More Rants on Technology- I Will Be Better Than You

[D.W. Verts]

It's just like being married- I just don't know when to shut up.

[Bud Kennedy]

Dale, I do believe you are not taking an honest look at technology.  Just think how much more effective and tournament competitive if you too had all the information that the new technology can provide.   Oh sure I understand your position if you are going to remain a hobby level angler but if your quest is to return to tournament action then you are gonna need all the advantages you can get.  Just think how much more of an advantage you might have by overlaying the technology on your years of experience and total bass knowledge.  I bet you will even put more fish in the boat that perhaps you are missing today.  Competitive fishing is all about time management to some extent.  The technology just may help you to avoid wasting your time in unproductive water.  Just Saying.

With regards to the A-Rig.  I don't use and have never used this set up because it just goes against my sense of fair play.  Besides I don't want to throw a bait that looks like an escapee from Liberace's piano.  We all have to draw the line somewhere I guess.  I don't own the high end electronics mostly because I'm to cheap to invest the money.  I am just a schmo fisherman and fact is I don't need it.  If I would return to tournaments (which I am not) I would indeed have the technology.

[Oldfart9999]

Dale, you're sounding a lot like Rick Clunn, he says, and I believe him, that he can go out and catch more fish than these young guys, he doesn't rely on technology, he uses it but he knows the fish and their habits and needs and works to be in the right area and meeting their needs.
Rodney

[Fun4me]

Rick Clunn is on my mount rushmore of fishermen, but he's going to need some sort of legends exemption to continue to fish the elites. He hasn't been beating the young guys for a while now.in fact, he hasn't been beating much of anyone lately, electronics or not.

With regards to "snagging" fish with FFS? What's to keep sight fishermen from doing the same thing?

[D.W. Verts]

Well, sight fisherman DO snag bass, hence my reference to "Mosley" in the video. Because of Randy's famous exploits, B.A.S.S. implemented the "Mosley Rule" that states that bass have to be caught in the mouth when sight fishing. But I imagine someone soon enough will get desperate and try to snag a bass a little deeper. I just don't see it NOT happening.


Dale

[Wizard]

I'll give you my honest view and feelings. You don't need electronics to catch bass.  KVD, Larry Nixon, Ricky " the Legend " Clunn, Roland Martin, Bill Dance and D.W. Verts will catch bass, electronics or not. Heck, Bill Dance was almost out of tournament fishing when the LGB first hit the fishing stores. Bill is the best Shill in the history of fishing. He got that way because he is one of the best anglers of his time. These anglers put in the time, on or off the water, They learned predator and prey migration, effect of sun angles, temperature, this, that and everything else without using a graph. So, why do they have humongous graph screens on their boats.  Well, it's about CONFIDENCE.  They have confidence in themselves in finding bass. The graph confirms their confidence by showing bait and predators right where they thought they should be. Do the great anglers really need electronics? They do if sponsor says they use them.

Wizard

[D.W. Verts]

I have seriously considered not putting a graph on my tin bass boat. Even when I take it to the big lakes. I really think that other than for navigation I just don't need one.

On to Bud Kennedy-

Sir, as always your thoughtful insights are welcome and duly recorded. And I've thought about your statement. A lot. And in trying to be fair to ya'll, and myself, here is my conclusion...

First off, and backwards as always, I would use an A-rig if need be to catch bass in a tournament. I've fished multiple lures before, and besides, this thing is nowhere near as new as folks think. I heard about it the first time in 1979 from Jimmy Houston. It would be more of a "tool" to me than a high-end depthfinder, I believe. But maybe not.

As for the new technology and forward laser heat-seeking fishing TV sets. Instead of trying to detail my wants and needs and doubts, etc. etc., let me give you a scenario (these are the thoughts that cross my mind while endlessly mowing grass. NOT smokin' it).

Let's skip ahead a couple of years- D.W. Verts finally comes out of the closet and decides that at near sixty years of age he wants to begin PROFESSIONAL tournament angling again. And because of my recent windfalls from a Powerball win/being named in a Will/getting rich on YouTube, I've decided to fish all of the B.A.S.S. Opens in a hope to get to the Elites and the Classic. Oh the dreams. Sigh. Anyway.

The first tourney he decides to fish is, lets say, Marion & Moultrie- the Santee Cooper Lakes, in June. I've never been there so practice is, as always, critical. GPS technology is too valuable not to have, so I of course have a mapping system on my brand-new $90K rig. It'll help me immensely and keep me from getting lost. So we have the maps.

Now, here I am, fifty-nine years old, and I'm approaching brand-new waters. As on most lakes in June I would assume that there will be at least two kinds of bass, so I need to practice accordingly. So let's say that I have the latest PanOptix/Livescope/whatever Garmin calls it in two years, and it's all loaded up on the front of the boat. Now, what do I do now? Seriously.

Do I rely on this new technology and roam around trying to locate bass, or do I try to use it in conjunction with actually fishing also? Seriously, I don't know. I would think that if I have had the time to familiarize myself with the unit (and there's no way I would attempt a tournament without being 100% confident in my equipment) that I would simply cruise areas that fit the seasonal patterns both shallow and offshore and try to find fish that I can catch. Why waste the effort with a million casts? Seriously. Isn't that the way this should work? Once I find the bass that I can catch, I would then run this "pattern(s)" and of course look for secondary patterns and larger bass. Right?

That's the way I see it working. It's the way I would do it today with my limited knowledge of the forward seeking radar. Except that is NOT the way I would do it. I can't. I've done it too long the old (and hard) way. I know that I would not be happy fishing that way. I know it.

So if it means not being competitive then I'm pretty sure that's how it would have to be. I have no ego.

I think I'm being truthful with ya'll, and Bud, more importantly I'm being truthful to ME. You can't teach an old dog new tricks, not if he doesn't want to learn any. And I'm pretty certain that's where I'm at nowadays.

And anyway, since I don't play the Lottery and have no rich relatives the above scenario is a fairy tale and we'll never know. But if I ever get to fish the "semi-pro" tourneys around here (I give that a maybe 35% chance at happening) I guarantee you that the heat seeking radar is not going on the front of whatever broke down and busted rig I get. I just don't have it in me to change. For better or worse, that's the way it is.

I stand by the original premise. Thank you.

Dale

[Bud Kennedy]

Dale, I had to go back and re watch your video.  Having done that here is why I answered the way I did.  In the context of being a competitive angler in todays time is important to keep in mind.

For us older guys it is common to insist that the anglers of our day really new their stuff and then usually name off a list of once famous anglers.  Then it is common to also indicate that the young guns of today really are not much removed from video game fisherman.  The young angler of today has the advantage of knowing the electronics and can understand things that typically us old guys don't see.  For example the elite tourney at Santee this year won by Brandon thanks to his live scope when he happened to see an 8 lb bass on a bush.  He had been fishing that bush and was ready to leave when he saw the fish on his live scope.  He was able to adjust and catch that bass allowing him to win the event.  In this case he would have not caught that fish without the additional information supplied by the electronics.  That is just the modern fishing world.  Also recently in Texas Patrick Walters won and event in almost the same way.  Patrick grew up the old fashion way but as an elite angler he has all the tools needed to compete and being a young former college angler knows darn well how to use them.  We should not discount their ability without electronics either itis quite significant.  Just add the electronics and they become a force that is hard to beat.

I agree with you that if all you are gonna do if fish local derby events then you likely don't need the electronics but if you want to  win, I believe you will see the advantage that potentially a less skilled angler has over the angler that does not use the technology that is available. 

[Fun4me]

I'm trying to think of the last professional tournament fishermen that consistently finished at or near the top of the pack, without utilizing the technology available at the time they competed? Anyone know of any?

[Smallie_Stalker]

I'm trying to think of the last professional tournament fishermen that consistently finished at or near the top of the pack, without utilizing the technology available at the time they competed? Anyone know of any?

Honestly no.

But that brings another question to mind, namely could they have had such a good finish if their electronics died on them?

Or if they had to fish tournaments where electronics were banned would they ever finish that high?

Technology is a great tool but if you can't find fish or catch em without it then you are dependent on that, and not your skills as an angler.

IMO, and it's just that, my opinion if you can find fish the old school way that starts with seasonal patterns base on time of year and type of body of water, and then use your electronics to check then you've got the best if both worlds.

Also I believe that just for safe navigation every angler that can afford it should have some type of electronics with mapping on their boat. It's a great tool for safety as well as the fishing aspect.

Just my $.02

Sent from my One Plus 9 Pro 5G using Tapatalk

[Fun4me]

I'm trying to think of the last professional tournament fishermen that consistently finished at or near the top of the pack, without utilizing the technology available at the time they competed? Anyone know of any?

Honestly no.

But that brings another question to mind, namely could they have had such a good finish if their electronics died on them?

Or if they had to fish tournaments where electronics were banned would they ever finish that high?

Technology is a great tool but if you can't find fish or catch em without it then you are dependent on that, and not your skills as an angler.

IMO, and it's just that, my opinion if you can find fish the old school way that starts with seasonal patterns base on time of year and type of body of water, and then use your electronics to check then you've got the best if both worlds.

Also I believe that just for safe navigation every angler that can afford it should have some type of electronics with mapping on their boat. It's a great tool for safety as well as the fishing aspect.

Just my $.02

Sent from my One Plus 9 Pro 5G using Tapatalk

I think the divide/casam that some (I'm not singling anyone out on this forum) think separates the non electronic guys/gals from the electronic guys/gals is just not there IMO. If there were no electronic tournaments, or someones graphs die during a tournament, they would resort to doing what the non electronic guys/gals would do. I just don't buy that those that rely on their technology to find fish, during practice and tournament days, would just be aimlessly lost if they couldn't use their electronics.

IMO, anyone that has payed entry fees into a pro level bass tournament understand that bass generally have patterns as to where they are, where they go, etc. during the year. It's not hard to learn those general patterns and go fishing. I have a hard time believing that these young electronic whippersnappers have no idea that fishing a point, back of a creek, a drop off, etc. might yield them some fish to weigh in. Most of these tournament anglers, electronics or not, are all going to the same places fishing banks, laydowns, rip rap, rock piles, grass lines, drop offs etc.  The difference with electronic angler is, he/she gets to see where fish are on those structures etc. They don't have to fan cast a 100 yard grass line, they can just fish where the fish are. Electronic angler can also find that hidden brush pile/rock pile out in the middle of nowhere, that non electronic angler would never know is even there.

IMO, I think it's harder for an angler to go from no electronics to electronics, than it is for an angler to go back to not using electronics.

[Eric-Maine]

I fished my first big tournament away from Maine in 1990 on Kerr Reservoir in Virginia. We called it Buggs Island then. I remember casting DD22s around looking for brush piles and triangulating to remember where they were. Kerr has lots of trees not to many landmarks lol Also remember having a chart, a book really and having to run out to a buoy to get its number to find our where you were. My first Lowrance with waypoints was a 350A. White square with a mark essentially that you could go to. One time on Champlain in fog the loran locked on to another tower... was pretty sketchy geting back.
Fast forward to 2021 everyone is offshore looking at their screens. All those fish on the bank are still there, less pressured now. 


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[jwkelley51]

 I don't see how you can compare those who use forward facing sonar to anglers if the past. Maybe they ought to be in a special group like shooting competitions and keep their stats separate. It's kind of like corn boys and deer hunting....if the whole point is just to kill deer then hunt at night. They're eliminating the hunt, bringing existing deer trails up next to the road. If you just cast to where you see fish my granny could catch some so what's the big deal. Frankly we have small fish and when I find them it's not that exhilarating . I may well drag up and try somewhere else just for the heck of it. I like a hunt, like calling coyotes to the shotgun. The rest is just fluff to me.

[D.W. Verts]

Call coyotes to a STICKBOW. With a broadhead-tipped wood arrow. That's the ultimate.

Dale