Has the sport of bass fishing reached a point where avid anglers have so much exposure to the sport, and so much information, we hardly know any longer which direction to look? Do competitive anglers have so many options for tournaments it becomes overwhelming as well? I think we have reached a point where as anglers, we have to filter out certain things to keep from having fishing overload.
 |
| Source: sales-i.com |
Fishing is the most popular hobby in the country, and for good reason. Some people are content to sit on the lake and relax, not really caring whether or not they catch anything. It’s simply a getaway, an escape, something therapeutic. Many anglers are much more serious; it’s not a trip without a limit or a competition. Some people fish for a healthy and delicious meal, or to fill the freezer and feed their family. Most of us are somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. We enjoy part of all those factors. And all of us agree that we’d like to be better at fishing. Time is precious, so when you leave the house to head toward your favorite water, you want to feel like you’re armed with the gear and the knowledge you need to have a successful trip - the kind that turns into a good fish story.
In the last 5 years, I’ve gone from a casual fishing fan and hobbyist to a serious angler. Fishing is not my job, but it’s definitely more than a hobby. Starting around 2014-2015 I began more intensive research on how to catch bass. Thanks to my Papaw, I was primarily a crappie angler, so I had some experience with basic electronics, offshore structure, and fishing cover like brush piles, walls, laydowns etc. Habitat was something I understood quite well. But bass fishing opened up a new world of baits, and exploration of somewhat different seasonal patterns. I became a glutton for information, spending much of my spare time on YouTube, Google Maps, and various other websites. I was addicted to the game, and I couldn't learn enough. It didn't take long to get sucked into the black hole of online information. However, I eventually escaped the vortex, having narrowed my Youtube channels down to a few favorites, and later discovered a handful of podcasts that I still listen to regularly while on the road.
My favorite of these podcasts is called Bass Talk Live, hosted by Mark Jeffreys and Matt Pangrac. Jeffreys produces the show, and is a pioneer of bass fishing media on the internet. Pangrac is a young angler fishing the FLW Costa series. This is not a podcast I listen to for the purpose of catching more bass. This podcast is about current events, tournament results, marketing, and business trends within the sport of competitive bass fishing. They usually have a pro angler on as a guest, but they usually don't go very in depth about their technique and patterns. Being a veteran of bass fishing media, Jeffreys seems to have his finger on the pulse of the industry as well as anyone out there. Most of the anglers have known him a while, and are comfortable coming on the show and opening up about their sponsors, and life as a professional on and off the water. In my opinion, it's relevant, entertaining, and valuable information.
A few weeks ago, Jeffreys used the term "oversaturation" in a conversation on the BTL podcast, and it really hit home. The context of the term was a conversation with Pangrac about the amount of readily available public information we as fans will have from the three major professional tours this year.
 |
| Source: anglerschannel.com |
In case you're not a pro bass fishing fan, or if you are a fan and have been living under a rock, here's a synopsis of what has happened in the last four months. There has been no less than a seismic shift in professional bass fishing.
In October 2018, news of the 2019 launch of the new Bass Pro Tour broke. The landscape of professional bass fishing was turned upside down as anglers made their decisions on which tour they would be fishing. Riding piggyback on the every-fish-counts format of the wildly successful Major League Fishing TV show, many of the industry's heavy hitters left BASS and FLW to join the BPT. It is billed as a league built by the anglers, for the anglers. They even voted to waive entry fees as enough sponsor money rolled in to still cover a good payout structure.
Once the smoke cleared and the three tour rosters were set, it became evident a new trend was developing in the way bass fishing gets presented to fans. One of the prime foci of all three major tours became the capture and streaming of live, on-the-water footage. MLF, BASS, and FLW pretty much got into an arms race for live fishing coverage. The result? In 2019, bass fishing enthusiasts are going to have literally thousands of hours of live, on-the-water footage to consume if they choose. In a recent article on basszone.com (Mark Jeffreys' website), the numbers of live days of footage were listed:
- FLW - 17 days
- B.A.S.S. - 45 days
- MLF/BPT - 53 days
So this amazing stat, in part, led Jeffreys to ask Pangrac if we are getting oversaturated with live coverage.
In addition to the 115 days of live-streamed pro fishing we'll be getting this year, the explosion in popularity of YouTube has given birth to real opportunity in amateur filmmaking. Although YouTube has gotten more stringent on their monetization policies, droves of aspiring anglers, wannabe anglers, and personalities are posting content trying to get their names out there. And shamelessly pimping it out. As exciting as I'm sure it is for the ones producing the content, it can be equally as frustrating for the consumer of this media to sort through the nonsense to get to something that produces a satisfactory result for what you typed in the search bar. There is a lot of good information out there, but equally as much nonsense.
In addition to the multitude of information, there are new tournament trails popping up out of nowhere, especially in the kayak fishing sector. Kayak fishing is the fastest-growing niche within the sport of fishing. It has gotten to a point to where a competitive kayak angler could easily fish a tournament some 40 weeks out of the year, if not more. And many say the sector is still within its infancy. Here in Georgia, several new clubs are launching tournament trails in 2019. Nationally, the Hobie Bass Open Series is giving KBF some competition for drawing the more serious kayak anglers. So, on top of all the online information, competitive anglers are also now busy choosing what trails to fish on what weekends.
I'm not a professional angler. Very few kayak anglers can say they are. I'm good enough to occasionally finish well in a tournament, and bring home some extra spending money. But my livelihood does not come from fishing from a kayak, so I have no excuse to spend all my spare time on the water, or in front of a computer researching fishing. I'm sponsored, but not sponsored to the point where I'm not coming significantly out of pocket for the tournaments I fish. Just like the media I consume, I have to sort through, and pick and choose the events I attend throughout the year. Family is important, and there has to be a balance, both time-wise and budgetary. So I have chosen to focus this year on fishing a handful of diverse events, both local and national. And I've chosen to try and filter out a lot of the nonsense and unhelpful noise on the information side. Writer & information consultant Clay Shirky said "it's not information overload, but filter failure." I believe it's a little bit of both.
 |
| Source: slideshare.net |
It's taken a few years and lots of learning to focus on striking that balance. I want to try and shorten the curve for the ones of you out there who may be overwhelmed. I'd like to use the remainder of this post to share a list a few of my favorite outlets for fishing information. I'm taking into account both the entertainment factor and the output of quality information. There is valuable information to be found in all sorts of places, but these are a few of my go-to's.
Websites
1. Wired2Fish
2. BassFan
3. BassZone
4. AnglersChannel
Map Study & Lake Research
1. Navionics WebApp: This app is also available on mobile. It's great to pair up with your satellite maps to research and locate areas to launch and fish.
2. Google/Bing/Apple Maps: Use the satellite view to see grass lines, points, and other cover & structure. Each company has different imagery, so you may be able to see bodies of water photographed during different seasons and different water levels.
3. Google Earth: Same imagery as Google Maps, but you can go back through history and see different water levels.
4. Local Fishing Reports by guides: Don't listen to the dock talk. Read the published reports and use that as a skeleton plan for your trip. Pay attention to the depths.
YouTube Channels
1. Flukemaster: Gene's channel is great for teaching the basics on a variety of techniques and seasonal patterns. It was one of my go-to sources when I was making the transition from mainly crappie fishing to bass fishing, and I still watch it today.
2. BMP Fishing: Brandon Palaniuk's channel. Well-produced, entertaining and informative. One of my favorites.
3. Wired2Fish: Usually short, technique-specific videos about fine-tuning those techniques and using the correct gear. Also knot-tying, gear reviews etc.
4. FLW Fishing: Live tournament streams, fish catches, technique videos, pro insights.
5. Tactical Bassin': Really great for the west coast anglers. All technique, not a lot of BS.
6. Hooked on Wild Waters: home of Drew Gregory's river bassin' show.
7. TackleJunky81: Mostly Gear Reviews. Really good reel care videos and some on-the-water stuff. Relatable and entertaining.
8. Lake Fork Guy: The fishing videos are informative, and Justin catches a lot of big bass. But there's much more to the channel. This guy is a brain cancer survivor, and pretty much vlogged the whole experience. Pretty cool stuff.
Honorable Mention - Zoffinger: This channel has almost nothing to do with bass fishing, but he does kayak fish inshore, and makes entertaining, positive videos. He's a consummate DIY'er and has a great attitude. It's one of those channels to watch when you just want to clear your mind and relax in front of the computer. I couldn't leave Marty off the list!
TV Shows & Live Streams
1. Major League Fishing: Can't wait to watch the BPT Live stream as well.
2. FLW Live: There is no substitute for time on the water for learning. This is the next best thing.
3. BASS Live: More time on the water with pros.
4. The Bass Pros
5. Hook N' Look
1. Flukemaster: Gene's channel is great for teaching the basics on a variety of techniques and seasonal patterns. It was one of my go-to sources when I was making the transition from mainly crappie fishing to bass fishing, and I still watch it today.
2. BMP Fishing: Brandon Palaniuk's channel. Well-produced, entertaining and informative. One of my favorites.
3. Wired2Fish: Usually short, technique-specific videos about fine-tuning those techniques and using the correct gear. Also knot-tying, gear reviews etc.
4. FLW Fishing: Live tournament streams, fish catches, technique videos, pro insights.
5. Tactical Bassin': Really great for the west coast anglers. All technique, not a lot of BS.
6. Hooked on Wild Waters: home of Drew Gregory's river bassin' show.
7. TackleJunky81: Mostly Gear Reviews. Really good reel care videos and some on-the-water stuff. Relatable and entertaining.
8. Lake Fork Guy: The fishing videos are informative, and Justin catches a lot of big bass. But there's much more to the channel. This guy is a brain cancer survivor, and pretty much vlogged the whole experience. Pretty cool stuff.
Honorable Mention - Zoffinger: This channel has almost nothing to do with bass fishing, but he does kayak fish inshore, and makes entertaining, positive videos. He's a consummate DIY'er and has a great attitude. It's one of those channels to watch when you just want to clear your mind and relax in front of the computer. I couldn't leave Marty off the list!
TV Shows & Live Streams
1. Major League Fishing: Can't wait to watch the BPT Live stream as well.
2. FLW Live: There is no substitute for time on the water for learning. This is the next best thing.
3. BASS Live: More time on the water with pros.
4. The Bass Pros
5. Hook N' Look
Podcasts
1. Bass Talk Live: Aforementioned references in this post. Current events, trending topics, industry news, and tournament results. Interviews with pros.
2. Let's Talk Fish: Bryan Thrift & Matt Arey talk in-depth on techniques and baits, some tournament talk during the season
3. Bass Edge Radio: Techniques & patterns in depth, usually with a recent tournament winner.
4. AC Insider: Tournament talk & interviews with pros
5. Bass University - Mike Iaconelli & Pete Gluszek chat with pros about techniques and tactics
6. One Objective - Bass boat and kayak talk from Virginia. Interviews with pros.
Again, this is by no means a comprehensive list of every good resource for bass fishing. There are all sorts of other resources I use from time to time as well, but I think this list is a good place to start. These are the ones I'm going to consistently. Hopefully this list will help out someone who is feeling intimidated by the concept of oversaturation or under-filtering.
I'd like to hear some readers' opinions on the list, too. Any additions? Subtractions? Something I missed? Let me know.
Tournament season is here! Tight lines, y'all!
1. Bass Talk Live: Aforementioned references in this post. Current events, trending topics, industry news, and tournament results. Interviews with pros.
2. Let's Talk Fish: Bryan Thrift & Matt Arey talk in-depth on techniques and baits, some tournament talk during the season
3. Bass Edge Radio: Techniques & patterns in depth, usually with a recent tournament winner.
4. AC Insider: Tournament talk & interviews with pros
5. Bass University - Mike Iaconelli & Pete Gluszek chat with pros about techniques and tactics
6. One Objective - Bass boat and kayak talk from Virginia. Interviews with pros.
Again, this is by no means a comprehensive list of every good resource for bass fishing. There are all sorts of other resources I use from time to time as well, but I think this list is a good place to start. These are the ones I'm going to consistently. Hopefully this list will help out someone who is feeling intimidated by the concept of oversaturation or under-filtering.
I'd like to hear some readers' opinions on the list, too. Any additions? Subtractions? Something I missed? Let me know.
Tournament season is here! Tight lines, y'all!
No comments:
Post a Comment