You may not believe this. But just the other day, I had someone ask me about the future of forward-facing sonar (FFS) in bass fishing.
Obviously, I’m being sarcastic.
It didn’t happen “just the other day.” It’s happened multiple times a day — every day of the week — for at least a couple of years now.
For the record, I have no inside information about any restrictions that will or won’t be placed on forward-facing sonar in B.A.S.S. events in the future. When those decisions are made, I’ll find out about them 36 hours before everyone else, and I’ll write the story to inform the public.
But as the debate rages on, one question keeps running through my mind:
As humans, when have we ignored improved technology in favor of the status quo?
I’m asking you in all seriousness. There probably have been times, but I just can’t think of one.
There was a time, thousands of years ago, when humans walked everywhere they went. Then someone discovered horseback was a much more efficient means of travel, and trillions of human steps were instantly saved.
Then railroads were built to take us from one end of the country to the other, and the workload for horses instantly got lighter because humans realized trains were faster and more comfortable. The invention of the motor car took even more stress off horses as humans used them just to get from one side of town to the other.
Then airplanes came along and changed our travel plans as much as anything ever has.
At no point during the evolution of travel did any human jump up and scream, “No! I’d rather walk.” Or, “No! I’d rather ride my horse across the country for months instead of just hopping a train that gets me there in a few days.”
The technology was there, so we used it.
Remember watching a television with three channels and walking across the room when you wanted to change from one channel to another? If you’re over 50, you probably do. But anyone younger than that only knows a world of multiple channels devoted to every conceivable topic and remote controls to navigate them without leaving the comfort of your chair.
No one is actively hoping to go backward on that front.
Ditto with landline telephones and long-distance charges versus cellphones and unlimited flat-fee usage. Or six-lane highways and 70 mph speed limits versus two-lane dirt roads.
Or how about X-rays versus cutting a patient open to find out what’s wrong? Seriously, that’s how problems were once diagnosed.
All of this may sound crazy compared to forward-facing sonar versus the other already-incredible sonar we’ve been using for decades. But you see my point.
When has the human race deliberately chosen the hard route when an easier one was readily available?
I have to chuckle every time a bass angler mentions FFS and talks about “giving fish a chance.”
I spent my entire 20s fishing tournaments from a 17-foot aluminum boat with a 40-horsepower Force outboard and zero depthfinders against guys who made no apologies for their 21-foot fiberglass rigs, 250-horsepower outboards, top-of-the-line electronics and four or five days to practice for a Saturday event, when I might get lucky to knock off on Friday at lunchtime.
Exactly who was giving the fish the better chance in that scenario? And where was the list of rules that made things “fair” for me?
Anyway, we could go on forever about this topic — and with the ridiculous way social media works these days, I’m sure some people will.
Rest assured, though, those folks — the ones who declared themselves FFS geniuses when they were four beers into a pitcher at their local dive bar — will have no say-so in the ultimate outcome of this debate.
B.A.S.S. formed a committee long before the Elite Series season began, and guys like Mark Zona, Davy Hite, James Hall and Kyle Jessie — people who care about the good of the industry and sport as a whole — will ultimately make those decisions.
I don’t know what they’ll decide. But I assure you, walking from here to Oregon likely won’t be involved.
