Forward Facing Sonar is Ruining Bass Fishing 

Every fisherman in the world can relate to the feeling of a biggun crushing a topwater bait. I would say less than 10% can relate to jigging up a bass at 20 ft deep with $6000 worth of electronics. Like you said, it’s extremely effective but it takes away what makes fishing cool and relatable.

It’s not ruining it, it’s absolutely DESTROYING it.

Totally true. It’s no longer fishing, it’s gaming by chasing down fish

Seeing Kyle hold his son..interact with him..smile with the lil things hes doing is the best thing I've watched today..good job daddy😊💥✊🏾

I can’t watch tournament or RU-vid videos anymore…just have to watch the old ones

Of the professionals that have ventured an opinion on FFS, this is probably the most balanced presentation I have seem so far.

FFS sonar definitely discredits the angler's achievements. Your point about KVD vs current winners is 100% spot on. When the individual angler is perceived as a less important factor in fishing effectiveness, the fisherman is inherently less valuable to a company trying to market their product.

Constant tournament pressure has destroyed the lakes in my area.

I don't like watching dudes stare at a screen. I also think it cancels out years of learning how to read the conditions and find fish. Scoping is boring

Man im so glad kyle understands and admits its easier with ffs, alot of dudes down play how good ffs is God bless u and the family

Bass fishing was once a must see for me at one time I never thought in my life that I would not want to look at Bass fishing 😞 I look at football baseball and basketball every now and then it’s really not that important to me as Bass fishing, now that Bass fishing is boarding to look at I now just look at old Bass tournaments

Agree with you 💯 and definitely not they way I grew up fishing and hard to get away from traditional bass fishing.

I agree with Hunter, ban it. It is boring to watch.

I’ve been on the fence with FFS. But I have to admit . My interest in tournaments have declined because of it .

Great perspective Kyle and Hunter. Congrats on the baby. He’s the star of the show!

Congrats on the birth of your first child Kyle and hunter🙏

I have been watching Bassmasters since it started,I am that old.I don't watch it at all anymore.

Bass fishing isn't over but hopefully tournament fishing is over

Livescoping has taken the skill and the experiance out of bass fishing. I do not dislike it I just think the new generation of anglers will never have to know as much about fishing in general. Things like weather,,,,temp,,,lake levels,,,seasons of the year dont matter as much anymore. All they will know is spotting a fish on livescope and trying to catch it. Great looking boy by the way!! Im sure he will get all the old secrets from dad!!

I agree with Hunter. BAN IT!!!!!!!

Hunter! Hunter! Hunter! Pretty awesome that she had the guts to say what Kyle wants to say.

Wow, well said, Kyle. They need you on the governing body I think. You are spot on.

Amen Kyle, it's your love of the sport that motivates you to compete on the pro circuit. You speak the truth and stand up for integrity. God bless you, Ms Hunter and baby Lincoln.

Congratulations to you both! On that handsome fellow!

y’all are the realest and i love your interview/conversation format

Good to see u back on you tube. Been a minute. Thank y’all so much for y’all’s time spent with me at lake fork. Blessings to yall. Lincoln is adorable. Charlie.

Technology in general is ruining the world and changing life forever.

I absolutely agree 100%! I respect the game and I won’t hate on offshore guys, but I’d much rather watch a guy Jack em up with a jig or a frog or really any bait up on the bank.

He is beautiful. Thank you for having him on the video. I will not watch a tournament if it's a lake where everyone uses FFS. Hate it and it is not on my boat.

I’m glad Hunter came out and said what Kyle probably wishes he could say. Everyone here knows how he likes to fish. The price aspect is what kills me, the last thing we need is things like FFS pricing people out of the sport. Grow the sport by making it more accessible.

That baby boy is cute! You are a great Dad and look to being doing great! God bless you brother! Fatherhood is such a blessing.

Best explanation yet!!

Congratulations having a baby🎉

The sport needs more Kyle Welchers - and having your son on the video - awesome!!!!!

I agree with Hunter, sponsorship money will slowly disappear except for a handful of guys

When the top tournament winning anglers are dominant by live scope. You no longer have a fishing tournament, you have a scoping tournament.

Thank you for sharing your son with us,he’s cute as a button,take every moment of time with him because he’ll soon be growing up. I like that you fish both ways with it and without it.

I appreciate the honesty

Aluminium bat analogy is bang on.

Awesome and beautiful video!!! Haven't fish in over a year due four surgeries from a boating accident on the Tennessee River. Your video has got me fire-up and will be on the water tomorrow !!!! Beautiful family!!!!!!

Great to see the new addition to TEAM WELCHER... and always look forward to your videos !!! We came to your Saturday weigh-in at Palatka and we are confident that the next few tournaments will have TEAM WELCHER back in the hunt for the next Classic !!! Keep up the great work and attitude.... it's a joy to watch !!!

We missed you and the family. Very nice to see you putting content out. It’s great to hear your opinion and where you stand on this subject.

You are the future of bass fishing, enjoy your clips and plan to see you out there as the one of the next gotta see anglers, keep it up.

The aluminum bat comparison is one of the best ones I’ve heard

Amazing sharing video. Thanks

Agree with Hunter. Your baseball bat analogy is spot on. Thanks.

Thanks for the video Hunter, Kyle and Lincoln. I knew the both of you have had yall's hands full. I love the nickname Link, he's Awesome. Amy an I are Excited for the new member of the family an Wishing the WelcheR's all the Best. Yall's friends from the Hooser family ❤

As a 47 yr old that has followed the sport for 30 yrs I can say I still keep up with every tournament I actually watch less now than ever. It's like every tournament has turned into a smallmouth tournament.. sure it's fun to catch em like that but it's just not fun to watch! I'm a traditional squarebill ,flipping, Swim jig, Froggin style fisherman and like I've said before Hackney has been my favorite to watch for years and you had that same style and love of the sport that drew me to him and that's just what I like to watch but I understand that you as a pro have to adapt. me as a life long weekend warrior owned live scope for about a yr back in 22' and decided It just wasn't fun to me!

You can tell by the way Mercer, Ronnie Moore and some other talking heads are always trying to put a positive spin on ffs that BASS is all about it so it’ll never be banned

Good looking boy👍👍 I hate ffs but I realize you have to adapt to compete.

I still watch it, because I’m a competitive bass fisherman. But FFS tournaments are boring as hell 🙄

And this is why we love hunter the interviewer. Drawing that hard line in the sand.

Congratulations on that little fellow you two. I agree with all the ffs regarding only so many baits to really help with the application. Totally whole new concept regarding sponsorship. Never looked at it that way. Good Luck on Murray!

Great video, dude!! I couldn't have described the way I felt better!

Speaking facts 💯

Do away with livescope

It has to be hurting viewer ship .

Great perspective haven’t heard it put this way.

I totally agree with Hunter, Great show, I love you guys, thank yall

I really like Kyle and his Wife congratulations on the lil boy. Y'all make a great happy family. I like ur out look on everything Kyle. Go catch em!!!

I hate it and dont have it, but even at the lowest level tournements that i fish, if you aint got it your behind 90% of the time. Even during the spawn

idk why you guys cant use nets to boat a bass so you dont get hooks in your hands but your allowed to see a bass in real time and cast to it and watch the whole thing

It's exactly like that ❤

Nailed it.

Met you on Harding I think it was, a couple of years ago for one of those big bass tournaments. Think it was Harding. Said hey to you while all the boats were bunched up at an island waiting for take off. Anyway, I'm from GA, but guide in Louisiana.

Ur the man for this bro

Tournament fishing is only 10-15 percent of fisher people Most do not have will never have FFS or could afford it So those people will purchase The regular baits , and don’t really need those baits other than a jerk bait and wacky worm The problem for the rest of us all New baits will be designed for FFS and the 85% of us will suffer The real problem is taking spawning bass off their beds and taking them on a boat ride and nobody seems to give a crap about that

nice!!

Very cute little man!

What a cutey...no not you Kyle. Been around competitive fishing for 5 decades. On my second season with Livescope...Yes this is easy. There is a reason the youth movement is afoot. As you said, it's changing the history of the sport and I too downgrade the accomplishments. you may not target a specific fish or get every one to bite. However, it makes you super productive at targeting your casts to the juice. Hunter, my wife has been at my side in this for 37 years. She agrees with you. And I quote "Whoopee, you used the cheatbox" Congrats to both!!!!!

After watching this it just dawned on me how good Rapala is at marketing and sales.

Its not about being boring...watching casting is casting. Its about pressure and fish being allowed to get away from angling pressure.

Congratulations buddy

Every winner using Live Scope should have an asterisk in the record books. Professional fishing is not fishing when it's done spot lighting. Sad days.

I haven't watched a BASS tournament since they went to FFS, i also cancelled my membership. I still check results you see how you did.But my interest in BASS is GONE.

I use FFS and I don't own any of the new baits, I catch them on my old baits, I mostly use it to see stumps, and rocks, stuff like that, it's very useful when used for traditional fishing. I saw one under a laydown and pitched a worm to him. It's a neat tool. All the anti/banners would have been thrilled to watch me throw to that a laydown but I would have skipped it if I hadn't seen one laying there. Maybe I should do videos. 😂

Thanks Kyle for sharing your thoughts & input on FFS. I agree it's ok for certain situations but not tournaments. I agree with Hunter it's boring to watch!! Like you stated KVD was the man to watch using his skills & knowledge as of today's anglers it's the sonar unit. Stay Safe & God Bless!!!🤠👍

Or maybe the century marks of today mean less.

Can u please make a video on how water generation affects fish. Also how can u tell when our small little local lake is generating.

Congratulations

Forward facing sonar is of the devil !

Bro that gamakatsu straight shank hook you used at the opens on the Harris chain years ago. I’ve used them and they are fire.

Was trying to watch this weekend and saw this; fisherman looking down with rod in hand. Turns to cameraman and says, "you ready, theres like 50 of them." makes one cast, shakes the rod a little and says, "get ready here one comes. " then set the hook.... I turned it off.

That's a hefty young man ya got there 😊

Competitive bass fishing is over, and it couldn’t happen soon enough.

Funny thing is I don’t have ffs and don’t have any of the lures you mentioned. It gets old being told that I can’t compete without it. I haven’t seen a big difference in my results. Maybe different guys are winning off shore but the same guys win all the Tidal events and that includes me.

I AGREE

I can’t find to mooch minnow anywhere but I use the freeloader & without FFS it works amazingly! I would love to find the mooch minnow

I have the privilege of being friends with a fishing junkie that owns a pro rig. 2023 z21 XL with 2 different FFS gimmicks. 2 screens up front and 2 at the console. We've caught plenty of fish with it that we wouldn't have without it. Been a little over 18 months and I'm sick of it. We don't even go fishing anymore I feel like. I want to burn down the bank and he wants to look at fish on his screens. I used to use old methods such as checking maps and then using my depth finder to determine if there were fish in the area but that was it. Now he chases tiny specs, or makes crappie look like giant catfish by zooming in too far etc. I can say from 18 months of first hand experience that it's cool but I'd rather just sit at home and play a fishing video game than fish the way we've been fishing. I do fish up front with him 98% of the time but I never get much time on the trolling motor. Even when he has business calls. Dick. But when I do, I haul ass as far away from where we just were and I get on em using intuition and years of general fishing knowledge. Example; mid spawn this year we went out and fished a known spot but nothing was happening and I was grumbling and he finally sat down to take a call. I got on the trolling motor and took us a half mile up to a flat and caught 3 fish in 5 casts. We wasted 3 hours fishing deep and using the FFS with no success before I put us in shallow water and we started slaying. I want to cast to trees, docks, drops and stumps. The main issue is that we aren't catching more fish on a general basis since he has had FFS. But he stares at it anyway.

Whats best spot on hardin kyle I seen u this morning

Hunter looked stunning at night of champions

Regulation on equipment across all other sports but bass fishing. Golf just went through the drivers or golf balls here of late. These famous golf courses don't have the room to extend all the holes and I don't think they should any ways. Couldn't imagine changing Augusta to accommodate the longer drives with more modern equipment

Found it very enjoyable to watch the St. John's river tournament. Scopers were nowhere to be found using traditional methods. Many people have said that these scopers could catch em without technology. Apparently not

Hope to see your Harris and St John's tournament on video !!!

In 2021 when FFS was getting really big my friend Clay Johns fished the MLF opens and qualified to fish the tour and he did it by fishing 8’ of water or less. He was also using a frog in most of the tournaments even on smallmouth lakes. He ended up winning rookie of the year that year and like I said he never left the bank. So fishing the bank is still a good way to win you just have to be committed to it and not give up a hour or so into the day just because you have not caught a limit yet.

Now on to the Babydub. Your gonna need a playpen with a lid on top. He has got that KW energy. Hunter is smashing this youtube thing now. Hows my Nanna doing? #teamwelcher #justgettinstarted

I would say the old records mean even more now because they were accomplished the traditional way....just my 2 cents

I would argue the century belts from years past actually mean more, than the FFS century belts.

I think let’s stop talking about FFS! If BASS decides to do something about it in the future then so be it, as for now just catch’em….

I've watched more this season than I ever have. Elite anglers you tube channels are better than bassmasters coverage