Major League Fishing to cease publication of MLF Bass Fishing magazine

Look through a Top 10 baits gallery these days, and you’re not going to see a lot of anglers throwing Slug-Gos or tipping jigs with pork frogs. At one point in the not-too-distant past (as detailed by our own longtime contributor Rob Newell), these were two of the hottest bass-catchers going, and you can probably still find a handful of people who enjoy success with them today. But as technology has improved and more efficient methods of generating bites have arrived, those classics have taken a backseat to more modern presentations.

The same goes for the way people consume bass fishing content. For decades, magazines represented the primary avenue for aspiring anglers and fans to get the lowdown on new gear, learn about hot techniques and get to know the stars of the sport. But in a digital age dominated by social media and video, traditional publications just can’t compete.

As a result, Major League Fishing has announced that the December 2024-January 2025 issue of MLF Bass Fishing magazine will be its last.

Parting with a publication that has entertained and educated anglers for the past 45 years wasn’t an easy decision. But audience metrics indicated that consumers in our mobile phone-dominated society overwhelmingly prefer digital content, particularly in video form. Video now accounts for 82% of all internet traffic, with viewers retaining 95% of a message when viewing it on video vs. 10% when reading.

Thus, MLF will allocate more of its resources to producing content that resonates with fans in the formats they’ve shown to prefer. The discontinuation of Bass Fishing magazine will not result in any staff reductions. The team that put together each issue will now devote its energy to producing more and better content on MajorLeagueFishing.com and MLF’s social media platforms.

This doesn’t mean our content is pivoting entirely to video, either. We plan to incorporate several staples from the magazine into our regular web coverage. Fans of the gear reviews, in-depth technique breakdowns, expert columns and eye-catching art that could be found in each issue will still be able to get all those things — and get them on-demand at no cost.

Due to this change, a premium Major League Fishing membership has been reduced from $95 a year to $85 — the cost of a Bass Fishing magazine subscription. Premium members will receive a pro-rated credit to their accounts for any unfulfilled magazine issues, and subscriber members will receive a refund for any unfulfilled issues.

While this shift in resources will bolster MLF’s product, it’s worth pausing to reflect on the magazine’s 45-year run and some of the people that made it possible. Since Operation Bass — the forerunner of FLW and then MLF — first started hosting tournaments in 1980, the tournament organization has also published a magazine (first Cast, then FLW Outdoors and FLW Bass Fishing, then MLF Bass Fishing). The publication offered instruction for everyone from beginner anglers to tournament regulars and told the stories of legends like Larry Nixon, Bryan Thrift and Jacob Wheeler, all of whom have graced at least one cover. At its height, FLW Outdoors published not only a bass-centric magazine but issues dedicated to walleye and saltwater species as well.

As the managing editor of the magazine for the past year and a half, I can attest to the amount of planning, effort and attention to detail that went into compiling each issue, which ranged from 88 to 100 pages and arrived in mailboxes every other month. The list of accomplished outdoor writers, photographers and graphic designers who have contributed through the years is too long to list comprehensively, but three past editors-in-chief shared their recollections of the publication.

• Curtis Niedermier (writer and editor for FLW Outdoors magazine and website from 2007-2020): “I grew up at FLW. I was 20-something, right out of college, and moved down there with nothing but a couch and a computer, and lived in a one-bedroom apartment, didn’t know anybody. I went there to chase a dream of working on an outdoor magazine, and I got the chance to do that. And along the way, I got to go and fish with the greatest fishermen on the planet, which was awesome — and then not only fish with them but tell their story. That’s a dream job. I just feel incredibly fortunate that I got to be on the masthead and got to be a part of it.”
• Colin Moore (Editor-in-Chief 2010-18): “The magazine was the voice of FLW. And the tone of the magazine that was set sort of made it a voice of the tournament fisherman as well as a fishing how-to, and there was a conscious effort to make it a big tent for everyone: advertisers, tournament fishermen, tournament fans. I was glad to be a part of it.” 
• Joel Shangle (Editor-in-Chief 2020-2024): “I think we delivered a creative, interesting product with Bass Fishing magazine. That all came from a mix of old-school storytelling and new-school sensibilities about a sport that’s changed dramatically over the years. I’ve always loved finding ‘stories inside the stories’ and approaching things from odd angles, and we tried hard to dig a little deeper in the magazine than ‘I pitched a black and blue jig’ and ‘I pinged a minnow’. I’ve managed magazines since the 1990s, so of course it pains me to fold this tent; Bass Fishing magazine has a great legacy. But there’s a deep well of untapped opportunity to reach people through MLF’s social channels and website — we’re all extremely excited about developing things for social and web that will bring some of the magazine’s best qualities to an audience that’s increasingly mobile, but also increasingly hungry for great storytelling.”

I, too, am grateful to have experienced the camaraderie of our magazine team and the satisfaction of holding a finished issue in my hands. The good news is, that team is still intact, and you’ll see that same caliber of storytelling and artwork in our web content. So, stay tuned to MajorLeagueFishing.com and all our social media platforms for our coverage throughout the 2025 tournament season. It’s going to be our best year yet.