Hank Parker's Controversial Take on FFF!!

[Glenn]

When Hank Parker speaks, people listen. And boy, does he have a lot to say!  What are your thoughts?

 

 

[Susky River Rat]

I 100% agree with him. Every professional sport has something restricting technology so that it stays to the core. Pros are suppose to be that much better than your average person they do not need the crutch to exceed  what average Joe can do. The pro level should be the hardest. 

[Darren.]

I agree with Hank. I'm all for technology, but FFS does not

feel to me like it belongs in the tournaments. Hank's take

and comparison to MLB and golf with the added rubber

compounds changing the balls is spot on. The past two

weekend Bassmaster tourneys have felt...odd to me.

The big bag hauls in the first day are extraordinary.

Multiple 8 pounders on Lake Fork? It's unnatural, I tell ya!

😁 The whole watching the FFS sonar while the dude 

plays FFS video game and BANG, there's the bite! It just

feels like a cheat code.

[Happybeerbuzz]

The implications of FFS to competitive bass fishing has been self evident to anyone who understood what it was when it was introduced.  Early critics tried to raise the alarm but were discredited.  It’s pretty much the story of John Henry.  We are at the point in the story where he just died. The question of “what now?” is a tough one. Now that the genie is out of the bottle. Even if FFS were made illegal for competition, it’s not going to detour the use of it for prefishing or just seeing some non tournament angler using it and copying them.  The rule set that would have to be established would be pretty involved and difficult to enforce.  Also, the business end would be equally complicated.  There are big dollars involved.  
 

With all that said, I would be an advocate for eliminating FFS and any additional electronic tech from this point on.  Considering what Neuralink just did the other day, a hard line needs to be drawn in the sand.  Continuing with Hank Parker’s comparison with the golf ball, if you are willing to rewrite/ignore the history of golf, you could adjust by building new golf courses.   That option doesn’t exist in bass fishing unless you want try and genetically engineer new bass.  At that point it is just all stupid. 

[rangerjockey]

Great to hear him come out and say what many people are thinking and he has a relationship with Humminbird which makes it even better. Randy isn't all wrong for sure.

The tours are becoming just a vehicle for advertisers.

 

[Susky River Rat]

There is probably 12 different threads on here that all turned into a FFS battle going pages and pages. Now the principal wants to have a discussion and everyone is quiet. 
 

I also would like to add I think FFS is neat from what people have learned about fish and either proved or disproved theories for decades.  I still do not think it had a place in professional/ competitive  fishing of any sort. Personally I would not like it used recreationally with but, I think that would be even harder. If laws  rules and regulations didn’t work to some extent we wouldn’t have a modern civilization. 

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, Susky River Rat said:

There is probably 12 different threads on here that all turned into a FFS battle going pages and pages. Now the principal wants to have a discussion and everyone is quiet. 
 

Where is that dead horse emoji again??

 

I disagree with his take on the front looker especially when he said people winning tournaments wouldn’t win without it, they did before it came out. Jacob wheeler just wins everything regardless of the parameters. I also disagree with his blaukat sentiment, had enough of his redundancy 

 

I did however back up and listen to some of Hank’s  spinnerbait tips , maybe one day I will understand their spinning ways 

[rangerjockey]

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

Where is that dead horse emoji again??

 

I disagree with his take on the front looker especially when he said people winning tournaments wouldn’t win without it, they did before it came out. Jacob wheeler just wins everything regardless of the parameters. I also disagree with his blaukat sentiment, had enough of his redundancy 

 

I did however back up and listen to some of Hank’s  spinnerbait tips , maybe one day I will understand their spinning ways 

Randy is right. Maybe not in all cases but if you take away FFS from a lot of these guys, they are down the road.  

[Tennessee Boy]

People saw guys winning with the Alabama rig,  got scared,  and got it banned from BASS tournaments.  If this had happened with spinnerbaits,  Hank’s story might have turned out very different.  
 

The notion that anything you can do better than me should be banned seems cowardly.   That said,  tournaments need rules and BASS will be making some tough decisions in the next year.  Half of their fans will not like what they decide.

[Susky River Rat]

Everyone sees them out in open water chasing them. Then the comments get made so and so is  shallow flipping docks! He is using FFS to look under the docks.  It’s not just a deep open water tactic. Miliken pulls them out if trees using it. It’s not just open water abyss fishing it’s being used. They are pin pointing casts  to fish you would never know are there.

[greentrout]

I like the icon Hank Parker but: He's Old School. Me too and I don't believe using FFS is true Bass fishing setting aside all emotions. But I do believe it's here to stay and if I were competing in a professional tournament, I'd use it. 

 

"When in Rome do as the Romans do". 

 

Good Fishing

[DaubsNU1]

I really could not care less what professional bass tournaments do or not do with regard to FFS.  But Hank does make an interesting point, relating to MLB and PGA...

 

Living in Omaha most of my life, seeing the impact of aluminum bats on baseball...heck, even college baseball de-tuned the bats. 

 

The NFL and other professional sports are constantly tweaking rules and such to promote competitive balance. 

 

Most of this is apples and oranges...the bottom line will likely be $$$. Hbird, Garmin, Lowrance, (etc.) sponsor the bass tournaments...and they make a crap ton of $$$ selling FFS to average joe-fisherman.

[greentrout]

24 minutes ago, DaubsNU1 said:

I really could not care less what professional bass tournaments do or not do with regard to FFS.  But Hank does make an interesting point, relating to MLB and PGA...

U.S.G.A. changes for golf balls regarding distance coming in 2028 for every golfer. Balls for distance developed for the Senior have been a great enhancement for the senior golfer.

[Tennessee Boy]

10 minutes ago, DaubsNU1 said:

Hank does make an interesting point, relating to MLB and PGA...

Changing the equipment changes the game.  Balls and bats in baseball are like rods, reels and lures in fishing. You don’t use electronics to catch fish.  Electronics give you information that you use to catch fish.  People have been using “Fish Finders” to find fish for a long time.  
 

There are rules in tournaments that restrict information.  The time you can spend on the water prior to a tournament.  Who you can get information from are examples.   How much information you should discover for yourself and how much you should be allowed to get from other sources is a judgment call that we will probably never agree on.
 

Rick Clunn said he hopes FFS is not banned.  He compared it to banning books because it would be banning information.

[GaryH]

3 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

 

I did however back up and listen to some of Hank’s  spinnerbait tips , maybe one day I will understand their spinning ways 

😂😂😂😂😂

[king fisher]

I wouldn't go so far as to diminish the skill level of any pro anglers.  Some may be more dependent on FFS, but that is because they are better at it.  It doesn't mean they lack other basic fishing skills.  The best will always perfect all techniques needed to win.  If dynamite became legal, there would be new anglers that would be the best dynamite throwers ever, and some old timers, that would blow their hands off on the first toss.  Most pros would adapt and would have explosives adds all over their boats and bodies.

      So far FFS hasn't been proven to be detrimental to fish populations, it does seem to still adhere to most common held beliefs of sportsmanship, improves our knowledge about bass behavior and has brought new young anglers into the professional ranks.  In a few years the older anglers will become as adept at the new technology and complaints will start to go away.

       As far as what the future will bring, I'm certain the technology will get way out of hand.  There will come a point where the electronics will tell you exactly how big, how, how far away a bass is and when to cast, without even looking at the screen.  When that time comes restrictions will have to be made in order to maintain a true sportsmanship attitude in professional fishing.

      Some say that time is now, and they may be right, I don't agree, but I do understand their point of view, and may change my opinion in the future.  Right now I would say don't get in a hurry.  Wait a couple more years and see what the effects are.

      The one thing I am certain of is the young anglers on the tour are highly skilled and deserve to be where they are.  I also am certain that the older pros are not to old to learn the required skills to stay on top.  Most have only installed the new units in the past year.  A year from now they will be up to speed and competing at the top level again.

     In baseball they haven't changed the bats, but they have changed the gloves, shoes, helmets, and other aspects of the game.  The challenge in bass fishing will be when to consider new electronics technology a new improved glove, or a different bat.  Time will tell, lets give it some time

[Catt]

I support two local high school fishing teams. Yesterday they were fishing Caney Lake during post frontal conditions. The teams that caught fish all had FFS, the teams that didn't have got skunked.

 

Most will say those teams with out FFS need to get it. The problem is not everyone can afford it.

 

So what would y'all tell the kids whose parents or team captains can't afford it?

 

In my opinion y'all are saying it's about what's between the folds of your wallet, not what's between your ears.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

The financial aspect is a great point Catt, and I think that applies to the overall sport in general now.  

Bass boats, electronics, gas, and tackle are all now so much more expensive than when I was growing up.   

 

Caney lake is one of those bucket list lakes for me.   Any lake that produces 40-50lb bags is a bucket list lake lol.    

[Glenn]

Interesting - Hank Parker makes a video that's going viral, and Randy Blaukat copies it with his iPhone to make his own video with it just to get clicks.

 

 

 

[Susky River Rat]

@Glenn I thought that too. Sad when you have to use someone else’s name to get your point across 

[Team9nine]

35 minutes ago, Glenn said:

Interesting - Hank Parker makes a video that's going viral, and Randy Blaukat copies it with his iPhone to make his own video with it just to get clicks.

 

 

 

I guess that’s one possible way to look at it 🤔 I didn’t see it like that, though. Hank even specifically names Blaukat in his video assuming we’re talking about the same one, then goes on to mention his take on Randy’s point of view, both initially and more recently. Why wouldn’t Randy in some way acknowledge that?

[Vilas15]

9 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Changing the equipment changes the game.  Balls and bats in baseball are like rods, reels and lures in fishing. You don’t use electronics to catch fish.  Electronics give you information that you use to catch fish.  People have been using “Fish Finders” to find fish for a long time. 

Can't use rangefinders on the PGA tour to get probably the most important information a golfer needs. This sport involves animals and fair chase needs to be considered. You can't hunt with a drone. Those provide real-time feedback on the exact location of the prey from a distance, sound familiar? No previous iteration of fish finders meets that standard. Traditional sonar requires you to be directly over them to see them, and side scan let's you see them once and you've got to go back to the spot or fire a cast knowing where they were at that instant, but not once they've moved.

 

8 hours ago, king fisher said:

      So far FFS hasn't been proven to be detrimental to fish populations, it does seem to still adhere to most common held beliefs of sportsmanship, improves our knowledge about bass behavior and has brought new young anglers into the professional ranks.  In a few years the older anglers will become as adept at the new technology and complaints will start to go away.

It improves the ability to catch fish. That is detrimental to the population either through increased harvest, or much less so in the case of catch and release due to increased accidental mortality. This is a big topic in musky fishing since they're not as hardy and vulnerable to delayed mortality. They're lowering panfish bag limits around here. Since the guides and guys with FFS clean up, the average guy who doesn't catch a limit nearly as often can't keep as many when he finally gets it right when the stars align.

[Glenn]

1 hour ago, Team9nine said:

Why wouldn’t Randy in some way acknowledge that?

There's a difference between making a "response" or "acknowledgement" video, and using Hank's entire clip in your video just to up your engagement numbers.  Clearly it's on purpose.

 

[Tennessee Boy]

12 hours ago, Vilas15 said:

Can't use rangefinders on the PGA tour to get probably the most important information a golfer needs. 

I made the same comparison in another thread on Hank Parker's comments.  PGA does not allow rangefinders but they are allowed in other competitions.  PGA golfers get the distance information from their caddie which kind of makes them part of the competition.  It's kind of like being allowed to take a guide with you during a tournament to advise you on where to fish.  

 

The point is electronics provide information.  The tournament organizations must decide what information sources are restricted because some of them should be restricted.  I don't think live sonar crosses the line but you obviously disagree.  BASS will never please everyone with what they decide.

[Team9nine]

5 minutes ago, Glenn said:

There's a difference between making a "response" or "acknowledgement" video, and using Hank's entire clip in your video just to up your engagement numbers.  Clearly it's on purpose.

 

Three and a half minutes of a 30 minute interview with Hank? Guess we’ll just agree we see it differently. Not shortening it even more kept both the part that Hank was originally a bit critical of Randy’s opinion, as well as him getting to explain why he now seems to see Randy’s point. Even shorter could have been interpreted as taking Hank’s thoughts out of context IMO.