NPFL Banning FFS 2025

[Hal Standish]

https://thenationalprofessionalfishingl ... -the-npfl/

Hal

[John Bales]

Hi Hal, We all have our opinions about those who want to ban it. Who are these people? Obviously most are ones that never spent much time doing it or those who have but like most fishermen out there, never were able to get good at it. There are lot of fishermen who are very good at it and some of them just happened to be the young guys. I'm 70 and had no problem learning it . It has the same time learning curve like everything else and your own personal desire (like anything), will decide how long it takes to get good at it. It has certainly changed the way I fish and look at things. You could fish every day for a lifetime and only still be able to visualize or guess or assume what you think you know about what fish do. If we do everything in bucks guidelines, you can get very good at catching fish, provided you put in the time and effort needed. But FFS takes it to another level, if you are already a very good spoonplugger. If you think about the world we live in, there isn't a single subject any more that others are not out there complaining about. It seems like facebook and other social web sites is not always a good thing. Covid has changed a lot of things and not always for the best. It's made me more of a grouch for sure. John

[Team9nine]

And now BASS has announced ‘technology restrictions,’ but not a complete ban on FFS - just some restrictions. Just leaves MLF to decide how they’re going to operate in 2025.

https://www.bassmaster.com/2025-electro ... s-classic/

[JohnScheels]

Hello John and Brian:
I was waiting to see the responses from those of you who have been using FFS and discussing what you have learned about it regarding the professional tournament organizations placing restrictions on FFS use. In fact, regarding Brians' comment about the walleye tournament people, just this weekend, on a Midwest fishing/infomercial show, I saw some top walleye tournament winners demonstrating how they have learned to only target the individual large walleyes with FFS and in doing so have dominated the tournaments. They did express the fact that FFS may be banned or limited in 2025 because of their success when using it.
I can certainly understand Johns' reaction regarding the restrictions. Hopefully, without being too presumptuous, I would think that this is because of how John has used FFS as a learning tool, complementing his vast experience and knowledge base. Which he SHARES with others on this Forum. That is the difference, from my perspective. The tournaments are all about money, as 90 plus percent of the activities in this world eventually boil down to.
We have all seen how technology has affected "recreational" and professional sports, often to be criticized for various reasons. Sometime for sentimental or "traditional" reasons that are usually squashed for financial reasons. For example, hunting knowledge and skills are replaced with trail cameras, elevated stands and weapons that shoot farther and more accurately. And now the hidden "frontier" of the under-water world has been made visible by underwater cameras and FFS.
As has been previously expressed, it is just all the more amazing how someone like Mr. Buck Perry was able to learn (and share) what he did WITHOUT all the current technology.
No honest reaction is wrong, they are what they are. I personally regret seeing the fun of learning something and having success applying that knowledge being replaced or circumvented by just spending more money for shortcuts. That just takes more of the personal human element out of success.
John

[JohnScheels]

PS: Considering what I said in previous post.... it is somewhat surprising that the tournaments ARE restricting tech. There has had to have been a tremendous amount of pressure from the companies that sell the high-tech gear to continue to allow it in the tourneys.

[Bink]

Man this is a rough topic. I go back and forth every day.
I heard someone say that no one ever said a word about banning side imaging. Why is FFS so hated by some and loved by others? I agree with John on most of what he said other than it takes the same amount of time to learn and other things. I have to disagree with that. I used it once and it was pretty simple to figure out. It’s basically plug and play, point and shot. On our family vacation this year I got my ass whooped by my neighbor using FFS. He’s only been fishing 4 years. Couldn’t catch a fish without it but kicked my ass with 30 years more experience on him. In the hands of a guy like Bales it not going to take very long to master.
I helped a HS bass fishing team this year. We had zero chance to compete without FFS.
So if not FFS when do we draw the line? The technology is only going to get better . I’m torn if I should teach my kids to fish the way I learned or just plop them infront of a FFS screen. I really want to buy one bc I know it will help me tremendously in my casting but also know in the wrong hands fish populations can easily be wiped out.
So many layers to this topic.
A lot of people seem to get entitled when the spend that amount of $$ on a piece of equipment.
Pros can look at fish 100’ away but trolling is banned and they can’t put trolling motors on the back of the boat.
Some many issues …. My conclusion is I’d like to see it be available but only in catch and immediately release situations. If you’re fishing from dinner no FFS. If you’re going to put fish in a live well all day for a tournament no FFS

[John Bales]

I would say that it took me two full years where I could say that I had gotten comfortable with my settings and was able to be pretty confident. Garmin does have a lot of settings and without help, whether it be someone else's video or just someone else who uses garmin, it just not going to come real quick. Brett told me that Lowrance doesn't have many bells and whistles to adjust so that may be a little faster to learn. Garmin does take a lot of time to learn what the settings do. It's a matter of just getting out there and going through each part to see how it changes the view. I'll never say I'm an expert on anything in fishing because I know I can always get better at everything. I love to use FFS. The last few years I have learned so much with FFS. Having Bucks knowledge surely helped with the interpretation of what is seen but the new things that has been learned has just brought more questions. I have realized that no two days will every be the same. Even though he told us that, we just don't absorb things well till we experience a whole bunch of situations. And even though natural lakes are put into a bucket as all being classified the same, they are all different. You just can't take what you learned on one lake and expect anything to be the same on the next lake you fish. Buck did a great job in his writings. We can always fall back on the guidelines and figure some things out but not all of the things you see on FFS. As far as the different decisions the big boys made for next year, I have one feeling on all of it. I have always said not to put limitations on yourself. When a person buys this new tech stuff and takes the time to learn it, it's just not right for someone to tell that person he can't use it because it's not fair to the others. When you or I have a bad day on the water or several in a row, we figure out what we did wrong and try to fix it and get better. FFS has opened up a lot of our minds. We have found out that there are groups of fish out in the middle of nowhere(seemingly), that we never knew about and they become catchable just like a guy fishing structure and those fish get active once or twice a day. Everything that has been learned is a lot more than just point and shoot. John

[Hal Standish]

The Aqua Meter went on sale in the Mid 1970's Amazing that the same arguments were used then as they are used now. AquaMeter even used them in their promotional pieces and marketing information. How many can remember or even have used this equipment?