Am I getting older, or are old traditions being scrapped and new ones emerging faster and faster every year? Maybe some of both. But theres no question that what were once standards are no longer in play. This has been another year of change. Are all the changes we see every year in the fishing industry really accomplishing anything useful, or are the change monsters just working to keep the industry refreshed with nonsense? My opinion on this matter is probably one most manufactures don’t want to acknowledge. Many times the changes we witness are not improvements at all but are simply change for the sake of change. “New” sells, whether or not it’s better. Change keeps money flowing, which keep a lot of people in jobs. We’re seeing a lot of change in professional angler sponsorships. Pro anglers are scrambling to carve out a share of shrinking corporate dollars. Consumer trust takes a beating when top-tier fishermen who last year touted Brand A this year claim Brand B rocks! Boat, electronics, tackle, and “non-endemic” companies—all struggling to justify their sponsorship investments—are looking closely at who has really been driving sales and who has not. “Stand By Your Man,” is a fine sentiment, but in the battle for corporate survival, financial accountability trumps loyalty. Heres another change: guess who is going to be absent from the up-coming Bass Master Classic. For the first time in his professional fishing career, Kevin Van Dam did not qualify for the Classic. Isn’t that bizarre? That’s kind of like Tiger Woods not playing in the Masters Golf Championship. I, for one, will have trouble ginning up enthusiasm about the results without KVD in the hunt. With the greatest fisherman of our generation on the sidelines, the Classic will just not be as exciting to follow. A competitor who wins as often as he has (20 B.A.S.S. first places, including 4 Classic wins) or performs at his level for two decades should have a standing invitation to fish the classic in recognition of his stellar fishing career. Elite Series anglers seem okay with the B.A.S.S. new selection process (see bassmaster/news/no-more-win-and-youre) and maybe Van Dam is looking forward to being a spectator this year, but a Classic without him in contention…seriously? The gold standard of the bass boat industry—the leader in quality and everything that matters in bass boats—is up for sale. Yep, Ranger Boats is back on the trading block! What does this portend for Ranger fanatics? Is good ol’ US excellence in manufacturing and engineering going by the boards, or is the ownership just tired of the bass boat industry’s fickleness? What can we expect going forward? Will Ranger Boats continue to be made one at a time in their factory by craftsmen committed to the highest standards of workmanship, or will change come there, too, so the quality that we have been accustomed to become another thing of the past? Talk about things changing, there are now bass fishing lures that cost you anywhere from $45 to $75! I can’t imagine paying that amount of money for a fishing lure when, on one cast, you hook a stump and it’s gone! One thing that won’t change, and that’s your chance of hooking the fish of a lifetime on any cast on Guntersville. Some years are better than others, and 2014 has proven to be an exceptional year in terms of numbers and quality of fish caught. Braggin’ size bass are there, and I’d be delighted to introduce you to some of them. Give me a call, and let’s go fishing. Captain Mike Gerry Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Service fishlakeguntersvilleguideservice Email: [email protected] Phone: 256 759 2270
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 16:34:46 +0000
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