Electronics has become a game changer in tournament bass fishing. With the advent of side imaging, down imaging and live target, fishing has become a video game you play on your boat. Pros and amateur bass anglers spend more time driving around a lake graphing to learn it than actually fishing. It now common to have two or three 12″ screens at both the console and bow of the boat, and anglers only cast a line when a fish or group of fish appears on the screen.
While this is great if you are trying to win big bucks on the tournament trail, I feel that something has been lost in the sport of fishing. No longer are idyllic days spent on a lake, casting away your stress. The thrill of tossing a lure where you think the fish might be and feeling a big one tug at your line is gone. Leisure and recreation has been replaced by technology. So has the need for knowledge. There is no longer and advantage to being on your “home lake” – one you know like the back of your hand, because electronics allows everyone to find your secret holes and humps.
Personally, I enjoy fishing “unplugged”. While electronics is available to me, I still enjoy spending a day looking at the lake, seeing the wind blow across the edge of some weeds or lily pads and thinking to myself “there’s GOT to be a fish there”. I like using my instinct and knowledge of the lake. I like trying new places, new lures and new techniques just to learn from it. I like seeing new docks, new sea walls or new weed patches. I like the thrill of not knowing when the fish will strike. It makes fishing FUN. As an amateur angler who doesn’t make a living winning tournaments, this is important. Fishing is a source of relaxation for me. A hobby I enjoy and share with my husband and partner. We still talk, laugh, take lunch breaks and love our days spent out on the water.
To each his own, but I would rather fish “unplugged” and use the thousands of dollars I save to travel to a new lake. Why not try it one day? Don’t turn on your electronics and enjoy the scenery, experience the thrill of a big bass slamming your bait, and bring the fun back into the game of fishing.
