The 2019 bass fishing season started out an atypical one for anglers, fans and organizations alike. With the addition of the new Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour, the year kicked off like no other in the history of the sport.
Like our own eyes and ears (and feet on the deck) from the road and water, professional angler Randy Howell is back with an insider’s view of the evolution of professional bass fishing. Here he is in his own words.
THE BLAST OFF A NEW TOUR - TOHO
The Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tours new format started off great. I was very excited leading up to the start of the first event on Toho. We had a great event.
I was leading the first day of competition. It was really exciting to make history and be the first leader, of the first day, of the first event in a brand-new tournament circuit.
I went all the way through the Elimination Round and made it to the final day. I finished sixth.
I had a great time there; but it was a little bit tough. We hit it right in the middle of three cold fronts, which made it fish a little bit tougher than it should have been. But that’s where the “no limit” on the new format really came into play. I kind of played the numbers game there and caught a lot of schooling fish. It ended up being my style of fishing.
Then, we went to a totally different body of water called Lake Garcia. That was a lake that nobody had really ever fished before. I had never fished it. It was a small lake. It was a “no practice” deal. Everybody caught a lot of fish and it was a real close match. I just never found any of the big ones.
Jordan Lee won and like I said, I finished sixth; but overall, that whole first event went great. There were 1.3 million viewers on the MLF live stream for the first tournament ever. It showed that there was a lot of excitement for this type of format and so, we left there with confidence and went on to the next one.
BACK TO ZERO - CONROE
We got into Texas for the Conroe event and found the same thing there. I had a really good start to the event and caught a lot of fish. I just never really got on a real solid pattern there. I had just enough to catch some fish and keep myself in the hunt. I made the Knockout Round after two days and earned a check.
Everybody starts back at zero in the Knockout Round; so, you start fresh and everybody gets a chance to win even –if you barely squeak in to the top-20 cut.
When Knockout started, I went out, tried some different stuff and tried some new water. I kept myself in the hunt throughout the day; but lost a few good fish that would’ve made a difference. If it weren’t for those, I probably would’ve ended up fishing on Sunday; but I just did not have the greatest day. When it was done, I was in sixth place overall in points.
MLF HIATUS - THE REAL WORK
We had a little gap after Conroe and went and worked a big promotion at Bass Pro shops in Tennessee leading
College Signing at the Classic On the water with the Daiwa Project T event
My son Laker and his partner Ryan
®
Summer 2019
page
73