Balog’s Bass War
Setting New Standards

Current Columns

• Three Little Words

  Thursday, October 11, 2018 By Joe Balog

  Grow the sport. Three little words we’re sure hearing a lot lately. Over the past several weeks, we’ve been introduced to a number of players whose more

• Off The Deep End

  Thursday, October 4, 2018

  The excitement reached a fever pitch across the professional bass industry this week as more anglers came forward with the announcement of their decision to leave more

• Inside Scoop For Junkies

  Thursday, September 27, 2018

  Over the last several weeks, the entire bass fishing industry has been immersed in the development of a new, high-profile tournament trail and the reaction and more

• Realizing A Dream

  Monday, September 24, 2018 By Errol Duckett

  As with any industry, change is inevitable. The fishing industry is no different. With that change comes uncertainty and worry, especially for the players in the more

• Rebuke

  Thursday, September 20, 2018

  With the absence of my Thursday edition of Balog’s Bass War, you’re probably wondering where I’ve been. Those of you quick to the draw might have read a piece more

• Suddenly, It's Over

  Tuesday, September 18, 2018 By Miles Burghoff

  It’s incredible how quickly this season has passed by. It seems just like a few months ago, my wife, Katie, and I were caravanning across the country with all more

• BPT Invite Process Flawed, But Change Is Good

  Friday, September 14, 2018 By Randy Blaukat

  Like many anglers, fans, media and sponsors, it’s my opinion that the recent announcement of the Bass Pro Tour is probably the most historic single event to ever more

• The Big Three

  Thursday, September 13, 2018 By Joe Balog

  Big news! As we all know by now, Major League Fishing has announced the formation of a new professional bass fishing circuit, the Bass Pro Tour (BPT). As of more

• Wrapping Up 2018: Quick Notes

  Thursday, September 6, 2018 By Joe Balog

  As the national tours finish up for 2018, we’re left with a few brief topics to touch on, all of which signal a continued change in professional bass fishing. more

• Happening Now

  Thursday, August 30, 2018

  Wow, what a slugfest! Just when I thought that nothing could top the overall catch of smallmouth bass at the FLW Tour event on Lake St. Clair, the Bassmaster crew more

• Controlled Substance

  Thursday, August 23, 2018 By Joe Balog

  By now, most hardcore fishing fans know the story of Clent Davis and the roller-coaster ride that became his career. A solid FLW performer early on, Davis chased more

• A Comeback For The Ages

  Thursday, August 16, 2018 By Joe Balog

  The story was laid out perfect; all we had to do was watch it unfold. Given the chance, a better set of circumstances couldn’t have been drawn up by the FLW more

• Cup Runneth Over

  Thursday, August 9, 2018 By Joe Balog

  This week, we’re greeted by the Forrest Wood Cup, FLW’s world championship that pits the circuit’s best anglers against each other and the elements. While it may more

• Weather Wins Again

  Thursday, August 2, 2018 By Joe Balog

  What a bummer of a weekend for BassFans. High water forced a complete postponement (and later cancellation) of the Chesapeake Bay Elite event and big winds shortened more

• Trophy Hunter: Edition 2

  Thursday, July 26, 2018 By Joe Balog

  At least she followed it. While the big fish hadn’t gone all-in and eaten my swimbait, she’d exposed herself enough to allow me to judge her size and reveal more

• Extinction Of The Specie

  Thursday, July 19, 2018 By Joe Balog

  While I rarely lack an opinion on topics within our bass fishing community, it’s not always easy to find subject matter. Let’s face it, every once in a while things more

• Passion

  Thursday, July 12, 2018

  Mark Daniels, Jr. doesn’t comprehend the word can’t; it’s apparent when you talk with him. There’s nothing he can’t do. I wonder how that can be. With more

• The Fuel To Succeed

  Friday, July 6, 2018

  As it is for all competitive sports, coming out on top in fishing tournaments often comes down to making very small adjustments to your approach that results in more

• Stacked Deck

  Thursday, July 5, 2018 By Joe Balog

  The 2018 FLW regular season is now complete, with the final event being the show-stopper we needed. As predicted, Mark Rose held on to the Angler of the Year title more

• Sleepless Night

  Thursday, June 28, 2018 By Joe Balog

  I wouldn’t want to be Mark Rose today. But I doubt he feels the same. Yes, today marks the first day of the final event of the FLW Tour season, and Rose, more

• The Answers Within

  Thursday, June 21, 2018 By Joe Balog

  Life had been a little stressful lately. Workplace complications put several projects on hold, leading to a few uneasy clients, and a recipe for potential disaster. more

• Bassmen 2043

  Thursday, June 14, 2018

  I was intrigued by an article in the latest edition of Bassmaster Magazine. Prognostications of the Bassmen took an inside look at our predictions for the sport more

• Replace The Fakes

  Thursday, June 7, 2018

  As a kid, one of my favorite dinners was when mom made baked tilapia on Friday night. II’ll never forget the warm, buttery smell through the kitchen when us kids more

• Trophy Hunter: Edition One

  Thursday, May 31, 2018 By Joe Balog

  My fishing has always bordered on obsession, but since I’m consciously aware of it, it prevents me from being classified a madman. When I’m not fishing, I’m usually more

• Keep To The Code

  Thursday, May 24, 2018

  I’d never heard of anything like it. Apparently, early on the third day of the recent FLW Tour event on Kentucky Lake, tournament leader Randy Haynes decided to more

• Unwinding

  Thursday, May 17, 2018 By Joe Balog

  A buddy of mine loaded a new app on my television; one sure to expand my outdoor programming choices. Truthfully, I hadn’t given much thought to my lineup lately. more

• The Tapp

  Thursday, May 10, 2018 By Joe Balog

  Recent headlines brought back a memory. As a young tournament angler, I had just been given an annual beating by a group of Carolinians on Buggs Island Reservoir. more

• That Uncomfortable Feeling

  Thursday, May 3, 2018 By Miles Burghoff

  I've never been one to get too focused on one particular style of fishing, or on individual lakes. To me, one of the most satisfying aspects of tournament fishing more

• The Greatest

  Thursday, May 3, 2018

  "Kevin isn't going to beat himself. He's found that space where only a few have been, and he's not even close to the last chapter of what he's writing.” - more

• Help Me Help Myself

  Thursday, April 26, 2018 By Joe Balog

  Several years ago, I received a call from a sponsor on a Sunday. Such usually means one of two things: either you’re about to get a raise, or you’re about to get more

• Back Deck Notebook – Vol.1

  Thursday, April 19, 2018 By Joe Balog

  Throughout my time here with you, I’ve tried to focus on the most pressing issues affecting bass fishermen in America. Safety, conservation and angling rights more

• Reinventing The Wheel

  Thursday, April 12, 2018 By Joe Balog

  I’ve always been fascinated with the lures used to win bass tournaments. More specifically, the rise and fall in popularity of certain techniques intrigues me more

• Picking Your Days

  Thursday, April 5, 2018 By Joe Balog

  This week, we saw a complete stoppage of a professional tournament due to flooding, as the Bassmaster Elite event scheduled for the Sabine River in Orange, Texas more

• Louisiana's Situation Is Not Pretty

  Monday, April 2, 2018 By Steve Rockseiler

  (Editor's note: The following is a rebuttal to BassFan columnist Joe Balog's March more

• The Road To Paradise

  Wednesday, March 28, 2018

  This week brought news of the Louisiana waterway access laws revisited, as B.A.S.S. officially endorsed House Bill 391 – legislation that would attempt to conquer more

• Just Like You And Me

  Thursday, March 22, 2018

  It was the final-day weigh-in of the Bassmaster Classic and with the microphone now in front of him, Gerald Swindle was pulling out all the stops. After several more

• Classic Prophecy

  Thursday, March 15, 2018

  The big game is upon us, as we kick off the 2018 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell. As I mentioned last week, I truly feel the sport has progressed beyond the more

• Local Shootout

  Thursday, March 8, 2018 By Joe Balog

  The 47th annual Bassmaster Classic will kick off at Lake Hartwell next week, bringing with it competitive excitement and agony, along with fan enthusiasm, like more

• New World Order

  Thursday, March 1, 2018 By Joe Balog

  International champions seem to be a theme this year, as Canadian Chris Johnston grabbed the most recent title in pro fishing with his FLW Tour win at Florida's more

• Quietly Ponder

  Thursday, February 22, 2018

  For the first time in a while, I find myself in the shop, tinkering with tackle. Once a ritual performed several times weekly, lately I’ve gotten away from the more

• Game-Changers

  Thursday, February 15, 2018

  Last night, I dreamt I had a side-imaging transducer sewn into a pair of waders. No lie. So important has technology become, and I so dependent on it, I can’t more

• Faulty Practice Plan Leads To Dud

  Friday, February 9, 2018

  I’ve always considered practice to be the most crucial part of the tournament fishing process. Sure, the tournament is when the rubber meets the road, and when more

• The Fans’ Focus

  Thursday, February 8, 2018 By Joe Balog

  I’m stunned at how times have changed. Again. In the early 2000s, I spent a morning riding around Lake St. Clair looking for tournament fishermen. The Canadian more

• Trending Now

  Thursday, February 1, 2018

  Like many of you, I’m constantly searching for information on new bass fishing techniques, digesting everything I can from any source available. With today’s endless more

• The Life You Save

  Monday, January 29, 2018 By Bernie Schultz

  As almost all of you know by now, a serious boating accident occurred during the recent FLW Series event on Lake Okeechobee. Boater Bill Kisiah and co-angler Nik more

• First, Safety

  Thursday, January 25, 2018

  As we discussed here last week, in the wake of tragedy, I find it necessary to discuss all we can do to prevent a similar disaster. As promised, I’d like to discuss more

• Searching For Progress

  Thursday, January 18, 2018

  While I'd hoped to report on the opposite, not much has been accomplished in the world of competitive bass fishing to answer the monumental questions created by more

• The Unthinkable

  Thursday, January 11, 2018

  What a terrible week. Early last Thursday, things looked so good for bass fishing. The FLW Series was releasing a record-sized field onto the waters of Lake more

• Time To Take Stock

  Thursday, January 4, 2018 By Miles Burghoff

  It’s that time! It’s the time of the year that we reminisce on our faults from the past year, and with the new year signifying a “fresh start,” the list of more

• Hard-Headed

  Thursday, January 4, 2018 By Joe Balog

  At first, I viewed the tournament angler's comment as defacing; a bit of a side-step that would likely lead to a poor finish. “I know the best fishing is offshore,” more

• Tough Read

  Thursday, December 21, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Wearing many hats in the outdoor industry, I find it important to keep abreast of the issues facing sportsman all across America. After all, my passions often more

• Death-anol

  Thursday, December 14, 2017

  The clerk at Lowe’s was understandably skeptical. Here I was again, just like yesterday, returning a leaf-blower that would no longer start. Two blowers in two more

• My Own Man

  Thursday, December 7, 2017 By Joe Balog

  My dad’s a live-bait guy. Taught to hunt and fish by a sustenance-driven father, filling a stringer was always the goal of the day. Later, it just kind of stuck more

• The Ever-Changing Business Of Fishing: 2018

  Thursday, November 30, 2017

  Just as autumn marks the return of great bass fishing to much of the country, the pre-holiday period also brings with it the most dreaded duty of professional more

• Young Man’s Game?

  Thursday, November 16, 2017 By Joe Balog

  I have to hand it to FLW Magazine. While many print publications seem to load their pages with small snippets of nonsense, FLW continues to push the throttle forward more

• Fishlife Crisis

  Thursday, November 9, 2017

  There was a time in my life when I fished or hunted nearly every day. Bass season turned to duck season; ice-fished yellow perch melted into open-water crappies. more

• Back Where I Need To Be

  Thursday, November 2, 2017 By Miles Burghoff

  When it comes to my continuing journey to become a professional tournament angler, I have seen many milestones. I have also seen a few setbacks. Moving to more

• Political Science

  Thursday, November 2, 2017

  It might be hard to believe, but I don’t make a habit out of creating controversy in unnecessary places. While many in today’s world just love to create problems more

• Viva Las Vegas

  Thursday, October 26, 2017

  At one time, the professional bass fishing Triple Crown was represented by three of the sport’s highest paying events: the Bassmaster Classic, Red Man All-American more