Before Electronics?

[N.Y. Yankee]

How did folk find fish, or good spots to try, before sonars and fish finders?

[Crestliner2008]

Simple. We used drop lines to pattern the structure. A 50' length of parachute cord tied every 5' for the first 15', then every 10' there after. Tied a heavy stove bolt on the end and you were good to go. Then I got my first "Green Box"!

[12poundbass]

Fish the lake. I don't use a sonar unit (I will soon enough). I've fished blind my entire life. If I find a good spot I use a land mark as a reference point. 

[2tall79]

I remember my dad bought a tube like device from Herter's that let you see below the surface.   We would also attach a balloon to a perch or crappie and release it to follow the school.

[lo n slo]

my search tool was a texas rigged purple worm.

[Mike L]

Ask around the neighborhood discreetly, look for likely areas that "should" hold fish, fish it at different times, use every kind of presentation you can. 

 

Bottom line is, just fish it hard every chance you get. 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[BuzzHudson19c]

I have never used electronics. Structure, current, baitfish activity, bird activity, wind and a multitude of other things. Time on the water can teach you a lot.

 

[RAMBLER]

We used to push an oar down in the water.  If we hit bottom, it was shallow.  If we didn't hit bottom, it was deep.

[bassh8er]

I might be getting old (31)and consider myself a diehard fisherman.

 

The other day I realized I left my 2 Helix units at the house once I got to the ramp, and, SERIOUSLY, considered towing the rig home for the day.

 

Never minded fishing blind before I got my electronics and now it's one of my favorite things about fishing.

 

If I left my Vexilar unit at home for ice fishing, I wouldn't even consider going.

[flyfisher]

Topo maps and dragging bottom baits.  

[Hot Rod Johnson]

Please click on this link: I used some of the information before I bought a flasher...

 

Success through Fishing Maps:

In the last 30 years hydrographic maps (with contours) have come into their own as fishing equipment has moved through a sea change of technology – quality depthfinders, GPS, underwater cameras, along with huge changes in rods, reels and terminal tackle.

 

 

http://learninghowtofish.com/fishing-success-through-maps/

[Bluebasser86]

I used a deep diving crankbait to find cover and structure when I had my 2 man with no depthfinder on it. 

[Catt]

Did a lotta casting

[Doelman]

Trolling cranks

[WRB]

Trail and error. We trolled deep diving lures to find bass or did what 90% of bass anglers do today, we casted to shoreline targets and fished weed beds.

Tom

[J Francho]

1 hour ago, WRB said:

Trail and error. We trolled deep diving lures to find bass

 

Exactly how I located smallmouth on Lake Ontario, even with old, dated electronics.  Catch three in a certain pass, anchor up, and soak tubes.

[N.Y. Yankee]

Thanks for all your input!

[Crestliner2008]

Spoonplugging also helped me out quite a bit in the early years as well. God Bless Buck Perry!

[gim]

On ‎6‎/‎27‎/‎2017 at 0:21 PM, 12poundbass said:

Fish the lake. I don't use a sonar unit (I will soon enough). I've fished blind my entire life. If I find a good spot I use a land mark as a reference point. 

 

Two problems with that.  One, how do you know its deep enough to run an outboard through and two, how do you fish a big body of water that you can't see a land reference point from?

[Hot Rod Johnson]

Amazing! Thought that I may of been the only fisherman on this site that ever "SPOON PLUG FISHED"... I still have his Books and Magazines that he sold many years ago... I have his special "Rods, Reels, Lures, No-Bo Metered Trolling Line , Stainless Metal Trolling Line , Stainless Swivels , Stainless Interlocking Snaps #3, Stainless Interlocking Snaps #2 , and Spoon Plug Lures"...  All of the information that he was teaching back then was "Trail Blazing" and still holds true for today's Bass fishing... Please check his web sites out for additional information...

 

WHAT SPOON PLUGGING REALLY IS!

 

When most fisherman are asked what spoon plugging really is, most will say it is a method of "Trolling", or "Suspended Speed Trolling". Many others think it is the exclusive of the "Spoon Plug Lure". Very few fishermen know what the true definition and meaning of "Spoon Plugging" really is... "Spoon Plugging" was the word that was coined by Buck Perry to describe the basic knowledge needed to become a successful fisherman... It means being at the right place at the right time, presenting your lures in the right manner to arrive at the fish consistently.

 

http://www.spoonplug.net/

 

https://www.bucksspoonplugs.com/

[12poundbass]

7 minutes ago, Hot Rod Johnson said:

Amazing! Thought that I may of been the only fisherman on this site that ever "SPOON PLUG FISHED"... I still have his Books and Magazines that he sold many years ago... I have his special "Rods, Reels, Lures, No-Bo Metered Trolling Line , Stainless Metal Trolling Line , Stainless Swivels , Stainless Interlocking Snaps #3, Stainless Interlocking Snaps #2 , and Spoon Plug Lures"...  All of the information that he was teaching back then was "Trail Blazing" and still holds true for today's Bass fishing... Please check his web sites out for additional information...

 

WHAT SPOON PLUGGING REALLY IS!

 

When most fisherman are asked what spoon plugging really is, most will say it is a method of "Trolling", or "Suspended Speed Trolling". Many others think it is the exclusive of the "Spoon Plug Lure". Very few fishermen know what the true definition and meaning of "Spoon Plugging" really is... "Spoon Plugging" was the word that was coined by Buck Perry to describe the basic knowledge needed to become a successful fisherman... It means being at the right place at the right time, presenting your lures in the right manner to arrive at the fish consistently.

 

http://www.spoonplug.net/

 

https://www.bucksspoonplugs.com/

Spoonpluger in learning here thanks to T9

[12poundbass]

53 minutes ago, gimruis said:

 

Two problems with that.  One, how do you know its deep enough to run an outboard through and two, how do you fish a big body of water that you can't see a land reference point from?

I personally wouldn't run fast at all in an unknown body of water, even with a depth finder and you're on plane you run into 18" of water by the time you see it you're in trouble. 

   GPS has been readily available for 30-40 years? What did fisherman do for tens of thousands of years before GPS? Fished the water! Trial and error my friend. 

[J Francho]

34 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

Spoonpluger in learning here thanks to T9

 

Accidental spoonplugger. Never realized I was doing it. Watched my uncle dissect pelagic salmon while mating on his salmon charter, and sort of applied the techniques from there. It's not all exactly the same, but trolling theory isn't as simple as it is boring. 

[XpressJeff]

Thank you all!

 

Threads like this are GREAT. 

 

I may be old but I was a city kid. It's cool to read about "old school" methods!

[Glenn]

Several decades ago, when "Flashers" were all the rage and too expensive for my wallet, I looked at the topography of the shoreline and "imagined" it as it went underwater...continued the slope, if you will. 

 

I also looked at the docks.  Short docks = steeper drop/deeper water; long docks = flat, shallow water with slow tapers.

 

Knowing your plantlife helps too.  Reeds and cattails grow in hard bottoms, lily pads in softer, and so on.

 

And finally, for decades, I would use "triangulation" to locate and "mark" spots. You locate at least 3 landmarks and make note of their relative locations when you find a spot.  That way you can return to that spot by lining up those landmarks.  When I got my first gps unit, that's how I entered all my waypoints - I revisited all those spots and entered them in my gps unit.