The advent and growing popularity of remote-operated drones or quad-copters this year has prompted both FLW and B.A.S.S. to revise their "fly over" rules to prohibit the use of such camera-equipped devices at the tour level in the future.
Both circuits are still putting the finishing touches on their tournament rules for the 2015 season, but officials with both organizations confirmed to BassFan today that use of remote-controlled drones will now fall under the rules that prohibit contestants from flying over tournament waters during off-limits, official practice and competition days.
"Our 2015 rules will not be released for another couple of weeks, but I can tell you that our intent is to prohibit the use of drones for the purposes of locating fish or otherwise gaining a competitive advantage during practice and competition," said Dave Precht, B.A.S.S.'s vice president of communications.
As it's currently written, Elite Series Rule C3.ii reads, "Flying over tournament waters, other than a ticketed commercial airline, is prohibited during off-limits, official practice and competition unless approved by the Tournament Director."
FLW will be adding language regarding drone use to the final paragraph of FLW Tour Rule 5 that states, "Flights over tournament waters are not permitted beginning with the start of the off-limits period, extending through practice and competition days."
"I don't think there a lot of people who would try to do it," said FLW tournament director Bill Taylor. "It takes somebody with quite a skill set to operate one of those, but it's something we have discussed internally and will be addressing."
Remote-control drones equipped with action cameras such as GoPros or iONs have had a more visible presence at tour events over the last couple years, but have been mainly used by media outlets or anglers' sponsors to capture tournament footage. A drone being used during the Bassmaster Classic this year crashed into the waters of Lake Guntersville while its on-board camera was shooting footage of Randall Tharp.
Some anglers have purchased drones for personal use and the new rules will ensure they won't be used to gain a competitive advantage, especially at pre-spawn tournaments where the aerial view provided by drones could help competitors easily identify locations of spawning fish.
