Crappiless

[Seth]

44 minutes ago, DADAKOTA said:

Hear lots of stories about live scope.  Folks not even fishing till they find the specie and size they are looking for through the scope.  Doesn't really seem like fishing to me anymore.  More like a video game.  I've always enjoyed finding fish on different lakes at different times of the year.  Time on the water and past history and experience helped in the search.  Now a feller just needs a scope.  Add a robot to present the bait and a few more electronics and a guy can sit at home in his recliner and virtual fish.

So fish the way you want and let others do the same. Electronics make guys who already understand fish habits better anglers. If you don't understand the fish, chances are you pretty high that the fancy electronics are not a magic pill to turn you in to Kevin Vandam over night. Crappie is one fish that I rely heavily on my electronics. Finding paddlefish is second. After that, I really don't rely on them a whole lot.

[Flysmallie]

32 minutes ago, Phil Lilley said:

And I don't chase those "stinkin' bass".  

 

We won't hold that against ya. 

[fishinwrench]

On 4/10/2019 at 7:04 PM, BilletHead said:

               I bet that live scope is neat.  Would like to have one someday. My biggest issue would be I would know fish were there. Now when I don't catch I say nothing was there to bite. This new gadget would take my excuse away proving what a lousy fisherman I am . 

   BilletHead

We had a tough day last Wednesday and everyone at the ramp that evening was standing around discussing what could be causing the fish to shut down so bad.  

The guys with empty fuel tanks and 6k worth of electronics on their boats didn't have any answers either, and were just as beat down and disgusted as us low tech guys.

I've also noticed, at weigh-ins, that after the winners get done thanking their sponsors and all the folks who "helped make it possible".......they never mention Lowrance/Hummingbird/Garmin, ect. 😄 

[fishinwrench]

24 minutes ago, Seth said:

Electronics make guys who already understand fish habits better anglers.

Hmm, I'm gonna challenge that one. 😎

I have installed a bunch of awesome systems, and then kept an eye on those guys success for a good while afterwards.   And honestly they don't catch any more fish than they did before.   They do, however, log a considerable amount of more idle time on their outboards.  

[snagged in outlet 3]

5 minutes ago, fishinwrench said:

Hmm, I'm gonna challenge that one. 😎

I have installed a bunch of awesome systems, and then kept an eye on those guys success for a good while afterwards.   And honestly they don't catch any more fish than they did before.   They do, however, log a considerable amount of more idle time on their outboards.  

Silver lining I guess 😀

[Blazerman]

I know in my own experience my electronics have helped me a lot. I am an old river fisherman that has moved to LOTO. I have two nice Garmin's on my boats that I did not use much on the river. Once I started fishing the lake, I have learned to look for brush and depth changes, and channels swings and anything else that will hold fish. I am now catching bass and crappie I probably would not even of known were there before.

It is really cool to be to see a brush pile on the graph and then make a cast to it with a bass or crappie jig, and then feel the tap as the bait gets to the brush. And then set the hook and have a fish on. I have also fished to the dots on the screen many times now and caught them. And again I would not have known they were there before.

I am in no way saying I am ready to compete on any tournament circuit, but it sure has been fun learning how to use them.

[Seth]

2 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

Hmm, I'm gonna challenge that one. 😎

I have installed a bunch of awesome systems, and then kept an eye on those guys success for a good while afterwards.   And honestly they don't catch any more fish than they did before.   They do, however, log a considerable amount of more idle time on their outboards.  

My guess is they don't know how to put them to good use. Plenty of guys out there who have fancy graphs that don't know how to use them properly. I'd bet far more guys who rule the LoZ tournament scene are good with sonar than those who aren't, especially when it comes to summer time. The best angler I know doesn't even bother fishing outside of winter and spring simply because he knows he can't compete in the summer time against guys who are good with electronics. He can' barely turn a graph on.

I as on the Gravois a few weeks ago to chase crappie. We had a half dozen guys come up to us while getting the boat ready and told us they barely caught anything all day. We put the water in, graphed a few of my go to spots and they were void of fish. Went to a new area I'd never been and found a mega school in a matter of minutes and we limited out. Sure glad I had my electronics because I wouldn't have caught jack squat with out them. Some of those guys had some decent graphs too, but apparently they suck at using them. 

[Seth]

4 minutes ago, Blazerman said:

I know in my own experience my electronics have helped me a lot. I am an old river fisherman that has moved to LOTO. I have two nice Garmin's on my boats that I did not use much on the river. Once I started fishing the lake, I have learned to look for brush and depth changes, and channels swings and anything else that will hold fish. I am now catching bass and crappie I probably would not even of known were there before.

It is really cool to be to see a brush pile on the graph and then make a cast to it with a bass or crappie jig, and then feel the tap as the bait gets to the brush. And then set the hook and have a fish on. I have also fished to the dots on the screen many times now and caught them. And again I would not have known they were there before.

I am in no way saying I am ready to compete on any tournament circuit, but it sure has been fun learning how to use them.

Now don't go proving fishinwrench wrong! Everybody knows bass only live in less than 10' of water and you don't need a graph to catch those fish!

Lakes are where graphs shine. I'll use my graph for GPS purposes on the rivers, but I flip the transducer up and disable sonar on the unit. Doesn't serve much purpose on a shallow river.

[fishinwrench]

A simple 200.00 LCR will find you brush piles, humps, drop offs, schools of shad, ect.   I'm not saying that sonar is useless, I use mine alot.  I'm just saying that spending 2 months wages on it, and taking up 1/4 of the real estate in your boat, will probably not improve your catch rate noticably.   

[Old plug]

I have always felt you need too connect the triangle  to be success fun The right place means nothing without the other two sides being the right time and the right way. That does not include lure selection either Any given day there are some catching them on one thing snd others on another. It means more like speed of retrieve, rate of fall and those things  And it is further compounded by the right time and place being a big variable on any given lake  Because there is.Sun,,shade,wind and yes the moon too.