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BB man Andy Greene "pumpkin" was fired up to talk to Boyd about 'em, so he did! Here's how it went down.
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The new BFL Team Series has been the talk of the internet since MLF announced that big change a couple weeks ago – a huge change from the solo or "pro-am" format BFLs have had for over 30 years. They're also guaranteeing a minimum of $10K if you win a 1-day event.
https://majorleaguefishing.com/press-releases/major-league-fishing-announces-historic-changes-to-phoenix-bass-fishing-league-for-2027/
Those 2 things got my attention and I had questions. So I talked to MLF CEO Boyd Duckett about it.
1. Why the format change from boater/co-angler to teams?
> "Tournament fishing has always been an evolution of what tournament anglers want to fish. The BFLs that started as Red Man All-Americans in 1980 were boater on boater. That's what the tournament industry did at that time – that was normalized tournament fishing.
> "Then in the late '90s, BFLs got creative and added co-anglers. That format became popular on many trails, both national and local.
> "Most tournament trails have declined since covid, no matter what format they use. This decline was especially prevalent among local tournaments. The only trails that are still thriving are the high entry fee/high payout team trails.
> "We are choosing to start a national team trail because that's what anglers are trying to tell us. They want to pay higher entry fees because they create higher payouts – but they want to fish for these payouts while staying close to home. That's the only model that is successful right now.
> "Since that's already happening at the state level, we said let's nationalize what these anglers want to fish.
> "This is an exciting change. We almost didn't use the BFL name, even as well-branded as it is, because it's such a dramatic change."
Did the change have anything to do with less participation due to FFS?
> "FFS is one factor that has slowed down participation in tournament fishing. There are other factors, but FFS is a big one.
> "As a tournament organization, we don't have a position on FFS – just like we don't have a position on team vs solo or angler vs co-angler. Our responsibility is to build full fields and offer a product that the most anglers want to fish."
How do you think this change will increase participation in BFLs?
> "We have over 30,000 anglers who fish with MLF, so we can get a ton of feedback from our fishermen. This decision was not made this summer. We've worked toward this for 2 years. It has the support of most of our anglers.
> "We think now is the right time to make the switch, and we're encouraged by the excitement we see for the new format on social media."
2. How will the BFL team series stand out from all the team trails that already exist? Is the BFL moving from a unique market to a very crowded market?
> "We set out to offer more than any of the local team trails can. Our payouts are higher than any but for roughly the same entry fees.
> "We have expanded our famous All-American to 5 All-Americans. We'll offer a $120K first prize at all 5 of them. Then the 5 winners of each one [the team captains] will fish Redcrest, while their 5 team partners will fish the Toyota Series Championship."
3. What would you say to co-anglers who may feel they no longer have a place to fish?
> "I want to start by saying this: In the decision-making process, eliminating co-anglers was one of the hardest things we had to overcome. Unfortunately, due to declining co-angler participation, we had many events where we didn't have enough co-anglers to fill the boats.
> "This was a tough decision because a lot of co-anglers really enjoy fishing with us. Sadly, there aren't enough of you left.
> "Everyone who fished as a co has a buddy who fishes. Find a partner and fish the team series. We'd love to see you out there."
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