BASS new electronic restrictions

[Susky River Rat]

I bet if they offered Randy a million to endorse livescope he’d  say it’s the best thing ever.

[SC53]

Sounds to me we need to be monitoring the classified section for a while.

Based on the article over on BASS, there’s going to be a lot of transducers and units for sale soon.

[Koz]

4 hours ago, Susky River Rat said:

I do not think it will change too much either. 

I think that it changes a lot. There are guys running 3 or 4 FFS transducers out there. 

 

They also said the LVS 62 transducer (longer range) is prohibited. That not only impacts the tournaments, but also probably stops Lowrance and Humminbird in the middle of developing their own comparable transducers.

 

This decision probably also stops the development of AI powered systems and species identification development.

 

I think it’s a much bigger deal than just what we see on the boats next year because it’s pausing development above and beyond what is out there now.

[Tennessee Boy]

I like the common sense restrictions.  It will help calm folks.   It makes sense to prohibit new devices until they are evaluated.   This will also open up a new revenue stream for B.A.S.S.  😆
 

The most important thing in the announcement is the thing that will have the most impact and is the true solution to the problem.   A more diverse schedule.  We’ll see if they follow through on this or if they follow the money.

6 hours ago, Functional said:

This statement makes me wonder what they mean. Is there more to come down the pipe about switching lakes or lake specific restrictions on equipment?

It just means that they will schedule fewer scoping fest like Toledo Bend was this year.   Many people that have never used FFS will still think every tournament is won with FFS.   If an angler looks down to see if his shoe is tied and catches a fish they think he caught that fish scoping.  

[Susky River Rat]

@Koz why would this stop it? There are many other fish people fish for that will utilize that technology outside of tournaments. The elites isn’t even 1% of all people fishing in the entire world. 

[scaleface]

I think it helps level the playing field. Not so much of an arms race. The elites have families to take care of just like the rest of us and none of them wants to spend tens of thousands of dollars to keep up with  the rest. I wager that most of them are happy with this rule change.

[Seven]

 I was wondering if a good plan would have been to allow the use of FFS for the official practice and then none at all for the actual event. 
When side scan came out, we found the fish with side and down scan , didn’t catch them but left them for the tournament. Obviously sidescan we use to check the fish are still there in the tournament again and catch them. But it’s still forcing the angler to fish conventionally for those fish as we know , without allowing the angler to “get screen glued” as with FFS, to hunt an individual fish down. 
 

This would have possibly made it more of a fair game for the fish and having anglers rely on reading the water, experience etc to make it interesting again and blend technology fairly with hard earned years of on the water time.

 

my two cents 😃

[Glenn]

3 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

He's made a cult out of being grumpy and never pleased about anything...no matter which way it goes.

It's called "click bait"

 

And as long as it keeps working, he'll keep doing it.  Plain and simple.

[Koz]

1 hour ago, Susky River Rat said:

@Koz why would this stop it? There are many other fish people fish for that will utilize that technology outside of tournaments. The elites isn’t even 1% of all people fishing in the entire world. 

It’s the NASCAR principle. Win on Sunday, sell in the showroom on Monday. People emulate the pros.

 

However, I would bet the tournaments across the country, including local tournaments, adopt the same or similar rules.

[Susky River Rat]

@Koz ask Suzuki how that went during their rein with Ricky Carmichael in pro motocross. Long story short it didn’t. 

[Koz]

18 minutes ago, Susky River Rat said:

@Koz ask Suzuki how that went during their rein with Ricky Carmichael in pro motocross. Long story short it didn’t. 

I counter by saying how many Chevy’s Earnhardt sold and how many millions in boats and tackle were influenced by KVD,

[gimruis]

2 hours ago, Seven said:

I was wondering if a good plan would have been to allow the use of FFS for the official practice and then none at all for the actual event. 
When side scan came out, we found the fish with side and down scan , didn’t catch them but left them for the tournament. Obviously sidescan we use to check the fish are still there in the tournament again and catch them. But it’s still forcing the angler to fish conventionally for those fish as we know , without allowing the angler to “get screen glued” as with FFS, to hunt an individual fish down. 

I already stated that as an idea like 2 months and 3 threads ago. That’s exactly what the pro muskie tour does.

[Susky River Rat]

@Koz Bass fishing is such a small portion of fishing around the world. I was against FFS long before I was into bass fishing. They will never halt technology advancement over it. I would also argue now how many people even care about nascar anymore?

[JediAmoeba]

16 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

They will ban gas motors soon then its back to the drawing board 😂 

I believe they should cut back the HP of these boats. 

[TnRiver46]

26 minutes ago, JediAmoeba said:

I believe they should cut back the HP of these boats. 

I’ll trade one of them my 50 hp, straight up! 

[Koz]

10 hours ago, Susky River Rat said:

@Koz Bass fishing is such a small portion of fishing around the world. I was against FFS long before I was into bass fishing. They will never halt technology advancement over it. I would also argue now how many people even care about nascar anymore?

I was listening to the BTL podcast this morning and the guy who owns Power Brakes is concerned that he now has to come up with a marketing plan without Pro Staff now that those brakes are no longer allowed in BASS. 

 

Pro endorsements are huge for any sport.

So after the NPFL and BASS moves, what’s next for MLF?

 

My best guess is they go hybrid and allow FFS at some events but not others.

[Susky River Rat]

@Koz my boat is not endorsed by any pro. It’s actually illegal to use on any of the pro tours. Yet it is one of that companies best selling boats in the northeast. 
 

From what I see around 40-50% of boats around here have power poles. So now you cut that percentage down to people who would want crappie brakes. He was in a niche market to start with. Which can be good or bad. I have never saw anyone here with them. There is plenty of opportunity to market on social media. He needs to play the game and quit crying. This isn’t 1990s when all you had was Dale Earnhardt.  

[TnRiver46]

Almost every bass boat here has power poles but you rarely see anyone use them, probably because it’s 20-50 ft deep one step off the bank. Gotta keep up with the Jones’s apparently, you can’t be taken seriously at first glance without them 😂 

[Functional]

I'm kind of with @TnRiver46 on the useage. I have yet to see a boat use a pole of any kind. They dont even have to ban the crappie brake system if they just choose lakes that dont require you to fish deep to have a shot at winning. 

[gimruis]

5 minutes ago, Functional said:

I have yet to see a boat use a pole of any kind.

 

I have a single talon on my boat and use it every time I fish.

 

Bear in mind that my bow mount doesn't have spot lock though, so the talon is my primary route of staying in a specific location.  I rarely fish deeper than about 10 feet.

[Pumpkinseed Lizard]

The thing I never get about the power poles is that things like trolling and anchoring aren’t supposed to be allowed.

 

Once they started appearing I just figured that the tournaments caved into industry pressures.

[DaubsNU1]

I've seen power poles used exactly two times here in Nebraska.

• One guy used them to anchor his boat after launching.
• Another used them to anchor his boat when tying on new lure.

That's it...

 

Randy is funny....the ultimate bass fishing "get off my lawn" guy who is pretty darn good at marketing and getting people to click on his videos. Good for him...cracked the code on that.

 

I cannot tell you the last time I even paid $0.01 of attention to a BASS master tournament, TV show, or anything related. Think I had their magazine subscription back in the 1990's. I just don't care.

 

I will probably get FFS some day...but only after I let my Brother get it...and figure out all the nuisances and trouble shoot.

 

For now, I'm just happy using down and side imaging to find spots off-shore.

 

The biggest game changer for me has been spot-lock. Wow, now that has been very helpful to my fishing success (or fishing stress)!

[Functional]

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

 

I have a single talon on my boat and use it every time I fish.

 

Bear in mind that my bow mount doesn't have spot lock though, so the talon is my primary route of staying in a specific location.  I rarely fish deeper than about 10 feet.

I'd like 1 or 2 myself but my boat isnt rated for them unfortunately. I'm usualy 8-12ft when I'd want to use them. My TM has spot lock but the wind still messes with boat position, more beneficial in open areas. Its not very often spot lock keeps me in an orientation thats best for fishing "shallow" structure I'm targeting like docks or blow downs, etc. 

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

 

I have a single talon on my boat and use it every time I fish.

 

Bear in mind that my bow mount doesn't have spot lock though, so the talon is my primary route of staying in a specific location.  I rarely fish deeper than about 10 feet.

My front door is more than 10’ above my mailbox 😂 

 

it’s steep around these parts, I feel weird when I go to the Midwest and I can see for miles 

 

now down toward chickamauga and guntersville and over on pickwick I see a lot of power pole usage. And did see Christie and hackney using them pretty frequently on my home lake in the 2021 elite event in the spring time fishing the little river area (shallow) in strong wind. So I’m sure they have their place but most of our water is deep, especially tributary lakes upstream of Knoxville. Lots of 90-120’ deep water. 
 

also seems like power poles could be useful in the shallow rivers on a jet boat but those aren’t legal in the tourneys 

[SC53]

We use them almost daily down here in Florida.

It’s all about the water depth of your lakes.