Fall 2023
I
n the gap between the 2018 and 2019 tournament
seasons, the major leagues of bass fishing went
through what is commonly called “The Split” – when a group of mostly-established pros left the confines of the
Elite Series (and, to some extent, the FLW Tour) to form the
Bass Pro Tour. Some fishing fans and pundits argued that
their “defection” was an exercise in futility, while others
suggested that it marked a death knell for BASS. Several
seasons later, the jury is still out on those assertions,
and your conclusion may depend on your own personal
prejudices.
A downstream question is how the split affected
the ability of rising western pros to make a living from
tournament fishing.
Several factors not directly related to the leagues
themselves play a role in this analysis. The first is the
impact of the COVID 19 virus and how it impacted travel and
economic opportunities. The second is the rising price of gas
in the latter portion of the interim period, which may be at
least partially related to that first factor.
Finally, the health of the top western circuits
themselves – which seemed to rise greatly and then fall just
as violently – influenced anglers’ decisions to try to make
the leap.
Another factor is the change that BASS implemented in
2023, requiring anglers to fish all nine Opens to qualify for
the Elite Series. For a western angler who was on the fence
about attempting that process, the additional mileage, time
and expense of traveling across the country may have been
a deterrent.
SO WHERE DO THE NUMBERS STACK UP?
On the Elite Series side, we’ve seen four western anglers join the Elites since the split: Randy Pierson (who qualified pre-split but joined post-split), Cody Hollen, Matty Wong and Bryant Smith. Pierson lasted three seasons on the Elites and Hollen made it for two. Wong is currently in his second season and has had some flashes of glory. Smith is a rookie, but he’s the only one of the four who qualified through the Opens format. The other three made it through BASS Nation, which is not necessarily less difficult, but may be less costly and time-consuming.
Since the BPT was formed, we’ve seen anglers come into the field, but not a single one was added from the west. Californian Skeet Reese and former Californian Justin Lucas qualified through the Tackle Warehouse pro circuit but they were already at the BPT. In fact, the lion’s share were from the traditional bass belt of Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas. The qualification system is impartial, but it’s done little to “grow the sport” geographically.
Because so many top western pros left the Elites for the BPT, that means western participation at the top level at BASS has been depleted. Matty Wong, Bryant Smith, Clifford Pirch, California native Chris Zaldain and two-time AOY Brandon Palaniuk are the only westerners on the tour, which means there are nearly as many pros from Canada as from the west. Palaniuk, it must be noted, temporarily left for the BPT before returning to BASS.
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Bryant Smith
Cody Hollen Chris Zaldain
Gary Klein Dean Rojas
Cliff Pirch
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