MLF Keeping an Eye on Weather at Stage Seven
BRANSON, Mo. – If there’s been a common condition or theme for the 2019 MLF Bass Pro Tour, it’s “mercurial weather.” Six events through the schedule, MLF has already instituted new foul-weather protocol at three events to date, and with the Bad Boy Mowers Stage Seven Presented by Covercraft having been moved from Grand Lake to Table Rock Lake due to weather, the league is already closely monitoring the forecast for the May 31-June 5 competition.
The competition schedule for Stage Seven is Noon to 8 p.m. CT for the Shotgun, Elimination and Knockout Rounds, and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. CT for the Championship Round on June 5. But it being spring, and with a long-range forecast for the Missouri Ozarks that calls for thunderstorms on Days 4, 5 and 6, league managers are prepared to adjust lines in and lines out times to accommodate potential interruptions in fishing.
“We’ll be closely monitoring next-day forecasts all week, and if an incoming storm system looks severe enough to cause a stoppage in play, we’ll adjust our competition times,” confirmed Todd Walker, MLF Senior Director of Operations. “We have a great amount of flexibility in our format and total control of the timing of the game because of our officials and our communication system. The target start time is 10 a.m. CT anytime there’s severe weather coming the following day – that gives us two hours of makeup time in case we do have a stoppage or weather delay.”
MLF’s weather protocol calls for direct communication from the league to the 40 officials, anglers and cameramen working on a competition day. If it’s deemed that a severe, dangerous weather event is coming – as was the case during the Knockout Round at Stage Six – MLF will communicate and confirm an official stoppage time for the anglers, officials and camera crews to seek safety until the weather passes. Once it’s deemed safe to return to the water, an official restart time is issued and competition restarts.
A 10 a.m. start would front-load a two-hour cushion for the anglers to complete a full fishing day before darkness becomes an issue soon after the 8 p.m. lines out (sunset is between 8:25 and 8:28 p.m.)
“We’ve had weather procedures in MLF Cup competitions for years, but as professional anglers, this is the first time we’ve had the ability to make these kinds of adjustments to a live-event competition day based on weather and safety,” said MLF co-founder Gary Klein. “We have a really good system, and we’ve seen it work really well already this year.”
Find Updates on MLF Social Media
Any weather-related alterations to the gameday schedule will be announced as quickly as possible through MLF social media channels (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter), and on at www.MajorLeagueFishing.com.