The Future of Fishing: Technology That’s Changing the Game

mahtofire14 wrote:

Just like many things in life these days. We are getting too smart for our own good.

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Randy Wieland wrote:</div>
Gas prices, boats, outboards, gear, lures, internet, loose lips, and so on all have an impact. Comes down to an anglers greed and disrepect. Just because I catch a lot of fish doesn’t mean I keep very many

This is the most important statement I’ve seen on this thread. Catch and release and not keeping limits everytime you can is going to become the most important thing to save population numbers.

It’s a great theory but this suggests changing culture. Not only does it take a powerful and successful organization like BASS and Muskies Inc, but it also takes decades. Walleyes and panfish have neither.

Unfortunately the larger portion of the fishing community aren’t as educated or even care about the resource as we do here.

Many of my non-fishing friends don’t even understand the concept of catch and release. They can never understand why we would put all of that money and effort in and never take anything home.

That’s the mentality that you’d have to change. Not a bunch of guys on a fishing forum. To me, it isn’t even remotely feasible.

If you want to have an impact, it needs to be done through management. You can actually change a culture through bag limits and laws. I’m not going to cont on people doing it willingly.

I think Panoptix is an advantage in some cases but not something that will change things altogether. It’s not that much different of a concept than using a flasher when ice fishing.

One thing it has taught me is how to look for off shore fish around structure – instead of just beating the bank like I did the first 45 years of my life.

“Using Panoptics on his bow, he would cruise around at a high rate of speed looking for his targeted species…”

Just curious if you happened to see how fast he was going when using the Panoptix to find fish..? I typically am going 5 mph when using side imaging, but much slower than that when using Panoptix… maybe I should speed up..

We estimated 5 to 6 mph; fast enough so that the sonar bracket appeared to be under some strain.

Yeah, its funny how some guys don’t embrace technology. I fished with two of them last week in Canada in an area of LOW that was not previously detailed mapped with any of the available chips.
I used SonarChartsLive to map the areas I fish and found it to be amazing to be able to have the detail that I am used to on my local lakes. They scoffed at it. I also used side and downscan to identify key areas where fish were holding, while they just continued their “milk run” trolling passes the way they have been doing it for 20 years. I focused on a 100 yard section of the break that was littered with large boulders on the edge of sand. We pounded the fish while they picked up fish here and there, but not in the numbers we did. We had 17 triples in my boat, they had NONE. We had the 5 biggest fish, their biggest was 21″. They caught more numbers of fish, but spent more time on the water and caught a ton of “rookery” fish (less than 10″).
Their comments about the technology I used were “it takes the fun out of it”. I laid in my cot while they were drunk talking smart one night in the screen tent and had a helluva laugh. Neither one of them even understood how the technology worked.
As with anything, its a tool. It may not translate in more fish in the boat, but it sure aids in finding fish and determining WHY they are where they are. That is what separates someone who consistently puts fish in the boat and someone who randomly catches fish.
I mentioned the new Panoptix LiveScope to one of the guys and he immediately contacted his buddy at (because he doesn’t research anything himself). His buddy told him that they had lots of problems with it or it wouldn’t work in many circumstances. I said, you are talking about the regular Panoptix, not the livescope, it was just released 2 days ago (at the time) and he would have no experience with it.
If the Panoptix LiveScope is as easy to use and works as it does in the videos I have seen, that is an absolute game changer.
Its funny these guys wouldn’t buy or use the electronics I have, but they don’t shy away from paying $800 for a rod and reel combo or $300 for a cooler.

biggill wrote:

If you want to have an impact, it needs to be done through management. You can actually change a culture through bag limits and laws. I’m not going to count on people doing it willingly.

I know of at least two ethnic groups locally that have defied this line of thought and bag limit changes. Their catch and keep culture hasn’t changed in the thirty years they’ve been submitted to anything suggesting a “limit”. I know ice anglers who simply hit the ice twice or three times a day and keep limits each trip. How does reducing limits reduce their line of thinking?

If one wants to limit the impact of technology, one will have to limit the use of that technology.

Soon as the price-point drops, many here will change their tune!!!! I love all the new technology- do I use all of it, no. Much of it does not apply to my type of fishing.

I am sure there were a few cavemen in their day cursing the dreaded wheel.

FryDog62 wrote:

I think Panoptix is an advantage in some cases but not something that will change things altogether. It’s not that much different of a concept than using a flasher when ice fishing.

One thing it has taught me is how to look for off shore fish around structure – instead of just beating the bank like I did the first 45 years of my life.

Agreed. Still takes experience and work to figure out the intangibles.

Proud life long bank beater.

Randy Wieland wrote:

Gas prices, boats, outboards, gear, lures, internet, loose lips, and so on all have an impact. Comes down to an anglers greed and disrepect. Just because I catch a lot of fish doesn’t mean I keep very many

Couldn’t agree more, well stated.

Fished a semi metro area lake on Saturday. Was beyond a zoo with recreational boaters. Took 2 of the kids and the wife out for the evening bite. Caught 40 walleyes and kept 4. The lack of respect for other boaters is nuts. An older guy was the only one fishing anywhere near us. A big pleasure boater full throttled it about 25 yards from the old guy. Was pretty pissed off seeing that and the complete lack of any courtesy. The old guy looked over at me and I just shook my head and he shrugged his shoulders like can’t fix stupid.

Advancements in technology don’t hold a candle to what people on social media have disrupted / destroyed. That is the biggest enemy of the future of our fisheries. Information at everyone’s fingertips for the “easy score…”

fishinguns wrote:

Advancements in technology don’t hold a candle to what people on social media have disrupted / destroyed. That is the biggest enemy of the future of our fisheries. Information at everyone’s fingertips for the “easy score…”

That’s been said over and over again for the last 15 years that I’ve been around.

Of course it might be that we have it so good around here that I don’t notice it as much as others in other areas.

Tom Sawvell wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>biggill wrote:</div>
If you want to have an impact, it needs to be done through management. You can actually change a culture through bag limits and laws. I’m not going to count on people doing it willingly.

I know of at least two ethnic groups locally that have defied this line of thought and bag limit changes. Their catch and keep culture hasn’t changed in the thirty years they’ve been submitted to anything suggesting a “limit”. I know ice anglers who simply hit the ice twice or three times a day and keep limits each trip. How does reducing limits reduce their line of thinking?

If one wants to limit the impact of technology, one will have to limit the use of that technology.

i think its safe to assume that those “ethnic” groups are not taking advantage of the new technology available. at least not here.

Tom Sawvell wrote:

I know of at least two ethnic groups locally that have defied this line of thought and bag limit changes. Their catch and keep culture hasn’t changed in the thirty years they’ve been submitted to anything suggesting a “limit”. I know ice anglers who simply hit the ice twice or three times a day and keep limits each trip. How does reducing limits reduce their line of thinking?

If one wants to limit the impact of technology, one will have to limit the use of that technology.

You can’t use a small group to define an entire culture. We should also be confronting these few or reporting them if we see it. Even that has been a culture shift that I’ve seen in my lifetime. Being a snitch was frowned upon because everyone “did it”.

It also takes time to change a culture. Sometimes it takes a generation or two. Lowering limits to what would equal a single meal or two could be the new norm. Limits today still allow for filling your freezer.

I don’t disagree with limiting technology either. If it has an impact, it should be considered.

I also agree with all the other causes mentioned here, but if all of this is affecting the quality of fishing, management must be changed to adapt.