Mick are you in the states

Well put Ed.
Mick returned to the states this Summer very briefly and is in fact back in London, England - I can confirm this. While he might have rubbed some in a bad way, his fishing can't be picked on. Some might call it "Euro" but this can be derogatory and taken as an insult or a lessor way to fish [ implied - not for the U.S. waters ]. The fact is Mick caught the most fish in Schaumburg, Chicago, Downers Grove, Indianapolis, Minnesota, Texas and many places he would drop a hook - none of which are Euro.
To truly understand him, you would not meet him at a show or in a tackle store, but you would need to fish with him or watch him fish from the bank behind him. If it is pure fishing we should discuss with the man, he could be pure genius and often times untouchable - especially if Mick drew the numbered spot directly next to you in a Downers Grove fishing competition. If you were his neighbor, fishing, you would use the words respected, admired and feared - or at least " someone to keep an eye on " if you had a lower opinion. When we are talking about catching fish, and only the landing of fish, counting of fish or weighing all the fish caught - then opinions can be weighed with numbers. Weights, this is the way to measure a competitive angler. What were his weights.
Probably the best way to measure him is with his influence on the sport and those around him.
Mick grew the local competitive bank angling scene by getting new anglers to get excited about catching a whole bunch of fish. He also integrated float fishing into the American scene once again - which had died out since the early 1940's when everything switched to plastic bobbers - effectively killing a lot of fishing for new anglers. Instead of fine, sensitive floats, round bouncy bobbers were quickly manufactured and new people didn't know the difference.
Mick was passionate about what he did and when it came to game day, he often produced. The industry and fishing attitudes can be a fragile thing. Those not based on truth - or numbers, one's catch are easily rendered opinions. As I said, if you want to measure the man, lift his net out of the water with 4 hours worth of fish and then write down a weight - compare it to yours and then you MIGHT be able to better render an opinion with some truth about the man's fishing results.
I also measure him by the fact that he was able to mobilize anglers internationally and get a U.S.A. fishing team to the World Championships with little resources. His teams have scored the highest for the United States and he managed to again motivate new anglers for Team U.S.A. to go take on the world- for this he should get some appreciation and be admired.
Mick- check in, there is a hole in fishing without you to be sure.

Not a problem that you didn't understand my post. When I am saying he caught more than anyone, I am saying on the same day, on the same lake. For 4 hours of fishing in a competition, you WOULD know which spot he drew and his presence was felt by all anglers there. In competition fishing, you get a number and all anglers are spaced as near exactly across the lake so that everyone has the same distance from one another. The best way to measure yourself is when you are fishing one or two spots from the other angler. You can't sometimes measure your catch against someone who is clear at the other end of the lake for 4 hours.

He is an incredible angler and many don't get that - if you haven't seen him in action, watched from behind his spot or fished next to him, then you probably can't get his fishing prowess. There is nothing I can help you with there. I am saying BS doesn't factor in when all anglers have 4 hours on the same lake in even spots and then their catch is weighed. So regarding Mick, BS isn't something you can claim if you are measuring properly.

It's not for everyone, but it is universal in that you can apply good concepts to all species, all waters.

I have to figure out how to make some good points without confrontation. I don't want to waste energy on negative - but do want to open some eyes.

Carefully read what I put about measuring an angler by fishing next to him = NOT on the opposite end of the lake. You can NOT measure someone by a different part of the lake precisely because the lake is different and there are good spots and poor spots.
If you also read my post, I say that the organizers of the tournament TRY to make it exactly the same for each angler, the same distance apart to try and keep it as fair as they possibly can. Organizers pegging matches will often take a great spot and try to keep it OUT of the competition or split it between two anglers at the very least.

Organizers often split the lake into sections so that an angler on the East end only fishes against 20 competitors in the East end of the lake to make it more level. West end anglers then have to compete with the fish in front of them which is different but all anglers get points for their finish - the same in each section. In good competitions, the anglers will fish two or three heats. Anglers can never have same sections and are rotated around the venue so they all have to fish the slow spot or the great spot only one time - this evens it out as much as possible. If you were to be fishing next to Mick all three heats you would know precisely how good you were stacked against his score. His score is a measuring stick for any angler - top to bottom, it doesn't matter what jigs they throw. Fishing next to him, then you would have statistical data, fished from similar water and then you could measure - then you you could form any opinion you wished. Numbers - Numbers - Weights - Weights don't lie.

Mick rarely used a 20' cane pole, but in fact used a 42' carbon fiber hollow tube put-over take-apart Italian pole from his friend - Milo much of the time although I get your point. Since Mick is a master at moving water and still water, with a 1st place World Championship medal in Ice fishing I think it would be unfair to most anglers in any condition, his casting skills and the ability to read waters are both amazing.

There is an Italian method that Mick is also an expert at - Bolognese. It is the art of presenting a fine bait in moving water using a pole/rod reel. It allows the angler to defy current and allows the angler to present baits in the most natural fashion. It is 1,000's of times [ based on physics and fish-catching ] more precise in catching fish than using lead against one's hook. I know what you were going for and I know what you meant, but I don't think we will ever pit the three anglers into a contest as i doubt two of them wish to compete and probably wouldn't have liked to be volunteered into a comparison - I could be wrong.

It would be great to get Mick back into a local competition - if that happens, I will invite everyone to at least watch. If you watched setup to finish and watched different heats - you would get a better idea. If you tried to fish next to him, you wouldn't learn anything because you would be watching your own line - hopefully. Who knows, maybe you would beat him. If he would agree to it and we could get the match participants to agree, we can sit anyone right next to Mick and then we can measure the weights. This is the only way to decide such crazy claims - there is no other way and debate is pointless.

I simply think you need to fish more with Mick - then you would get it.

I can invite you out fishing anytime, I will show you what I can. Our league fishes this Spring around Chicago- all are welcome to come out and watch or grab a spot. It truly is thrilling to watch the match unfold and watch the weigh-in. Side-by-side fishing, spectators can learn a lot and see a lot of things happen. I will have ore information on the league here: http://www.chicagolandfishing.com/f...t=85025&p=516594&hilit=league+fishing#p516594