Time travel to 1973 classic, how would we do?

[taylo166]

Taking with you only artificial baits, if you could travel back to say 1973 BassMaster Classic, could you win with today's bait options? What if 1970s Roland Martin had a senko?

[Brew City Bass]

My pride says I'd clean house and shake all their hands for the donation money. 

In reality, those guys would probably still smoke us with their period correct equipment. 

[Russ E]

Those guys caught a lot of fish without our electronics. No graphs, gps, side or down imaging.

All they had was the humble flasher.

 

More than likely they would spank us.

 

[scaleface]

They would probably laugh at my ridiculously long rods .

[OCdockskipper]

3 hours ago, scaleface said:

They would probably laugh at my ridiculously long rod...

Only out of jealousy...

[J.Vincent]

Rick Clunn competed in that era....and is still competing today; he would know the answer !

[soflabasser]

8 hours ago, Russ E said:

Those guys caught a lot of fish without our electronics. No graphs, gps, side or down imaging.

All they had was the humble flasher.

 

You had to be a much better bass fisherman back then to locate fish compared to most bass fishermen in this time. Lucky for me that I learned how to fish old school and I know how to locate bass without an electronic depth finder. Seems like a lost art these days since people these days are quick to rely more on technology than themselves. There was no internet so you had to put in more time on the water to be good at bass fishing and I bet lots of people that struggle now would probably give up bass fishing if they where forced to fish with the technology of 1973.

[lo n slo]

6 minutes ago, soflabasser said:

You had to be a much better bass fisherman back then to locate fish compared to most bass fishermen in this time. Lucky for me that I learned how to fish old school and I know how to locate bass without an electronic depth finder. Seems like a lost art these days since people these days are quick to rely more on technology than themselves.

well said

[scaleface]

With the exception of super deep crankbaits , most of the lures I use today were available in the 70's . I dont think the lures would make much of a difference at all  .  To compete with them , a person has to be as good as them .

[Catt]

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog."

 

It aint about the equipment, it's about who's using the equipment.

 

Guys that are good now would do good back then & guys that were good back then would be good now.

 

Today's technology just makes it easier ?

 

[taylo166]

Cool, I was just watching the 73 classic and saw the pistol grips and strange lures being named. Thought "I bet a Bull Shad would have been nice to show off back then."

[scaleface]

Rayo used a Manns Jelly Worm , Manns Spinnerbait , and Norman crankbait to win the 73 classic .

[Hook2Jaw]

I think the average BR member would get served a big slice of humble pie.  Personally, I've only wet a line in a lake on about three occasions and while I can be hell in a river or a pond, that much water and my limited experience with my electronics would probably be my undoing in the '73 classic.

 

There are numerous members I'd give a good chance to, but I do not count myself among them.

 

What would you guys throw during the 1973 Classic?  With it being October in the Southeast, I think baitfish would be the name of the game in relatively shallow water.  The bank to 15', and I would probably try to focus on humps and ledges as well, and target them with a Strike King Redeye Shad and a H2O Xpress Squarebill.    I would probably throw a fluke as well, should the bite be tough.

[Jigfishn10]

I was 7 back in '73, so my butt would have been wiped by those great fishermen.

[scaleface]

2 hours ago, Hook2Jaw said:

I think the average BR member would get served a big slice of humble pie.  Personally, I've only wet a line in a lake on about three occasions and while I can be hell in a river or a pond, that much water and my limited experience with my electronics would probably be my undoing in the '73 classic.

 

There are numerous members I'd give a good chance to, but I do not count myself among them.

 

What would you guys throw during the 1973 Classic?  With it being October in the Southeast, I think baitfish would be the name of the game in relatively shallow water.  The bank to 15', and I would probably try to focus on humps and ledges as well, and target them with a Strike King Redeye Shad and a H2O Xpress Squarebill.    I would probably throw a fluke as well, should the bite be tough.

That lake was exxtremely clear and on the final day Bill Dance caught a limit 40 foot deep .

[Hook2Jaw]

15 minutes ago, scaleface said:

That lake was exxtremely clear and on the final day Bill Dance caught a limit 40 foot deep .

Yep, and Rayo still managed to beat him beating the banks.

[WRB]

Finesse Cardinal 4 spinning reel was state of the art with translucent soft plastic worms  would catch bass on Clarks Hill today. I believe spinner baits and crank baits are still used today effectively and winning tournaments.

What makes you think you can't find structure , bait and bass using a flasher and combined with a good topo map available in '73? We also had x15 paper graphs back in the early 70's for scrolling display, the Classic boats were equipped with Lowrance flashers.

How many of you used finesse spinning tackle in '73? or '83 or '93? Rayo did and it made the difference winning the Classic.

Tom

[bowhunter63]

I probably would get my a.. kicked, But it would be awesome to be around them guys. Rick is still doing it today.

[TOXIC]

I have a gut feeling there would be a big difference in the fish.  Those same waters I'll bet are a lot more pressured today than they were back then.  

[WRB]

The population has only doubled since '73 the bass population remains the same.

The top 10% of tournament anglers seem to always catch 90% of a bass.

Tom

[Mobasser]

All these guys were great fisherman. I think they could hold their own now days too

[Glaucus]

I don't know about you guys, but I'm winning it all.

 

Just kidding, I'd get spanked. Those guys were masters. Less sensitive rods and found fish the old fashioned way. They would have been completely in tune with what they were doing more than many of us can comprehend. If you pay attention around here, all the best anglers are the older guys. They know what's up.

[jbsoonerfan]

My Papaw Jake and Uncle Doug could have caught more fish than I could have dreamed of when I went with them. Even though they would let me steal their spots and use the same lure they were using. The guys that learned how to catch them off of experience were better than most guys today that rely on electronics.

[BassNJake]

I think that those older tourney guys laid the ground work for today's tournament anglers.

Just like my son has the benefit of the knowledge that has been passed down from my grandpa to my dad then to me and finally to him.

 

My son has been learning to read sonar and side imaging since he was 5. You don't think he has an understanding why all those fish are stacked at the end of that point? He has been studying about seasonal patterns for 5 years and he still isn't old enough to drive. He can quickly soak in much more information watching youtube videos than I was able to do waiting for my next issue of bassmaster to come. So he's learned how to tie a snell knot and knows what situation to use it in, he can pitch, flip and skip, he can tie a split shot, drop shot or carolina rig. The kid has more knowledge and skills at 15 than I did at 35. And he still spends way too much time on the computer/playing video games.

[OCdockskipper]

On 6/6/2019 at 11:13 AM, WRB said:

The top 10% of tournament anglers seem to always catch 90% of a bass.

Tom

What is the 10% that they don't catch?  Does the bass just shed some fins when caught, like a lizard dropping its tail?

 

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