What Did Those Electronics Set You Back?
Posted by Pete Robbins on Feb 21st 2021
It now seems to be a foregone conclusion that if you’re going to compete at the pro level, or even the semi-pro level, you’d better have the latest in down-, side- and forward-facing sonar and know how to use them. It has become standard in the upper echelons to run at least four screens, cost be damned.
But it’s not just the cost in terms of money that matters. Assumedly that is an investment in your future income, or at least in the satisfaction of learning. The cost that seems to be less obvious is whether in the short term the reliance in all of the new technology may actually hurt your fishing. There’s no question that if used properly, your enhanced underwater eyes can pay huge dividends, but for many of us it’s an iterative process – learning as we go.
My friend Joe Okada pointed out to me last week that while we might see the Patrick Walterses of the world benefit immensely from competent usage of these new units, we’re also going to see anglers using them to their detriment. Joe knows what he’s talking about – he’s a walleye pro and also a really good smallmouth stick – and he said that while the units are to some extent plug-and-play, there will be anglers who get so fixated on their screens that they forget to notice what’s going on around them. Not only will they fail to heed their otherwise finely-tuned instincts, but they’ll also forget to look for more obvious clues.
In other words, used excessively or improperly they’re a time suck.
That reminded me of a couple of times I’ve been on the Potomac with AA or AAA level guys who had the hardware, but not necessarily the know-how. On days when they were ultimately going to spend time fishing exclusively less than 5 feet deep, they spent more time fiddling with their electronics than they should have. It likely cost them fish, if not on those days, then on others. That’s not to say that your electronics don’t have value in the skinny stuff, just that there’s such a thing as overkill. I mentioned this to river rat Kevin Short, who has probably won more money on shallow rivers than just about anybody out there. He confirmed my theory: “Half the time I don’t even turn the damn things on out there.”
When it comes to technology, it can and will pay off, but somethings there’s such a thing as too much of a good thing.
