The ceremonial first cast to start the new Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour was made today when Bass Pro Shops founder and CEO Johnny Morris tossed a lure into Florida's Lake Toho.
It was a symbolic opening by the event's grand marshal as he stood alongside longtime friend and MLF angler Kevin VanDam in the pro's Nitro Z21 boat, on a day that promised sunshine ahead for the fishing, the anglers and the Bass Pro Tour.
"The main feeling that rushes to me was pulling up here this morning just before daybreak, watching the sun starting to come up and seeing all the anglers in their boats getting ready to go fish," Morris said in an interview with MLF director of marketing and relationship management Bailey McBride. "It just put me back in time, not quite 50 years ago, but a long time ago when I went to my first national bass tournament on my home lake, Table Rock, in Missouri. I just felt very blessed back then – it was the introduction to a lifetime of being around the sport of fishing and around anglers.
"Major League fishing is really kind of changing the world as far as the popularity of the sport that I love, and many other people do, and I think it's getting a lot of kids excited about fishing too, which makes me very happy. All of us in our company are very proud to be involved with such a great group of people and a great group of anglers."
VanDam and the 79 other competitors beamed proudly because the moment was a dream come true for the group that longed for a competition series in which they had control of the rule-setting and their own destiny.
Morris was instrumental in MLF's fast-moving evolution that resulted in the formation of the Bass Pro Tour. Announcement of the new tour was made just last September, so a lot of things had to happen fast in order to make the season a reality in the short period of time between then and this point in January.
"Johnny's appearance and participation today says so much about his commitment to the sport of fishing and our industry," said MLF president and CEO Jim Wilburn. "This is a giant day for anglers everywhere and it's exciting to think it's just the start of so many good things to come, including introducing fishing to a broader audience that likely will inspire people who have never fished before to give it a try and the knowledge for how to do it."
