How large a part do electronics play in your fishing?

[StrikePrince]

How crucial are your fish finders to your typical fishing day?  I've been browsing units, looking to purchase a fish finder for the first time and am overwhelmed by all of the options.  Plus, the fact that I'll need to complicate my boat with more holes/wires/more devices, etc ...I'm not a fan of complicating simple activities.

 

So I want to ask the superior fisherman here- how important are your FF to you?  Did you find that your skill as a fisherman increased significantly when you were able to visualize what was under/around your boat?  Am I limiting my own growth as a fisherman by not having a FF?

 

FYI, I fish mostly smaller lakes (up to about 600 acres) that don't have much in the way of structure.  But, having a FF would make some non local lakes that are a bit more structure oriented to me.

[Brew City Bass]

I wouldn't ever call myself superior haha. 
 

I find my sonar to be helpful, but it's just another tool in the tool box. The biggest thing it does for me is tells me the depth and what the bottom is made out of. I'll know if it's rocky, weedy, or grassy. I'm not really the type to troll the whole lake and pick apart every cinder block or tree I find on downscan. 

On lakes I've fished 1,000's of times I sometimes don't even turn it on. On new lakes I find it most helpful for locating schools of bass held on ledges or humps. It is a good feeling driving over a hump, throwing out a marker flag and then pulling a few off that hump. 

I don't have a fancy sonar, just a Garmin 5DV. It gets the job done. Gonna be upgrading to sidescan next summer though.

[Team9nine]

13 minutes ago, StrikePrince said:

How crucial are your fish finders to your typical fishing day?  I've been browsing units, looking to purchase a fish finder for the first time and am overwhelmed by all of the options.  Plus, the fact that I'll need to complicate my boat with more holes/wires/more devices, etc ...I'm not a fan of complicating simple activities.

 

So I want to ask the superior fisherman here- how important are your FF to you?  Did you find that your skill as a fisherman increased significantly when you were able to visualize what was under/around your boat?  Am I limiting my own growth as a fisherman by not having a FF?

 

FYI, I fish mostly smaller lakes (up to about 600 acres) that don't have much in the way of structure.  But, having a FF would make some non local lakes that are a bit more structure oriented to me.

how important are your FF to you?

Very - turn them on when I launch and never turn them off until loading out - every time out

 

Did you find that your skill as a fisherman increased significantly when you were able to visualize what was under/around your boat?

Definitely

 

Am I limiting my own growth as a fisherman by not having a FF?

Not necessarily...

[Glaucus]

A fat whopping zero. I bank and kayak fish. When I'm on a boat, it belongs to a friend. He'll have electronics, but I don't pay attention to them. I'll fish where he takes us. The fun for me is locating fish on my own. Wading a river or reaching tough places in the yak. Hitting the right weedline in a pond. I spend so much time looking at screens at work and at home, that when I'm fishing, it's me, God, my rod and reel, the fish and the water. Unless I guess right right away, I'll catch a few here and there til I reach a spot where they're holding. And again that's the fun for me. Fishing is as much peace and outdoors and hiking and walking and wading and paddling and scenery as it is fishing itself. Don't need no stinkin screens to stare at.

[Logan S]

I use them quite a bit and think they are the most important accessory on the boat.  I don't think it increases my skill, a better way to put it is that they make me more effective.  Here's a quick example:

 

This is a spot that's pretty well known because you can see the top of this tire reef when the water is clear...But those single tires out deeper you can't see.  But with side imaging they show up clear as day.  Sitting at the wheel while scanning I can drop a waypoint on each of those tires and have them appear on my map up front thanks to the ethernet link between my graphs.  When I come back to fish them, I have range rings on my map so I know exactly where to cast and can drop a bait right on those individual tires that are 12 to 20 feet deep without ever seeing them with my own eyes.  I catch fish on these frequently.

 

Side imaging, linked units, and good mapping can make you very efficient if you put the time in to use them to their full potential.  Plenty of other scenarios too.  

[Glaucus]

Most important electronic to me is my phone to indicate lightning. That's it.

[A-Jay]

The role my electronics play increases as the size & or newness of the water I'm fishing increases.

Smaller waters, not as much, but still they're on and I'm using them.

I will say that if you've never been on 'your lake' with electronics, once you do and you learn to 'read & use it effectively', you may find that you do not know that body of water as well as you think you do; especially if you fish off shore / deeper than you can see to the bottom, structure.

You'll be able to locate cover on structure, which can be quite a big deal.

It may seem like a whole new lake - at first anyway.

Good Luck with your choice.

I say do it.

You'll be glad you did. 

A-Jay

[Log Catcher]

I'm not very good with understanding electronics. I have two Garmin units with down vu. I use mine for knowing the depth and temperature of the water. I don't look any specific pieces of cover or structure to fish. I know most of the places I fish fairly well so it is not a big deal.                  

[Way north bass guy]

I second what A-Jay says about “your lake”. Once I got side imaging units on my boat, I was amazed at what I saw in areas I’d fished hundreds of times over the years. They can show you so much more detail than traditional 2D sonar, and for me, it makes a world of difference especially when offshore fishing. 

[tkunk]

Ever fish close to somebody who's crushing it but you're getting skunked? It's almost certainly not presentation. Instead, he's fishing an isolated boulder, irregularity in weeds, or some other kind of awesome fish-holding spot. On any lake that's not gin-clear, the only way to find good spots is with a fish finder. 

 

If I could do it all over again, my priorities would be

1. reliable boat and motor (e.g., something that doesn't take on water and almost always starts)
2. fish finders: 2 on the bow (one for map and down imaging, and one for side scan) and 1 on the console would be sufficient
3. nothing else matters all that much

I'm not good at fishing. But as I improve, the more I realize that it's important to focus on spots on spots. If you fish a big point, but you have no idea where boulders, transitions, or weed edges are, you'll be wasting a ton of time.

 

There are many tournaments on the lake I fish, and the pros are always hammering the best spots. You can't do that without good electronics.

[DropShotHotShot]

Depends on what you do.  If all you do is fish visual cover then it's not needed.  But if get off the bank its huge.  I don't use it to find bass, I use it to find their home.

 

My best smallmouth 21"+ was found on an isolated boulder in the middle of mille lacs, dropped right on it, would have never caught it without side imageing

[Mjmj]

I fished 2 small lakes (90 acres)  Once I learned to use my ff side imaging my catch rate doubled. I found structure that I fished over or went by and never new it was there. My fishing skills haven't changed,  just the places I fish 

[StrikePrince]

Thanks for all input, I'm leaning towards getting a FF now.  The lakes are fish are pretty structureless, but I have a few lakes in mind where I'm sure I'm passing over a lot of cover away from the banks.

 

 

[gim]

Depth from sonar is vital.  Its a safety factor for me.  I'm not launching my boat and running my outboard unless I know there is some depth to do it in.  GPS also plays a safety role for me because I sometimes fish at night on bigger lakes and I would literally get lost without it.  Most of the lakes I fish are mapped and the contours are shown on my GPS.  Water temperature helps a lot, especially in the spring when fish are looking for warmer water.

[WCWV]

I like to hunt bass, not just fish for them and I use mine alot.

I'm kinda on the older guy side now and any kind of electronics use to intimidate me but I really tried to learn mine. And over the last several years I find myself really using it. Like stated above, I have found stuff on a lake that I've been fishing for over 30 years.

Once you target them and then catch them, you'll be hooked. 

 

[jbmaine]

I use them for depth, water temp, finding structure, you name it.

I'm spending more time this year hunting for SM and I'd be lost with out it.

[ohboyitsrobby]

My garmins play a vital role in my fishing. Today for example I was idling a hump and came across quite a few holding tight to the bottom. Dropped the drop shot and caught my pb drop shot largemouth. I fish quite a bit offshore so my maps and sonar come into play a lot. Only time they really don't is when I'm throwing something at isolated bank cover

[Scott F]

I seldom use my depth finder as a fish finder. As others have said, I use it for the thermometer, depth and to show me weeds or rocks. Mapping has been very important to me since I got a unit that has accurate maps. The older maps that did not have good information, were not very useful. If I only fished the same small lake over and over, a small unit that did not have advanced features would suit me just fine.

[BuzzHudson19c]

I have never used any type of fishing electronics. I can definitely see where they would be handy, I just enjoy the mental chess match. On new water I sometimes wish I had something though.

[scaleface]

I rely on them  even shallow . I patterned the bass today and had to keep the boat in three to five foot to keep a buzzbait over the grass .Not to shallow not to deep .. 

[WRB]

My 1st sonar unit was Lowrance portable Green box flasher in the early 60's and since then Sonar has become a essential tool for my bass fishing. Over 60 years of looking at and interpreting sonar returns showing structure, cover, fish and thermal layers all over the country and Mexico and Canada.

Tom

[TOXIC]

While I never had to use a paper graph, I started out with dual flashers.  I was never as good as some others on reading them.  I knew other guides who could ID fish as well as depth, bottom composure, etc.  With the advent of sidescan and downscan, I have done my homework and taken the time to learn them.  Do they increase catch rates?  1000% yes.  Could I catch fish without them?  Sure.   

[Tennessee Boy]

14 hours ago, StrikePrince said:

how important are your FF to you?

I think of my boat as a mount for my electronics.

15 hours ago, StrikePrince said:

Did you find that your skill as a fisherman increased significantly when you were able to visualize what was under/around your boat? 

20 years ago it took a lot of skills to use the electronics of the day.  I would pull out my paper maps at home, find interesting off shore structure and use my high school trigonometry to calculate the coordinates and plug them into my GPS.  I felt like I earned the right to fish these spots.  Today it's easy to find these places and everybody fishes them.  The technology makes it possible to find fish off shore and on hidden cover,  it does not give you the skill to catch those fish.

15 hours ago, StrikePrince said:

Am I limiting my own growth as a fisherman by not having a FF? 

I would say yes but I think the more important question is are you limiting your enjoyment of fishing by not having a FF?  Only you can answer that question.   I'm into technology in general so to me using the technology is half the fun of fishing.

[geo g]

Not much, most of my waters are 3 or 4 feet deep in the swamp.  I get water temp, the thermocline in the canals, and occasional cruising fish in the canals.  Not much the cone can tell you when your in 3 feet of water and full of weeds.  I use old fashion detection by looking for happy water, weeds moving not from wind and waves, bird activity, boils on the surface, isolated clumps of weeds, funnel points from wind blown current, clear sand patches, and that inner feeling you get when out fishing.

[WRB]

If your bass fishing is limited to the shoreline without a boat and how far you can cast or access the shoreline sonar units have little use.

Anyone who bass fishes from a boat knowing what is underwater, how deep it is, what the underwater terrian looks like, how deep the fish are, including bait and bass, helps you to determine where to fish and what use. Without sonar you're looking at the waters surface and depending on water clarity how deep you see underwater and basically fishing blind.

Tom