Gimme some BASS Live
Category: Tournament
May 11th, 2015 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified May 11th, 2015 at 12:00 AM
We’ve reached the halfway mark in the 2015 Bassmaster Elite Series regular season. Frankly, it’s been one of the best seasons ever. Dramatic finishes. Not very predictable outcomes at all, well sort of. Sure, the two events held in the West were won by western anglers, but even they weren’t locks for the left-coasters.
Great first half for sure, but the standout for me is the Bassmaster.com BASS Live programming. Oh yeah! Once you get you some, you want more, you need more, you demand more.
Initially Bassmaster provided four hours of BASS Live programming on the third and fourth days of the event. The demand was so high for BASS Live they now have it on the second day of the events as well. The premise is Bassmaster video crews are with the Top 4 anglers on each of the days, so obviously it can’t happen on Day 1 since there aren’t any rankings yet.
The coverage is similar to how the PGA covers golf, except, well, it’s not boring!!! We get to listen in live as the anglers are fishing. Watch them make key decisions. Hear them hum tunes, talk to the fish, bitch, complain, groan, holler, shout with agony and of course revel in their success as well.
It’s true reality TV. Just wonderful.
As fans, we are guided through our four-hour journey by veteran Bassmaster TV hosts Tommy Sanders and Mark Zona. Sanders provides that calm and witty presence that makes you feel comfortable and welcomed to the show. Mark Zona is that smart-ass buddy who is funny as heck and yet through a lot of humor tells it like it is. Zona provides that intimate knowledge of tournament fishing that a host who hasn’t competed at a high level just can’t produce.
Then there is the amiable Dave Mercer. While Sanders and Zona sit in the comforts of the studio, Mercer is afield enduring whatever the weather has to throw at him. At the recent Lake Havasu event, Mercer had to tough it out amidst a throng of partygoers. Think women in bikinis.
Mercer provides excellent color commentary along with analysis that makes the show pop even more.
Excellent season so far on the Elite Series. Can’t wait to see more BASS Live during the second half.