Brent: Major League Fishing Recap
Brent Ehrler Blog:
Fishing in the first Major League fishing event on Lake Amistad was like nothing I have ever experienced before. The rules have changed and so did the intensity.
If you haven’t seen or heard about MLF, let me give you a quick list of the changes. There is no limit on fish. Every fish you catch, that is of legal size, counts. Catch 100 one-pound fish and your weight is 100 pounds. Catch 5 ten pounders and your weight is 50 pounds. Then take 24 of the best anglers int the world and break them into groups of eight. The top 4 from each group move on to the next day. On the second day of competition they set a goal weight of 40 pounds. The first two anglers to reach 40 pounds move on. On the final day the angler with the most weight wins.
Those aren’t the only changes. Technology changed as well. All the fish are weighed immediately upon catching them and then released back into the water. The on-boat marshall then adds your weight using a computer on the boat and all the anglers are immediately updated with the weights. So we always knew exactly where we were on the leaderboard. Lastly, there is no practice. We had to figure the fish out on the water during competition.
With the new rules added a lot of pressure and excitement to the event. Knowing 5-fish wasn’t going to be enough we had to start catching them early and keep catching them. Even when I was catching them pretty well, I knew exactly what the others were doing and that can wear on you. Knowing you are a few pounds down or somebody else was really whacking them really was exciting and added a lot of pressure to the event.
On the first day of the event I was sitting in fifth with just a few minutes remaining in the day. I had almost given up hope when with literally 2 minutes remaining I caught a 5-pounder and jumped in front of Aaron Martens. Then I had to hold on hoping Aaron didn’t catch another fish to take the fourth spot. He did catch another fish, but was only a pound and three quarters and I advanced to round two.
The second day of the event went quite a bit better. Kevin Van Dam was the first to reach 40 pounds. I was second to reach the benchmark and qualify for the finals. Qualifying for the finals along with KVD and myself were fellow Lucky Craft pro Kelly Jordon and Mike McClelland.
The finals went about as well as possible. I got off to a great start and jumped out to a big lead. Then my bite settled down a bit and Kevin Van Dam and Mike McLelland started creeping up on me. It was so intense knowing that my lead was dwindling and I needed to get a few more bites in order to hold on for the win. I got a few key bites late and held off the other anglers for the win.
I caught fish throughout the event on a variety of rip baits including the Pointer 100. Other fish came on a Roboworm on the drop shot and Yamamoto Senkos.
The win means a lot. With 24 of the best anglers in the world, it was nice to come out on top. Also, it was the first MLF event and to be the inaugural winner is something they can never take away from me.
The event is airing on the Outdoor Channel and can be seen on a pay per view extended version online at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Interview Part 1 & Part 2
http://www.majorleaguefishing.
http://www.majorleaguefishing.
Day 1 Interview
http://www.majorleaguefishing.
http://www.majorleaguefishing.
