boats as it did in 2018.
And no cos:
> Starting in 2019, the longstanding FLW Tour co-angler program will be replaced with a new FLW Tour Marshal program.
But they make it kinda fun, like a walleye derby shared-weight deal:
> Marshals will be eligible for a top cash award of $2,500 at each regular-season FLW Tour stop based on the combined weight of the pros they are randomly paired with.
> Marshals will also receive one entry into an exclusive Ranger Z518C giveaway for each day they complete. One lucky marshal will be randomly selected to win the new boat after the season concludes.
And anyone who wears a T-Rex costume gets priority entry:
Only the last one isn’t true…I think….
3. Ish and MDJ on Stray Casts manana.
Live tomorrow night 7/18 at 7pm central, straycasts.net.
4. FLWer Mark Fisher gets Elysian Fishing Rods.
5. AL: 300K FL bass stocked in Jordan.
> Over the last 3 years, a total of 992,316 pure FL largemouth bass have been stocked into the New Lake section of Jordan Reservoir.
#stout
6. FL: Blue-green algae covering 80% of Big O.
7. KY: Jimmy Houston was NASCAR race grand marshal.
Couldn’t find any pics..??
8. CA: Perris now 79% full…
…and full of new habitat.
9. WI/MN doing survey on upper MS River bass stuff.
Gitcha voice heard!
10. Savage Gear and Okuma part ways.
Got an email from the head of Savage that says:
> “After the recent mutual agreement between Okuma, former distributor of the global lure brand Savage Gear, [and Savage Gear] to part ways, we can announce that Savage Gear from Sept will open its own office and showroom in Miami, FL. ”
Btw, if you need a bigger trout swimbait, saw some 3-lber-sized ones at the Savage booth:
11. Tracker tin boat biz hurt by new import tariffs?
12. New global brand manager for Mustad.
13. National fishin’ trends.
Nothing bassin’-specific but:
> Freshwater fishing was once again the most popular form of fishing with a participation rate that held steady…from 2016 to 2017. …38.3 million participants, which was 3 times the amount of people that participated in saltwater fishing….
> In general, children ages 6-12 participated in fishing at a higher rate than teenagers, ages 13-17. Both groups fished more than they did the year before. Among children, fishing grew by half a million people to reach 7.3 million…or 24.2% of American kids. Teens added 200,000 participants to 4.3 million people or 20.1% of American teens….
> …Hispanic Americans continued to significantly increase…from 10.6% to a record high…11.7%, or 4.2 million people. …tended to be avid participants, embarking on 22.2 average annual outings per participant — nearly 4 more outings than the typical [angler].
This to me is a key graph:
To me that says “bass!” On the other hand, the #1 other reason given for fishing was to “get exercise,” which sounds weird, sketchy, abnormal and non-bassy….
14. Boat dealers still seeing lots of ethanol damage.
> 85% of our respondents said they have seen damage to engines or other components caused by ethanol in their business. That was down from 92% last year and 87% in 2016.
Still a crazy high figger!