I forgot, the Truman tournament that my buddy and I fished earlier this year, a former pro and now I believe at least a part time guide fished in that tournament, that Jon and I won. 4 other teams also finished in front of that team. We were in Jon's 30 year old Ranger with a 175 on it. Yes it has Livescope, no we weren't using it. That was on a lake that I fish about once a year. I think that's part of what makes fishing such a great sport. It really is an any man's game. A Pro may be at a big advantage, but that doesn't mean a Joe like me can't get the better of them. The fish don't care how much money your boat cost, or how how big your sonar screen is. If you find the right fish and put the right bait in front of them, you've got a chance. 

 

In the past (1970 to about 1995) a pro could excel at 3 or 4 techniques and be very successful in tournament fishing, often placing in the top ten and winning more than a few tournaments. As equipment (boats, rods, reels, and accessories (power pools, spot lock trolling motors, etc.) became more common place and the understanding of fish movement and habits became better know and more accurate, things changed. You can do no longer get by with being good at a few techniques and expect to be consistently competitive. A pro who only excels in a few can (and sometimes do) win, but they most likely will be in the bottom 50 rather than the top 50. It is true that some pros (Kevin Van Dam, Jacob Wheller and the like) seem to have an innate ability to find active fish. Some of that is just their nature, but most of it is experience and time on the water, and the willingness to adapt and do things outside their comfort zone if necessary to catch fish. Your average fisherman will tend to rely more on past results, or stick to a comfortable technique longer than they should whereas the pro will change and adapt much more quickly. At least that is how I think it is......On any given day I could POSSIBLY out fish a pro, but doing that for 3 or 4 days in a row as most tournaments are, is about as likely as me being able to levitate.

38 minutes ago, gim said:

 

Most boats showing up to the Tuesday night derbies where I am look like they belong on the Elites now.  They are 20 foot glass rigs with 5 enormous graphs.

 

I hate how the pro-level style of fishing has filtered all the way down to the local level at the smallest scale.

 

It's like whoever can rig their boat with the latest and greatest are the ones who can compete most consistently nowadays.

 

Some limitations at the local level would do some good IMO

I agree completely, there are too many guys now literally buying their way in. 
 

I am thankful to be out here where the water conditions are the great equalizer - electronics aren’t quite as much advantage when the fish can see you just as well as you can see them. 
 

And I’ll be honest - there are few things I enjoy more than taking a few bucks from those guys.

 

8 hours ago, JonB2 said:

can’t overstate confidence in all things fishing

Absolutely, positively # 1 

On 8/14/2025 at 3:39 PM, gim said:

I can't believe no one has mentioned the technology aspect of this yet.

I wanted to fish BFL this year, I retired last and have a friend in Tennessee that I met in Paris, Ky. We talked and I thought it would be fun. At the same time the whole FFS debate was gonna be reviewed by Duckett and his people. Well MLF changed it sort of, but I’m not paying good coin to be in the backseat while the pilot zig zags all day.. it’s just nonsense to do it. 
 

I'm hopeful the sonar is gonna backfire on them & according to Zona and his information, he has stated Lake St. Clair is vastly different from years past.. FFS & the minnow jig has struggled this past year. If Zona says it about a lake he’s fished hundreds of times you can take it to the bank. Zona might act silly but the dude is a bad ass fishermen. So apparently the fish are getting wise to pings and minnow baits. I’m not surprised tbh..

@Bluebasser86 buddy you are way down playing your skills. You crush it on the bassmaster kayak series. Whether you believe it or not you are “one of them” And I mean that with the utmost respect. You are one hell of an angler.  (Unless I am thinking of the wrong person) than I sincerely apologize. 

On 8/15/2025 at 3:50 PM, TnRiver46 said:

Wheeler does it all the time on chickamauga, you can guess how he usually does haha

How does he do? I'll guess he does well.

You guessed correctly