Zaldain and Electronic costs for elites

[bowhunter63]

 I know Randy B is on fire 

[Woody B]

On 2/28/2024 at 6:40 PM, JediAmoeba said:

And ice fishing.  

 

I've never been ice fishing, and never will be.  (I don't like the cold, and I'm not walking or driving out on a frozen lake)

 

I've got a dumb ice fishing question that could be considered related to FFS.   How do you know where to drill the hole?   Is there sonar that can look through the ice?   

 

 

Back to the original subject.  So some of the professionals sonar equipment retails for as much as, or even more than their 250 horsepower outboards?   I'd be willing to bet every boat there had an outboard that retailed for at least $20K.    Some of them probably had less than $20 worth of sonar equipment.  Limit horsepower to 90.  That takes $10K or more off the cost of each boat.  It also makes things safer.   Limit rods and reels.  Say, 5 rods and reels per angler.  That would cut costs a BUNCH.  

 

I don't watch professional fishing.  I'm not very serious about my suggestions. 

 

I suspect the sanctioning bodies will either limit the number of screens or the number of transducers next year.   It doesn't matter to me.   FWIW, I've got 3 screens (Two 9 inch, and one 7 inch) and 2 transducers.   (One Active Target, and *** in1)   None of the screens or transducers will take me to the fish.  They only reveal the fish when they're there.   

 

 

[king fisher]

For a tournament angler to remain competitive, they will have to have the the best electronics available.  Like most sports the higher level of competition, the more minor improvements in equipment can make a big difference.  I can't golf, so spending more money on clubs would not make me a good golfer.  A professional golfer will be very good with any set of clubs, but to get a slight edge at the top level of the sport, I'm sure they will need the best clubs available. I want the top tournament anglers to be the very best anglers possible.  I don't want them to only be the best at flipping, or the best top water anglers, I want them to be the best.  If that requires them to buy and learn the latest electronics, so be it, that is why they are called professional anglers.  If they can't afford the best equipment, can't find sponsors to help finance them, or don't want to learn new technology, then they simply wont be the best professional anglers.  If they insist they can still win with old school techniques than do it.  If they can't compete, get another job, don't complain about others who can compete.  If the fishery suffers due to the new technology, than it is the responsibility of the people that mange the fishery to change the laws regarding methods and equipment  used to fish for bass.  It is not the responsibility of the tournament organizations to manage the fisheries.     

     As far a recreational anglers are concerned, instead of spending $50,000.00 on electronics, I would recommend spending that amount of money on bass fishing trips to Mexico.  I would be willing to wager the trips to Mexico would pay off with more DD bass than the same amount of money spent on electronics.  

    As far as Randy Blauket is concerned I admire his passion for the sport, and like watching his videos.  I feel he truly believes FFS will ruin the sport, and stands by his convictions.  I do not agree with him, but admire his drive to do his best to make a change in what he believes in.  I see no need to call him a whiner, has been, poor angler, refer to him with some derogatory nickname, or make rude comments about his appearance.  What does the condition of a mans teeth have anything to do with FFS?  I believe the world would be a better place if people gave more respect to others who have different opinions. 

[TnRiver46]

@king fisher That’d be nice, and actually he said that in his early videos. Now he doesn’t practice that and dismisses any opinion that’s not his and his disciples are even worse. They just attack anyone that likes BASS tournaments or FFS. People have accused me of living in my mom’s basement on his page 😂, simply because I like watching tournaments. He’s getting what he dishes out 

[Bankbeater]

I don't think FFS will ruin fishing, or cause the lakes to be emptied of bass, but it will be interesting to see how the suspended bass start adapting to it.

[casts_by_fly]

1 hour ago, Bankbeater said:

I don't think FFS will ruin fishing, or cause the lakes to be emptied of bass, but it will be interesting to see how the suspended bass start adapting to it.

 

This is my curiosity.  We're learning that there are lots of suspended fish cruising open water that more or less were not being caught before.  Maybe some guy trolling would get into them but certainly not something you could plan for as a pattern.  Those fish were left alone to do their own thing.  With the pressure, now what do they do?  Go deeper?  Stop molesting shad balls?  I doubt both of those things.  Maybe they start to hug tighter to cover?  Johnny from fish the moment made some observations a month or so ago about a place he has fished a number of years with FFS (Chic maybe).  Where the fish would have been on primary spots (brushpiles on a main point) in the past, they are now leaving those and going to smaller spots nearby like a hard spot on a seconary point or a depression.  

[TnRiver46]

Buck Perry knew all that a long time ago and wrote a book 

[Catt]

For 50k y'all wanna know how many trips I can make to Toledo Bend?

@A-Jay How many trips can I make across the fence?

Heck I could hookup with @roadwarrior or @Dwight Hottle & chase them little brown footballs!

If I went low budget I could fish with every active member here...even @Glenn!

[A-Jay]

8 minutes ago, Catt said:

For 50k y'all wanna know how many trip I can make to Toledo Bend?

@A-Jay Hiw many trips can I make across the fence?

Heck I could hookup with @roadwarrior or @Dwight Hottle & chase them little brown footballs!

If I went low budget I could fish with every active member here...even @Glenn!

Probably something like 6 or 7 for me.

Just depends on how much commercial air fares are running.

But you're a bit closer so you could probably add one or two. 

Worth it though IMO.

A-Jay

[Catt]

3 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

 

A-Jay

 

Better memories than we would get with FFS!

[Troy85]

1 hour ago, Bankbeater said:

I don't think FFS will ruin fishing, or cause the lakes to be emptied of bass, but it will be interesting to see how the suspended bass start adapting to it.

I have been thinking the same thing.  I wonder if with time bass will adapt and start suspending less if they are getting to much pressure from FFS users.

[TnRiver46]

@Troy85, it’s been around for 6-7 yrs now 

[Troy85]

45 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

@Troy85, it’s been around for 6-7 yrs now 

True.  But it has gotten much more popular and more common in the last 2 or so years.

The fish may never adapt, but it will be interesting to watch and see if what happens.

[Glenn]

To be fair, there’s not one other sport on the planet that has or will allow a gadget to offset the players’ abilities as FFS has. What would you think if NASCAR allowed auto pilot on cars, or golf allowed auto swinging golf clubs, or hunting where you can look on a screen and see where every deer is within a certain distance? There’s a reason alot of game commissions and DNRs are banning use of drones while hunting to locate deer. Many other states have made it illegal to hunt for 24 hours after flying a drone.

 

Sports are supposed to pit individuals’ abilities and skills against each other, not who has the best electronic gadgets.

[Woody B]

16 minutes ago, Glenn said:

To be fair, there’s not one other sport on the planet that has or will allow a gadget to offset the players’ abilities as FFS has.

 

 

FFS offsets the players abilities????????    

 

FFS is useless if you can't find the fish.  Perhaps you should take a trip in a boat that has FFS.  You don't simply ride around wide open with a $25,000 outboard and $75,000 boat until an alarm goes of saying there's Bass there.   You can ride around slowly with FFS to find Bass but you can also do the same thing with older technologies.   

[king fisher]

5 minutes ago, Woody B said:

FFS is useless if you can't find the fish

Even dynamite wont work if you can't find the fish.

[TnRiver46]

I’ve got a better chance at finding Jimmy Hoffa with a shovel than finding a bass with FFS 

[A-Jay]

13 minutes ago, king fisher said:

Even dynamite wont work if you can't find the fish.

Maybe not but it sure provides a wicked big buffer zone between you and the other anglers. 

A-Jay

 

[king fisher]

2 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Maybe not but it sure provides a wicked big buffer zone between you and the other anglers. 

A-Jay

 

Will that be your last line of defense on Menderchuck?

[A-Jay]

9 minutes ago, king fisher said:

Will that be your last line of defense on Menderchuck?

No

#protectthishouse

A-Jay

[JediAmoeba]

23 hours ago, Woody B said:

 

I've got a dumb ice fishing question that could be considered related to FFS.   How do you know where to drill the hole?   Is there sonar that can look through the ice?

You mostly fish bodies of water you know, have had success on in the past, someone directed you there or you stumbled upon. A lot of the fish move slowly so you wait for schools to swim by - some days are better than others. With FFS and 360 they have been absolutely hammering them - drill down in an area and you can see all around you- count off the steps and drill a hole there. Drop your bait down = success. 

 

There used to be a lot of mystery to ice fishing and it was a lot of fun. I had so many fun days on the ice as a kid.

[slowworm]

"These flashers are taking the skill out of plumbing the lakebed! It'll ruin bass fishing!"

"These topo maps have taken the skill out of flashing the lakebed! It'll ruin bass fishing!"

"GPS has taken the skill out of reading the top maps and finding my spots! It'll ruin bass fishing!"

"Spotlock has taken the skill out of boat positioning! It'll ruin bass fishing!

"Sidescan has taken the skill out of finding hidden brush piles! It'll ruin bass fishing!"

 

And now the grand finale!

 

"FFS has taken the skill out of finding fish! It'll ruin bass fishing!"

 

 

[Tennessee Boy]

Mark Menendez’s is an old guy on the trail and I admire what he said in the video.

 

When we got GPS it robbed from us. It robbed our ability to triangulate.  So new skills are going to evolve with forward facing and old skill will have to keep up or get out of the way.

Makes me respect the guy even more.  No crying,  no excuses, just determination to keep growing in an ever changing sport.  He made the top 50 and I’m cheering for him.

 

[gim]

On 2/29/2024 at 6:13 PM, Woody B said:

I've got a dumb ice fishing question that could be considered related to FFS.   How do you know where to drill the hole?   Is there sonar that can look through the ice?   

 

Live sonar greatly reduces the amount of holes (and time) required to locate schools of fish under the ice.  Before live sonar, you'd drill about dozen holes, and try a bunch using a vexilar/flasher to see if there were any fish around.  If none, you moved.  Then you drilled another dozen holes and the process continued.  You could be moving for hours on end looking for a school of fish.  A lot of anglers got completely skunked.

 

With live sonar, you can drill a hole and scan a much larger area under the ice to find a school of fish.  It simply creates exponential efficiency.  Less time looking and less time drilling holes.  More time on the fish.

 

Most ice anglers are after suspended schools of panfish.  And they are not releasing them either.  It's almost exclusively a meat-hunting crowd.

 

Ice fishing is more popular than open water fishing here.  It has more participants.

[scaleface]

I've been a fan of Bassmaster tournaments since the 70's.I   read the magazines , rented videos ... how they caught them. All this time , I could do whatever they were doing . I could flip bushes, drag a carolina rig in 30 foot of water , find bait fish , brush piles... Even from a 12 foot jon boat , I could do the same things they were doing . I cant say that now. I'm not the type of person that wants to ban things . Its not going to effect my fishing one little bit.  I just can no longer identify with people using 40,000 dollars worth of electronics to catch bass.