"Unnamed Electronics"
Posted by Pete Robbins on Aug 26th 2020
There are effectively three main brands of marine electronics in the bass fishing world these days. Most of the tour level pros are affiliated with one of them in some way. Either they get paid by them, get units for free, or get a substantial discount. A few of them, most notably world-beater Jacob Wheeler, elect not be sponsored by any single company. Wheeler paid cash money and has all three major brands on his boat.
I’m not in a position to argue which of the three brands is best in general, or for any specific fishing situation. I’m sure they all have their advantages, and they all have scenarios where they excel. I’m also certain that if a company is giving you some sort of consideration for using their product, they don’t want you to endorse or even so much as look at their competitors’ products.
That’s a problem these days, because some dudes who are on the payroll are apparently mixing and matching their electronics. Some, I’m told, have lost their deals because they’re technological bigamy has been discovered. Others have a choice to make.
In the old days, you could use a competing company’s products because you were unlikely to get caught. Lying was S.O.P., an accepted part of the game: Tell the press you used Crankbait A, when you actually used Crankbait B. Put the rod back in the locker before you check in. Disconnect the graph and stick it in a sack before the cameras descend upon you. Now, however, that’s not so easy. Between “Live” and television coverage and blogging and observers, the world knows intimately not just the layout of your boat and the color of your lure, but also whether you used deodorant that morning. There are no secrets. If you cheat, stray or lust for someone else’s sonar in your heart, you will be found out.
For some of them, that may be worth the risk. It may even be logical to opt out of their contracts as soon as possible. After all, if you think the advantage of using multiple graphs substantially bolsters your chances of winning, the ROI could be substantial. Then again, these are not the $200 and $500 electronics of yesteryear. By the time they put everything on their boat, a lot of these anglers have $20,000 in fish-finding technology. If you’re someone trying to eke out your mortgage, or without a lot of other sponsor dollars coming in, the choice is not quite so easy. I’ll be curious to walk the docks at a major event next year and see which dominos have fallen, which ones stand straight, and which ones just teeter a bit in the bobbing waves.
