Check It at the Door

After a little time off from my work here at Bassfan, I’m back.

Truthfully, there was a question if I’d return at all – the media business being what it is – causing me to reflect on my time as a columnist.

Tax records prove that my Balog’s Bass War column began in 2013. Since that time, I’ve penned 50 unique columns annually – no two the same – for a total of nearly 600 articles. How I came up with 600 ideas to write about is beyond me. I do remember, however, the idea to get started. This may interest a few of you old timers.

Back in that 2013 era, you’ll remember, there were few good hard baits. Sure, there were crankbaits and topwaters at the time, but most were less than efficient. Lures came with crude colors and crappy hooks, and 30 feet was considered a long cast.

A revolution occurred when Japanese lure makers ushered in a whole new era of bass baits. Weight-transfer systems ensured long casts, premium hooks were stock and finishes exactly matched living prey. The advancements were incredible.

Not surprisingly, everyone bought these baits – the Lucky Craft Pointer Minnow comes to mind – and used them to win tournaments. Bass pros, however, were still in “blatant liar” mode when it came to crediting winning lures.

So these guys were out collecting boatloads of money on Lucky Crafts, while crediting their success to American-made sponsor plugs they couldn’t cast past the trolling motor. Everyone knew it was a sham.

That hit home with me. Here was my favorite pastime, my version of the big leagues, and the top performers were clowning around being dishonest about what they used to succeed, when everyone knew different.

What the pros failed to consider was the damage those actions caused bass fishing in its continuous attempt at legitimacy. You see, that has always been our primary problem. Since before my 2013 appearance on BassFan and right through today: tournament bass fishing continues to be held back by a lack of legitimacy.

Part of it is the concept itself. Many people believe little skill exists in catching a fish, with luck playing a primary role. These people, of course, are idiots. There’s nothing we can do to change their minds.

Still, a good number of folks fish themselves and understand that guys like Kevin VanDam aren’t just extraordinarily lucky. These fans follow along and get involved but get disenfranchised when the top players resemble used car salesmen.

I brought Bass Wars to the people because no one else would ask the tough questions, call out the fabricators and get away from the media foolishness.

We’ve been clogged with this, too. Tournament locations based on the highest bidder, destination lists written by tourism bureaus, and every broadcast highlighting the “best fish catch ever.”

Really?

Will we ever just be honest with ourselves?

I’ve tried each week, for well over a decade, to bring you that honesty. It cost me sponsors when I competed, contracts when I sold photos and friendships that were decades in the making. To me, it was always worth it.

You see, when I was a little kid, all I ever wanted was for bass fishing to be mainstream like the other sports. Sure, I collected trading cards and wore the jerseys, but I couldn’t care less about the big leagues. I could, however, name the creek where Hank Parker won the Bassmaster Classic.

But there was never legitimacy in my passion.

When I’d joke with grandma that I wanted to be a pro fisherman, she’d smile and kiss my cheek, take a picture of me in my fishing hat. Oh, the dreams of a child.

When I told my dad I was off to follow my dreams, he stormed out, demanding I take a different path.

When I applied for my first home loan, the banker wanted to know if I had a “real job.”

So don’t try your Husky Jerk nonsense on me. Or your helpless shrug about boat prices or sponsor-speak about forward-facing sonar. I won’t put up with adding to bass fishing’s perpetual stumbling blocks.

And while I can’t provide you with answers to rising entry fees, I can provide you with one dependable caveat: true, honest press.

Not click bait. Not sensationalism.

Journalism, old-school.

You’ve made this the most widely-read bass fishing column in history.

If that’s not legitimacy, I don’t know what is.

(Joe Balog is the Executive Director of Mighty River Recovery, a nonprofit organization working to restore Florida’s St. Johns River. A former national tournament angler, product designer, seminar speaker and guide, Balog has worn just about every hat available to a professional angler. Today, he enjoys rehashing his experiences and adding veteran insight through his weekly Bass Wars column.)

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