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A Pro Angler Voices Concerns About FFS


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  • Super User
On 8/12/2024 at 4:13 PM, Texas Flood said:

Other than looking like futuristic Ray Charles on a boat, I dont see much difference between looking down at a screen or looking forward with space goggles on.

There’s a better way to do it than his setup. You can project the FFS screen from the Active Captain app to your AR glasses without that dumb looking phone frame he has. Then you can set the opacity of that projection so you can still see it but also see through it so you never block your view.

 

FWIW, MLF sent me a survey the other day regarding FFS. My response was to ban it in co angler tournaments and limit it to one transducer and one screen on pro tour events.

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23 minutes ago, Koz said:

There’s a better way to do it than his setup. You can project the FFS screen from the Active Captain app to your AR glasses without that dumb looking phone frame he has. Then you can set the opacity of that projection so you can still see it but also see through it so you never block your view.

 

FWIW, MLF sent me a survey the other day regarding FFS. My response was to ban it in co angler tournaments and limit it to one transducer and one screen on pro tour events.

Curious why you think they should ban FFS in co angler tournaments?

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Can't use a $10 step stool to get a better view of a bedding fish that is at most 50' away...Which is already limited by time of year, water depth, water clarity, and wind/weather conditions.

 

But $30k+ worth of screens and transducers that let you see any fish larger than a minnow in any depth, any water clarity, at anytime of the year, in any conditions, in any direction out to 100+' away is A-OK.

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Last night on IKE live he claimed there's a rumor that MLF will ban FFS for the invitationals and BFLs beginning next season.

 

Conversation begins a 34:38

 

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11 hours ago, PhishLI said:

Last night on IKE live he claimed there's a rumor that MLF will ban FFS for the invitationals and BFLs beginning next season.

 

It will be interesting to see how the young tech-savvy cats fare. 

 

 

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2 hours ago, Texas Flood said:

Curious why you think they should ban FFS in co angler tournaments?

If you ever fished as a co-angler with a boater who constantly turned 90, 180, and 360 with the trolling motor at 75% speed you’d understand.

 

The rules state that the boater cannot impede the co-angler from fishing, but that’s what is going on with 30% - 40% of the boaters and it’s getting worse.

 

It’s so bad that MLF is having problems find co-anglers in both the Phoenix and Toyota series events.

 

I usually fish 6-8 of those events but I quit after 2 events this year. I’m even passing up the big Super Event on one of my home lakes this fall.

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I’d be interested to see viewership ratings before and after FFS. I bet this years ratings plummeted for both MLF and Bass.
 

The brand has a value and if FFS is negatively effecting that value they will be forced to make changes. Until then it’s not going anywhere.
 

However as a fan I have begun to lose interest. Regurgitated lakes and FFS are not interesting to me. 

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IMHO I don't really care for watching FFS on the tube. I have heard all of the talk about it from both sides of it. If I was fishing tournaments you could bet your bottom dollar I would be using it to complete. However I don't think that it is the demise of fishing. Many anglers have posted their opinions about how the sport is changing and in their opinion declining. I would agree that it is changing, changing a lot. But I am of the opinion that it is not just FFS that has been changing. The social media scrutiny is a added pressure to the sport for some. Each individual has his own brand to market. I really love this forum a lot. The last few days we were posting about remember when. I remember when the baits that were used to win the Classic were the ones that you had to get before they were gone off the shelves. There is a little to much business put on the anglers shoulders to make a living in addition to the competition with the top level of the sport. The economy has had a effect also that I have seen tourney pros speaking about. Everyone is fighting for their share of the same conditions as it was last year. It has a effect on all of us from top to bottom and most people really hate change. 

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Not that they need my viewership or support - after this season - I'm thinking I'm tuning into something else.  I just feel like the points Clark Wendlandt makes are exactly how I feel.  Performing at a pro level is supposed to be hard and the feats pros accomplish are supposed to be incredible.

 

I think technology has crossed the line where it's ruining the professional sport.  To each their own.  People can kick and scream and say it will be boring without it blah blah... whatever.  I mean how can Chris and Cory Johnston sit there and hand each other fish all day without FFS?  😂😂😂. They can't.

 

I'm over it.

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14 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 

Clark said he almost won the tournament with FFS. Therefore, he knows how to use it.

 

"Belief without evidence is a sign of irrationality"-Sam Harris

 

Where is your evidence that he doesn't know how to use it?

 

 

Just more attention seeking behavior by someone who's never won a major tournament.  I suppose if he "almost" won with it the it might be giving him an unfair advantage.  He's fished professionally for 30 years and has averaged less that $30K a year in winnings.   

 

Many of these complainers sound like a race car driver crying because their car is too fast.   

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1 hour ago, Pat Brown said:

I mean how can Chris and Cory Johnston sit there and hand each other fish all day without FFS? 

Well we had one well publicized non FFS tournament this year and Chris won it.  Maybe B.A.S.S.  needs to allow it in half the tournaments and not allow it in the other half so everyone can see for themselves what impact it is having on the sport.

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12 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 

It will be interesting to see how the young tech-savvy cats fare. 

 

 

 

11 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Well we had one well publicized non FFS tournament this year and Chris won it.  

Exhibit A 

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As against FFS as I am. I did like the idea of keeping it. Once the  schedule is posted the elites can’t fish that body of water till day one of the tournament 

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1 hour ago, Woody B said:

He's fished professionally for 30 years and has averaged less that $30K a year in winnings. 

 

Google says that the average annual income for a national bass angler is $35,000. If that's true, Mr. Wendlandt is a little below average. I do find his position, as articulated in his letter, convincing. 

 

When Bonds, Sosa, and others juiced to hit baseballs farther, I, like many other fans, stepped away from the game. Same with Lance Armstrong. Sure, they broke records, but only because they were enhanced. Sure, today's pros are landing unprecedented catches, but only because they're electronically enhanced. The difference, of course, is that Bonds and Armstrong cheated and the bass pros are playing by the rules, but they're still similar in that they're breaking records using electronic technology whereas the athletes used chemical technology. 

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11 hours ago, Koz said:

If you ever fished as a co-angler with a boater who constantly turned 90, 180, and 360 with the trolling motor at 75% speed you’d understand.

 

The rules state that the boater cannot impede the co-angler from fishing, but that’s what is going on with 30% - 40% of the boaters and it’s getting worse.

 

It’s so bad that MLF is having problems find co-anglers in both the Phoenix and Toyota series events.

 

I usually fish 6-8 of those events but I quit after 2 events this year. I’m even passing up the big Super Event on one of my home lakes this fall.

That's interesting. Im the co angler in tournaments and we have FFS. Never had an issue from the back. 

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The waters they were fishing in this last tournament were very different from the southern waters I fish so I’m not really qualified to say what impact not having FFS would have had on the result.  My guess is they would have been fishing for smallmouth in the same areas.  They would have found the fish with traditional sonar.   Instead of casting at individual fish they would have used drop shots or other techniques and waited for the fish to find their lures.  There would have been half as many 3+ pound fish caught.  More small fish would have been caught.  The weights brought to the scales would have been 20% lower.  It wouldn’t have looked much different to the fans. Their heads would have been tilted up a little more.

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1 hour ago, Woody B said:

Just more attention seeking behavior by someone who's never won a major tournament.

Ya gotta dig a little bit deeper. He does have 4 TW Pro Circuit wins, plus 3 FLW AOYs, plus a Bassmaster AOY. Winnings over 3 million, so not really your average complainer.

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1 hour ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Well we had one well publicized non FFS tournament this year and Chris won it.  Maybe B.A.S.S.  needs to allow it in half the tournaments and not allow it in the other half so everyone can see for themselves what impact it is having on the sport.

 Oh you mean on Harris? That area is a known community hole that sports very clear water and he was sight fishing bedding females. But yea, he won..

 

As far as the cheater box (lol) I have no ideal what BASS will or will not do but I’m certain that half the audience will still be angry 😂🤣

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2 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

It was on Lanier.

Right. My mistake I shouldn’t post before coffee lol.  He was doing very well to begin with on Harris.. in the aforementioned area. Was that a TAA tournament? 

Got the Black Rifle Coffee going fellas, 

Sasquatch flavor 🤪

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56 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

Ya gotta dig a little bit deeper. He does have 4 TW Pro Circuit wins, plus 3 FLW AOYs, plus a Bassmaster AOY. Winnings over 3 million, so not really your average complainer.

 

Pays to dig a little bit.  Good work.  He's clearly not just some average angler on the elites based on this resume.

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1 hour ago, ol'crickety said:

 

When Bonds, Sosa, and others juiced to hit baseballs farther, I, like many other fans, stepped away from the game. Same with Lance Armstrong. Sure, they broke records, but only because they were enhanced. Sure, today's pros are landing unprecedented catches, but only because they're electronically enhanced. The difference, of course, is that Bonds and Armstrong cheated and the bass pros are playing by the rules, but they're still similar in that they're breaking records using electronic technology whereas the athletes used chemical technology. 


FFS is the equivalent of Barry Bonds being allowed to see the pitchers grip on the ball before it’s thrown.
 

If Chris Sale told me he was going to throw a fastball or curveball it’d make no difference. I’d still struggle to hit. However can you imagine what a MLB hitter would do in that situation? They’d all hit .500 plus with 50 homeruns. 

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I liked the McGuire, Sosa, and Bonds era of baseball.  Sure, it may have been tainted but it was entertaining as a casual baseball fan.  Watching juiced up batters knock on the homerun record gained my attention, even if it was sketchy.

 

Watching baseball now is like watching paint dry.  Similar to watching someone scope for hours on end.  No thanks

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3 hours ago, Texas Flood said:

That's interesting. Im the co angler in tournaments and we have FFS. Never had an issue from the back. 

You’re lucky. Were those local events or MLF or BASS events?

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