The Tragic Comment Made At The Bassmaster Open Livescopers Benefit Tournament On Lake St. Clair… 

When is Bassmasters going to legalize dynamite?

Technology isn’t even the worst thing in fishing right now, it’s the ego and the way people behave that I can’t stand. The reason we all started fishing is being tarnished every day.

It removes "fair chase". Period. If you can't see that, you're not an outdoorsman. Same as drone hunting, which is illegal in all states.

It is truly video game fishing, not ANGLING

Randy your right 100% i do not watch Bass fishing on TV anymore because of FFS

Fishing has always been questioned as being a sport. The advancement of technology/FFS seems to have ended that discussion.

I fished lake st Clair as a co angler and paid 400 bucks for a boat ride all he did was troll around till he saw a fish on his scope catch it and then start trolling again it was next to impossible for me to catch one needless to I drew another guy Friday who does the same thing so I decided to drop out and go home geez what a waste of time 😩😩

I've listened to you for awhile now on the FFS issue. Let me say this, I Can Afford To Buy The Latest And Greatest In FFS. I choose not to for the simple fact that I think it takes away from ones ability to fairly catch bass. In my book FFS is no different than dynamite or shocking fish, both are illegal and so should FFS be especially in tournament fishing. I think BASS should step up and make a ruling that FFS can (ONLY) be used in practice to locate fish but not on the boat during tournament hours. It goes back to what it always was ment to be SKILL!

Here is my prediction for the future of the "sport". The old schoolers will leave, and only the spotlighters will be left. Without the earned knowledge, the spotlighters will overfish the lakes, and the tournament orgs will eventually die out.

I'm to the point of believing Tournaments put on by For Profit organizations should be outlawed. Why should an organization be allowed to take over a public lake to make a profit? The organizations that film and broadcast them make a profit also.

I'm just getting back into bass fishing after about 20 years of not being able to. I cannot believe how things have changed with the electronics. It's a shame what has happened to the sport.

I can't watch, the "sport" has literally turned into a video game it's so sad.

It's very sad this is what fishing has become. I just can't understand how Bassmaster and FLW allow this shit!!! What a smack in the face to fishing period.

There are so many weeknders who have all this graphs all over their boats and they have to have them because they cant fish without it. You are spot on with the fact that a lot of the younger class cant fish anymore. The Graph is the only thing they can do .

I’m with you Randy.

Commericial fishing technology has no place in sport fishing.

Livescopers Benefit Tournament. That's a good one. LOL. You are not wrong Randy. It's a cheater box and it's unfair chase. Period.

Fished as a Co-angler and let me tell you this is my last Bass Open. The boater runs the trolling motor on high until he finds a bass on scope then slows down long enough to catch it and back to the races again while he hunts down another. The casting angle for CO's is already challenging which we all know is part of the game, but now we are forced to do it with the boater racing to the next fish on the scope making almost impossible to keep a bait in the water for more than a few seconds. This race and cast method seems to be the new normal - I'm out! I do have to add my day 2 boater was amazing and hardly used his FFS, but I truly believe he is one of few who still does this after speaking with many other co-anglers. I was able to fish normally.

One of my favorite aspects of pro tournaments was finding out about how and where they caught the winning bags. No need to watch that anymore!!! lol

Keep preaching it, I quit watching fishing on TV unless there not spotlighting

As of April 2024, Wisconsin, Texas, Minnesota, and North Dakota were all considering bans on forward-facing sonar, also known as live scope, in state waters. Hope it happens.

I tried to watch Bass Masters at Lake St. Clair yesterday and had to shut it off. Boring looking at there backs and the fish don’t have a chance!

Thanks for standing up for what’s right.

Once again you are 💯 right Randy! It’s unwatchable.

The bass open on ouachita earlier this year everyone was scoping except the winner. There was one angler that had to come in early one of the days because his live scope wouldn’t work. He literally could not fish the rest of the day because he couldn’t fish without it. That’s when I realized you are absolutely correct without the box they can’t fish traditional style. Mind blowing to me!

Thanks for calling a spade a spade keep up the good work for the well being of fishing in general!!!!!

It used to be a game of hide and seek. Now everybody has x-ray specs.

It's happening on the club level as well. Like our club for instance and we're not affiliated with any national organization. Can't image spending that kind of money just to have bragging rights on a club tournament win. Forward Facing has destroyed the sport to a point where it's discouraging people who just want to fish.

The tailless minnow is not a viable bait ,it's an object that's seen by ffs,like you said about picking fish by size now,the young Japanese guy said he learned on a video game, he seen a group of 4 from 4 to 7 lbs,he worked until he had all 4,not fishing anymore.

Randy, you know that you and I have not always seen eye to eye on a few things... but this, I completely agree. One of the reasons I declined my elite invite was because I'm a fishermen!!! A true angler. John Cox and I competed against each other for years on the lower circuits and used our angling skill to achieve our success. The "cheater boxes" forced a lot of us to completely quit professional fishing... not because we couldn't use it, but because it toom away from the skills we earned through years on the water. I hate it. I hope this initiative gains traction and gets ffs banned. Thanks for carrying the torch.

BAN FFS....KEEP UP THE FIGHT RANDY....

Seems like a lot of people can't stand livescope.

I recently fished an Open and you're right!!! The weights would be Totally Different without FFS!!!

You are right Randy, young anglers don care to fish, the just want to catch them.

It’s time for fish and game agencies step in and regulate the amount of tournaments on a particular body of water. I am usually against government regulations but we need to protect our fisheries around the Us from overfishing. Not sure how this would work or look

All pro sports have rules on what they can and cannot use. Except for bass tournaments!!!!!

You're army is growing, Randy. Keep up the good fight

Randy there is alot of us young anglers who cannot afford any of that crap and I still catch em all the time out of my Kyak with just a rod and a reel man it is getting old the tournaments are all the same shit nowadays jiggin a minnow

It's out of control just like everything in this country. We the people have no control anymore. Someone else thinks they know what is best for us with little concern for us.

RB can talk about how FFS affects "the sport," till he turns blue in the face. That argument is superfluous. The question is not how does FFS affect the sport. The real question is, how does FFS affect our moral obligations as protectors of the place we all live. Are we caretakers or just plain ole takers?

its not just bass fishing, walleye fishing is the same way. i use to watch a renown walleye youtuber because i wanted to learn more about walleye and how to catch them his videos before he got ffs was about how to use his sounder and dissect a weed line. then he got ffs and now its just about watching him look at a screen while he spins his ffs around

what really torques me is all the pros and social media personalities who know better who openly brag about chasing any fish 30' or deeper and thinking they can just fizz everything back to life...

Here in Mississippi, we have lowered the daily limits for crappie because of FFS

Ask the Scoper what he would do if the system went down during the tournament? Not catch anything!

July 14, 2024... Yep, elite tour is same way today... most playing " video game fishing." Disgusting... Even kayak users that I have followed 4-5 yrs are enamored with live-scope fishing. 😖👎😤 no longer fun when you hear them holler "GOT HIM!" 😔🎣😠

Sick and wrong! I’m down in Mexico at the moment surfing and surf fishing! I can’t say how good it feels scouting out potential fishing spots, hiking along the beach looking for boiling bait and or fish hitting the surface, quiet, alone, knowing all I have to catch fish is experience, proper lure choices, flawless presentation, and the proper gear. I get the same feeling when bass fishing a new lake! FFS takes out 90% of fishing out of fishing and 100% of satisfaction when you know that you are cheating 🏄🏼‍♂️🎣💪🏻

Spot lighting is cheating pure and simple! That’s not bass fishing! The ones that are doing it. Are computer technicians, not bass fishermen.

I have to agree with you Randy. I’ve spent over 40 years fishing and learning from some of the all time best anglers in the United States. Livescope and FFS are going to have a very bad effect on the fisheries. We are going to see a massive decline in the quality of fisheries nationwide due to FFS. The ‘SCOPERS’ can deny it all they want to, but time will tell very soon !!

Using FFS is NOT fishing. Fishing is going out, on a body of water, and using the skills you have acquired over many years and many hours of fishing experience. I refuse to support Bass Master in any way shape or form.

Sickening really......and sad at the same time. I dont even recognize this sport anymore

Cheater box, never heard it called that, but i agree completely!

Randy, you are slowly winning me over. The question is not "any technology vs. no technology" it is "where should the technology line be drawn." I'm not nearly smart enough to know. But, I know - comparing this to PGA Tour, they fought for years over new technology in balls and clubs before coming up with some sort of line drawn. (It was USGA that drew the line.) Maybe the line should be drawn by the Game and Fish Commission of each state and then MLF and BASS will have to abide by those restrictions.

Basically, they could not win tournaments or catch compete bag fish with cheaper scope. I am 70 years old,and I use old time flasher and bet l can still kick there butt .If they take cheaper box scope.,off boat.

this is why tournaments are not what I watch or care to anymore.

Randy youe lost 10 subs and gained 30 from this video, so youre in the posittive

If a so called pro fisherman needs $50,000 worth a electronics to win a tournament,Maybe that person needs to quit fishing,Sick of hearing about ffs,and scoping being a pro I call them pussified

this is exactly the same thing as hunting deer with a drone and a camera Change my mind

If they are going to allow FFS , maybe they should have the tournaments in Bass Pro Shop aquariums.

If you want to be known as a great sonar operator then join the navy.

Stay the course. Fight on. I was on fork yesterday and went by a ton of boats…… they didn’t even see me. Looking down at their screens.

I know several have stated they hate watching guys watching a screen . But go back 40 years and you saw Rick Clunn weigh in 2-3 fish and talk about 5 bites total. That was pretty boring . I guess if you’re not fishing it’s boring no matter for me.

How can you say you have no problem with these young anglers and even feel sorry for them but call them spotlighters, cheaters,and flatbillers? You don’t like ffs which I can understand but when you use these names you’re not attacking the technology, you’re attacking the anglers 🤔🤔🤔

I watched it live for 2 hours on an off. I GET nothing from it. A bunch of anglers who are essentially 1 dimensional. I dont trust the results/anglers ability to catch fish etc. When i see nothing but finding offshore fishing with GPS coordinates from WHO and then running the trolling motor chase fish....and then determining their size with NO techniques instead taking shortcuts THAT IS NOT FISHING PERIOD FOR ME or I ASSUME 1M other anglers. ITS A FXXXX DISGRACE that BASS AND MLF both have allowed this to occur. Trying to ring in a new generation for what?? Crowd our waters with guys who show with 100K boats tackle etc that put no time on the water to FIND fish...no they are hunters....should be outlawed and a national wildlife policy that covers the entire US about what FISHING is.....and what it isnt. It TRULY violates FAIR CHASE for sure!!!

Randy the way you get to the administration and sponsors is loosing spectators and tackle sales. I personally don’t watch big tournaments anymore because they are boring. I do it my way and use my old plastics and lures from the past.. I use to enjoy watching the classic. I still remember how happy I was when Woo Dave’s won in 2000. I don’t agree with all your thoughts but you are right on on this one. What can the spectators learn with ffs?

The technology will get cheaper and widely available to recreational fishermen. Eventually a tournament fisherman will launch, turn on his live scope, and…..there is nothing there.

I watched the coverage on Saturday - it was absolutely boring. I don't foresee me watching anymore Bassmaster events.

I can't tell u who told me this because they ask me not to put his name out but he did say u can say what I said he said " we are looking at ffs and so far we are moving towards banning it in this state" fact

How can anyone can think that a person 19 years old can actually compete on a PROFESSIONAL level is crazy, it won't be long where going to see the truth

It’s nothing but a video game “PERIOD” The Japanese guy that won the championship a couple weeks isn’t even A lifelong bass fisherman bass in Japan, when he was interviewed on stage the MC kept saying your dreams come true you’re living your dream and you won it. But From what I could tell from the Japanese guys broken English he said no I haven’t been a fisherman even in Japan, and my profession is a video editor and video game writer in Japan. So he came here to fish from what I could tell because of the this new technology. He knew he could compete because he knows how to dial in the forward facing sonar to find and pick out the biggest he sees in the school, to him it’s playing the ultimate video game that pays money if you win. That dude just proved anyone Could just step in and win with no real fishing experience. From what I understand this is his second championship win. Hell the only thing he was interested in after the win was buying the hot seat because for him that was the ultimate trophy outside of the money that he’s going to send back home. This shit is a flipping joke Like I was saying the MC was doing his best to try to get him to say my dream came true because all my Life I dreamed of this day. Lol And he kept saying no I am video game editor and so on. Heck watch him in that video in that tournament he hardly knows how to fight the fish he would sit there and Reel as his drag is too loose and going out, it was a joke. I’ve said it from the beginning, Bass and much of the industry is to blame for this garbage. It started by taking advantage of the largest sports group in the world by quadruple pricing everything and Not compensating for our shit economy which made most of everything out of reach for the average fisherman, the same fisherman that made them who they are today. Then with the retirement of a big group of hard hitters They had to come up with something to make everyone a hero that had money so they could have successful televised BASS tournaments And then boom here’s forward facing sonar and so now any Joe blow can win that has a pocket full of money and zero talent.

I don't even disagree, but no one is forcing you to participate. Fish how you want to fish

I learned a lot from Ish Monroe about frog fishing. I hate that he can't keep up with the ffs. He is a great fisherman

It’s being done on all my local lakes. Can’t just go fish a tournament anymore because you will get your teeth kicked in. Good buddy and myself used to do really well in team events around home and now we are finished because we refuse to LiveScope/cheater box. It’s so sad!

It’s going to be over soon I think

I’ve been listening to both sides of the FFS debate for a few months now: You’re right and the other side is snarky, arrogant, and full of BS.

It’s just bass fishing…not very important in the real scheme of life

Pros should get the basic graph showing structure and temperature and depth, no fish indicators.

You can also point out that Moto GP is limiting motorbike from 1000cc down to 800cc max to control the technology and make it competitive.

lol I doubt very much that he cares that you feel sorry for him he’s doing his thing for god sake let people fish how they want and no it’s not hurting our lakes

When I saw three screens on some “old school” pros boats over the last year or so is when I said it was sad. I fish a lot but not in tournaments. Now, there’s no way I could compete if I decided to enter one. I’m sure somebody has said it but maybe it should only be allowed in practice. There’s NO WAY IN HELL the electronics companies will just let it go away.

Unfortunately you can’t blame the fishermen, you have to blame the organizers. One of the big names on the MLF tour made a statement very similar to yours regarding FFS.

When we have gotten to the point where we can “not cast at a 3lber” it’s gone too far. Fishing is now electronic sight fishing 24/7/365

Take away the cheater box, and most of them couldn’t catch their dinner!

Casting to certain sizes is not skill. Finding and figuring out the big ones is skill. I deleted my timers to record any of these shows anymore.

Randy, I much preferred this approach on your criticism of forward facing sonar. I do think there is a discussion to have on FFS, but not attacking anglers and specific anglers for using it is the best approach in my opinion. The reason you get the old man comments and hater comments is that you bad mouth peoples fishing skills solely based on if they may use FFS. Can’t say someone who uses FFS can’t catch a bass any other way or say they wouldn’t be a pro or bash them this way or that way. That’s why you get the hate! I truly appreciate this format of your argument. I have no problem with you having your fight on FFS…. Just don’t make outlandish statements like “these guys can’t catch a fish any other way” or “so and so wouldn’t be a pro without FFS.” I appreciate your perspective but keep it personally respectable like today. I also am going to respect you way more if you follow through and fish the next few years out of an 18ft boat with a 150hp. It’s easy to talk the talk while you were fishing out of a 20 ft $80-$100K boat yourself. I’m going to lean more in to her corner and have more respect for your messages if you follow through on that.

Absolutely spot on Randy! I also am not a fan of FFS. mainly for the environment as well as the love and passion for the sport. Please stay after this effort! we have a limited resource in our fisheries and it needs to be preseved as well as the sport in general. Old school is just as fun. Thanks

We all have a responsibility in our sport to tone down the rhetoric. Most importantly politically speaking in our society

walleye stocks are also getting destroyed by this machine. Its so sad. Takes all the surprise and skill out of fishing. Like you said, its like hunting with a drone.

RUINED PRO BASS FISHING

I'm with you on this as well, I started bass fishing in the mid 70's and being from Missouri you were one of the pro's I followed. Don't let up on this please, I really like the accidental name you mentioned, "PS5" boys. I think your spot on I would be really curious as to how many of them would still be in the sport without use of the cheater box. I don't really do that much bass fishing now, mostly crappie fishing and I fly fish for warm water fish most of the time. I don't have FFS and living on SS, I will not be buying one, truth is, the part of fishing that captured my heart was a good presentation, a well placed cast, and that subtle strike, if I was watching TV to do that, I'm not interested anymore. Thanks again from all of us that still love the sport and are saddened by it's demise. Progressive technology is not always a good thing.

Randy you definitely nailed it it's not fishing anymore it's actually catching so how and the hell are they in. A bass fishing tournament

Randy has to the most ignorant person in fishing. I’m embarrassed for him.

If I was one of these bass fisherman you’re speaking of and I saw this video, I would figure out how to use a PS5 controller to control my live scope Just to prove you right. I’m a broke hillbilly and love bass fishing without even a depth finder on a boat that barely floats. If I was able to afford that latest technology I would buy it..

9 new anglers coming in every year. Like it or not, the field will be getting younger and livescope will be a part of it.

I am just outside toronto Ontario in Canada one of my customers is a retired pro bass fisherman and we had a discussion about ffs and his reply was that he wished they would get rid of all electronics on the boat

Been seeing this on the St Lawrence River for 6 solid years now. Opening week in June was disgusting. I have a place on the river and am there all summer long fishing with skill, not tech. It's not just the pro's, it's all the wanna b's too. Makes me want to vomit. Don't get me started on boating etiquette.

I can't stand to watch that on TV any more. So boring.

It's really a shame that all you ever hear here is how FFS is cheating. Maybe you all should read the rules of the sport. FFS is no more cheating than using Google Earth and GPS mapping to locate a 4' rock pile in 5mins on a 100,000 acre reservoir that you've never been to before. You all need to get some perspective. And as for Randy's comment about "... needing to re evaluate your world view of bass fishing because you use FFS .." I've never heard such an elitist, prejudiced statement in my entire life. randy is the one who needs to get some perspective. The world does not revolve around pro bass fishing. As the Texas Parks & Wildlife fisheries biologist said in a recent Tylers Reef Fishing YT channel video ... 'what pro anglers do on the water WRT FFS has zero impact on a fishery because there ain't enough of them to make any difference ... pay attention to that last part ... 'there ain't enough pro fisherman to make any difference.' Pro fishing is nothing but a few bite on the sport of bass fishing. There are an estimated 5 million recreational bass fisherman in the US and what? 200 so called pros. Irreverent. Luckily FFS is an incredible tool for us and enables bass fisherman who don't have closed minds and simply listen to this echo chamber every day about how tech is the devil itself, understand what a wonderful thing it is... I'll go out on a limb and say that 99.8% of everyone who comments here that FFS is the end of everything have NEVER used FFS, don't own one and clearly do not understand even the simplest aspect for how the tech actually works. You all get your info from Randy who is also someone who has never used this tech and doesn't understand it. BTW, I'm not a tournament fisherman, don't care about them except for the fact that they are the ACTUAL root cause of the decline of our fisheries. Tournaments which have been unregulated and out of control for 40 years or 2 years of FFS. Which of those 2 do you think actually have had the bigger impact?

Not knowing how big the fish is that you have on the line is all of the excitement!!!!!

I couldn't agree more. These kids who were born yesterday and today they a bass pros mostly because of their forward facing sonars. I have been fishing for a solid 50 years and I have learned to read the water so I do pretty well weather fishing from my boat or shore. I'm teaching my kids how to read the water too. On a separate note, I think bass tournaments should change the way they score the bass catches. Instead of going by weight which requires the anglers to keep all of their bass in a hot live well for hours which results in a high mortality rate, they should have the competitors take a picture of their bass on a certified measuring devise for length instead of weight and then immediately release the bass right where they cough it. This should help greatly reduce mortality. I can't stand it when bass pro tournaments come threw our area like a hurricane, and after they pack up and leave there is a dozen or more big bass floating belly up by the release area. The bass that survive are disoriented and exhausted so the have difficulty finding where they came from. This is all so completely unacceptable!!!

The bottom line in the old days the pros had a small groups that shared info back and forth and controlled a little who won. Now they do not have control of everything and are upset.