Bass fishing has passed me up

[scaleface]

Todays anglers with their electronics are out of my league .My last fishing trip this past fall I was struggling catching fish . The water was 42 degrees and I caught 1 bass shallow . I went back out on a point where I had gotten  skunked earlier and hunkered down . Random casting a Cordell Gay Blade out off the point in 25 foot of water I managed to catch several bass . But I was fishing blind . Todays anglers would have been casting at fish ,not blind like me .I'm afraid bass fishing has passed me up and I'm not dropping a couple of grand for a new trolling motor with spot lock and side image sonar .My wife would shoot me .   Anybody else feeling like a dinosaur?

[newriverfisherman1953]

Do you have fun bass fishing? If so, stay at it. Every one of us have our own style of fishing and we have our own reasons for doing it. I’ve seen guys with thousands of dollars invested in equipment blank also. 

[TnRiver46]

21 minutes ago, scaleface said:

Todays anglers with their electronics are out of my league .My last fishing trip this past fall I was struggling catching fish . The water was 42 degrees and I caught 1 bass shallow . I went back out on a point where I had gotten  skunked earlier and hunkered down . Random casting a Cordell Gay Blade out off the point in 25 foot of water I managed to catch several bass . But I was fishing blind . Todays anglers would have been casting at fish ,not blind like me .I'm afraid bass fishing has passed me up and I'm not dropping a couple of grand for a new trolling motor with spot lock and side image sonar .My wife would shoot me .   Anybody else feeling like a dinosaur?

Hahaha they are just pushing product. I bet you can hang. I locate fish on my $200 depth finder and catch them all the time. And my anchor was free 

[scaleface]

10 minutes ago, newriverfisherman1953 said:

Do you have fun bass fishing?

I still enjoy the heck out of it and will continue to do so .

 

4 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I locate fish on my $200 depth finder and catch them all the time. And my anchor was free 

I'm the guy you see with a marker buoy thrown out and when  I catch a fish , I often drift  away and have to zig zag trying to relocate it . 

[Hook2Jaw]

You good, Scaley.  You're still more of an angler than the typical Googan with 18k worth of electronics!

[A-Jay]

I can relate.

Since I fish for fun and not to pay my mortgage,

I don't feel putting added pressure on myself to be as proficient as a Professional angler is beneficial.

I have some electronics and they've definitely helped my fishing is a few different ways.

They were and continue to be, a challenge to learn to use effectively. 

I have no problem admitting that my 'skill' level regarding their use is still solidly in the novice category. 

Even if that's a far as I get with them, I still enjoy the added benefit I feel I get having them.

I tried to make learning how to use, tune & read them 'fun'; sort of easier said than done - but doable none the less. 

Often spent the majority of my 'learning' time on the water, during periods of high sun & beautiful weather, when the bite may not have been the best but it was sure nice to be on the water. 

Having super clear water to 'learn' on seems helpful, as I can match what the screen is telling me to what is actually there - down to 15 or 20 ft sometimes. 

Adds confidence when I can't see and or when fishing new water.

Finally there is no doubt that in the past several years, 'the technology' has improved WAY FASTER,

than both my learning curve and my disposable income. 

Bottom line, I want to catch big smb, how I do it really doesn't matter.

A-Jay

 

 

[DitchPanda]

I'm a bank bound guy... I had a boat several years ago and didn't use it so I sold it... so in that regard I'm way more behind than you! My local lakes and pond's I frequent are all small 1 to 10 acres on average so that helps me get by without a boat. I instead use some of the money id spend on a boat payment or upkeep buying nice gear and too many baits. Sorry for the ramble I guess my point is I've found something that works for me and don't care how it looks. I'd say you feel that way too.

[Scott F]

When I saw the first post, I thought I don't have the most advanced electronics available, but I can still catch some fish. Then I realized that the stuff I have is so much more advanced than older stuff, that I do catch more because of the high quality maps built into my sonar units.  

[Grim_Reaver]

If you mostly fish shallow water, you don't need one of the big fancy graphs with all the imaging and spotlock is unnecessary too. Just get you a small unit with decent mapping and depth shading. A map and a bait like a squarebill, spinnerbait, or swim jig is all you need to disect an area. If you want to hold position for cheap, rig you up an anchor pole or better yet use a strong piece of bamboo.

[new2BC4bass]

Dinosaur here.  No electronics.  Porta-Bote but currently no way to get it to a lake so I'm shorebound.

[RB 77]

1 hour ago, scaleface said:

Todays anglers with their electronics are out of my league .My last fishing trip this past fall I was struggling catching fish . The water was 42 degrees and I caught 1 bass shallow . I went back out on a point where I had gotten  skunked earlier and hunkered down . Random casting a Cordell Gay Blade out off the point in 25 foot of water I managed to catch several bass . But I was fishing blind . Todays anglers would have been casting at fish ,not blind like me .I'm afraid bass fishing has passed me up and I'm not dropping a couple of grand for a new trolling motor with spot lock and side image sonar .My wife would shoot me .   Anybody else feeling like a dinosaur?

 

You got on em, so it sounds like you're good to me. You dint need all that fancy smancy stuff to catch em, so stay with it. You're enjoying your time on the water and still getting em. Cheers to many more Bass with out all the bells and whistles.

[BassNJake]

1 hour ago, scaleface said:

Todays anglers with their electronics are out of my league .My last fishing trip this past fall I was struggling catching fish . The water was 42 degrees and I caught 1 bass shallow . I went back out on a point where I had gotten  skunked earlier and hunkered down . Random casting a Cordell Gay Blade out off the point in 25 foot of water I managed to catch several bass . But I was fishing blind . Todays anglers would have been casting at fish ,not blind like me .I'm afraid bass fishing has passed me up and I'm not dropping a couple of grand for a new trolling motor with spot lock and side image sonar .My wife would shoot me .   Anybody else feeling like a dinosaur?

My old fishing partner is still chasing the pro angler dream.

Last year we went to Chickamauga and were running a dock pattern in the creeks.

We would idle by as he was watching his 360 imaging and we only fished docks he "saw" fish on.

We caught fish on 8 of ten docks.

 

We tried later in a different creek with traditional sonar and we caught fish on 6 of 20 docks

We went back to that same creek and used the 360 imaging and caught fish on 13 of 20 docks.

 

He could point out a piling and call his shot, it was unreal.

However, as a tourney tool he was not sold on it.

 

He also said that last year was his worst fishing tournaments as he missed too much time fishing by idling waiting for the perfect situation to show itself on the screen.

[greentrout]

2 hours ago, scaleface said:

Todays anglers with their electronics are out of my league .My last fishing trip this past fall I was struggling catching fish . The water was 42 degrees and I caught 1 bass shallow . I went back out on a point where I had gotten  skunked earlier and hunkered down . Random casting a Cordell Gay Blade out off the point in 25 foot of water I managed to catch several bass . But I was fishing blind . Todays anglers would have been casting at fish ,not blind like me .I'm afraid bass fishing has passed me up and I'm not dropping a couple of grand for a new trolling motor with spot lock and side image sonar .My wife would shoot me .   Anybody else feeling like a dinosaur?

Not in the least.

 

I posted a youtube video about "spotted bass and a canoe" about a week ago because it plainly shows bass fishing is so much more than a big bass boat and pro style fishing or a quest for a double digit bass. Granted, that's a big part and very important part of the sport. But there are many like me who fish mostly private small waters, creeks and state, federal fisheries and parks that only allow boats with no outboards.  Some of the most memorable fishing trips have been on these small waters ... and the challenges they pose ...

 

good fishing ...

[Koz]

Bobby Lane, Brett Hite, and Casey Ashley caught zero scorable bass in two full rounds of this week's MLF tournament in Okeechobee. Three more anglers are blanked into their second round today. These guys probably have the best electronics and use them to put food on their table.

 

I bank fish and live and die by the areas I can access. But I do understand how you feel. Since I moved last year I have not caught one bass in the lakes I have fished. Thank goodness I go visit my parents at least once a month and have access to some great fishing.

[lo n slo]

2 hours ago, scaleface said:

Todays anglers with their electronics are out of my league .My last fishing trip this past fall I was struggling catching fish . The water was 42 degrees and I caught 1 bass shallow . I went back out on a point where I had gotten  skunked earlier and hunkered down . Random casting a Cordell Gay Blade out off the point in 25 foot of water I managed to catch several bass . But I was fishing blind . Todays anglers would have been casting at fish ,not blind like me .I'm afraid bass fishing has passed me up and I'm not dropping a couple of grand for a new trolling motor with spot lock and side image sonar .My wife would shoot me .   Anybody else feeling like a dinosaur?

i’d put you up against a lot of other people. that being said, my concern is that they’re taking alot of the “sport” out of it with some of the new sonar capabilities. it’s the thrill of the hunt that drives my passion and i still put more stock in the fisherman rather than the gear. 

[Johnbt]

I like looking at the trees and the wildlife while I fish. 

 

A buddy has a $1200 fishfinder - and it's great - but if I wanted to watch a screen all day I'd stay home and watch tv. 

[roadwarrior]

Most of my fishing and my biggest fish are caught on the Tennessee River and I hardly use electronics at all.

 

[GreenPig]

I fished for decades blind(no electronics) on my boat and had no idea if the fish, baitfish, and structure were even in the area I was fishing. Fish with friends that had electronics and I'd have much more productive days. My time is valuable and my Solix 15, spot locking Terrova and 360 Imaging are cheap in comparison. With that said my PB and top 3 LM were caught from the bank.

[Grim_Reaver]

Rick Clunn just did a pretty interesting article on this subject: https://m.bassmaster.com/rick-clunn/learning-young-guns

[Team9nine]

While the technology is impressive, I personally have a hard time getting onboard with some of it because it's gone a little too far, IMO. I don't ever see me buying some of the units for that reason; kind of like I won't fish for certain species of fish/with specific methods at certain times of the year. @lo n slo kind of touched on it with his comments about the "sport" of it. I'm just a little too "old school" 

 

What's the difference between the two pics/scenarios below?

 

[HenryPF]

5 hours ago, Koz said:

Bobby Lane, Brett Hite, and Casey Ashley caught zero scorable bass in two full rounds of this week's MLF tournament in Okeechobee. Three more anglers are blanked into their second round today. These guys probably have the best electronics and use them to put food on their table.

 

 

No way electronics makes you ancient. Take the last MLF - how many guys did you see using electronics in the 5ft of water they were casting from? From what I was watching, it was the old "beat the shoreline" - don't need electronics for that.

 

Take Wheeler - he spends a TON of time just cruising around on PRE fish days looking for structure. I don't have that kinda time to find the spot on the spot and I don't pre fish - I just go. Take another look at the top youtube stars - most of them do not have a boat with mass electronics or even a boat at all.

 

I have caught more fish on the bank that on the boat - i have a boat to get away from the jerks on the shoreline who are not sportsmen at all and can't seem to clean up their d**n garbage!

 

I bought my first boat with a specific purpose (and still use my bass boat to do this) to hop around from spot to spot on the shore.

[mrc.in.wi]

I have started buying used electronics on EBay.

HB 998 si $500

HB 798 si $400

2 HB 799 si $1000

all came with transducerS and  a network box. 
these were $4300 new 

 

buy electronics from the guys who have to upgrade all the time. 

[WRB]

Depends on how you value your time on the water.

State of the art electronics changing every few years and keeping up gets expensive but if that's your thing and within expendable income enjoy it.

I haven't upgraded my electronics in 15 years now when I bought my last boat in 2005 and thinking of selling everything. May keep a few things to back seat with a few freinds now and then.

If you know your lake well enough all you need to do is determine what depth to start at.

Tom

[Bird]

I can relate to being a minority in electronical devices and there use in locating fish.

But nothing wrong with relying on instinct and weather patterns to know when and where might be optimal. 

 

I'd continue on your current path and enjoy every moment your on the water.

 

Strangely enough, the youth really have a grasp of technological advances......me ?

I just have to keep casting. 

 

 

[Ratherbfishing]

I've been "reading up" on all the latest fish finders, GPS, and trolling motors (which "talk" to one another) and it all seems to demand beau coup dollars and a PhD in electrical engineering just to set it up and make it actually work properly.  It IS intimidating and if I let it, it could make me almost throw in the towel-until I remember that I caught fish before all this whiz-bang stuff came out.  I'm not knocking it but I won't let it get the best of me, either.