BUBBA launches SCORETRACKER LIVE to sell tournament software through fishing gear

Why it matters

BUBBA is using software to make its connected scales harder to swap out, a play that could turn local fishing tournaments into a distribution channel for hardware and subscriptions.

BUBBA and Major League Fishing announced on July 13 that they are opening SCORETRACKER LIVE to consumers through the BUBBA app, turning the live-scoring system used in MLF events into a product for tournament organizers, anglers, and fans outside the professional circuit.

The product will make its live consumer debut on July 14 at the ICAST Cup presented by Major League Fishing at Big Toho Marina in Kissimmee, Florida. BUBBA says the launch follows a 2025 introduction at ICAST, beta testing, and use in real tournaments. The timing matters because BUBBA is trying to move from selling fishing tools one item at a time to owning the scoring workflow around local and semi-professional fishing events.

BUBBA is a unit of American Outdoor Brands. Its trajectory over the last several years has moved from knives to connected tools; SCORETRACKER LIVE is the next step, extending from smart scales into tournament infrastructure.

The product turns the scale into the gatekeeper

SCORETRACKER LIVE lets organizers create and manage custom events in the BUBBA app, lets competitors follow standings during competition, and gives fans a live leaderboard to watch remotely. BUBBA says it supports catch-weigh-release tournaments, traditional five-fish formats, big-fish events, scholastic competitions, and neighborhood team events.

The product is built around BUBBA's Smart Fish Scales. The SCORETRACKER LIVE landing page says the platform integrates with two scale tiers, the Smart Fish Scale Lite and the Pro Series Smart Fish Scale; both connect to the app.

That hardware tie-in is the business model hiding in plain sight. Fishing tournament software is already a category. Fishing Chaos markets tournament management, online registration, live leaderboards, wireless scale support, messaging, and CPR or live weigh-in formats. CatchStat sells registration, live leaderboards, weigh-ins, catch media, mobile apps, and live streaming for higher-end events. BUBBA's edge is narrower and cleaner: it already sells the scale, it has MLF's scoring brand, and it can make tournament participation another reason to buy connected fishing hardware.

American Outdoor Brands already told investors why this matters

BUBBA is part of American Outdoor Brands, the public company that also owns brands including Caldwell, BOG, Grilla, Hooyman, and MEAT! Your Maker. In its fiscal 2026 10-K, American Outdoor Brands described the BUBBA Pro Series Smart Fish Scale as its entry into the catch-and-release market and said its MLF partnership on SCORETRACKER LIVE supports a new product category while expanding distribution for connected fishing products.

That filing also frames why software matters around the hardware: SCORETRACKER LIVE gives BUBBA a way to treat the scale as a platform instead of another accessory competing for shelf space.

BUBBA has been laying that groundwork for several years, selling both a Pro Series Smart Fish Scale and a Lite model. The new consumer launch adds the software layer that can make those devices more useful after purchase, especially for organizers who need registration, scoring, and leaderboards in one place.

The field proof comes from pro anglers, not a venture pitch

BUBBA says the BUBBA app and Pro Series Smart Fish Scale have now been used in more than 91,000 hours of live scoring and leaderboards for MLF events, including the Bass Pro Tour. That is a company-supplied figure.

Skeet Reese, the MLF pro angler quoted in the launch, is the clearest operator voice in the release. Reese says he has fished tournaments for more than 40 years and recently hosted the Reese Big Bass Battle with nearly 500 anglers, which BUBBA says was the first event to use the BUBBA MLF SCORETRACKER LIVE system and the new BUBBA Weigh-In Station. Reese called SCORETRACKER "one of the biggest changes" he has seen in competitive fishing.

That quote matters because SCORETRACKER LIVE is selling behavior change to tournament directors. A local organizer can already take entries, weigh fish, post standings, and handle payouts with a patchwork of spreadsheets, text threads, clipboards, and existing software. BUBBA has to convince those organizers that live scoring tied to a branded scale is worth standardizing around.

ICAST is also a hardware launch

BUBBA is using ICAST to show more than the app. BUBBA says it is introducing the BUBBA Pro Series Smart Bump Board, which records fish length in the BUBBA app for length-based tournaments, and the BUBBA Tournament Weigh Station, which pairs with BUBBA smart scales for in-person weigh-ins. BUBBA plans to demonstrate SCORETRACKER LIVE, the Smart Bump Board, and the Tournament Weigh Station at Booth #5139, while MLF plans a separate SCORETRACKER LIVE demo at Booth #4620 on July 16 at 4 p.m.

The bump board is important because not every tournament is organized around weight. Kayak and catch-photo-release events often use length-based scoring, and BUBBA's tournament approval page lists approvals for the BUBBA Bump Board 28-inch across multiple trails.

BUBBA has not disclosed SCORETRACKER LIVE pricing in the launch release. It also has not said whether the consumer version works with non-BUBBA scales. Those two points will shape adoption. A free or low-friction organizer tool could move hardware. A closed system with unclear pricing would ask local tournament directors to change equipment, process, and software at once.

The launch is still a sensible bet for BUBBA. Fishing gear brands usually lose the customer between purchases. Tournament software gives BUBBA a reason to sit inside the weekly rhythm of anglers, clubs, schools, and organizers. If SCORETRACKER LIVE gets adopted beyond MLF-linked events, BUBBA will have turned a scale into the starting point for a recurring relationship with the fishing tournament market.