Part 2:  Status of Tournament Fishing

article by Dan Chason

Last month, I opened up about my experiences in the 90’s and early 2000’s in the land of tournament fishing.  This really came home to me when I tried to watch the smallmouth shootout with the BASS Elite Series on Lake St. Clair and Lake Champlain over the last month.  I couldn’t watch it.  It was like watching kids play video games.  Glued to their forward facing sonar and passing up fish to find that one fish.  It was the most boring television I’ve ever watched so I shut it off.  Fishing and hunting are very similar when it comes to a couple of things:  The hunt for that dream catch and the hunt for an encounter with that trophy on 4 legs.  This isn’t fishing, sorry.  These kids and I mean kids couldn’t catch their back side with both hands are taking the bass world by storm because of their prowess with electronics.  If you don’t have a degree in computer science you don’t stand a chance.  Look at the talent in the field of elites.  Men who have spent their lives pursuing the dream of being the best of the best only to be overtaken by some unknown, Johnny-Come-Lately with a skill of electronic wizardry but very little pure talent. 

I am not knocking forward facing sonar.  I own a Livescope, but, I don’t tournament fish.  There is a very big difference.  Having forward facing sonar on a tournament boat is like having GPS tags on a deer and the only thing you have to execute is the shot. My friend, Randy Blauket has been a fishing pro since Noah was a teenager.  He has seen it all and done it all.  Randy is 100% against forward facing sonar and for good reason.  The sport should not be dictated by advances in technology alone. The sport should be governed by ability, talent and tenacity.  Knowledge of fish, their movements, their patterns and the ability to pick apart this puzzle is the game of fishing.  It should not be accomplished by idling your motor around for hours with forward sonar and deciding if that fish is big enough to garner you a big bag at weigh in.  This past year has seen this technology dominate not only on smallmouth lakes where the big fish have moved to outer grass beds to escape pressure.  It showed itself on numerous southern lakes where techno savvy anglers caught big bags on a huge swim bait using that forward sonar.  That is the same tactic as injecting yourself into a bedding area for deer and wonder why you stopped seeing them anymore.  A fish’s only method to avoid this is to suspend.  They will lock into a mid water depth pattern and nobody can catch them.  They need this time to recharge, fatten up and prepare for winter.  We have now found a way to locate and catch them.  But, again, where does it stop?

Forward facing sonar for the average angler is a great tool.  It will teach you a fish’s behavior, movements and how to adjust your strategy to catch them.  However, when there is money on the line why is this still legal? Why are Alabama rigs illegal in tournaments?  Why is trolling illegal in tournaments?  It is because it gives the angler a huge advantage.  Fishing competitively should be just that.  A level playing field where your ability and knowledge is weighed against the field.  It should not be determined by your ability to flip a switch and call yourself a pro.  

FFS tools have advanced to a stage where most anyone can work them.  I will say that there is a big learning curve.  You won’t just turn it on and all of a sudden become Kevin Van Dam.  But when an angler has sponsor money to burn and time to burn you cannot and will not compete with someone who knows the little tricks and tips that are unshared to consistently use this tool to compete.  I am all for FFS for crappie.  It has significantly changed my fishing style because I’m fishing for the fish fryer.  However, bass are not in that category as I’ve said for years.  Their mortality rate and rate of survival is lower and even sport fishing for bass with FFS can be dangerous.  We can seriously damage the species and enjoyment of bass fishing by hammering away at them because we can.  Again, much related to hunting as if we harbor the “brown its down” attitude, you can all attest to that result.    

There are the big three of FFS and Garmin, Lowrance and Humminbird all have quality units and technology to offer.  The Livescope by Garmin was my choice and I have thoroughly enjoyed using it.  But again, I don’t tournament fish.  BASS, MLF and other major fishing organizations need to understand that it makes for very boring television and it is a threat to fishing.  It is a threat to our children and grandchildren’s legacy.  When I started fishing, we didn’t know what a graph or fish finder was.  We learned fish behavior, matched the hatch and did our due diligence.  Nowdays, Junior can back in his $100k boat pulled by Daddy’s truck and flip a switch on a lake he has never seen and catch fish.  That’s all and good but when that kid starts comparing himself to a Greg Hackney or a Larry Nixon, we have lost sight of what really matters.  If you want to be a pro, do it right.  Learn the way we did and the forward facing sonar will be another tool that you may never need.  That is unless you want to go to Champlain or St. Lawrence and play the video game that falsely makes you feel like you have made the big time.  Give me old school any day and take this article as it is meant.  We can do better.