An open letter and discussion to B.A.S.S. CEO Chase Anderson about the Bassmaster Classic and other topic brought up in our comments section. This video we give some constructive criticism to Bassmaster about the 2025 Bassmaster Classic from the hundreds of comments you left in one of our recent videos. From production issues, forward facing sonar and more, this video talks about the issues that could be holding B.A.S.S. back and hurting the organization and business.
#chaseanderson #bassmaster #bassmasterclassic
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Catch/Weigh/Release and no FFS for at least some of the tournament, would do more for the Bass organization than he realizes. But I am afraid it fall on deaf ears because of the electronic companies sponsorship money.
Your comments are spot on. You should be employed by bassmaster. Your ideas are much needed for this venue to survive.
I dont mind FFS fishing. After this year nearly half of the elite field will be younger anglers that have been fishing most of their time with FFS. Are we going to go backwards? The video or coverage needs to be shortened. Impossible to have full coverage and make it interesting to anyone that is not a total fishing nerd. Co anglers is non starter, the elite guys dont want them and no one tunes in to watch co anglers. If you want to learn something your going to learn more being a marshal than co angling. Having no entry fees has made more commercials inevitable, money has to come from somewhere
Just posted this on another one of these videos as the topics seems to be all over content creators pages for bass fishing
Honest opinion from a regular bass fisherman and I might get some hate for it.
I've fished bass boat and kayak tournaments before, use to watch some of the professional bass circuits. Its a non factor for myself and lots of my friends. Most of us are hobby / recreational bass anglers and do not care about tournament fishing of any kind, let alone wasting time watching it and the walking billboard jersey wearing dudes that fishing them tbh.
I've seen a lot of the same click bait blaming FFS or blah blah blah for low viewership. Lets be honest, Bass fishing tournaments are a niche sport at best. Even at peak timeframes with Clear Lake, Kevin Van Damn, and ESPN the viewership was low and it failed. Bass tournaments are a pay to play gamble fest. Kevin Van Damn one of the most decorated anglers of all time won less than 2% of the time. Its just not fun to watch with or without FFS. There are no real storylines that grab the average person. That's why most angling youtubers have a bigger audience than these anglers or organizations. Fun fishing is more relatable.
Recreational anglers are happy to get some new tech and baits that make our limited time on the water more productive. We dont care about watching or complaining about the walking billboards paying to fish these tournaments! Now if some of the gear makes my time on the water more enjoyable I'm interested, but I don't care who won what or did what to win it!
You know we had Ray Scott fish with Hank Parker on his show back in the day. Not that he needed to be on his show, but it showed us his true passion for bass fishing . We don’t have Chase Anderson exposing himself at all to the public. As far as we know he’s just in it for the money and doesn’t know a lick about bass fishing. He needs to do better.
I am sorry, just ask a real aqautic biologist, I know, most of those bass are dead or dying right now, only 2% might make it, it’s always been like that!!!!
I am sorry, just ask a real aqautic biologist, I know, most of those bass are dead or dying right now, only 2% might make it, it’s always been like that!!!!
Didn’t they back in the day do the weight ins right at the lake they really need to start doing that if anything. With mlf having catch,weight,and release so I’d like bass to still host the weight ins but ya 14 hrs in a boat I do understand that
I appreciate and agree 100% with all of your suggestions.
However, I get the feeling Chase Anderson doesn't read , or watch much if any criticism, constructive or otherwise.
He seems very 'distant' with his interactions . . . . I'd also venture to guess that he has public relations staff who most likely 'filter' what gets to him, protecting their jobs in the process.
I think B.A.S.S. needs to be sold . . . it's just not working out. A lot of these subjects are nothing new . . . if significant changes were going to happen, they would have by now.
The advertising income is more important than fans or sustainable fisheries. They will eventually make a few small changes for the benefit of posturing.
The weigh-in is the crescendo and they would loose that with catch, weigh, measure, photograph and release. Only a montage of that process would exist as a highlight reel. It’s impossible to build anticipation and wrap it in advertising without it.
They kill the fish to further the sport and it’s untenable at every step.
Thanks for a levelheaded open dialogue Steve.
Catch-Weigh-Release.
Ban FFS.
Stop killing fish.
I'm 87 years old been a member of BASS since its existence and every word you said was right on point. Now if Mr. Anderson will take notice and make at least some of the changes you mentioned.
You are hitting the nail on the head with everything you said. I tried watching the Class on Sunday on Fox and I was literally watching a boring talk show…. it was like watching the halftime show of a football game during the second half. I also think that BassTrak has ruined the need the suspense and excitement of the weigh-ins. Why would I watch a 2 hour weigh-in when I know who won!?
Hard to succeed when you always have employees to pay and an organization that needs to profit every year.
or have the anglers weigh and release their fish at the launch and dont let them know the weights so when they come to the weigh in they dont know their actual weights and cut off Basstracks on the final day.
Well said Steve, Ch
rs
Excellent video Steve . They have let it go too far . And change is not always good .I have heard and watched it over 50 years .
These opinion videos are so stupid.
Everyone is talking about pro fishing but amateur fishing is going away in a hurry. Where does a person with a career supposed to compete on a level playing field? What championship is for people that have jobs, family and a life? There are a lot of people that like to fish tournaments but don’t want to lose everything they have to compete. I believe multi day tournaments with even split between ffs and no ffs is the way to go.
I think the most fundamental question is whether BASS is for the sport and the fisherman OR is it a fan club for the pros? Tournaments should be for the fishermen first and foremost, not for the fans. That change where BASS switched from being about the bass fisherman to being a pro fan club is when BASS started the downward trend. Bass fishermen first, pros second, fans last.
Catch, weigh, release, Steve. It is the only way. Great job, Steve
Sitting here having breakfast with Chase right now. After watching the video he says he doesn’t give a damn about legacy, the sport, or the hobby… he just cares about the investors, the sponsors, and the bottom line! DONT LIKE IT THEN START YOUR OWN SERIES! Jk but I imagine that’s how they actually feel
Mlf is so much better I can watch it all day, can’t stand the bassmasters, tried to watch one and they was showing them playing some stupid game between 2 anglers. I quit watching it and will not watch it again.
A happy medium would be no FFS ON FINAL DAY or half the tournament
Also I think KVD WOULD HAVE FISHED 5 more years but to put in 50 years of fishing to get beat by kids with FFS he Wasent going to let that happen
I think that the move back to Knoxville next year is a good one for many of the reasons you brought up. Catch, weigh and release can be handled in a way that they can still do a reveal at the expo. Move forward or fall behind.
… 6:05 … I stopped watching or even being interested about the time Ray Scott stopped being involved.
.
The best thing Bassmasters has going for itself is fantasy fishing would love to see live coverage reflect that. live cameras in every boat and ability to choose multiple anglers to watch throughout the day.
I am 69 yo. I was 9 when I caught my first bass in a farm pond on a Zebco 202. I have been hooked on bass fishing ever since. I have been a member of BASS for many years, but I am finished. I received an email last month telling me that my membership would be expiring in May, and they wanted to automatically renew it like they always do. I sent them an email back and told them to not renew it, to cancel my membership, and I gave them my reasons. My reasons had to do with their lack of transparency, their wishy-washy dealings with FFS, their cancellation of coanglers in the Opens, and their tv coverage.
I tried to watch the LIVE of the Classic last week. It I only made me realize that I made the correct decision. It’s sad to watch the collapse of BASS,
Steve, I agree with some of what you have said and suggested. However, technology has been part of the sport of competitive fishing from the beginning. I'm in my mid 70's and have seen the progression. We should not be complaining and whining now, when we didn't do it earlier. Social media has taken fishing to a level of negativity that is not wholesome for the sport. Why not report of the positive and support those that do good, and not berate them. I'm not saying everything is good, but it is not as bad as the keyboard warriors are portraying. Thanks for letting me vent. I enjoy your channel and have been a subscriber for some time.
I was told by a BASS employee that as much as 80% of the fish die. Yes, theyre "alive" at release, but they don't live afterwards. A game warden was the first person who told me this, then I asked someone who witnessed it personally. Time to consider the future of the sport, and thatvmeans the fish.
Whoever had the idea of a March Classic- Is not a very Intelligent person and should probably not have that Authority – As this shows he is a Follower and not a Leader- Any Organization that does not have a true Leader is doomed to Failure
The problem is there are no stars people can follow. Every year there is new rookies that come in and win because they are the BEST using FFS.
Catch weigh and release can never be a true tournament based on weight if different scales are involved in different locations and different officials calling the weights. Could you imagine fighters doing that for weight classes?
I didn’t renew my membership for the first time in more than 10 years. It’s sad
They are trying to make bass fishing utopian