I think a perspective that few people are thinking about is that a lot of these young guys are the product of growing up in tournament fishing families. The 2000s were the prime years for tournament bass fishing, which is what a lot of these 20-something’s grew up watching and desiring. Add on top of that the introduction of high school and college tournaments, these kids do have a decade of tournament fishing under their belt when they get to the qualifier circuits.
I've marshaled several BASS and MLF events down here in Florida over the past 2 years, really just to get a feel for what these guys are doing differently than me. For the record, I am 64. I've sat with rookies on both tours, and with anglers well into their 60's. For the most part, the biggest difference I saw was in focus. The younger guys were glued to every cast, and continued to cast until the last minute. Their sponsorships came from family businesses or similar sources, and they watched every dime that was spent. The more experienced seemed to have that day-to-day covered, and were certainly able to lean on those years of success for relevant sponsorship. I don't think any of the "older" pros would realize it or admit it, and I understand that... but I definitely saw it.
I think the High School Bass Clubs and College tournaments are a big part of this. When in my 30’s and 40’s I fish tournaments on Pickwick weekly. Then my job got in the way and I put my rods down. Now at 63 I have started to fish again. The game has changed with the electronics, baits and equipment. I was an old school guy fishing against technology that had my head spinning. And then you take in the fact that these kids are computer bound. TH-cam has been a great help to me in catching up on knowledge about fishing and baits. I have change the way I fish by learning things to try on TH-cam. Now we add in app’s like Bass Forecast or Deep Dive. These kids know how to use these things far better than us older guys. Bring all that together and these kids have far more tools in the boat than we did at that age. And yes this year I got my butt handed to me. But as the year went by I began to put more fish and bigger fish in the boat. I even won one tournament with 15 lbs in the boat. Just think about this from this aspect.
I’ve only been tournament fishing for 7 years and I’m 43 and here in my neck of the woods the guys that are constantly winning are in their 20-30s these young guys are so good. High school bass fishing is working and the old guys are teaching their kids the local lakes and they’re just getting better
I’ve been a bass junkie my whole life, and these changes in bass fishing have me contemplating following the sport anymore. I can’t keep up with all the changes and quite frankly don’t like this FFS era we are currently in. Don’t even wanna watch bass live when it’s on or any other league. Been hardcore for a long time and starting to feel like I’m losing interest. Even been looking at inshore CC boats and hanging up my bassin gear. Sounds insane considering how much of the last 20 years I’ve dedicated to fishing and learning about bassin.
All true...even at local levels in the sport. Times have changed rapidly and its tuff as an older Angler, but I'm still gonna give the, a run for it, because I love it.
Great video. I feel like fishing has gotten way expensive and the payout is the same if not less. Also I understand that making it out West is tough however I wish BASS and MLF would try harder to make it out here. The Delta and Clearlake have proven its domination compared to most lakes.
Great content. Even the local tournaments seem to be younger and younger. The last three tournaments on Live were so bad to watch. Hopefully next year BASS chooses venues that are not FFS dominated.
Yeah right bass and mlf get too much money off ffs. What’s gonna happen when nobody buys multiple units? I’ve seen guys who have one unit on console and livescope on bow when they get to the spot it’s all livescope no need for 360 or si or di. It’s just a video game mostly in the middle of nothing just following fish wherever. I haven’t watched any tournaments this year doubt I will ever it sucks
Ffs makes it worse the watching golf. Yes the tech works but how will the lakes (fish populations) hold up. I have met way too many irresponsible people, selfish not concerned with conservation and protecting our fisheries. If you love fishing you should be pushing for more regulations
Well the circuits will always be up north during the summer. The Elites will likely never be back on the Sabine R in June again. 90^ water temps don't bold well for fish survival.
Stubborness and going with what got you there is the biggest issue we have as fisherman as we age. Fishing in 2023 with all of the technology and pressure requires an open minded approach and many old pros are going to have to reinvent themselves to be relevant. Younger anglers can learn the tech faster, make quicker decisions, have the physical stamina, and arent afraid to think outside of the box.
There’s a lot more to the success of young anglers than using a depth finder. These young people are a product of an educational system with high emphasis on visual learning. It’s hard to find a classroom without a smartboard and an led projector that presents a wide array educational materials on any subject. When you mentioned live coverage for tournaments then that just fed right into the visual learning systems that they have come to expect. These young people can absorb so much much more visual input on you tube in one hour than they ever can by reading a magazine for an hour. They are ready and willing to learn everything thing they can and then put it into practice with great energy behind it. Youth and energy will help these anglers accomplish a lot in a short time because no one has taught them that learning bass fishing is supposed to be hard and take a long time.
Good for you to point out it’s not only live imaging changing the game. These days if you want to be relevant you need to keep adapting…. Those that push their limits will succeed…. Cheers!!
Wonder if the Smallies will ever wise up to the drop shot. I think it would be great (for live coverage anyway) if the anglers had to adapt to other techniques when utilizing FFS.
I agree with Randy Blaukat, the Intuitive Angler and his view on FFS. Do you want to use your brain, or do you want to stare at a screen all day and let it find the fish for you. Sometimes learning the hard way is more satisfying and doesn’t decimate the bass population.
And , Brad, you can tell Jody if pro fishing is going to turn into a video game, I’m not interested in watching any more. I’ll spend my time at the lake.
Randy wants everything to go back to the days when he could still compete. He was an awesome angler in his day but those days are gone and he got left behind. He needs to learn to use ffs or not but let it go!!
@@spencersmith6754 No you are wrong Randy knows he is no longer relevant in tournaments he is a old dude. He is no different than any number of old anglers they just don’t have stamina to compete. I guess he is more into advertising and pushing products and whatever else he does. Seems like he is ok with that. All I have to say for me is ffs starring at a screen ain’t my cup of tea.
@@winstonrocco1981 tournament anglers who fish for a living need ffs to compete its not really about what they enjoy. I've been bass fishing for 45yrs and Im old school myself and don't have ffs but Im not trying to earn a living. Randy is always crying about the way things are done today but those days are over I understand that but he's gotta move on. He always brings up the environment while driving a diesel truck and runs a 250 outboard which is ok by me I do the same thing but if he was serious he'd be driving a tesla with a canoe strapped to the top.
Jody rocks!! This would make a great topic for a deeper dive into on BTL! I know Matt really likes the stats. He could get both you and Jody on to discuss it.
In the past you had to sign up as a co-angler to learn what guys were really doing. Now you just need to watch live and you can spend a day in the boat with all the best guys each tournament. Live coverage has really increased the speed that you can learn things.
Fishing used to require that a person put in many years of fishing in order to learn the sport. Now, you buy a Foward Facing Sonar and just go out and locate the fish, no real knowledge required. These young anglers aren't very good fishermen - it's all modern technology doing the work.
I get that but that's everywhere in life. I stepped back from fishing local tournaments every week and went back to just fun fishing and it's been great. Fishing better than ever
I think with the introduction of high school and college fishing it made it more a reality to be able to be a professional fisherman. When I was younger I equated bass fishing to golf. In my eyes it was a rich man's sport! I didn't know anyone who owned a bass boat! Social media has just made the sport go from a dream to a reality. You can literally watch TH-cam of Anglers chasing their dreams from amateur to pro. People just needed to see it in my opinion. Like you mentioned livescope only plays a small part.
High School fishing has had a big impact as well as college. Locally, Im fishing against kids in their 20’s that used to be in my boat with me and my kid…..and they are really good. Its the perfect storm….technology, information, experience, and the ability to spend time on the water. Its hard to work 50 hours a week and then compete against a kid who has been on the water almost everyday. A lot of us started in our teens with an old flat bottom tin rig, a 30 year old 9.9, and a trolling motor that worked half the time. Fast forward to today, a lot(not all) of these kids have access to equipment that works and can focus on fishing not trying to figure out if they can unfoul a spark plug hanging over the water to get back to the ramp like we did. The sport has changed.
As an angler that has fish my whole life at 45 i look at some of the kids coming up and under stand why the age is dropping. Look at raybun this yr you have an 18 yr dominanted the sping and early summer with giant sacks. But it come from being on the water and learning from his dad what took the rest of us yrs to learn hes picked up as a high school angler. So add 4 more yrs coming out of college now you are pushing 10yrs of tournament fishing and they are just in there early to mid 20's so that is showing the swing for sure. And they all know how to use electronics. The game has changed.
I have no problem with any of that. Part of the accelerated learning curve are the college, high school, and middle school circuits. Young anglers get a jumpstart on tournament fishing, and the best roll right into the bigger circuits straight out of school. I curious to see where it goes from here. I do have some concern about sustainability of fisheries because of the immense pressure on all levels of fishing.
Access to the sport, equipment boats and of course high school and college. I believe one of the major rolls of Bassmaster was to grow the sport of tournament bass fishing. It has worked.
Another thing to look at and think about is When did high school and college fishing start. 2005 i beieve for collge. Some of your Elites an MLF pros today, we're in that group of college fishing or high school fishermen then college fishing which made them even better. Matt and Jordan Lee, Cody Huff just to name a few. Their experiences started years ago at a much younger age than us old guys that didnt have that opportunity.
Of course it is. There’s also a lot of other factors. Only the young & up & coming are willing to risk that much financially to fish high level tournaments. Everyone elder is trying to just survive & keep their boats/trucks & lives together. Older folks got retirement to think about. Not starting a bass fishing career unless you got a plan, skills & lots of money to gamble.
Great vid. I can better relate to this video with data than the other guy about ffs. Competitive fishing is becoming more popular now at a high school level with better technology.
The more young n's fishing means fishing has a future and that's a great thing no matter at the end of the day you have to want it and if you don't catch them if you ain't fishing
Fuientes fished as a flw co angler for years and years and larry nixon was his travel partner. he gained a lot of knowledge during this time. He has put in the work.
I also think the high school & college Fishing programs have had a huge impact on this. Look at the young guys in the Elite series that came through & did well in college Fishing. When your young it’s amazing how hungry you are. Unfortunately the hunger fades over time. I used to sleep in my truck at the ramp ( im sure a lot of you did too) but I sure don’t anymore. 😊
Look at the advancement of technology in 2023 compared to technology in 1980. I'm 57 years old and we didn't have computers in school period! Now elementary schools have computers, and what kid doesn't live on a Playstation. I'm saying without the advancement of electronics how do these young anglers fair in instinctive decisions based around years of time on the water. Maybe you take away the electronics and the age bracket goes back up! Just a thought!
At the age of 24 when we tragically lost Bryan Kerchal he had fished 2 Classics, 2 Federation National Championships and 7 BASS Invitationals. Of those he fished exactly one out of his own boat. Back then the Championship were out of supplied identical boats. Of those 11 events he had 2 wins, one 3rd and 4 other money finishes. I fished with Bryan the weekend before he won the classic. He was the best there ever was.
It has changed fast in every aspect of life. Technology has ruined a lot of pastimes things that were fun, now it’s whoever has the most time,money and technology wins.
I agree and also think it's a great thing, but it's also because of college doing fishing and scholarships, and now it's in high school. I hope it gets even big where it's like other major sports
Something I don't see anyone giving credit to is the creation of highschool and college bass trails. So many kids are getting trained in ways we were never afforded. Is technology a contributing factor, yes as you can tell with the older guys and guys who didn't go through the highschool and college trails but adopted technology early are doing well too. But, we pushed for getting kids involved, giving them a way to train and get involved in the sport to keep it going for years to come. This is what we have worked for. It baffles me to see these guys complaining about it. Great video Brad!!! Thank you for giving it a positive view.
Really good topic here Bradley,and those stats back it up,kids just have it made these days,in everything they do,and it's showing big time in the fishing industry,great video buddy 👊
Brad .....1240 A Lowrance and a topography map of tne lake ....do they catch the same fish as they are now while using FFS . Whats % can catch the same fish they are catching now ?
As God as my witness; I fish with an older gentlemen whose been fishing his entire life. And when we go out with the groups we fish with around oklahoma. He ALWAYS, ALWAYS puts me on to fish the other guys can't. And while they use all their graphs and charts and sonar/live scope etc. All he needs to know or use is a depth finder and water temp, it's all he needs. From the time of year it is to the color of water. It's remarkable. He's the fish'n magician.
Yep, I live here close to Rayburn, went and watched the weigh in for the BFL this weekend. a 23yr. old won and a 20 yr. old got second. Young man in his mid 20s won the Co-Angler side.
Interesting analysis and I am sure that advent of live coverage, mapping and FFS has drastically shortened the learning curve. As someone who used statistics in my day-to-day job for 30 years I would like to see the age of Classic qualifiers over the years. Since this would be an analysis over an entire season it would be more telling of the age of pros decreasing
Here in Central Alabama, about 5-10 years ago, I overheard an older angler comment that “those college anglers” are hard to beat in local tournaments. He is correct.
Id also like to say i appreciate your perspective on everything. Refreshing in this day and age. I understand peoples frustration with it taking a lot of money to have a fully rigged boat and all of that stuff, but i think the sport is alive and well. And its no different than any other sport. Take baseball, for a young kid to get a scholarship most are playing year around and paying for travel ball and fully invested. Hunting is the same, if you want a good place to go you have to have your own farm or pay a lease. Times have changed and we cant just sit on our butt and complain that its not as easy as it used to be. Have to get up and get after it. Im in my late 30s and im ate up with fishing now. Got into it late but i spend countless hours getting info from you guys and Internet forums snd websites and looking at mapping and i can tell you if you want to learn these days you can. And it pays off when you get on the water. I dont come from money at all and ill never be on the elites but i like seeing how i stack up against the best in the area.
I know my buddys father-in-law watch a major event a couple of years ago on a lake he never fished before. And his turny was a week after that major event and he got his spots from the camera boats. They showed where they were at and witch docks ect and he won his tournament
I agree mostly with the things you have laid out especially with TH-cam and the ability to learn something more rapidly. With that being said FFS in Pro Bass Fishing is like the steroid era in pro football and baseball. It was tolerated for a while then it was considered cheating. How many of these guys would be successful on the tour without FFS. I’m thinking not many. When does owning the latest and most expensive technology become more important than the skill of fishing? From the way it looks now technology beats skill,experience and knowledge. Your thoughts?
I agree but I think we’re going to see FFS get banned during tournaments in the next few years. The fans don’t want to see it and finally a lot of pros are speaking out
Happy to finally see someone not blame FFS for everything. Folks seem to forget that guys like Wheeler, Lee and DeFoe were dominating well before FFS. Like you said…live coverage, social media, mapping, etc all play a part. I think eventually it’ll start to even back out to the 40’s.
FFS is the biggest part of it take that off the boat and see how they do lol... the crappie world is no different Hayden Jeffries is winning everything in crappie fishing he's 21 no way would he be doing that if it wasn't for FFS NO WAY!! there's no more instinct fishing or experirence that use to be so much a part of it i agree mapping and such plays big part to but GARMIN changed everything when live scope come out
@@slabbusterrtr7690 I just mentioned how they’d do. Those guys I mentioned were dominating before FFS ever showed up. Does FFS help the young crowd more…absolutely. But other reasons were in play long ago. Another thing not mentioned…college fishing is much more prevalent now. Personally, I think the internet/social media is one of the biggest influences. There’s no more having to learn the basics on your own now. Guys are starting off competent instead of completely lost.
I’d like to know if the average age of the top 10 is representative of the avg age of everyone who fished the Toyota’s. That stat could show us if the younger guys are out fishing the older guys or if the sport, in general, has an influx of younger anglers. Both is likely true. I love stats so this really got my attention. Excellent video!
I have live, and I am 53 years old, I watch the live coverage and it's great but the live scope has made great fishermen out of the younger guys that in my opinion would have a hard time competing at their age in a grind type tournament. I can't watch a live scope tournament it's way to boring!
I cannot afford the electronics much less the boat. I can afford rods reels line and lures. Expensive sport. I fish small tournaments at home in Va. James river, Lake Chesdin...Well thought out video.
Great info and data. Maybe missed it but the education part of it maybe plays a part. High School Teams College Teams etc. They have a huge start at such a young age…. Great video
Great perspective for the sport if you don’t have the young generation a place in this trade it will die with the old hands with the experience . This opens the door for a senior tour with the popularity right now . I’m old but on my home shallow lake I know the spots . The new tech isn’t much help in this particular lake but if a 19 yr old had same info as I the young angler would probably have an edge. I think an older age tour would open the sport up to many more young anglers
Young guys pick up technology way faster than old guys. (I'm 73 and can barely use a graph) Like you said, TH-cam gives anybody who's interested, a huge leg up on how to fish like the very best. Live coverage of tournaments for the true bass fishing student is now available nearly every day of the week. Experience is now gained, in the beginning at least, by simply watching the best catch fish on TV and computer. For the committed tournament angler, the learning curve is steep AND fast. The world is moving so fast it makes me feel my age, but I still love chasing bass in my 12' kayak and catching them every now and then.
I'll bet when collage fishing started < or took off ! Is when the ages were getting younger ! I'm 60 and the weekend derby's are starting to kick my ass ! Started tourneys in the late 80's early 90's ! Red man days
Exactly we all have access to them tools,but some can’t afford it.I’ve got the knowledge from New York to Texas to Florida.I just don’t have the money.There’s thousands of guys out here that would beat the breaks off some of the pros if all that electronics were taken off.Then there’s some of us who have it an barely can use it and go back to ole school.We can hang but we don’t win.Why?Our age group didn’t grow up with a phone in our hand.I grew up with a tobacco knife or hay bales in mine.Yes guns too.I totally agree Hallman!!!Ive seen it here locally with the kids beating us.There just that damn good or the learning abilities are much better than our generation .Technology sux as far as I’m concerned!
Technology savvy youths plays a huge roll in this. If I grew up with a violin in my hands I would be a much better violinist than if just picked it up a few years ago at a late age. I admit I was very reluctant to use FFS. I also feel I don't enjoy the sport nearly as much with FFS and shut it off a lot. I certainly don't like tv coverage anymore. Remove FFS and ages would climb back to late 30s and early 40s again.
Absolutely agree with everything you said. Great video. I think another thing is back in the day there were a lot of guys who had saved up the money on their own to take the plunge and try it. These kids now no matter what means they have are finding the dollars to give it a shot at an earlier age.
I believe 20 years ago older people were the majority in who could afford to fish tournaments. Now youtube, Twitter, and facebook help the younger generation earn income, along with high school and college fishing allowing then to have some of the best electronics available and time to learn how to use it. Older generations sometimes rely on history where younger anglers drop trolling motor and start looking. I think you are a great angler Bradley and would love to see a season look back series, a lessons learned so to speak. Fishing your strengths got you where you are, did you stick to that during the season?
Its the live-scope. I dont buy that its knowledge based on the fact that 40-50yo will have multitudes more of it from just experience. Regardless of the coverage those skills for those younger people hasnt developed. Feel ist taught its learned from reputation.
A lot of this is derived from High School and college fishing teams that are getting that education at a younger age. They are growing up with the new technologies and know how to master it. My dad had fished tournaments since I was young and he has a hard time reading the new sonar and understanding what it is showing him at 75 years old.
It's the speed of information distribution ,we are in the post internet age. The younger a person is the quicker they learn but pre internet it was harder to find out what you didn't know so certain techniques, lures, where to go etc had no short cuts, you had to put in the time. This was the case for angling the world over and not just competition angling. There is a way for this to play out yet as i feel you will see less anglers spend a lifetime involved with the sport because the harder you go in your younger years at an activity the more chance of burnout and people losing the love for it. The speed at which knowledge is gained now also makes many aspects of angling less of a challenge and long term what do you aim for when the knowledge has all come so quickly.
Totally agree. One thing I will add, in 10 years will the top fishing circuits be dominated by 18-30 yr olds? The days of a 20 yr career on tour over? Because of the constant influx of “ the next best thing” coming quicker now.
Dude. 3 out of the top 5 guys on Hartwell is 18-23yrs old............................ its insane. Look for Lane Clark, Tyler Thompson and Collin Smith. Them boys are hammers.
These young guys have taken into that forward facing sonar as soon as that came available started skyrocketing also they have started a lot younger these days
Great points mentioned. I think with the BASS / MLF spit opened the flood gates for these young guns to be able to get in. Now we have very exciting times.
Its not just electronics. Regular guys cant afford to fish anymore. Its a rich kids sport now. Unless you got daddys money you might as well keep putting on your work boots and swinging a hammer. Hell the majority of middle class guys cant even afford a boat anymore let alone being able to pay for tournaments and time off. Its flat out depressing to work your ass off for 20 yrs to get ahead only to end up worse off. I cant even afford to buy the same house i bought when i was 22 making $12hr.
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I think a perspective that few people are thinking about is that a lot of these young guys are the product of growing up in tournament fishing families. The 2000s were the prime years for tournament bass fishing, which is what a lot of these 20-something’s grew up watching and desiring. Add on top of that the introduction of high school and college tournaments, these kids do have a decade of tournament fishing under their belt when they get to the qualifier circuits.
Rich daddy boys with Live Scopes and $100k bass boats!
Yes sir. Spoiled children. Listen to Zaldain talk about the young kids and their etiquette in the Elites
I’ve seen plenty of money boats that still can’t catch a winning bag.
We call it silver spoon sports
I've marshaled several BASS and MLF events down here in Florida over the past 2 years, really just to get a feel for what these guys are doing differently than me. For the record, I am 64.
I've sat with rookies on both tours, and with anglers well into their 60's. For the most part, the biggest difference I saw was in focus. The younger guys were glued to every cast, and continued to cast until the last minute. Their sponsorships came from family businesses or similar sources, and they watched every dime that was spent. The more experienced seemed to have that day-to-day covered, and were certainly able to lean on those years of success for relevant sponsorship. I don't think any of the "older" pros would realize it or admit it, and I understand that... but I definitely saw it.
Brad, love your content! Wish you the best going forward!
I think the High School Bass Clubs and College tournaments are a big part of this. When in my 30’s and 40’s I fish tournaments on Pickwick weekly. Then my job got in the way and I put my rods down. Now at 63 I have started to fish again. The game has changed with the electronics, baits and equipment. I was an old school guy fishing against technology that had my head spinning. And then you take in the fact that these kids are computer bound. TH-cam has been a great help to me in catching up on knowledge about fishing and baits. I have change the way I fish by learning things to try on TH-cam. Now we add in app’s like Bass Forecast or Deep Dive. These kids know how to use these things far better than us older guys. Bring all that together and these kids have far more tools in the boat than we did at that age. And yes this year I got my butt handed to me. But as the year went by I began to put more fish and bigger fish in the boat. I even won one tournament with 15 lbs in the boat. Just think about this from this aspect.
I enjoy your wisdom and insight, best of luck in your whatever your next chapter has in store
You take that live scope away and it slow down ! Your doing it to your self
FFS and a million videos give them instant knowledge along with a clean brain and energy to spend time on the water.
I’ve only been tournament fishing for 7 years and I’m 43 and here in my neck of the woods the guys that are constantly winning are in their 20-30s these young guys are so good. High school bass fishing is working and the old guys are teaching their kids the local lakes and they’re just getting better
I’ve been a bass junkie my whole life, and these changes in bass fishing have me contemplating following the sport anymore. I can’t keep up with all the changes and quite frankly don’t like this FFS era we are currently in. Don’t even wanna watch bass live when it’s on or any other league. Been hardcore for a long time and starting to feel like I’m losing interest. Even been looking at inshore CC boats and hanging up my bassin gear. Sounds insane considering how much of the last 20 years I’ve dedicated to fishing and learning about bassin.
I’m the same boat ain’t been fishing since April and I’m retired
It's the freaking tournaments ruining the bass fishing buddy start spreading the word
spot on man. i think it’s the lack of secrets and mystery in bass fishing today is what’s making it less and less interesting
@@PeterWFishing never thought of it like that. Interesting take 👍
Yeah I agree... All part of life good buddy... put your ambition into stopping bass tournaments and your fishing will get a lot better!
All true...even at local levels in the sport. Times have changed rapidly and its tuff as an older Angler, but I'm still gonna give the, a run for it, because I love it.
Great video. I feel like fishing has gotten way expensive and the payout is the same if not less. Also I understand that making it out West is tough however I wish BASS and MLF would try harder to make it out here. The Delta and Clearlake have proven its domination compared to most lakes.
Great content. Even the local tournaments seem to be younger and younger. The last three tournaments on Live were so bad to watch. Hopefully next year BASS chooses venues that are not FFS dominated.
Yeah right bass and mlf get too much money off ffs. What’s gonna happen when nobody buys multiple units? I’ve seen guys who have one unit on console and livescope on bow when they get to the spot it’s all livescope no need for 360 or si or di.
It’s just a video game mostly in the middle of nothing just following fish wherever. I haven’t watched any tournaments this year doubt I will ever it sucks
Boooohoooooooo
Adapt and survive, or fall behind and watch your career die. The choice is yours.
Ffs makes it worse the watching golf. Yes the tech works but how will the lakes (fish populations) hold up. I have met way too many irresponsible people, selfish not concerned with conservation and protecting our fisheries. If you love fishing you should be pushing for more regulations
Well the circuits will always be up north during the summer. The Elites will likely never be back on the Sabine R in June again. 90^ water temps don't bold well for fish survival.
Stubborness and going with what got you there is the biggest issue we have as fisherman as we age. Fishing in 2023 with all of the technology and pressure requires an open minded approach and many old pros are going to have to reinvent themselves to be relevant. Younger anglers can learn the tech faster, make quicker decisions, have the physical stamina, and arent afraid to think outside of the box.
I've been watching for 50 years. Since 76.
There’s a lot more to the success of young anglers than using a depth finder. These young people are a product of an educational system with high emphasis on visual learning. It’s hard to find a classroom without a smartboard and an led projector that presents a wide array educational materials on any subject.
When you mentioned live coverage for tournaments then that just fed right into the visual learning systems that they have come to expect. These young people can absorb so much much more visual input on you tube in one hour than they ever can by reading a magazine for an hour.
They are ready and willing to learn everything thing they can and then put it into practice with great energy behind it.
Youth and energy will help these anglers accomplish a lot in a short time because no one has taught them that learning bass fishing is supposed to be hard and take a long time.
Good for you to point out it’s not only live imaging changing the game. These days if you want to be relevant you need to keep adapting…. Those that push their limits will succeed…. Cheers!!
Wonder if the Smallies will ever wise up to the drop shot. I think it would be great (for live coverage anyway) if the anglers had to adapt to other techniques when utilizing FFS.
I agree with Randy Blaukat, the Intuitive Angler and his view on FFS. Do you want to use your brain, or do you want to stare at a screen all day and let it find the fish for you. Sometimes learning the hard way is more satisfying and doesn’t decimate the bass population.
And , Brad, you can tell Jody if pro fishing is going to turn into a video game, I’m not interested in watching any more. I’ll spend my time at the lake.
Randy wants everything to go back to the days when he could still compete. He was an awesome angler in his day but those days are gone and he got left behind. He needs to learn to use ffs or not but let it go!!
@@spencersmith6754
No you are wrong Randy knows he is no longer relevant in tournaments he is a old dude. He is no different than any number of old anglers they just don’t have stamina to compete. I guess he is more into advertising and pushing products and whatever else he does. Seems like he is ok with that.
All I have to say for me is ffs starring at a screen ain’t my cup of tea.
way more fun to go grind all day for sub 3lb fish instead of catching decent sized fish our deep for sure
@@winstonrocco1981 tournament anglers who fish for a living need ffs to compete its not really about what they enjoy. I've been bass fishing for 45yrs and Im old school myself and don't have ffs but Im not trying to earn a living. Randy is always crying about the way things are done today but those days are over I understand that but he's gotta move on. He always brings up the environment while driving a diesel truck and runs a 250 outboard which is ok by me I do the same thing but if he was serious he'd be driving a tesla with a canoe strapped to the top.
You are a good person to talk to about fishing I really like watching your videos too
Jody rocks!! This would make a great topic for a deeper dive into on BTL! I know Matt really likes the stats. He could get both you and Jody on to discuss it.
In the past you had to sign up as a co-angler to learn what guys were really doing. Now you just need to watch live and you can spend a day in the boat with all the best guys each tournament. Live coverage has really increased the speed that you can learn things.
Fishing used to require that a person put in many years of fishing in order to learn the sport. Now, you buy a Foward Facing Sonar and just go out and locate the fish, no real knowledge required. These young anglers aren't very good fishermen - it's all modern technology doing the work.
Nobody will convince me otherwise either. Ffs is just a underwater infrared camera no skill needed if you find fish your odds go way up.
@@winstonrocco1981 Right. It is indeed, just like spotlighting deer.
The electronics are leveling the playing field
Yeah but it’s like watching the movie instead of reading the book. You just see the end result but have no idea how you got there.
I don’t like where it’s going I’m actually considering selling my boat and stepping back from it. It’s sad where it’s going in my eyes
@quintinkale1242 Idk what your personal curcumstance is, but why sell your boat? Do yoy not enjoy fishing anymore or just tournament fishing?
@bassbro92 it's just getting flooded with clueless no ethics new fisherman
I get that but that's everywhere in life. I stepped back from fishing local tournaments every week and went back to just fun fishing and it's been great. Fishing better than ever
I think with the introduction of high school and college fishing it made it more a reality to be able to be a professional fisherman. When I was younger I equated bass fishing to golf. In my eyes it was a rich man's sport! I didn't know anyone who owned a bass boat! Social media has just made the sport go from a dream to a reality. You can literally watch TH-cam of Anglers chasing their dreams from amateur to pro. People just needed to see it in my opinion. Like you mentioned livescope only plays a small part.
Absolutely Bradley it’s becoming a young
Man’s game. Just like every thing else
High School fishing has had a big impact as well as college. Locally, Im fishing against kids in their 20’s that used to be in my boat with me and my kid…..and they are really good. Its the perfect storm….technology, information, experience, and the ability to spend time on the water. Its hard to work 50 hours a week and then compete against a kid who has been on the water almost everyday. A lot of us started in our teens with an old flat bottom tin rig, a 30 year old 9.9, and a trolling motor that worked half the time. Fast forward to today, a lot(not all) of these kids have access to equipment that works and can focus on fishing not trying to figure out if they can unfoul a spark plug hanging over the water to get back to the ramp like we did. The sport has changed.
Man you are exactly right. Exactly
I bereave that high school and college bass fishing has also contributed. Great vid.
As an angler that has fish my whole life at 45 i look at some of the kids coming up and under stand why the age is dropping. Look at raybun this yr you have an 18 yr dominanted the sping and early summer with giant sacks. But it come from being on the water and learning from his dad what took the rest of us yrs to learn hes picked up as a high school angler. So add 4 more yrs coming out of college now you are pushing 10yrs of tournament fishing and they are just in there early to mid 20's so that is showing the swing for sure. And they all know how to use electronics. The game has changed.
Interesting point, change is good. Excellent research bud.
I have no problem with any of that. Part of the accelerated learning curve are the college, high school, and middle school circuits. Young anglers get a jumpstart on tournament fishing, and the best roll right into the bigger circuits straight out of school. I curious to see where it goes from here. I do have some concern about sustainability of fisheries because of the immense pressure on all levels of fishing.
Great video!! I basically learned that my fishing career is over at 39 lol
Access to the sport, equipment boats and of course high school and college. I believe one of the major rolls of Bassmaster was to grow the sport of tournament bass fishing. It has worked.
Then there is the ?
Can they do it without the electronics?
Another thing to look at and think about is When did high school and college fishing start. 2005 i beieve for collge. Some of your Elites an MLF pros today, we're in that group of college fishing or high school fishermen then college fishing which made them even better. Matt and Jordan Lee, Cody Huff just to name a few. Their experiences started years ago at a much younger age than us old guys that didnt have that opportunity.
Of course it is. There’s also a lot of other factors. Only the young & up & coming are willing to risk that much financially to fish high level tournaments. Everyone elder is trying to just survive & keep their boats/trucks & lives together. Older folks got retirement to think about. Not starting a bass fishing career unless you got a plan, skills & lots of money to gamble.
Great vid. I can better relate to this video with data than the other guy about ffs. Competitive fishing is becoming more popular now at a high school level with better technology.
Great video. I'll add the advent of high school and college fishing also promoting rapid learning of he sport.
It will always “never be the same” for old guys.
The sport must constantly change, grow, adapt, but never be the same.
The more young n's fishing means fishing has a future and that's a great thing no matter at the end of the day you have to want it and if you don't catch them if you ain't fishing
Fuientes fished as a flw co angler for years and years and larry nixon was his travel partner. he gained a lot of knowledge during this time. He has put in the work.
Very interesting information! Great news for my kids but not so good news for me LOL
I also think the high school & college Fishing programs have had a huge impact on this. Look at the young guys in the Elite series that came through & did well in college Fishing. When your young it’s amazing how hungry you are. Unfortunately the hunger fades over time. I used to sleep in my truck at the ramp ( im sure a lot of you did too) but I sure don’t anymore. 😊
I disagree those programs are nonexistent out west and yet the age of our pros are still trending young
@@joeys7519 I hear ya but in the Elites & BPT most of the young guns are former College stars
Bradley
Great video!
We always learn from you.
You have been one of my favorites ever since Lanier 🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟😎
55 and holding 😎
Awesome! Thank you
@@BradleyHallmanFishing have a great long weekend my friend right here from Lake Lanier
Great discussion Bradley.
need a senior tour like they have in golf
Look at the advancement of technology in 2023 compared to technology in 1980. I'm 57 years old and we didn't have computers in school period! Now elementary schools have computers, and what kid doesn't live on a Playstation. I'm saying without the advancement of electronics how do these young anglers fair in instinctive decisions based around years of time on the water. Maybe you take away the electronics and the age bracket goes back up! Just a thought!
At the age of 24 when we tragically lost Bryan Kerchal he had fished 2 Classics, 2 Federation National Championships and 7 BASS Invitationals. Of those he fished exactly one out of his own boat. Back then the Championship were out of supplied identical boats. Of those 11 events he had 2 wins, one 3rd and 4 other money finishes. I fished with Bryan the weekend before he won the classic. He was the best there ever was.
Yo ED!
Thanks bro great video 💯
It has changed fast in every aspect of life. Technology has ruined a lot of pastimes things that were fun, now it’s whoever has the most time,money and technology wins.
Bradley miss you on TH-cam and with Todd. Give us an update.
I agree and also think it's a great thing, but it's also because of college doing fishing and scholarships, and now it's in high school. I hope it gets even big where it's like other major sports
Something I don't see anyone giving credit to is the creation of highschool and college bass trails. So many kids are getting trained in ways we were never afforded. Is technology a contributing factor, yes as you can tell with the older guys and guys who didn't go through the highschool and college trails but adopted technology early are doing well too. But, we pushed for getting kids involved, giving them a way to train and get involved in the sport to keep it going for years to come. This is what we have worked for. It baffles me to see these guys complaining about it. Great video Brad!!! Thank you for giving it a positive view.
How many of these young guys will wind up broke and in debt chasing a dream? Unless they come from money I don’t see how it’s any kind of logical plan
Really good topic here Bradley,and those stats back it up,kids just have it made these days,in everything they do,and it's showing big time in the fishing industry,great video buddy 👊
Ready for the LBJ your making and hats!
Brad .....1240 A Lowrance and a topography map of tne lake ....do they catch the same fish as they are now while using FFS . Whats % can catch the same fish they are catching now ?
As God as my witness; I fish with an older gentlemen whose been fishing his entire life.
And when we go out with the groups we fish with around oklahoma.
He ALWAYS, ALWAYS puts me on to fish the other guys can't. And while they use all their graphs and charts and sonar/live scope etc.
All he needs to know or use is a depth finder and water temp, it's all he needs. From the time of year it is to the color of water.
It's remarkable. He's the fish'n magician.
Hallman, looked good in my bassmasters magazine bro.Big fan very happy for you brother. Go crush the disrespectful live scope brats next year.
Yep, I live here close to Rayburn, went and watched the weigh in for the BFL this weekend. a 23yr. old won and a 20 yr. old got second. Young man in his mid 20s won the Co-Angler side.
Interesting analysis and I am sure that advent of live coverage, mapping and FFS has drastically shortened the learning curve. As someone who used statistics in my day-to-day job for 30 years I would like to see the age of Classic qualifiers over the years. Since this would be an analysis over an entire season it would be more telling of the age of pros decreasing
Look at the Elites AOY list for the 2024 Classic. The trend is very similar to Bradley's list of the Toyota Championship top ten.
GOOD STUFF man!
Here in Central Alabama, about 5-10 years ago, I overheard an older angler comment that “those college anglers” are hard to beat in local tournaments. He is correct.
The numbers never lie. Good info.
Younger guys are winning in nascar as well, good video
Id also like to say i appreciate your perspective on everything. Refreshing in this day and age. I understand peoples frustration with it taking a lot of money to have a fully rigged boat and all of that stuff, but i think the sport is alive and well. And its no different than any other sport. Take baseball, for a young kid to get a scholarship most are playing year around and paying for travel ball and fully invested. Hunting is the same, if you want a good place to go you have to have your own farm or pay a lease. Times have changed and we cant just sit on our butt and complain that its not as easy as it used to be. Have to get up and get after it. Im in my late 30s and im ate up with fishing now. Got into it late but i spend countless hours getting info from you guys and Internet forums snd websites and looking at mapping and i can tell you if you want to learn these days you can. And it pays off when you get on the water. I dont come from money at all and ill never be on the elites but i like seeing how i stack up against the best in the area.
Excellent video 👌
I know my buddys father-in-law watch a major event a couple of years ago on a lake he never fished before. And his turny was a week after that major event and he got his spots from the camera boats. They showed where they were at and witch docks ect and he won his tournament
I agree mostly with the things you have laid out especially with TH-cam and the ability to learn something more rapidly.
With that being said FFS in Pro Bass Fishing is like the steroid era in pro football and baseball. It was tolerated for a while then it was considered cheating.
How many of these guys would be successful on the tour without FFS. I’m thinking not many. When does owning the latest and most expensive technology become more important than the skill of fishing? From the way it looks now technology beats skill,experience and knowledge.
Your thoughts?
I agree but I think we’re going to see FFS get banned during tournaments in the next few years. The fans don’t want to see it and finally a lot of pros are speaking out
It is a good thing
Happy to finally see someone not blame FFS for everything. Folks seem to forget that guys like Wheeler, Lee and DeFoe were dominating well before FFS. Like you said…live coverage, social media, mapping, etc all play a part. I think eventually it’ll start to even back out to the 40’s.
FFS is the biggest part of it take that off the boat and see how they do lol... the crappie world is no different Hayden Jeffries is winning everything in crappie fishing he's 21 no way would he be doing that if it wasn't for FFS NO WAY!! there's no more instinct fishing or experirence that use to be so much a part of it i agree mapping and such plays big part to but GARMIN changed everything when live scope come out
@@slabbusterrtr7690 I just mentioned how they’d do. Those guys I mentioned were dominating before FFS ever showed up. Does FFS help the young crowd more…absolutely. But other reasons were in play long ago. Another thing not mentioned…college fishing is much more prevalent now. Personally, I think the internet/social media is one of the biggest influences. There’s no more having to learn the basics on your own now. Guys are starting off competent instead of completely lost.
Nailed it!
Great breakdown you always have good perspective on the things changing 🍻
With knowledge at are finger tips. Plus the sonar. It's a different game. And should be considered a different sport
Looks like it's time to start a senior tour. or don't allow live scopes..
I’d like to know if the average age of the top 10 is representative of the avg age of everyone who fished the Toyota’s. That stat could show us if the younger guys are out fishing the older guys or if the sport, in general, has an influx of younger anglers. Both is likely true. I love stats so this really got my attention. Excellent video!
I have live, and I am 53 years old, I watch the live coverage and it's great but the live scope has made great fishermen out of the younger guys that in my opinion would have a hard time competing at their age in a grind type tournament. I can't watch a live scope tournament it's way to boring!
I cannot afford the electronics much less the boat. I can afford rods reels line and lures. Expensive sport. I fish small tournaments at home in Va. James river, Lake Chesdin...Well thought out video.
I'm curious to see the same thing done
But for the Elites, how do they breakdown ?
Great info and data. Maybe missed it but the education part of it maybe plays a part. High School Teams College Teams etc. They have a huge start at such a young age…. Great video
Great perspective for the sport if you don’t have the young generation a place in this trade it will die with the old hands with the experience . This opens the door for a senior tour with the popularity right now . I’m old but on my home shallow lake I know the spots . The new tech isn’t much help in this particular lake but if a 19 yr old had same info as I the young angler would probably have an edge. I think an older age tour would open the sport up to many more young anglers
Also a place for a few more older anglers to compete
Young guys pick up technology way faster than old guys. (I'm 73 and can barely use a graph) Like you said, TH-cam gives anybody who's interested, a huge leg up on how to fish like the very best. Live coverage of tournaments for the true bass fishing student is now available nearly every day of the week. Experience is now gained, in the beginning at least, by simply watching the best catch fish on TV and computer. For the committed tournament angler, the learning curve is steep AND fast. The world is moving so fast it makes me feel my age, but I still love chasing bass in my 12' kayak and catching them every now and then.
I'll bet when collage fishing started < or took off ! Is when the ages were getting younger ! I'm 60 and the weekend derby's are starting to kick my ass ! Started tourneys in the late 80's early 90's ! Red man days
Exactly we all have access to them tools,but some can’t afford it.I’ve got the knowledge from New York to Texas to Florida.I just don’t have the money.There’s thousands of guys out here that would beat the breaks off some of the pros if all that electronics were taken off.Then there’s some of us who have it an barely can use it and go back to ole school.We can hang but we don’t win.Why?Our age group didn’t grow up with a phone in our hand.I grew up with a tobacco knife or hay bales in mine.Yes guns too.I totally agree Hallman!!!Ive seen it here locally with the kids beating us.There just that damn good or the learning abilities are much better than our generation .Technology sux as far as I’m concerned!
Technology savvy youths plays a huge roll in this. If I grew up with a violin in my hands I would be a much better violinist than if just picked it up a few years ago at a late age. I admit I was very reluctant to use FFS. I also feel I don't enjoy the sport nearly as much with FFS and shut it off a lot. I certainly don't like tv coverage anymore. Remove FFS and ages would climb back to late 30s and early 40s again.
I also think the expansion of high school and college fishing circuits are preparing young anglers to compete.
It takes a lot of actual skill to power fish and putting a lure where most can’t. That’s fishing! But great video.
Absolutely agree with everything you said. Great video. I think another thing is back in the day there were a lot of guys who had saved up the money on their own to take the plunge and try it. These kids now no matter what means they have are finding the dollars to give it a shot at an earlier age.
Yeah the shocking part would be great if the tournaments would just END😂😂😂 fishing would be back to normal😊
I remember poor college kids not having a vehicle at school. And they were excited to have a box of tuna helper to eat.
Boy how that’s changed.
I believe 20 years ago older people were the majority in who could afford to fish tournaments. Now youtube, Twitter, and facebook help the younger generation earn income, along with high school and college fishing allowing then to have some of the best electronics available and time to learn how to use it. Older generations sometimes rely on history where younger anglers drop trolling motor and start looking.
I think you are a great angler Bradley and would love to see a season look back series, a lessons learned so to speak. Fishing your strengths got you where you are, did you stick to that during the season?
Garmin debuted panoptix live sonar 2015. There is your answer. His stats show that...
Its the live-scope. I dont buy that its knowledge based on the fact that 40-50yo will have multitudes more of it from just experience. Regardless of the coverage those skills for those younger people hasnt developed. Feel ist taught its learned from reputation.
Wonder your thoughts on Angler of the Year Kyle Welcher. And ages every year for this? Dude is legit 🎉
Time marches on
A lot of this is derived from High School and college fishing teams that are getting that education at a younger age. They are growing up with the new technologies and know how to master it. My dad had fished tournaments since I was young and he has a hard time reading the new sonar and understanding what it is showing him at 75 years old.
It's the speed of information distribution ,we are in the post internet age. The younger a person is the quicker they learn but pre internet it was harder to find out what you didn't know so certain techniques, lures, where to go etc had no short cuts, you had to put in the time. This was the case for angling the world over and not just competition angling.
There is a way for this to play out yet as i feel you will see less anglers spend a lifetime involved with the sport because the harder you go in your younger years at an activity the more chance of burnout and people losing the love for it. The speed at which knowledge is gained now also makes many aspects of angling less of a challenge and long term what do you aim for when the knowledge has all come so quickly.
Totally agree. One thing I will add, in 10 years will the top fishing circuits be dominated by 18-30 yr olds? The days of a 20 yr career on tour over? Because of the constant influx of “ the next best thing” coming quicker now.
Dude. 3 out of the top 5 guys on Hartwell is 18-23yrs old............................ its insane. Look for Lane Clark, Tyler Thompson and Collin Smith. Them boys are hammers.
These young guys have taken into that forward facing sonar as soon as that came available started skyrocketing also they have started a lot younger these days
Great points mentioned. I think with the BASS / MLF spit opened the flood gates for these young guns to be able to get in. Now we have very exciting times.
Its not just electronics. Regular guys cant afford to fish anymore. Its a rich kids sport now. Unless you got daddys money you might as well keep putting on your work boots and swinging a hammer. Hell the majority of middle class guys cant even afford a boat anymore let alone being able to pay for tournaments and time off. Its flat out depressing to work your ass off for 20 yrs to get ahead only to end up worse off. I cant even afford to buy the same house i bought when i was 22 making $12hr.
The dollar is more like a dime it don’t by shit
Yes he was Kevin Verde was fishing with me was a kid I watched a video last night