saw1 Loc: nor cal Windsor

Not old, experienced.

Dcrutch8591 Loc: Illinois

I think it could be a bad thing if Miss used. Poachers are criminals not every one a criminal. They make your time on the water more productive. You see the fish in real time but the presentation and choosing the right color and the right bait is still part of the anglers skill set.

Waterfauowl Loc: SugarLand TX

I think it’s a matter of the added degree of the threat. What do I mean by that? Well, what incremental weight would you give to the “tech advantage” versus the 24/7 existence of environmental problems and predators to a given species?
If the individual who chooses to use a tech tool would simply bend hook barbs when on a bonus spot, this could normalize the threat a bit. However, he or she could be far more proactive by supporting the cause of protecting our environment.

Iafierman

I as an old guy, I have always practiced catch and release. Believed in it when I was younger also. Only keep enough to eat. When hunting eat what you kill.

captjim Loc: Antioch Ca

Electronics have become a way of life for many fisherman. I feel the less fishing you do the more electronics can help. If you only fish a few times a year a reasonable priced fish finder can really help by saving you time. Are they essential? Not really. One of the best producing guides in the S.F. bay/delta never used more than a old flasher type depth finder. On my charter boat I had a good Garmin fish finder, not the most expensive, but adequate for the job. I found early on in my 40 years of fishing I relied on the fish finder much more than I do today. I know where I want to go and usually use the GPS, depth finder to put me on my spot.
These modern fish finders have become very complicated. When Lowrance came out with their multiple transducer finders, they had to offer a 2 day course on how to use them. For your average non pro, fisherman any depth finder over $500 is over kill. Leave the $5,000 units to the bass tournament professionals.
Nothing beats experience. I saw an ad once that says it all. "Remember when the fish finder was called Grandpa?"

saw1 Loc: nor cal Windsor

Grampa, that's me. I do like to use my fish finder to let me know my depth and water temp. The depth is VERY important when trollin the river and when driftin the Napa for stripers. The water is usually so muddy that you don't know if you are in 15 feet of water or 2 feet of water. I do know the rivers pretty well but I still like to know for SURE what the depth is.

NoCal Steve Loc: Dunnigan, CA

I disagree. Electronics are not killing the sport or hurting the fisheries. Look at Clear Lake, CA. The pressure on this lake is constant. Many weekends have multiple tournaments. Click on the link below and look at this year's first big tournament. 96 boats. A 15lb weigh was good for 64th place. Four weigh ins over 30lbs! Winning weight, 33.79lbs! 1 1/4 lbs shy of a 7 pound average. Big fish, 11.86lbs! Read the stats and it will blow you away. I don't see any evidence of electronics ruining anything here, that's for sure.

https://www.westernbass.com/forum/limits-break-pounds-win-clear-lake-bbt-results-march-t131955.html?fbclid=IwAR3L9Ban9n0XbCLGJWCNrcAtMC8REHI4eEVKvlktvJ-f4nbheGdd7xYmuhU

saw1 Loc: nor cal Windsor

That's just proof that proper catch and release doesn't harm the fish population at all.

DozerDave Loc: Port Orchard Wa.

I got your back Saw...🐟

DozerDave Loc: Port Orchard Wa.

I think I’ve got the same ff/df you’ve got Saw...anything more than that and I wouldn’t be able to figure it out anyway...and the fish are still smarter than me...😜🤣😂🐟on

saw1 Loc: nor cal Windsor

Mine supposedly shows fish, but we rarely catch fish when it is showin a lot of fish down there. It's better when we're trollin along and it's NOT showin fish and then maybe a big fish blip shows up. That's when I might believe that's it's really a fish. We have better luck when the graph shows like that.

jemstone90

I have a 1978 Hummingbird Depth/Fish finder and a Cfish underwater camera. Neither are very high tech but it sure is fun to watch the fish swim past my camera. I saw literally thousands of fish in the 3 times I went out this winter and only caught a dozen or so sunfish. Without the under water camera I wouldn't waste my time going out on the ice. It's the view that makes it worth while.

DozerDave Loc: Port Orchard Wa.

Same here... I can troll through a school that covers the whole 7” screen and don’t even get a bump...go figure...🤷‍♂️🐟on

DozerDave Loc: Port Orchard Wa.

My take on this subject is...let’s go fishing. I won’t criticize the way you fish... but don’t criticize the way I fish and we’ll get along just fine...🐟on

captjim Loc: Antioch Ca

On of the things I have found in the delta is that a school of carp can look just like a school of striped bass. Been fooled by this before. Another thing to keep in mind when trolling. Most stripers are holding in less than 15' of water. With a conventional, single transducer fish finder in 15' of water you are looking at a circle on the bottom that is 5' in diameter. Not even the width of most boats. That school of fish you are seeing could be just a few that happened to be in that circle, or could extend out past the boat, you really do not know until you make repeated passes over the same area.
A very common practice, especially rookies with their first fish finder, is to spend far to much time looking with the fish finder for the perfect scenario on the screen. Too much time "looking" and not enough time with lines in the water can end up with a visit from Pepe. I usually do not spend more than 15-20 minutes checking out a spot with the fish finder. If I have caught fish in the spot before, have similar conditions this time it is still worth the time regardless of fish on the screen or not.