Technology

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NavionicsSpecJason
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Technology

Post by NavionicsSpecJason »

Question for the forum. Do you think technology (fish finders, gps, mapping software like Navionics, the internet) has helped or hurt the sport of fishing?


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Ron Mc
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Re: Technology

Post by Ron Mc »

I guess the biggest thing, they keep guys like you employed, right? :mrgreen:

It's been a dozen and maybe two years, but we had a great offshore trip with a guide in a 30' cutty out of Port O. My friend won the trip in a church auction. The Cap'n used his electronics for everything, and it was impressive to watch him find the artificial reefs with his GPS and sounder. However, we didn't catch fish there, and tore them up at an offshore platform, which didn't need the electronics to find, though, he still used electronics to navigate home.
Image
I would say in freshwater reservoirs, sounders for finding underwater structure make the difference between fishing topwater in the early morning and going home, vs. staying out all day
You can blame the guy with the electronics for keeping you out on a hot boat.
Especially in shallow e. Texas reservoirs, electronics will let you find the slope of the old river channel, where the fish are cooling themselves as well as eating.

Planning trips fresh or salt, internet reporting is everything.
Before you drive 100 mi to fish a hill country river, you need to check USGS, 24-hour precipitation, and current doppler radar.
At the coast you need tides and today's wind/weather.
Surf fishers can get surf forecast for planning. Everybody on corpusfishing and half of TKF should be at the beach yesterday.
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NavionicsSpecJason
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Re: Technology

Post by NavionicsSpecJason »

Ron Mc wrote:I guess the biggest thing, they keep guys like you employed, right? :mrgreen:

It's been a dozen and maybe two years, but we had a great offshore trip with a guide in a 30' cutty out of Port O. My friend won the trip in a church auction. The Cap'n used his electronics for everything, and it was impressive to watch him find the artificial reefs with his GPS and sounder. However, we didn't catch fish there, and tore them up at an offshore platform, which didn't need the electronics to find, though, he still used electronics to navigate home.
Image
I would say in freshwater reservoirs, sounders for finding underwater structure make the difference between fishing topwater in the early morning and going home, vs. staying out all day
You can blame the guy with the electronics for keeping you out on a hot boat.
Especially in shallow e. Texas reservoirs, electronics will let you find the slope of the old river channel, where the fish are cooling themselves as well as eating.

Planning trips fresh or salt, internet reporting is everything.
Before you drive 100 mi to fish a hill country river, you need to check USGS, 24-hour precipitation, and current doppler radar.
At the coast you need tides and today's wind/weather.
Surf fishers can get surf forecast for planning. Everybody on corpusfishing and half of TKF should be at the beach yesterday.
Image
Nah, I don’t need electronics for fishing to stay employed, I’m an electrician at a steel mill, but it does keep someone employed Image. Electronics can be a game changer, I know they’ve helped me stay safe while I’m on the water and catch fish.


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Ron Mc
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Re: Technology

Post by Ron Mc »

I'm a metallurgist and PE
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shoffer
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Re: Technology

Post by shoffer »

Probably a little of both. It shortens the learning curve for all of us, perhaps, as we don't need to learn or study as much fish behavior as one might have done in days past, but, at the same time, that makes everyone an "expert" and that can get annoying.

I fish salt mainly, so my fish finder (a monochrome Humminbird 561 without GPS, side sonar, or other features) is used to find structure changes, unmarked reefs, and holes in marsh channels. I don't use it to "find fish" per se. It is shocking how deep some of the holes in the winter channels we fish can get. I also like to read water temps.

When I fish fresh, it helps me dial in the proper depth of my crankbaits, and find bait, so it actually helps me actually "find fish" in freshwater.
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Ron Mc
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Re: Technology

Post by Ron Mc »

The 3 largest sports entertainment markets on the planet are cycling, golf and fishing in that order. While more people participate in fishing than golf, golf is expensive, so the dollar value of its market exceeds fishing.

Rather than targeting new participants, all 3 target their marketing at repeat buyers, touting "technology" (actually pseudo-science) and feigning that everything purchased last year and before is now obsolete.
The last great advancement in bicycles was standardization of the chain. (though brakes are nice)
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Fishing is fishing.
1918 rod and c. 1940 reel work just fine today. Though it is easier to keep up a modern line than old braided silk - but it's still possible to fish the old braided silk, because it will last indefinitely if it's kept from mildew.
Image
I went to the trouble one day to fish a varnished silk line (spent a month stripping and re-varnishing it), with silk-gut leader, pre-tied eyeless hooks in an English 3-fly dropper rig - just to do it.
Caught a double. (I wonder if anybody's ever caught a triple.)

People's skill levels may change over time, but their inane talents are just that.
I have a lifelong friend, cycling, kayaking, camping, fishing - plus our daughters grew up together doing these things.
You really want him at any campsite, and he's watched me catch fish for as long as I can remember.

I headed a fly fishing life group from my church, and for 6 years, guided 4-14 people somewhere in the hill country every other week.
Some of my friends are wizards. Jimbo eats a jolly rancher every 5 fish and counts the wrappers at the end of the day.
Others, though they've been fishing all their lives, are just happy to be there. They go out, tinker with the tackle, have fun, and occasionally catch a fish. They don't have the skills of reading water or thinking like a fish.
But they're going to have just as good a day as anybody, because they're fishing.
Bring a camera.
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NavionicsSpecJason
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Re: Technology

Post by NavionicsSpecJason »

Ron Mc wrote:The 3 largest sports entertainment markets on the planet are cycling, golf and fishing in that order. While more people participate in fishing than golf, golf is expensive, so the dollar value of its market exceeds fishing.

Rather than targeting new participants, all 3 target their marketing at repeat buyers, touting "technology" (actually pseudo-science) and feigning that everything purchased last year and before is now obsolete.
The last great advancement in bicycles was standardization of the chain. (though brakes are nice)
Image
Fishing is fishing.
1918 rod and c. 1940 reel work just fine today. Though it is easier to keep up a modern line than old braided silk - but it's still possible to fish the old braided silk, because it will last indefinitely if it's kept from mildew.
Image
I went to the trouble one day to fish a varnished silk line (spent a month stripping and re-varnishing it), with silk-gut leader, pre-tied eyeless hooks in an English 3-fly dropper rig - just to do it.
Caught a double. (I wonder if anybody's ever caught a triple.)

People's skill levels may change over time, but their inane talents are just that.
I have a lifelong friend, cycling, kayaking, camping, fishing - plus our daughters grew up together doing these things.
You really want him at any campsite, and he's watched me catch fish for as long as I can remember.

I headed a fly fishing life group from my church, and for 6 years, guided 4-14 people somewhere in the hill country every other week.
Some of my friends are wizards. Jimbo eats a jolly rancher every 5 fish and counts the wrappers at the end of the day.
Others, though they've been fishing all their lives, are just happy to be there. They go out, tinker with the tackle, have fun, and occasionally catch a fish. They don't have the skills of reading water or thinking like a fish.
But they're going to have just as good a day as anybody, because they're fishing.
Bring a camera.
Image
Very eloquent, thank you for your comment. So do you think the generation we are teaching to fish today will have the same appreciation for the sport once they learn the technological side of fishing today?


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Ron Mc
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Re: Technology

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Certainly a lot of us attack this sport with something to prove - I have probably always been somewhere in between - friends, family, the gestalt and the escape have always been important to me. I don't think about anything in the outside world when I'm fishing.
I've fished with many of the best - there's a tendency for the infectious to infect each other. Many fishing buddies have made fun of my relaxed style and especially my camera.
After you run out of things to prove, the fish are entirely gravy.

Technology is nothing more than an edge - like a carbon bicycle with electronic shifting. It's still the motor of the bike and the senses of the angler that make the difference.
So, yes, anyone beginning fishing with a dependency on electronics will eventually figure out the balance between that edge and their senses, and over time, their priorities will adjust as well - all part of growing up.
There's a simple answer to why Jesus recruited so many fishermen - because fishing is an act of faith.
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larry long shadows
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Re: Technology

Post by larry long shadows »

years ago i bought a dept/fishfinder i played with it all day and did very lil fishing so ..so i decided i didnt need it
NavionicsSpecJason
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Re: Technology

Post by NavionicsSpecJason »

Ron Mc wrote:Certainly a lot of us attack this sport with something to prove - I have probably always been somewhere in between - friends, family, the gestalt and the escape have always been important to me. I don't think about anything in the outside world when I'm fishing.
I've fished with many of the best - there's a tendency for the infectious to infect each other. Many fishing buddies have made fun of my relaxed style and especially my camera.
After you run out of things to prove, the fish are entirely gravy.

Technology is nothing more than an edge - like a carbon bicycle with electronic shifting. It's still the motor of the bike and the senses of the angler that make the difference.
So, yes, anyone beginning fishing with a dependency on electronics will eventually figure out the balance between that edge and their senses, and over time, their priorities will adjust as well - all part of growing up.
There's a simple answer to why Jesus recruited so many fishermen - because fishing is an act of faith.
I agree, technology is an edge, you still have to fish to catch them.
Christ did recruit a lot of fisherman, and I agree with you on it being due to their faith. Christ had to teach them to be fishers of men, and that’s an on going process for all men that profess Christ.
Fishing/spirituality/life, is an on going learning process. How we learn is different for us all, as long as we are moving forward, we are on the right track.


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NavionicsSpecJason
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Re: Technology

Post by NavionicsSpecJason »

larry long shadows wrote:years ago i bought a dept/fishfinder i played with it all day and did very lil fishing so ..so i decided i didnt need it
It can take some time to get them dialed in. I played with mine a lot when I initially bought it.


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Ron Mc
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Re: Technology

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I used an example in the fly thread on saltwater page.
Tied before dawn to an 11' platform on Aransas Bay, waiting for the schoolie specs to arrive.
The sounder went solid black in mid-column.
Tore up specs blind-casting the fly rod (counting down a slime line).

Of course this was a power boat. As soon as we were done there, we crossed the bay and fished St. Joe shore and Long Reef the rest of the morning.
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Re: Technology

Post by Ghostrider9920 »

Technology can help even beginner anglers find good spots. Even a novice can read blogs, fishing reports etc and decide "where" to go based on the most recently published info from the many fishing forums and reports that are out there.
So taking a combination of research and a GPS plotter can certainly help by at least putting the angler in close proximity to good fishing.
Once in the area, sonar can help in narrowing the search. But the angler needs to be well educated/experienced in the use of the sonar....how to properly read and interpret what the sonar is sending.
And lastly.....once the angler has used the technology to put him or her on the fish, he or she still needs to know HOW to fish.
And this is where only experience/trial and error can make the difference between a good day fishing or a bad day fishing in a good fishing spot.
Just my two cents.
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Re: Technology

Post by Cuervo Jones »

Technology is helpful some times. It needed others. The last 3 trips of mine have been with a bum sonar unit. I know the lake and I know the fish though. So I still caught plenty. Electronics are a distraction some (most?)times I’m starting to think.


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Ron Mc
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Re: Technology

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Cuervo Jones wrote:Technology is helpful some times. It needed others. The last 3 trips of mine have been with a bum sonar unit. I know the lake and I know the fish though. So I still caught plenty. Electronics are a distraction some (most?)times I’m starting to think.


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exactly correct - can be properly used as a tool or followed as a dictator.
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Re: Technology

Post by wetnhungry »

One newer piece of technology that came to mind is the proliferation of drone usage in conjunction with fishing, more specifically, marsh fishing. There are numerous videos on the web of anglers using them to locate fish and/or just shoot aerial footage.

Regardless of the intent, I find them annoying and a potential invasion of privacy. I kayak fish to escape some of the noise pollution and crowds. The last thing I want to see or hear, while I am fishing, is a drone buzzing around overhead. Yes, it is cool, but to me it is both a distraction and nuisance.
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