Will we see tourneys where FFS isn't allowed?

[KP Duty]

Like in bodybuilding where they have 'natural' bodybuilding contests that test for steroids/HGH.  

[BigAngus752]

Those already exist at a local level.  You won't see any at anything beyond a local level because:

1. It's the creators of the technology (all fishing technology, not just FFS) that are the financial basis for "expert"-level bass tournaments and

2. The vast majority of amateur tournaments are predicated on the idea that participants can be a pro fisherman someday. Even if it's just a small, local tournament the participants want to feel like they are fishing "just like the pros" or there's that little glimmer of hope that they can be a pro someday. 

 

It's just basic capitalism and human nature.  If a fishing technology gets to the point that it's an unfair advantage you just have to pray that the governing bodies will realize it and remove it from competition...but...that's where the money comes from so....

 

Just to use your own analogy, how many people pay attention to the natty competitions?  Look at the nattys and then look at the Arnold.  It's NBA vs WNBA.  People want to see pros catch fish.  

[KP Duty]

8 minutes ago, BigAngus752 said:

Those already exist at a local level.  You won't see any at anything beyond a local level because:

1. It's the creators of the technology (all fishing technology, not just FFS) that are the financial basis for "expert"-level bass tournaments and

2. The vast majority of amateur tournaments are predicated on the idea that participants can be a pro fisherman someday. Even if it's just a small, local tournament the participants want to feel like they are fishing "just like the pros" or there's that little glimmer of hope that they can be a pro someday. 

 

It's just basic capitalism and human nature.  If a fishing technology gets to the point that it's an unfair advantage you just have to pray that the governing bodies will realize it and remove it from competition...but...that's where the money comes from so....

 

Just to use your own analogy, how many people pay attention to the natty competitions?  Look at the nattys and then look at the Arnold.  It's NBA vs WNBA.  People want to see pros catch fish.  

Right on.  To be honest, I've fished as a non boater for a lot of years, and I've never drawn someone that relied heavily on their sonar.

[Captain Phil]

I doubt it.  Once the genie is let out of the bottle, it's hard to put it back in.  Today's big money TV bass tournaments are all about selling products.  Fishing product manufacturers make money when they convince weekend anglers they absolutely "NEED" their stuff in order to be like the guys they see on TV.  Boat ramp "CRED" is enhanced if you have a $100,000 wrapped boat towed by a $70,000 truck with $10,000 worth of electronics.  You may not be able to catch bass in a barrel, but you look the part.  This started back in the 60s when we painted our names on the sides of our boats or motors.  Do anglers using FFS catch more bass?  Yes, if they have the fishing skill and knowledge to go with it.  Would it make a difference to the average weekend Joe angler?  It's doubtful. 

[Tennessee Boy]

You will see old school tournaments in the short term.  Long term I don’t think there will be much demand for them as opposition to the technology diminishes.   I think the opposition will slowly decrease as people get over there fear of it and they understand how it changes the game and how it does not change the game.  The price will drop and eventually most anglers will have it.

[BigAngus752]

2 minutes ago, KP Duty said:

Right on.  To be honest, I've fished as a non boater for a lot of years, and I've never drawn someone that relied heavily on their sonar.

I believe that 100%.  Funny thing is, I am searching for someone in my area that DOES rely heavily on their electronics just so I can go out with them a few times and get some lessons, but even my tourney-fishing friends don't use it as much as I would expect.  

[Catt]

Despino's Tire Sevice in conjunction with the Childern's Mircale Network held its annual tournament on March 9th 2024.

 

Rule #1: no FFS

281 boat entered

First place 5 bass for 30.35 lbs.

 

That's the first one with more tournament trails following.

 

Y'all gonna be surprised when it's banned in tournaments.

 

There's numerous Pros getting on board & no just the older guys.

 

 

[Captain Phil]

I would like to see bass tournaments where everyone uses 50 year old reels with linen line mounted on fiberglass rods fishing out of canoes with 9.9 hp motors.  Then, we would find out who the real bass fishermen are.  Just joking!  😂

[A-Jay]

1 hour ago, KP Duty said:

Like in bodybuilding where they have 'natural' bodybuilding contests that test for steroids/HGH.  

A-Jay

[slowworm]

1 hour ago, Captain Phil said:

I would like to see bass tournaments where everyone uses 50 year old reels with linen line mounted on fiberglass rods fishing out of canoes with 9.9 hp motors.  Then, we would find out who the real bass fishermen are.  Just joking!  😂

Joking aside, there is a lot of truth in this statement.  At what point do you draw the line?  Heck, you want to allow motors?  If it's not a birchbark canoe, a hand carved paddle, along with a cane pole and a hook carved from bone it's not real fishing!

 

Flashers replaced plumbs and made mapping the lake much quicker.  Good paper depth charts eliminated chunks of water.  GPS made returning to spots easy, eliminating navigation skills.  2D sonar made mapping quicker again than flashers.  Spotlock took all the skill out of running a trolling motor in the wind.  Heck the Garmin Force can drive you to your GPS marked spots.  I'm sure other trolling motors can too.  Sidescan speeded up the mapping of cover and structure again over 2D sonar.

 

Each one of these steps allowed more casts/hour and put more pressure on the fish.   FFS just continues this trend.  If you want to ban FFS, then at the least side-scan needs to go as well as it can find decent structure hundreds of feet away from the boat.  And Spotlock has done more to open up offshore structure fishing than anything else.  I know I can't effectively fish offshore structure in anything but calm weather without it. And it's rarely calm where I fish.

 

 

[TnRiver46]

John cox doesn’t have spot lock either 

[Catt]

There's a lot of technology that has been ban from various sports, bass fishing is not exempt.

 

Just because something is banned from tournaments doesn't mean it cannot be used by everyday anglers & guides. Look at the Alabama Rig!

[Tennessee Boy]

5 minutes ago, Catt said:

There's a lot of technology that has been ban from various sports, bass fishing is not exempt.

That's certainly true.  In the video you posted Hank Parker mentioned that it's possible to make a golf ball that will go further but it is not allowed.  In golf the goal is to hit a ball and make it go where you want.  If you change that ball you change the sport.  It would be like allowing carp to be weighed in a bass tournament.  Once you allow carp it is no longer a bass tournament.  FFS is a tool that gives you information.  It's like using lazer range finders in golf.  Range finders give you accurate distances. Most golfers use them but they are not allowed in the PGA events.  Pro golfers rely on their caddy to give them distance information and the caddies work hard to learn the golf course and they step off distances for their golfer.  A caddy's mistake can cost a pro golfer a championship.   To me not allowing range finders is dumb because golf is not suppose to be a competition between caddies.  I use a lazer range finder when I play golf.  It tells me I need to hit a 100 yard shot but it doesn't make me any better at actually hitting the shot. I think the PGA's reasoning for banning range finders has to do with the sport's tradition.  Tradition has a lot to do with many angler's opposition on FFS.   It no fun to hit a perfect shot in golf and then realize that you were aiming at the wrong spot due to bad information.  For me fishing is more fun if I know where the fish are and can spend my time trying to catch them.  It eliminates some of the time you spend casting in an area just to see if the fish are there.  Even though you can find fish faster,  the technology doesn't make them bite.  

 

It's interesting that no one has called for banning the Hydrowave.  That's probably because it doesn't work but it is a device that is suppose to make the fish bite.  Should it be allowed?

[Team9nine]

20 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

It's interesting that no one has called for banning the Hydrowave.  That's probably because it doesn't work but it is a device that is suppose to make the fish bite.  Should it be allowed?

There you go 😆 it doesn’t work.
They didn’t ban Color-C-Lectors either - lol - they didn’t work. 

Fishing scents? Don’t work; not banned, but live bait is - it works.

pH meters - not banned; doesn’t “work” in a fishing sense, at least not well enough to matter most days.

FFS - it works 👍 Doesn’t need to be banned at the pro level, IMO, just restricted to a single transducer. Now Spotlock…that should be banned 😉 along with traffic cones.

 

And on topic, I think non FFS events or trails will be limited in number and appeal. The highest orgs just need to set the new rules/limitations, and everything else will naturally fall into place.

[JediAmoeba]

The sport could do a lot of things to make it more competitive and fun:

 

Restrict the number of rod/reel combos

Restrict the amount of tackle

Restrict the number of transducers

Restrict the number and size of screens

Put coanglers back in the boats

Limit the speed a boat can go

 

FFS is a tool and it shouldn't go away but BASS needs to seriously look at the absurdity of these rigs going fishing for Sunfish.

 

[newapti5]

I don't mind pros using ffs at all, or any other technology in the future, but it's boring to watch them staring at 7-8 big screens worth 50k in a boat all day. I can do that at home with my own computer screen. It's a sport but above all it's also supposed to be an entertainment.

[Captain Phil]

If they are going to ban anything, they should ban live wells.  Catch a bass, take a photo and immediately put it back in the lake where it was caught. 

[Big Hands]

3 hours ago, Captain Phil said:

If they are going to ban anything, they should ban live wells.  Catch a bass, take a photo and immediately put it back in the lake where it was caught. 

 

As I am watching the BASS Bassmaster Classic weigh-in, it is as obvious as the nose on my face, that the whole business of 'professional fishing' is simply a giant advertising opportunity.

 

Good luck with that one too. The rea$on that'$ not likely i$ the $ame reaSon that FF$ i$n't likely to be banned anytime $oon at the highe$t level$. They want to be able to show off those fish with the advertisers splashed all over everything and everybody in sight like it is on the stage at the weigh-ins.

 

Broadcasting is not a non-profit. Content is not the product, we are. More specifically, our attention is the product. Our attention is sold to the highest bidders. Fishing electronics are among the heaviest of hitters in the bass fishing business, sooooo. . . .

[Dan N]

Big hands nailed it.

it’s all about the money.

No difference who wins.

[slowworm]

1 hour ago, Big Hands said:

 

As I am watching the BASS Bassmaster Classic weigh-in, it is as obvious as the nose on my face, that the whole business of 'professional fishing' is simply a giant advertising opportunity.

 

This is true of every professional sport. The bulk of NFL team revenue comes from TV deals, not ticket sales.  TV sells advertising slots during the game.  Replace NFL with sport of your choice and it's the same story. 

 

Except maybe curling.....

[TnRiver46]

9 hours ago, newapti5 said:

I don't mind pros using ffs at all, or any other technology in the future, but it's boring to watch them staring at 7-8 big screens worth 50k in a boat all day. I can do that at home with my own computer screen. It's a sport but above all it's also supposed to be an entertainment.

You catch bass at home on your computer ?? Do they taste the same ? 😂 

[newapti5]

3 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

You catch bass at home on your computer ?? Do they taste the same ? 😂 

 

Hehe, have you tried some bass fishing video games? I have during the winters. It also involves looking at screens all the time. If I tie a piece of stone at the end of line to simulate hookset, I'd say it's close to the experience of ffs fishing, at least from an audience's perspective. I don't like eating bass, or any fish for that matter. so that part of experience would be lacking. 

 

But what I can do with my computer screen won't matter, what matters is what pros are doing with theirs. As a part of tournament fishing audience, I want to see how they find the pattern and use the right lures and entice the fish to eat them with different presentations. Those are fun to watch. But maybe I was asking too much.

[Big Hands]

7 hours ago, slowworm said:

This is true of every professional sport. The bulk of NFL team revenue comes from TV deals, not ticket sales.  TV sells advertising slots during the game.  Replace NFL with sport of your choice and it's the same story. 

 

NASCAR is among the most prolific sponsor/product placement conscious groups out there. Even more nauseating than gas being referred to "Sunoco Racing Fuel" are the post race victory lane antics. 

[rgasr63]

NASCAR is a good example of a sport that lost its way and had to come up with different things to interest it's fans. Do you remember the days when a car 7 or 8 laps down finished first. It was accrued to Bill Elliott and the Ford Thunderbird. But now they have the lucky dog car which is the the first position car 1 lap down. They did this because of the car of tomorrow setup they decided to use. Bass Fishing has not addressed this where there is much excitement for the fan nor a equal playing field. Technology may pay out a portion of money to the tournaments now. But at what expense? If to complete it takes a 80k boat and 50k electronics then under what current business model does the angler in the middle of the pack  make a profit? How do you sell a Rattle Trap when some forward facing minnow is what wins tournaments? It's not thought out and that's not good at this present time.

[Woody B]

There's been (at least) 2 boat crashes last week at some Toyota tournament somewhere.   People are complaining saying these crashes happen due to too many screens.  That will get the number, and size of screens limited.  However, the real problem isn't the screens, it's the boaters.  One was going 70mph in a no wake zone and basically ran over another boat.  The other one was speeding down a small canal and ended up on the bank somehow.   

 

I feel like the least that will happen is a limit on screens.  However, screens didn't cause these crashes no more than 250 horsepower outboards did.  Bad choices on the water caused the crashes.   There will be guys rushing back to weigh in with no screens.  

 

FWIW I don't care what they do.  I don't watch fishing beyond an occasionally video that comes up on my fakebook feed.