Is tournament participation dropping off with the current technology requirements and fuel prices? Seems if you are not using the forward facing electronics, your chances of finishing high in the standings diminishes greatly. Pretty sure not everyone is in a position to drop thousands for units, transducers and trolling motors just to fish a tournament that may pay out only hundreds.

Then add double fuel rates, plus the increases in associated items, costs add up quickly. At what point does diminishing returns kick in?

Guess it is becoming a rich persons sport.

Same principal that is used in most things, you participate at the level that is within your means.

Just like deer hunting,,,got to pay to play

You don’t have to have the latest and greatest for many lakes. I had a buddy win a big bass tournament the other day and he doesn’t have cr@p for graphs. Yes, on some lakes it helps, but not all.


It is getting expensive though, when 20 year old used boats cost as much as they did new, there’s a problem. How you play the game, is how you make it. I do think tournaments will take a hit though with fuel prices, small payout ones anyways.

High gas prices have got to make some of these tournament fishermen think twice.

learned to fish out of a 14' lund with a 9.9 evinrude when I worked at sixshooter dock on tenkiller as a kid.

had about 6 lures, spinners from western auto (probably .25c ea.), rapala (balsa), lucky 13 or jitterbug (both if I hadn't lost one recently).

maybe a bag of purple creme worms and one of black or black/blue tail. weights and hooks etc. with a 5.5' eagle claw pistol grip and a 6' med eagle claw spinning, zebco 33 was first "bass" reel then got to move up to an original 5000 ambassaduer, had mitchel spinning reel.


I would bet that I caught as many and probably more fish back then than I do now with about 10,000.00 in electronics/tm.

I still try to read the water before I trust the graphs.

Not a boat but 6 or 7 years ago we were in the market for a used sub-compact tractor with belly mower and FEL.
Found one at a Kubota dealer. Very clean with thousand hours 10 years old. Listed for what it sold new and they sold it. Boats are no different it seems.

Economy will hurt tournaments. It might take a while to kick in but it will.

A lot of it has to do with grit a determination and just being there. It doesn't matter what you've got in your boat, when it comes your time to shine it's going to happen. I believe it is John Cox that fishes without any electronics at all and yet he has been successful enough to become a household name in the tournament world. My boat has side scan and down scan electronics, but I depend probably more on what I see on the shore and maps than I do with what I see on my electronics, and I catch fish and still have times where I get skunked but the longer, I do this the less that seems to happen.
Watching the MLF Bass Pro Series guys use the new forward-facing sonar they can see them, but they can't make them bite if they don't want to, I saw quite a few of the guys make the comment that they could see fish following their lures, but they would not bite and sometimes see multiple fish chasing and still nothing. I agree forward facing sonar could help eliminate unproductive water but from what I've seen so far it doesn't necessarily mean you are going to catch more fish.

Wouldn’t be surprised if entry fees don’t go up as well.
Gotta pay to play..

He is pretty good.

What Big Swimbait posted. I’ve been a part of an annual T on Bob Sandlin for the last 30+ years and for a great many of those years two guys in a beat up tin boat with a cooler rigged as a live well always finished in the money…..

Probably a combo of gotta have live scope mentality and gas prices but lower level participation numbers look bad right now, but Bassmaster opens and MLF Toyotas are still full.