Always the fan, I turned my attention to whatever live tournament broadcast was available and found myself settling in to watch the MLF Pro Circuit attack the Harris Chain. It was great action; lots of big fish on a variety of waters. Not surprisingly, most competitors used forward-looking sonar at some time to entice bass offshore.
We’ve seen this pattern repeat, as I predicted over a year ago, to now include nearly every tournament on all major circuits. Location and time of year doesn’t matter, technology has quickly taken over to become the most dominant player on tour. Sure, there are exceptions – like Christie on the boat docks, or Greico flipping reeds in Apopka – and I live for those. But overall, pro bass fishing is now engulfed in the digital age.
As an onlooker, watching offshore tournaments can be a little boring. But it’s no real concern to me which direction tournament fishing goes in relation to Panoptix.
Yet this topic continues to come up all around bass fishing. It’s a hot debate on YouTube channels and in the forums. It’s bounced back and forth around the trade show booths. It’s never, however, debated on the major tournament websites or in the magazines.
Here, though, the world is without bass fishing politics. So let’s call it what it is.
The bass fishing industry is built on the sales model. Everything revolves around the hot new product being pushed through the culture, resulting in a win-win for consumers and producers. That’s the way it’s always been. Tournaments, especially on the national scale, drive the model forward through product promotions. Large tournament organizations produce the media to leverage the push. Occasionally, there’s a bump in the road, requiring a look into what will work best for the group. Such was the case with the umbrella rig, where the big players were concerned that the sport had gone too far.
Not so with forward-looking sonar. In that case, the general idea is that the new technology is simply another extension of a sport dominated by the latest and greatest. Depthfinders became Side Imagers, which became forward-lookers. Natural progression. If you didn’t like it, you’re just a crabby old man.
But let’s rewind the tape, shall we?
Over the last two decades, at bass fishing events all over the country, middle-aged men have condemned today’s youth, noting how important it was to get kids outdoors, introduce them to wholesome activities like fishing and hunting, and move these youngsters away from their artificial, virtual reality. Awaken the juveniles from their tech-induced comas. Restore the good habits of the good ol’ days.
Normally, I would use this time to give a few examples. In this case, I’ll refrain, as the list would be never-ending. You get the drift.
So we’re all involved in this sport where every player is concerned with the shift in participation. Less young people are taking to the outdoors. Single-parent homes are reducing introductions to fishing. Urbanization is taking over America. Technology is kidnapping the next generation of anglers. So what do we do?
We bring it right into our home. We welcome, with open arms, a technology that is completely fabricating the primary aspect of the sport.
Remember when bass fishing used to be a lesson in nature? When we’d make note of a bird standing on a point, or the smell of shad in the air? Not anymore. Or how about when something really intriguing reminded us all of how we fit into the puzzle. A lazy alligator basking in the sun. An osprey swooping down to snare a fish. A spooked beaver alerting the world to our presence with the slap of his tail. Eh, who cares?
Remember when a savvy angler would figure out certain boat docks that held a big school of fish, or note the feel of hard bottom with the bill of his crankbait? Or the old bait-and-switch of offshore fishing, combining a ton of lures on a bunch of rods to trigger one more bite, feeling our way blindly through the secret mega-school. Why spend the time? Just keep the eyes glued to the graph.
Another case in point: At one time, middle-class America – the biggest fans of pro bass fishing –- could actually relate to the anglers. Try that conversation nowadays, with three 12-inch graphs mounted on the front deck of every pro boat. The tournament organizations are losing their fan base for this very reason, whether they want to admit it or not. Who, really, can connect with this approach?
Another thing to consider: nobody, it seems, wants this technology. Most of the professional anglers I speak with hate it. Nearly all of the fans do, as well. Everyone at major sport shows curses it, except the folks in three booths.
And what about the fish? My gosh! While the population impact on bass may remain minimal due to catch-and-release practices, thank God I’m not writing for a crappie fishing website.
Why must we put up with this nonsense? Who is it benefiting?
Well, actually, the new anglers. The anglers already so entrenched in the technological lifestyle that this type of fishing simply becomes an extension of what they’re used to. Watch the attitudes of the young guys on tour. They have no problem with the thought of forward-looking sonar being a primary tool in their trade. Like their phone is in their lives.
So that’s what we’ll get. An outdoor sport dominated by the removal of many of the aspects of the outdoors, replaced by technology, and paralleling the very practices we all disdain. Those same activities from which we hoped to liberate the youth of today. The same thing that we fought against, cursed about, admitted we just don’t understand. But we know it’s bad, either way. With the one sport where we control the players, we’re going to get rid of all that, and bring these kids back.
Sure, bring them back to nature.
One video game at a time.
(Joe Balog is the often-outspoken owner of Millennium Promotions, Inc., an agency operating in the fishing and hunting industries. A former Bassmaster Open and EverStart Championship winner, he's best known for his big-water innovations and hardcore fishing style. He's a popular seminar speaker, product designer and author, and is considered one of the most influential smallmouth fishermen of modern times.)
