In recent years, a huge hurdle to the sport of bass fishing has been crossed. Fans of professional fishing can now watch fishing “live.” Before television, radio broadcasts were the hit for fans tuning to professional sports. Television brought the game to life even more, but fans were limited to certain teams/games, depending on what networks they could access. Professional fishing became popular in the early ’70s. Other sports saw huge upticks in reach and popularity because more people had access to television where live sports were broadcast. Because of advancements in technology at their respective times, more people were able to engage, learn and be entertained than just those who had tickets to the park or stadium. But fishing was bogged down by the logistics of the playing field.
Fishing fans are some of the most passionate and dedicated fans ever. They must have been, as the sport thrived despite not being easily accessible to the fanbase. Weigh-ins at fishing tournaments were the closest thing to fields or arenas, but even then, the real action had already taken place on the water. If they missed the weigh-in, fans had to wait on results to come out in a magazine or newspaper. The only way to watch an event was if/when an edited production aired weeks and even months following the actual event. That’s the way it was for many years.
