Balog’s Bass War
The Open Question

Current Columns

• Dropping Bombs

  Thursday, August 31, 2017

  Although he may not play one on TV, John Crews is a businessman. Known to his fans as a touring pro and perennial Classic qualifier, Crews may be more talented more

• Colorado Pride

  Thursday, August 24, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Sometimes, as bass fishermen, we forget to consider others. You see, time and again we’ve been told how bass are America’s most popular game fish, primary drivers more

• Generation Y

  Thursday, August 17, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Well folks, we have a champion. Keeping up with the current trend, Alabama’s Justin Atkins, a former college fishing star turned hopeful pro, shocked the FLW world more

• Champions

  Thursday, August 10, 2017 By Joe Balog

  This week, we’re welcomed by one of bass fishing’s biggest events, the annual FLW championship, appropriately coined the Forrest Wood Cup. After all, it was Wood’s more

• Pioneers

  Thursday, August 03, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Most of us have spent a few sleepless nights in our lifetime. Parenthood is probably the leading cause; stress in the workplace another. Occasionally, a girl can more

• Kong!

  Thursday, July 27, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Nearly every piece of modern bass fishing equipment has a KVD model. There are KVD boats and motors, depthfinders and trollers. Of course there’s rods and reels more

• Buckets, Bat Lures And Lunch With An Old Pal

  Thursday, July 20, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Each summer, the ICAST show serves as a place and time to gauge the status of our industry. To reflect, if you will, on the progress we’ve made toward fooling more

• Extreme Measures

  Thursday, July 13, 2017 By Joe Balog

  The biggest news in fishing this week comes from Lake Mille Lacs, where anglers and area business owners nearly held Minnesota's governor hostage as a means of more

• Thrift’s Secret

  Thursday, July 06, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Tournament anglers, at any level of competition, mature over time. Travel experience, combined with hours spent practicing and playing the game, naturally increase more

• Hard Evidence

  Thursday, June 29, 2017 By Joe Balog

  For years, Gord Pyzer has been an impartial voice for fishing throughout much of Canada, often walking the delicate line of subject matter between preservation more

• Payoff

  Thursday, June 22, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Another season is in the books on the FLW Tour, and with it came more business-as-usual than surprises. As expected, Bryan Thrift took down the Angler of the Year more

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  The Ups And Downs Of A Weekend Angler

  Monday, June 19, 2017 By Tim Carini

  Like many BassFans, I’m a weekend angler who enjoys the thrill of local and regional tournament competition. During the week, I’m the ad sales guy for BassFan, more

• Not A Solitary Jouney

  Thursday, June 15, 2017

  Tournament bass fishing is commonly called an “individual sport.” In my opinion, this classification is only partially correct. When your boat number is called more

• B.A.S.S. Blueprints

  Thursday, June 15, 2017

  The cover of the latest edition of Bassmaster Magazine caught my eye: Tournament Fishing Turns 50. While I often struggle to find unique content in today’s bass more

• Istokpoga’s Water Woes

  Thursday, June 08, 2017 By Joe Balog

  At one time, Florida was unquestionably the bass fishing capital of the world. Today, such claims are debatable as California, Texas, Alabama and others make a more

• Unintended Consequence

  Thursday, June 01, 2017

  I couldn’t grasp what I was looking at. The plant appeared to be hydrilla, but it was nearly transparent. I picked it up out of the bucket of mullet I had just more

• King Of The Castle

  Thursday, May 25, 2017

  Some of you may not know the name Nick Prvonozac. However, if you’re a tournament fisherman anywhere near the state of Ohio, you would. Because chances are he’s more

• End of an Era?

  Thursday, May 18, 2017 By Joe Balog

  With the arrival of the Bassmaster Texas Fest, a new chapter in the history of tournament bass fishing begins this week. To the best of my recollection, this will more

• Forefathers

  Thursday, May 11, 2017 By Joe Balog

  I was saddened to learn of Guido Hibdon’s continuing struggle with cancer. Hibdon’s legacy makes him seem a little bit older than his 70 years; a fishing-family more

• Headlines

  Thursday, May 04, 2017

  The bass world is buzzing this week with recent developments on multiple fronts. Perhaps most noteworthy is the lawsuit filed by Jerry Rago – regarded by hardcore more

• Return On Investment

  Thursday, April 27, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Ironically, I recently found myself engaged in nearly the same conversation with three different marketing professionals at three different times. The subject more

• A Jolt Of Reality

  Monday, April 24, 2017 By Miles Burghoff

  Every once in awhile you need a wake-up call – a reminder that you’re still a work in progress. Tournament fishing is full of these reminders, and they are more

• Purpose

  Thursday, April 20, 2017 By Joe Balot

  The only thing that mattered was that fish. As he laid awake in bed, for the first time in his life, the 12-year-old boy had found a purpose. He’d spent most of more

• Gunslinger

  Thursday, April 13, 2017 By Joe Balog

  John Murray was sitting on his couch, eyes glued to the screen. A self-admitted ESPN junkie, Murray was witnessing what he viewed as the culmination of his lifelong more

• A Period Of Growth

  Sunday, April 09, 2017 By Miles Burghoff

  I've learned many things about who I am as a competitive angler in 2017 thus far. With a handful of tournaments in the rear-view mirror, I feel I've established more

• Classic Notebook

  Thursday, April 06, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Each year, I attend the Bassmaster Classic, wearing the hats of both a press observer and ravenous fan. While there, I gather the pulse of the industry and its more

• Did That Just Happen?

  Thursday, March 30, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Banners that hung from the rafters showcased past champions. I’d seen many crowned in person, but all were familiar to me, special in their own way. Classic wins more

• Tournament Bass Meets 2017

  Thursday, March 23, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Each year, the Bassaster Classic combines the world’s most prestigious bass fishing tournament with a barn-burner of a trade show, equating to a win-win for more

• Classic Picks

  Thursday, March 16, 2017 By Joe Balog

  As promised, this week finds me deep in the Classic playbook, trying to separate potential winners from overrated anglers hyped by the press. My goal is to again more

• The Classic Is Coming

  Thursday, March 09, 2017 By Joe Balog

  As a warm-up to fishing’s big show, over the next few weeks we’ll feature an inside look into Classic XLVII. Today I open my pocket-sized notepad to reveal insight more

• Final Chapter

  Wednesday, March 01, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Over the past few weeks, we’ve discussed the X-factor in bass fishing, how it’s made champions of some and proved evasive to others, and how slight modifications more

• Another 'X'

  Thursday, February 23, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Last week, we discussed the X-factor in tournament fishing, noting how some competitors seem to lock into the secret far more often than plausible. This week, more

• “X”

  Thursday, February 16, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Perhaps the greatest quest in angling is the endless search for an X-factor. Here at Balog’s Bass War, we often bring such a quest to fruition by getting to know more

• Bridge Out Ahead

  Thursday, February 09, 2017 By Joe Balog

  What an eye-opener! I recently attended the Bassmaster College Central Conference Regional at Sam Rayburn, and was quickly awakened to the student bass more

• Ripe For The Picking

  Thursday, February 02, 2017 By Joe Balog

  I listened intently to what he was saying; after all, Jay Yelas has always impressed me as a pretty level-headed guy. He’s certainly been around the block in the more

• Versions Of The Truth

  Thursday, January 26, 2017 By Joe Balog

  As a young fisheries and wildlife student at Michigan State University, I quickly learned the world wasn’t always as it seemed. The vast wildernesses throughout more

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  Good Start To 2017

  Wednesday, January 25, 2017 By Miles Burghoff

  This is going to be a good year. In recent memory, I cannot recall feeling so enthusiastic, hopeful and confident in my fishing and career aspirations to begin more

• The Good Ol’ Boy Network

  Thursday, January 19, 2017 By Joe Balog

  “An observer was on the bank, and he was kinda picking at them. No matter where they go, or what they do, people pick at them.” Isaac Payne was trusting me more

• MLF Surges On

  Thursday, January 12, 2017 By Joe Balog

  Big news in the tournament world came this week with the announcement of the new MLF World Championship, as well as a network deal with CBS Sports. I think we more

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  Undisputed

  Thursday, January 05, 2017 By Joe Balog

  What a dummy. Prior to our holiday break, I compiled a list of tournament statistics for your review that included major victories and the attributable lure more

• Good For The Soul

  Wednesday, December 21, 2016 By Joe Balog

  "You don’t think about this when you’re young, but time flows quickly, like a mountain brook instead of a lowland river. The years turn to decades, and more

• R&D On Tour

  Thursday, December 15, 2016 By Joe Balog

  With the offseason comes a time to regroup and reorganize, as well as assess our fishing. For recreational anglers, December marks a time to clean out the ol’ more

• My Christmas Wish List

  Thursday, December 08, 2016 By Joe Balog

  It’s that time of year again. Black Friday is behind us, but that doesn’t stop the big-box retailers from sending ads and catalogs at record pace. I’m continually more

• Lures Flying Off The Shelves

  Thursday, December 01, 2016 By Joe Balog

  Temporarily transferring my obsession from bass to crappie, I was stumped. As evident by the fish camp’s cleaning table, locals were making fantastic catches, more

• Money Talks

  Thursday, November 17, 2016 By Joe Balog

  The last time we met, I investigated the great debate among BassFans and competitors alike: determining which professional fishing tour features the toughest more

• The Best Anglers In The World

  Thursday, November 10, 2016 By Joe Balog

  Without question, the greatest recent debate in pro fishing has been that of FLW vs. B.A.S.S., the differences in the business model of each, caliber of competition, more

• Something To Build On

  Tuesday, November 08, 2016 By Miles Burghoffi

  When I look back and review my performance in any given season, my only hope is that I’m making progress and moving in the right direction. In 2014 and 2015, more

• Competition Is Greater, But At What Price?

  Monday, November 07, 2016 By Randy Blaukat

  One of the most surreal thoughts I have is the fact that 2016 marks my 30th year as a full-time professional angler. The transformation I've witnessed in this more

• Big Bass Dreams

  Thursday, November 03, 2016 By Joe Balog

  It had finally cooled down. After my first summer spent in central Florida, I reluctantly admitted to myself that a break from the heat wasn’t all that bad. I’d more

• Making Headlines

  Thursday, October 27, 2016 By Joe Balog

  The headline grabbed my attention: Guntersville Anglers Concerned About Downturn. The corresponding story detailed the situation. Local anglers around more

• Survival Of The Richest

  Thursday, October 20, 2016

  “It was the golden age of the fishing industry. Today everything is big business, everything has changed and it makes it harder for the entrepreneur. So more

• World Record Bronze

  Thursday, October 13, 2016 By Joe Balog

  We are close to a groundbreaking moment. While many of us focus on tournament wins and AOY stats, a separate occurrence may be in our midst. Like the big bass more

• Not In The Cards

  Friday, October 07, 2016 By Miles Burghoff

  Even when you are fishing good, sometimes it just isn’t meant to be. To me, “fishing good” just simply means that you're able to make the best decisions and more

• Crank Telephones And Dynamite

  Thursday, October 06, 2016 By Joe Balog

  Baseball bats. Hockey sticks. Tennis rackets. Golf clubs. All are used in professional sports, and all are regulated to exact specifications within those arenas. more

• The Fruition Of Flow

  Thursday, September 29, 2016 By Joe Balog

  The old-timer looked frustrated. “We tried everything. Crankbaits. Spinnerbaits. Topwater. Six colors of worms.” Despite fishing all day on the river where more

• G-Man Wins

  Thursday, September 22, 2016 By Joe Balog

  The 2016 Bassmaster Elite season is in the books, with Gerald Swindle proving to be the overall best angler on the tour. This is the second Angler of the Year more