I will guess that half of the TFF readers are not very familiar with Randy Blaukat as his best tournament days were many years ago (no offense Randy) but he was pretty darn good. The best thing though about the guy is that he speaks up and is not afraid to voice a strong opinion in the public. Which can not be said for most of today's top pros.

I agree with most of Randy's comments below.

Taken from Randy's FB page:
"As many of you know, I'm not a big fan on new technology in fishing. I use it, only because I'm forced to do so to compete.
That being said, I don't think the current explosion in technology is a good idea for the future of our sport.
The reason I say this is not because myself or others resist change and adaptation.
I say this because technology....and the need to keep up with it to compete even on a weekend level, is turning bass fishing....expecially tournament fishing, into an "elitist" sport.
It takes a lot of money to keep up with technology....not just the desire to keep up.
I think it is a huge injustice to our sport, for tournament directors to allow a unlimited amount of electronics on a boat, yet they will not allow an angler to leave their boat to make an area more accessable....and other rules that require no financial outlay by the anglers...only creativity.
For some anglers to be able to afford $15,000 dollars in electronics, while some anglers can barely afford two very simple, basic units creates an uneven playing field.
Same with rods/reels and tackle. Professional golfers are limited to how many clubs they can carry. The same should apply to tournament fishing....again, in and effort to level the playing field for those less financially fortunate.
We live in a world of fishing where an $80,000 dollar boat, a $50,000 dollar truck, $70,000 dollars in entry fees and expenses, and another $15,000 in tackle each year is the norm.
This is insanity.
I for one, see this harming our sport and new anglers who want to become part of it.
To me, the best thing tournament directors could do for our sport, is to put more limits on equipment and technology allowed in our sport, and put more emphasis on creativity.
Let anglers plant brush/carry extra gas/pull their boats over shallow water to access areas....anything that is free and within the state laws of the area that is being fished.
True progress would be putting more emphasis on angler creativity and intuition, and less on the financial resources that some anglers have over the less fortunate.
To me, a perfect tournament world would be one where no gps or side/down imaging was legal. A boat compass, a map, and two basic depthfinders would be all competitors could use.
This would allow our sport to see the anglers with creativity and intuition excel....which is the primal way fishing has been and should remain....not who can afford to dish out thousands of dollars every time a new gadget is introduced to the market."

Very well said.

Absolute truth......but it is what it is! Pull out a roll if you feel the need to compete.

I think he is right it has gotten way to complicated

It does make it more rewarding for us poor guys when we are able to beat out those guys every once in a while. As far as the local tournaments I think it has as much or more to do with time on the water. I live about a 1/4 mile from the boat ramp but I don't get to spend near as much time on the water as is necessary to stay on top of the fish consistently.

He's right, but the tournament sponsors and vendors make their livings convincing people they need the latest electronics and 4,000 HP to catch fish, so they're not about to line up behind a plan where a guy in a $20k rig can successfully compete with the $75k HydroBlasters... it's about money, not angling skills.

I know I am very lucky to have what I have(2008 Z520 with 2 HDS 8 Gen 1 Graphs) but I catch myself getting very envious of those with HDS 12s and 3D imaging.

To upgrade would cost $7,000+......and it would not pay for itself in tournament winnings. I don't fish very many.

I have to remind myself to be happy with what I have as it is more than I likely deserve!!!

go kayak bassing then.

things have changed and I don't think its going back, too many of the sponsors both organizing body and anglers are tied to the electronics, expensive boats, expensive trucks, and expensive tackle.

I've said it before, but I see tournament bass fishing at even the elite levels being more self funded "hobbyists" than true pros going forward. It happened long ago with road racing, any hack driver with a checkbook can enter the Daytona 24 hours. 1 in 10 talented young drivers might get an opportunity, but most don't. As sponsor money has gone down and costs gone up it favors the self funded anglers more than check to check young talent. It is sad, don't blame the self funded anglers for it though, blame the manufacturers and organizing bodies for their greed or maturing business models.

You have a better chance winning in Bass Fishing spending less that a lot of other competitive things out there.

They could always have a "low tech" tournament series.

They do have limits!!! No a rigs and nothing over 250hp! Haha.

I completely disagree and will leave it at that

Competition isn't for everyone. The real shame with our sport, imo, is that so many have convinced themselves, and everyone else, that those who don't have the high-tech toys are somehow inferior.

Yeah, what about us poor slobs with aluminum boats and no power poles?

I have many problems with this. But to each his own I have seen guys in 20 year old boats with non expensive tackle smoke all the wanna be pro anglers in their 80k rigs and gear. It's just a cool tool that to most anglers is underused and misunderstood. Learning to read a graph and learning to "find" offshore stuff is complete different.

I should have written that I agree with some of his comments and not "most". Serious tournament fishing can be extremely expensive. Personally I would rather have 200 days on the water than the $70,000+ rig as I do not believe you can buy a good game in tournament fishing. The "stuff" helps but it is not the difference. Castledine needs to post a picture of his old Skeeter.