If y’all read my previous article a month or so ago, I had a pretty harsh opinion of FFS. In most of the previous article, I talked a lot about the cons of FFS and entertainment, but I am going to retract my statement.
Now while, I still believe the technology is a bit out of control, I did learn something very valuable about FFS and the future of our sport last week at the 2024 AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork.
1.) It absolutely doesn’t matter how these dudes catch them, Bassmaster and JM Associates does the best job in the world at educating viewers, adjusting to new technology and showcasing the greatest bass anglers on the planet.
2.) What would have the weights looked like at the Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork without FFS? There is no question the weights would have been still incredible, but what FFS has opened up the ability to chase fish that may never have been caught ever. And therefore that is the reason the weights this week were absolutely incredible.
130+ pounds to win the four day event and you had to be roughly over 42 to 43 pounds to make the top 50 cut after Day 2.
Absolutely unbelievable.
What I’m getting to is, we are witnessing weights unlike we have ever seen before and we are still whining about the technology. Do we not want them to catch 30+ pounds? We don’t want to see big fish caught right in front of us?
I’ve had to take a step back and acknowledge that maybe FFS isn’t so bad. It’s a tool that is capable of showing us things like we have never seen before and to be honest I’m kind of excited for it, even though I was nervous about viewership numbers at first. I think it’s something that is going to actually give these younger kids a chance to flourish into the professional tournament scene whether their elders like it or not and a lot of them don’t.
But I’m all here for the new crop of rookie anglers and there is a bunch of them that are damn good kids and are going to be a real threat in the professional scene.
I’d leave with this, if you are a young aspiring angler, learn this technology now. It could seriously take you to places in the future like you may not even have thought was possible.
