Fishing News - 1/15/04
- 1) Tiger VanDam -- Bass fishing doesn't have a Tiger Woods? Think again.
Kevin VanDam starts the season ranked No. 1 in the world, according to the
State Farm-BassFan World Rankings. This is the third straight season he's
started off ranked No. 1. In fact, he's been the No. 1-ranked angler in the
world since the rankings debuted in August 2001. The closest he came to being
knocked out of the top slot was midway through last season, by Texas' Alton
Jones (now ranked third). Will anyone catch him this year? (Start-of-season
rankings listed below.)
2) Better Footing -- This season the pros start off on much more solid mental ground. At the end of last year, BASS's Busch patch controversy and "early spring-loaded" tour schedule caused negative emotional reactions among some pros, and some two-tour pros for the first time felt like they were forced to choose to fish one tour or the other. In 2004 the Busch patch is gone (replaced by Citgo), though BASS's heavily early-spring tour schedule remains. Fewer pros than ever are fishing both tours, and they are splitting mostly along boat company lines. For example, Triton- and Skeeter-sponsored pros fish BASS, and Ranger- and Stratos-sponsored pros fish FLW.
3) Three new items of note this year:
> BASS is having a go at a NASCAR-like series called the Elite 50s. It's NASCAR-like in that the fields are smaller, fan-favorites are retained (using the BASS all-time money list), and the big money is reserved for end-of-season points standings instead of the tournaments. BASS also is using a points system based on NASCAR's soon-to-be-defunct point system. One item to note there is that under the new BASS system, the winner of a tournament could earn fewer points than a runner-up -- which is one reason NASCAR is changing its system.
> Interestingly, FLW is going in a completely different direction. It has increased the size of its tour field to 200 boats (from 175) while BASS has gone back to 150 on its tour and 50 in the E50s. FLW's emphasis seems to be on participation while BASS's seems to be on elevating the top tier of the sport.
> The Top Gun Championship will for the first time put the best from both tours on the water at once to determine who is the best in the world. The 25-man field will be chosen from the Top 25-ranked anglers in the State Farm-BassFan World Rankings at the end of the tour seasons, meaning after the championships. Top Gun will take place on an as-yet unnamed body of water over Aug. 27-29, 2004.
4) Stormy Weather -- Last year pros on both tours fished almost every event in cloudy, rainy and windy conditions. Almost every event also was during pre-spawn conditions. Will this season be different?
5) Flipping Again? -- Power (faster, fewer-bite, bigger-fish) techniques like flipping always dominate on the tours, and last year was no exception. What will the conditions favor this year? If you or your readers missed it, here's a quick breakdown of the "winningest" techniques from the 2003 tour seasons:
> Flipping/pitching soft-plastics played a part in 24 percent of tour wins this year, and 19 percent of 2nd- to 5th-place finishes.
> Add in jigs and those percentages rise to 32 percent and 31 percent.
> Spinnerbaits, the technique that probably benefited most from the lousy weather, figured in 16 percent of wins and 17 percent of high finishes.
> Crankbaits also helped in 16 percent of the wins, but were a factor in just 8 percent of anglers who placed 2nd through 5th. Still, crankbaits were the most consistent factor in high finishes (see Table II below).
> Senko-type baits helped in 11 percent of the wins and 9 percent of high finishes.
Table: Best Techniques By Type
Technique Win Place
Flip 24% 19%
Spinnerbait 16% 17%
Crankbait 16% 8%
Senko 11% 9%
Jig 8% 12%
Buzzbait 8% 3%
Lizard 5% 2%
Carolina Rig 3% 4%
Lipless 3% 4%
Wacky Worm 3% 3%
Topwater 3% 2%
Paddletail 3% --
Worm -- 5%
Dropshot -- 3%
Fluke -- 3%
Finesse Worm -- 2%
Jerkbait -- 2%
Sight-Fish -- 2%
Jig-Worm -- 1%
Swimbait -- 1%
From BassFan.com
Start of Tour Tidbits
