Major League Fishing (MLF) is a professional bass fishing league and television show that airs on Outdoor Channel, World Fishing Network, and Discovery Channel. The league was established in partnership between the Professional Bass Tour Anglers' Association (PBTAA) and Outdoor Channel as an answer to other professional fishing tournaments that the anglers compete in.[1][2] The show focuses on personalities and struggles of anglers in competition rather than purely on results.[3]
Major League Fishing was the top-rated show on Outdoor Channel[4][5] and is different from other professional fishing tournaments in that every bass boat has a referee on board to weigh each catch immediately and ensure quick catch and release, and fisherman all have a constant update on how fellow competitors are performing through iPads on their boats.[6] Additionally, anglers do not know where they are going before the day of the competition. The new style of tournament fishing[7] was designed with conservation in mind, which is why fish are weighed and instantly released, anglers are not allowed to land fish or cradle them to their body and fish are never kept in the boat's live well.[8][9] The shows are fished without revealing results instantly, as the results are shown when the television program airs.[10][11]
Major League Fishing headquarters are located in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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