We’re into the stretch runs of both major tours in season number four of the post-divorce bass world and things seem to have equalized. The Bass Pro Tour is in New York, and the Elite Series is en route to the hinterlands of South Dakota. Both are on premier fisheries. At this point, both have established distinct fan bases, plus a third group that enjoys them both (and possibly a smaller fourth group that has been turned off by the whole deal and now watches bowling or golf instead).

While a few anglers have soured on their particular tour and sought green pastures, fishing or otherwise, that’s to be expected. One format or the other might not suit a particular angler’s fishing style or business needs. Most of them are outwardly happy about where they play the game.

This stability is likely good for the egos involved and for the industry as a whole – and we certainly don’t have the politics and agita reflected in the PGA/LIV debacle. If you don’t like chocolate or rocky road, Baskin Robbins offers something else. And if you don’t like that, there’s another place to get ice cream down the street. Take it, leave it, try something else. My only regret is that the greatness of certain careers will be lost, or will perhaps have an asterisk next to them, simply because we never got to see them go head to head with the best of the best.

Of course, “head to head” is an odd concept in a sport like bass fishing, where the competitors are spread out over potentially hundreds of miles and compete in a field of 80 or more. Except for the occasional made-for-TV event, we rarely see one angler go against one other. If we do, it’s usually for a single derby, certainly not an entire season. So what we’re losing is the chance to see Jacob Wheeler, fishing out of his mind, competing regularly against Brandon Palaniuk, who may be developing into one of the most consistent all-around anglers to ever compete (with apologies to KVD, who still holds that title until someone takes it from his hands). We’re not seeing Rick Clunn, arguably in his twilight, competing against his peer Larry Nixon. Nor are we seeing young guns like Jay Przekurat go against all-timers like Skeet Reese. On top of that, there’s the matter of the record books – I would have liked to have seen Jordan Lee aim at the four-Classic mark, but now we never will. Numbers matter, consistency matters, apples-to-apples comparisons matter – at least they do for the fans and the history books – and now we have far less of all of those.

I don’t begrudge any angler the chance to do what he thinks is best for his career, but sometimes more seems like less.