Governed By Yesteryear

Fishing for spawning bass has always been a hot topic. Once somewhat taboo, targeting bass on the bed is generally accepted in today’s tournament bass fishing world. For decades, big events have been won by anglers focused on the spawn; publicly opposing the practice never gains much momentum.

But modern bed-fishing is a different animal. Will it change public opinion?

A case in point was the recent Elite Series event at the St. Johns River. While winner Bill Lowen went old-school, pitching and swimming jigs shallow, a number of top competitors targeted visible bass in various stages of the spawn.

However, rather than relying on the best polarized eyewear to spot the fish, an advanced group of touring pros found a new application for forward-facing sonar; targeting “visible” bass from fifty feet away.

It was surprising adaption for many, but something I saw coming years ago. In fact, I began informing readers on the potential of FFS as early as 2021, despite the popular opinion that the technology was simply situational. It only works on deep, open-water fish, they said. It would never play in a place like Florida ...

Fast forward to 2025, and we’re seeing first-hand the impact FFS will make on the spawn. No fish, really, is safe. In the past, the limiting factors of water color, wind and depth guaranteed a successful reproductive cycle for the majority of bass, while the easy targets took the heat. This made for a successful reproductive cycle for the population.

Well, kiss that reasoning goodbye.

I’ll make another prediction: in short time, the vast majority of spawning bass in our major waterways will be caught every year, if not multiple times per year. Sure, there will be exceptions in massive lakes or those with heavy cover or little pressure. I hope your favorite fishery fits that description.

If not, be prepared to have most of the fish plucked off the beds before you hit the water. How many will successfully complete the reproductive ritual once released is hard to say.

Will we see an impact? It likely depends on the body of water.

Places with a large base of predatory fish – bluegills, gobies and others – may suffer. The same holds true for waterbodies with spawns condensed by weather. These are often the northern fisheries, but tidal waters may also fall into that category. What happens if the only window of opportunity lines up with this new, massively efficient fishing effort?

Should we even care? For years, many fisheries managers have stood by their claims that natural factors – weather, storms, water levels and such – dictate the success of the spawn more so than human impact.

I caution believers in this logic. You see, fisheries management studies and their corresponding rules, for the most part, were carried out decades ago. Before mapping chips, Power-Poles and Spot-Lock. And long, long before forward-facing sonar.

When considering today’s advanced, targeted effort, those studies are irrelevant.

On the other hand, bass anglers release nearly all of their catch. Sure, a few fish go home, and some die due to mishandling. And many that are released aren’t successful spawners due to nest predation, possibly stress. But the majority of bass go back, and it doesn’t take the whole population to sustain itself. Crude, maybe. But biological fact.

And it’s that principle – catch and release – that allows us have a fishery at all in most places. Studies show an overwhelming percentage of bass are caught each year. Newer studies claim a gigantic number of tournament-caught bass later die due to delayed mortality. The fact of the matter remains: if we weren’t releasing these fish, we’d all be golfing by now.

But are we really considering today’s impact, or just discounting it out of convenience?

As bass fishing changes faster than ever, moving across the horizon at the speed of light, are we considering the impact that FFS and other technologies are really making, beyond who wins the most money? Are we investing enough in future planning, or just operating the machine at maximum capacity and hoping for the best?

By the time we find out, it may be too late.

(Joe Balog is the often-outspoken owner of Millennium Promotions, Inc., an agency operating in the fishing and hunting industries. A former Bassmaster Open and EverStart Championship winner, he's best known for his big-water innovations and hardcore fishing style. He's a popular seminar speaker, product designer and author, and is considered one of the most influential smallmouth fishermen of modern times.)

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