Bassfan Feedback

• Scott Loftis of Canton, NC writes:

  Monday, June 30, 2025

  Why is the Logan Martin being stocked with LMB? What is the management implication?

  Back to top Comment on this

• John Neer of Alexandria, VA writes:

  Thursday, June 19, 2025

  RE: Balog on BPS catalog – Loved this column, Joe. I related to every word of your recollections of those youthful years of crazed fishing obsession. While it’s natural and fun to be fired up with what’s new tackle-wise, there’ll always be folks who’re more interested in chasing trends and trying to look the part. Parading around the boat ramp in a "fishing costume" is a far cry from decades of hard-won knowledge on the water. Keep keeping it real.

  Back to top Comment on this

• Freddie Walker of Lenoir City, TN writes:

  Thursday, June 19, 2025

  RE: Balog on BPS catalog – WOW! That's probably the best article Joe's ever written. He certainly hit the nail on the head. I can identify with what he's saying. I was the same way growing up. Thanks for a stroll down memory lane, Joe.

  Back to top Comment on this

• John Gaulke of Ithaca, NY writes:

  Monday, June 9, 2025

  Balog on FFS – The use of forward-facing sonar is a game-changer. It's really just an application of make-up applied to faltering fisheries. Bass and other species no longer have deep water or other sanctuaries that afford them protection. So now, the last vestiges of untouched bass are being brought to the weigh-in.

  Here near Cayuga Lake where I live, the smallmouth fishery is repeatedly touted as being great. Anyone who lives near the lake or fishes it knows that it isn't. Round goby have demolished the smallmouth population. The small percentage of bass that survive long enough not to become goby food get large. That's it. Very few guides target smallmouth bass here. You don't see anybody guiding them on a regular basis. You see guides doing occasional trips when fish are vulnerable on beds. The pros who do well on them spend countless hours "scoping" the points and running miles and miles just to find a few.

  Round goby decimate smallmouth populations. Oneida Lake's smallmouth population has dropped significantly in the past decade. They have an estimated 22,000 gobies there per square acre. Lake Erie still offers great bass fishing, but New York's Dept. of Environmental Conservation's annual netting shows a decline in bass numbers EVERY YEAR since gobies became abundant.

  So yes, keep using the FFS and convincing everyone that our fisheries are amazing. The rest of us just shake our heads.

  Back to top Comment on this

• Thomas Tanner of Jonestown, PA writes:

  Thursday, June 5, 2025

  RE: Balog on FFS – It's obvious that all major tournament organizations need to address the use of FFS or they stand to lose a lot of the older and best recognized anglers who provide the pull-thru for many different products. The big electronics companies are not going to pull back on their advertising/promotional dollars because bass fishermen still constitute the majority of current and future FFS consumers. They need to find the proper balance of usage in tournaments to improve the "watchability" of their events so it doesn't look too much like a video game contest. You can't afford to lose your older viewers just to appeal to newer ones (just ask NASCAR).

  Back to top Comment on this