Balog’s Bass War
One Step Ahead

Current Columns

• Preparing For The Season Ahead

  Tuesday, January 19, 2021 By Miles Burghoff

  No matter how good or bad a tournament season was, a new year brings with it new opportunity and a renewed sense of optimism. By no means was 2020 a bad year for more

• Trophy Factor

  Thursday, January 14, 2021 By Joe Balog

  “I don’t know about you, but I don’t get excited sitting around and talking about catching a limit of keeper fish, even though such a catch might earn me more more

• Top Baits On The 2020 Elite Series

  Thursday, January 7, 2021 By Joe Balog

  While we’re all ready to erase 2020 from our memories, we still need to check back in with the Bassmaster Elite Series and dissect last season’s winning lures. more

• Best Of 2020

  Thursday, December 17, 2020 By Joe Balog

  For most Americans, 2020 will not be missed when we put it to bed in a couple of weeks. However, some great things occurred in the world of professional bass fishing. more

• Nature’s Mystery

  Thursday, December 10, 2020 By Joe Balog

  There are times I fish just to keep ‘em honest, and unfortunately this was one of those times. The only boat on the lake, my trolling motor churned mud as I aimlessly more

• Ship-Jumpers

  Thursday, December 3, 2020

  Our subject matter this week will come as no surprise to many: The movement of some top pros away from the Bass Pro Tour and back toward B.A.S.S. This is by no more

• The Continuing Battle For Our Attention

  Thursday, November 19, 2020

  The arm’s race continues in professional fishing, as B.A.S.S. recently announced live coverage of all Elite Series events and the Bassmaster Classic on FOX Sports more

• Sight-Fishing 365

  Thursday, November 12, 2020

  Cody Huff’s life reads like a page from a book. The 2020 edition of How to Become a Bass Pro, to be specific. At just 23 years of age, Huff has already more

• Can We Learn From The Salties?

  Thursday, November 5, 2020 By Joe Balog

  With my wife out of town for the weekend, I had a little me-time to divide between fishing and yard work, settling in each evening to watch the tube. Election more

• Virtual Reality Fishing

  Thursday, October 29, 2020 By Joe Balog

  I wonder where we’re heading. Time spent recently with a pro angler got me thinking. The subject was offshore fishing, specifically modern sonar and the part more

• Pro Team 2020

  Thursday, October 22, 2020 By Joe Balog

  Professional fishing is an evolving sport, both in terms of the top performers and the methods to sustain a career. Without question, sponsorships remain a key more

• Inner Angler

  Thursday, October 15, 2020 By Joe Balog

  There’s a contingent of saltwater anglers sometimes labeled as purists. “Fly only” is the correct term, I think, to describe fishermen who have given up on conventional more

• Timeout For A Buyer's Guide

  Thursday, October 8, 2020 By Joe Balog

  This summer brought screwy times for us all, but resulted in an uptick in fishing. All over the country, anglers are reporting more people on the water, license more

• Leaving The Bubble

  Tuesday, October 6, 2020 By Miles Burghoff

  I’ve said it here before; the the fact that I get to escape my bass fishing “bubble” for the stark contrast of life as a fishing guide in Alaska has been an honor more

• Change Of Plans

  Thursday, October 1, 2020 By Joe Balog

  Like many of you, I follow all the latest tournament coverage, keeping tabs on the techniques used to take down big events. I’ve noticed that winning pros are more

• Analytics

  Thursday, September 24, 2020 By Joe Balog

  Every season, I dissect the winning patterns of the major bass tours in an attempt to clue us all in on what’s hot. While this year will go down as one of the more

• Autumn

  Thursday, September 17, 2020

  Labor Day signals the end of the boating season in the North; a collective sigh of disappointment can be heard as the kids head back to school. For persistent more

• Shake Your Teeth Out

  Thursday, September 10, 2020

  A recent interview with Brett Hite took me to ChatterBait utopia, and I wondered where we’d go from here. Not long ago – just back in 2008 – the lure was having more

• If You Rest, You Rust

  Thursday, September 3, 2020

  “To be a successful bass pro today, a guy’s got to be young and committed. It takes total dedication to the goal; there can be no side projects or distractions more

• A New Set Of Rules

  Thursday, August 27, 2020

  After a dull early season full of cancelations and delays, pro bass fishing rebounded with a fury this month. Both the Bassmaster and MLFLW crews took it to the more

• The Erie Rebound

  Wednesday, August 19, 2020 By Miles Burghoff

  As much as I think I know which lakes I'll have a good event at, I’m always surprised at how the venues that are seemingly outside of my wheelhouse ultimately more

• Digital Thrillers

  Thursday, August 13, 2020 By Joe Balog

  A friend and I recently took a trip down memory lane. The subject was bass fishing television and, not surprisingly, we both harped on the good ol’ days. There more

• Escape The Madness

  Thursday, August 6, 2020

  I’ve only received one piece of negative feedback here at BassFan. Well, one that I took to heart, anyway. Sure, there have been disagreements that I’ve contemplated more

• What’s the Plan?

  Thursday, July 30, 2020

  I thought we had seen the end of big-water bass fishing; I really did. By that, I’m referring to the tendency of major tournament organizations to get away from more

• X-Factor

  Thursday, July 23, 2020 By Joe Balog

  I’m fascinated by fish. Since my early childhood, I’ve always wanted to learn more about them in a constant quest to uncover secrets behaviors. I suppose the underlying more

• Slowing The Momentum

  Thursday, July 16, 2020 By Joe Balog

  After spending a few days out of the loop, I was surprised by the headlines when I signed back on. Shocked, really. “BPT Anglers Likely To Pay Entry Fees In more

• Making The Rules

  Thursday, July 9, 2020 By Joe Balog

  I’ve always been one to question the accepted principles, especially when they apply to fishing. Maybe it’s a generational thing, I don’t know, but I’ve never more

• Chick Code Finally Cracked

  Tuesday, July 7, 2020 By Miles Burghoff

  There are some lakes where your decision-making seems to be consistently sluggish, or just downright wrong most of the time, which produces poor results. That more

• Super Duper!

  Thursday, July 2, 2020 By Joe Balog

  I’ve got to say, pro bass fishing has come a long way. While it’s always hard to accept change, the recent expansion of our sport has made for some blockbuster more

• Overlooked Gems

  Thursday, June 25, 2020 By Joe Balog

  In the course of a year, I interview dozens of people involved in the fishing industry. Some of my favorite chat sessions are with the most successful tournament more

• Majors, Minors And Zeroes

  Thursday, June 18, 2020 By Joe Balog

  When it comes to fishing, you just can’t force it. Deep down I knew this, but I found myself sweating it out anyway. The locals had warned me when I moved to more

• Nothing Else Mattered

  Thursday, June 11, 2020 By Joe Balog

  I’d left my Coke on top the truck. It was evident now, as I watched 32 ounces of it slosh around the bed, along with a foam Wendy’s cup I hoped wouldn’t blow out more

• Life Of A Ringer

  Thursday, June 4, 2020 By Joe Balog

  With tension and negativity crowding the headlines, I thought we could use a little fun. Luckily, I stumbled across a concept that would provide just that and more

• Game On

  Thursday, May 28, 2020 By Joe Balog

  Last week, we looked into the revised and refigured 2020 FLW Pro Circuit and how it may change the careers of many involved. This time, let’s check in on the Bassmaster more

• New Game

  Thursday, May 21, 2020 By Joe Balog

  Barring any unforeseen changes, professional bass fishing will again be under way in about a month, although the look of it all may change. Crowd control, weigh-in more

• Florida Bass To The Rescue

  Thursday, May 14, 2020 By Joe Balog

  Is bigger always better? I wondered as I dove into a recent article. It seems the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation plans to stock Grand Lake with more

• Round 2

  Wednesday, May 13, 2020 By Miles Burghoff

  It’s been nearly two months since I made the drive home from the last FLW Pro Circuit event on Lake Martin. Since then, we have all watched as the world changed more

• Will History Ever Repeat?

  Thursday, May 7, 2020 By Joe Balog

  America loves the Cinderella story. Tin Cup. The Miracle on Ice. Carl the Greenskeeper. The underdog story permeates even pro bass fishing with regularity. more

• Reflections

  Thursday, April 30, 2020 By Joe Balog

  I have an organization sickness. I’ve known about it for quite some time and struggle daily not to let it overrun me. Nowadays, my ailment probably has a name, more

• Waiting It Out

  Thursday, April 23, 2020 By Joe Balog

  Like many of you, I sit back and wait to see what happens. With our quarantine comes a period of great uncertainty – for the country, our people and our passion. more

• Fishing’s Last Innovation?

  Thursday, April 16, 2020 By Joe Balog

  I’ve been trying to find the origination of the fish hook. Perhaps it’s an impossible quest, but I felt the need to do so based largely on curiosity. For some more

• Getting Them Out There

  Thursday, April 9, 2020 By Joe Balog

  We’re doing it for the kids. Bill Siemantel had heard it all before. Fishing industry spokesmen put on the big smile when it came to youth-driven activities, more

• More From The Society

  Thursday, April 2, 2020 By Joe Balog

  Last week, you read of decreased conservation topics in a leading B.A.S.S. publication, followed by an upward trend in online reporting by the group. We linked more

• A Decent Start, But Improvement Needed

  Tuesday, March 31, 2020 By Miles Burghoff

  With everything that's transpired since last fall, I didn’t expect to be able to catch up on everything that I'd hoped to accomplish both on and off the water. more

• Well-Deserved Space

  Thursday, March 26, 2020 By Joe Balog

  With all of the magazines I receive each month, I do my part to keep the postal service in business. It’s my responsibility to keep abreast of professional bass more

• So Obvious, It’s Overlooked

  Thursday, March 19, 2020 By Joe Balog

  I never fish by the boat ramp. I just can’t do it. And community holes? Forget it. There’s just something about casting to a spot that sees dozens of lures more

• Our Latest Champion

  Thursday, March 12, 2020

  Another year has passed; with it comes another Bassmaster Classic champion, and a deserving one at that. Now, before we go any further, I have to boast for my more

• Classic Eve

  Thursday, March 5, 2020 By Joe Balog

  'Twas the night before Christmas. Or the Classic. Even better. Yes, it’s that time of year again, when a champion will be crowned and the best outdoor show more

• Mother Nature Holds The Cards

  Thursday, February 27, 2020

  Last week, the MLFLW team hosted two compelling professional fishing events in the state of Florida, both of which brought fans giant fish catches through tumultuous more

• Visiting An Old Friend

  Thursday, February 20, 2020 By Joe Balog

  Giving credit where it’s due, a big shout-out to Bassmaster Magazine this month. I must admit, I’ve gotten away from the B.A.S.S. bible lately, as content just more

• A List Of Affairs

  Thursday, February 13, 2020 By Joe Balog

  There’s just so much going on in professional bass fishing. Of course, that’s the case every week lately as developments, expansions and a craving for competition more

• Target Audience

  Thursday, February 6, 2020 By Joe Balog

  Last year brought sweeping changes to the professional bass industry, and 2020 is proving to be no different. More specifically, we’re seeing modifications to more

• A Big Challenge Met

  Wednesday, February 5, 2020 By Miles Burghoff

  I can’t believe it's already February! It seems like just a few weeks ago that I was trailering my Nitro Z19 home from the FLW Cup in Hot Springs. In reality, more

• JT: One Year Later

  Thursday, January 30, 2020 By Joe Balog

  I have to admit, I was wrong. About this time last year, I learned that JT Kenney, the hardcore tournament grinder from Palm Bay, Fla., was going to hang up his more

• The New World

  Thursday, January 23, 2020 By Joe Balog

  In the year 2000, I dove head-first into the business of fishing, incorporating the Millennium Promotions agency and hoping for the best. With the supposed Y2K more