New Major League Fishing Tournament Circuit Announced

8/4/2011 8:38:34 AM

24 top-tier bass fishing pros create new no waypoint, no limit, no practice tournament circuit

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The Outdoor Channel and 24 top-tier professional bass anglers have partnered together to create a new fishing tournament circuit called Major League Fishing. This new tournament-fishing endeavor aims to bring new high-intensity challenges as well as entertainment and education to anglers and fans.

The new league has some very interesting format twists from the norm of fishing tournaments. Competitors will have no limit on the number of "legal" fish they can weigh. They also won't be allowed any practice time before the events and GPS coordinates will not be allowed in their units prior to the start of each event.

“Major League Fishing will offer sports fans a unique way to view bass fishing competitions with production features that go beyond just fishing to focus on the personalities, struggles, strategies, conflicts and emotions of the anglers,” said Outdoor Channel CEO and President Roger Werner. “Outdoor Channel is proud to be involved in this project from the ground floor and we see an outstanding future in this partnership. This latest venture reflects Outdoor Channel’s ongoing commitment to innovative, high-quality content that our core and loyal base of viewers has come to expect from us.”

MLF will feature 24 well known pros from the top tiers of bass fishing. There are 22 Elite Series anglers as well as Brent Ehrler from the FLW Outdoors side and a familiar name that has been in hiatus for a couple of years, Marty Stone.

“It is like nothing we’ve ever done or seen at this level, and I can assure you the anglers are excited about this,” said legendary pro Gary Klein.

“The format is exciting, and the television production will be top-notch,” Duckett said. “Our goal was to put together a group of the most influential anglers in the business, and we have done that. They understand we’re offering something that will enhance the way the public views our sport.”

Skeet Reese, a former Bassmaster Angler of the Year and Bassmaster Classic champion, called MLF “a new frontier.”

“What your grandfather did, your father did, and what I did last week in tournament fishing has been around for decades,” Reese said. “If you want to see a new, fun and exciting format that will take competitive fishing to a new level, then you’ve got to check out Major League Fishing.”

Jim Wilburn, founder and chairman of the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Winnercomm production company, has been named general manager of MLF. Don Rucks, a former B.A.S.S. general manager, will serve as the league commissioner.

“I’ve been involved for many years with sporting events of all kinds, and I can honestly say that I’ve never been more excited about a project than I am about Major League Fishing,” Wilburn said. “We have a great concept, and we have the enthusiastic participation of the best anglers in the world. I believe this is going to be extraordinary.”

A weeklong event – the MAJOR LEAGUE FISHING CHALLENGE CUP - will be held later this year. The event will be broken down into episodes and aired in the second quarter of 2012 on the Outdoor Channel.

Major League Fishing Competitors

Tommy Biffle
Denny Brauer
Mark Davis
Boyd Duckett
Brent Ehrler
Edwin Evers
Shaw Grigsby
Greg Hackney
Tim Horton
Michael Iaconelli
Alton Jones
Kelly Jordon
Gary Klein
Jeff Kriet
Aaron Martens
Mike McClelland
Ish Monroe
Takahiro Omori
Jason Quinn
Skeet Reese
Dean Rojas
Marty Stone
Kevin VanDam
Byron Velvick

For more information about this new circuit, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.