Put a bounty up for a Bassmaster Classic or Forrest Wood Cup champion who uses fly fishing gear? GREAT idea! If the fly industry could coordinate this, I would be impressed.

I don't know a thing about fly fishing, as I've fished bass tourneys since I was a teen. The introduction of a viable new set of skills would lead to new applications and hybridized techniques, perhaps mixing fly gear with baitcast and spinning concepts. I'm a fan of anything that furthers the evolution of angling and introduces novel techniques. This could create a whole new market that combines bass nation firms and fly industry companies...

...but yeah, I wouldn't be caught dead waving one of those dinky fly wands around, lol.

Say, I'd like to be removed from the negatively reacting fly fisher types.....just for the record ya know.....

Wouldn't "Show & Tale" be disastrous!

I can just picture that hook swiping the toupee right off the Boss's head!

koldbut, I don't really see that as negative not wanting to create competition between a spin, or baitcaster, and a fly angler as to who is the best. I don't fly fish for that reason. I just enjoy it. It is a non factor to me to have a spin guy say his equipment is more effective than my fly gear.

bluegass, Very sensible, and to the factual point post. Whatever publicity it got would be a plus for the fishing industry, but the fly angler would have virtually no chance as you stated.

haha, point taken tkbone...well put.

And if I do happen to see you out on the lake in that getup, hats off to you.

I hope my girl doesn't find out about these Bass Pro Shops cardigans, or you know what I'll be wearing to the next Christmas party...

I'm surprised at the lack of optimism on the part of most on here. I think it can be done, especially when finesse tactics come into play. It would take a person like Conway Bowman to throw down and show a few how effective it can be.
I do agree that it would be very hard for anyone who is sponsored to take the time to fly fish when their livelihood is on the line(and reputation).

Those good ol boys are flipping $40 plugs with $1000 custom rods. Their bait casters cost as much as a used boat and they water ski 3 pound bass with 20 lb braided super line. I'd rather listen to rap music than watch any of them. For me hunting and fishing is about getting outdoors, teaching kids about or heritage and hopefully bring home dinner. If you spend $1000 so you can be like Skeet- I feel sorry for you. I was fly fishing before that STUPID %$@$% movie and the bass industry would love to have yuppie money pouring in.

Nobody is using a $1000 dollar rod for bass, the majority of the rods the pros use are less than a high end fly rod. Regardless, though I can see some instances where a fly rod could compete with normal tackle it is very unlikely that it would win, no matter the individual fisherman. Its a numbers game, the odds would be stacked against a single angler. Having a fly division could be nifty but I doubt it would get much headway. It would be extremely difficult for another Tournament series to exist, BASS and FLW are seeing lower participation as are the PAA events. I just don't see people being as interested in watching a product that would be inferior (not necessarily in skill but in results) like the WNBA is.

vtbasser, Less than a high end flyrod? You could by a a number of those lunker sticks for the price of a high end flyrod! No need to spend a lot of money on the baitcaster rods they use. Ever pick one up? I have, and am amazed at what they might call a medium action. The thing is stiffo-biffo. A 100lb bow is easier to bend than one of those things. But I don't want to put them down. They have a great industry, and are good sportsman. And the equipment they use is right for the circumstances. But the reality again is a fly guy has about as much chance as winning the state lotto. While he's false casting and fishing in the air, the bait guy has made 4 or 5 effective casts with an action lure of size a fly guy can not even duplicate much of the time. And here is an example. I float my river for big browns, at a certain time of year, and it is nearing that time covering lots of water. I have my wife throwing a 1/4 oz white jig when the water is cold, on her baitcaster, steelhead rod. If a brown is there it is a hookup. I then drop my anchor, and use my flyrod. An incredibly effective technique.

I doubt many pros would take you up on the bounty. The truth is they are in it to win tournaments, but they are going to use the most efficient tackle to also just make checks in events. There have been several fly fishermen fish tournaments like the American Fishing Series (formerly the Stren Series and Everstarts Series) out west. Those guys haven't faired nearly as well as their baitcasting or spinning counterparts.

The restrictions on rods have never been to keep fly fishermen out of tournament fishing. The old 8-foot rod length rule was because of the days of guys using 10-foot doodlesock rods and jerking big bass off beds with heavy tackle or out of places other competitors could not effectively reach with a conventional cast. It's how flipping and pitching were born.

Having two anglers in one boat has limited the capacity for more fly anglers than anything. That and most tournaments are won away from the bank in deeper water on stained to muddy fisheries where fly tackle would become less practical.

That's why I don't believe fly fishing will ever take hold at the upper echelon of tournament bass fishing no matter what bounty you offer.

I certainly won't debate the merits of tournament fishing to recreational anglers. To each their own. I hope you all catch a bunch!

Ok, on a regular basis, no, fly fishermen couldn't compete in pro bass tournaments. But I'm convinced that there are some situations where a fly guy could hold his own - a few years ago I fished a tourney on the Madison Chain in Wisconsin, and I definitely think a fly fisherman could have weighed in a good stringer. Overall, the bass were small and preferred small baits, and the water was shallow. The river and some canals had some current, and in that scenario, flies could have done the job. Obviously no one is going to do well going to Amistad or Guntersville with a fly rod, but if a fly fisherman carefully chose a fishery and a situation, he could do well in a pro tournament...I would definitely support a guy who at least tried!

Deet ~
Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Til Earth and Sky stand presently at God's Great Judgement Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face,
tho' they come from the ends of the Earth.

Rudyard Kipling

In other words, it'll never happen.

count...You must be drinkin the same suds that Deeter drinks. :)

Headfor, So what do you have against folks working for a company, and being able to hold their job, or new jobs created? That is the American capitalist way, and called marketing. We have enough unemployment right now.

This is so cool. I hope to have learned this too. Anyway, I have created a website for fly fishing and I hope you guys could get to visit it. Here is the link http://www.sammaka.com/