Citing Unfair Competitive Advantage, League Announces New Rule to Even Playing Field
TULSA, Okla. (March 31, 2021) – Major League Fishing (MLF), the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, announced today a rule change to Bass Pro Tour Rule No. 7 regarding Tackle and Equipment, which addresses the usage of Berkley PowerBait MaxScent baits on the MLF Bass Pro Tour. Effective immediately, anglers that compete on the Bass Pro Tour are prohibited from using any Berkley PowerBait MaxScent product, both in practice and competition.
“MLF has studied the use of the Berkley PowerBait MaxScent since its launch in 2018, and we’ve made the decision to no longer permit its usage on the Bass Pro Tour,” Aaron Beshears, MLF Bass Pro Tour Director said. “The ban applies only to Berkley PowerBait MaxScent baits. At this time, original Berkley PowerBait and Berkley Gulp! baits are not included in this restriction.
“The bait has simply evolved to a point that it provides an unfair competitive advantage to Bass Pro Tour anglers that cannot use the product – whether through limited availability or competing sponsorship restrictions,” Beshears continued. “That said, Berkley PowerBait MaxScent baits will still be permitted in our MLF BIG5 tournament circuits. This decision is consistent with the wishes of the majority of our Bass Pro Tour anglers.”
Berkley remains a sponsor of MLF and the Bass Pro Tour, and MLF is currently in discussions with the company and its stakeholders regarding this decision.
For further clarification on the elimination of Berkley PowerBait MaxScent from the Bass Pro Tour competition, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com
“We are proud to be an angler-driven league and to continue to support our anglers and their livelihood with this decision,” said Boyd Duckett, MLF co-founder and President of the Professional Bass Tour Anglers’ Association (PBTAA). “The Alabama Rig was banned in 2013 for similar reasons and we believe this is the next crucial step to creating a level playing field and ensuring no one angler or group of anglers has an unfair advantage over the rest of the field.
“Since 2012, we have prided ourselves on listening to our anglers, providing them with excellent tournaments on premium fisheries and a game that can be played and won by any competitor. We believe the game must continue to evolve as well in order to preserve the integrity of the sport.”
The Berkley PowerBait MaxScent products which are now prohibited from usage on the Bass Pro Tour are:
- PowerBait MaxScent Creature Hawg
- PowerBait MaxScent Critter Hawg
- PowerBait MaxScent D-Worm
- PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm
- PowerBait MaxScent Flatnose Jerk Shad
- PowerBait MaxScent Flatnose Minnow
- PowerBait MaxScent Hit Worm
- PowerBait MaxScent Hit Worm Magnum
- PowerBait MaxScent Kingtail
- PowerBait MaxScent Lizard
- PowerBait MaxScent Lunch Worm
- PowerBait MaxScent Meaty Chunk
- PowerBait MaxScent Power Chunk
- PowerBait MaxScent The Gener
The 2021 Bass Pro Tour features a field of 76 of the top professional anglers in the world – joined at each event by 4 pros that qualify from the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit – competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2022 championship. The next event for Bass Pro Tour anglers will be the 2021 General Tire Heavy Hitters Event, held April 9-14 at Falls Lake, Jordan Lake & Shearon Harris Reservoir in Raleigh, North Carolina.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news, and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Founded in 2011, Major League Fishing (MLF) brings the high-intensity sport of competitive bass fishing into America’s living rooms on Outdoor Channel, Discovery, CBS, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network, Sportsman Channel, and on-demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). According to Nielsen ratings, Major League Fishing remains the number one series on Outdoor Channel for five years and MLF premiered as the number one outdoor show in their time slot on Discovery in 2019.
In 2019 MLF acquired FLW, which expands their portfolio to include the world’s largest grassroots-fishing organization, including the strongest five-biggest-fish format professional bass fishing tour, the MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit presented by Bad Boy Mowers, as well as the MLF Toyota Series, MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine, MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI, and MLF U.S. Army High School Fishing presented by Favorite Fishing.
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