Setting a New Standard: What’s the Bass Pro Tour’s “20-Pound Day”
KISSIMMEE, Fla. – In a traditional five-fish-format competition, a 20-pound bag is a mark anglers strive for – if you have 20, you’ve had a good day. It varies by region and lake, of course, but bringing 20 pound to the scales is solid just about anywhere.
Florida – and especially Lake Toho and the entire Kissimmee Chain – is a place where magic can happen. Five-fish weights have reached double the 20-pound mark, including MLF Bass Pro Tour angler Dean Rojas with his 45 pounds, 2 ounce limit from this very location in January 2001.
Running up the score
The MLF Bass Pro Tour format doesn’t have a limit for numbers of fish, so there’s nothing to restrict anglers from running up the score. Which begs the question: what’s the new standard to shoot for this week?
Since Major League Fishing started the format, there have been some memorable days, including Timmy Horton’s record of 88-10 (with 35 fish) during Elimination Round of the 2017 General Tire World Championship event held in Nacogdoches, Texas.
What the pros say
Prior to the start of Shotgun Round action this week, we asked several MLF anglers for their take on the subject and asked them what they feel is the new 20-pound limit this week.
Veteran angler Shaw Grigsby predicts someone will break the century mark, but not this week.
“The 40-pound days will get you some ‘oohs and ahhs’ this week, but this year’s schedule looks great; I expect someone to hit 100 pounds in a day this year,” he says.
Both Justin Lucas and Mark Rose think 30-plus pounds is a good landmark
“I look back at the 20-pound bags I’ve weighed and look at the fish I cull during that day, and it has to be equivalent to between 30 and 40 pounds of fish in this format,” Lucas says.
“Thirty pounds in one day is going to be solid here and anywhere we go in the country,” Rose agrees.
Mark Daniels, Jr. is among the 29 anglers in the field with zero experience with the MLF format.
“I have no clue yet, but I’m going to say around 30 pounds,” says the Alabama pro. “Catching 15 or 20 average-sized fish will get you there.”
Brent Ehrler is among the most experienced in the field fishing this format, having been part of it since the beginning, so he has a good gauge of what a banner day is.
“Factoring in the cold we have been having, I am going to say 20 to 30 pounds,” he says. “The difference between this and previous events is that we now have two days of practice to figure it out.”
Oklahoma’s James Elam also has no experience with this format.
“I’m going to say 35 to 40 pounds,” he says. “Usually if you are around enough fish to catch a 20-pound limit for five fish here, you around numbers of fish and would have to cull to get to that mark, and that will add to your weight.”
Some anglers feel that what is considered a good day’s catch in both the five-fish-limit and Major League Fishing formats will be similar.
“With the added pressure of the SCORETRACKER and having breaks during the day, I think it’s equivalent to 20 pound to consider it a good day here,” says Fred Roumbanis.
After a few Bass Pro Tour events, we’ll have a better gauge of what anglers are capable of producing in a day. Fans and the fishermen themselves are excited about this format because there’s nothing to limit them on the water.