Provocative Thought For The Day

[slinkymalinky]

Is technology reducing the ability of some of us to catch fish??

I've been thinking a lot about how it is some people catch so many fish so here is a "stream of consciousness" of my thoughts for comment or to consider.

Recently I've had the opportunity to fish with and spend time with some truly gun fishos. The ones who really are in the 10% that catch the 90%. And they do it no matter where they fish or what they fish for. I've had the chance to watch and listen as they went about their business and found and pulled some serious fish... consistently. So I ask myself what are the common denominators.

The comprehensive answer is that these are thinking fishos and this is where my comment about technology comes from. Without a doubt, technoligy in the form of sounders, GPS, downriggers, hot bream boats, etc are fantastic tools to potentially improve fishing results but just like a nail gun, if used incorrectly they can actually make matters a whole lot worse.

Here's my observation and I'd like some comments. The really good fishos often grew up and learned their trade without the benefit of technology and so their use of it is as a supplement to years of observation, thought, and experience. They don't expect the GPS and sounder to find and catch the fish for them... instead they use them as aids but you watch how they work.

They watch birds, currents, tides, the local fishing pros, water temperature and a host of other variables like hawks. They overlay their hard earned knowledge of the seasonal movements and patterns of fish. Then they use their technology to fine tune the process by focusing it on areas, times and in ways that maximise their potential to help.

Often they seem to even ignore what the sounder might be telling them and yet manage to catch great fish because they think about what they're doing all the time. These are very active fishos who work hard at fishing and have a real attention to detail. And they catch the sort of fish and the numbers of fish we are all jealous of.

Consider now the newbie who has a boat load of electronics and gadgets. We all know these bods... They get a couple of GPS marks from somewhere, race to the spot at the first opportunity, rely completely on the sounder to find fish then expect the fish to jump into the boat. A lot of them end up fishless no matter how much they spent on their tech. When the spot fails to produce or the sounder shows either nothing or nothing they can successfully interpret, etc... they're stumped and have nowhere to go because like people who have grown up on frozen meals, they've lost the ability to think for themselves.

I love technology. I love my sounder and my GPS and my downrigger. But I try to always think and observe and learn and not to rely completely on it. I'd like to end up one of the old salts who seem to have an almost mystical ability to catch fish but my firm belief is that it can't be bought in a Lowrance box. It has to be earned and developed with time on the water with the grey matter switched on. Then the magic from the boys at Lowrance and Furuno and Scotty can help convert your thinking into fish... not replace it.

One of my favourite sayings is:

"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it on your breakfast cereal."

ie. Knowledge is what you get from a sounder or GPS but knowledge on its own is of limited value.

Cheers, Slinky

[The Iceman]

Great observation slinky and how true it is

There are some great thinking fishos out there you dont hear about and then there are the guys with all the gear and no idea that go around telling everybody how good they are

One good thing about this website is you dont see the all the gear no idea guys

[Christos]

Here is something to think about. When you fish a place offen enough you become familar with that area.

I do not how long they were fishing the places that they fish from and I also do not know how offen in the past they have failed to catch fish from other areas until they located their current places.

[Davemmm]

Here is something to think about. When you fish a place offen enough you become familar with that area.

I do not how long they were fishing the places that they fish from and I also do not know how offen in the past they have failed to catch fish from other areas until they located their current places.

Real good fishos dont rely on trial and error. They can read a waterway and know where the fish should be holding. Its not a case of the fish always being there first go but the gun fishos at least put themselves in a spot with the highest chance of catching fish.

As Slinky says the guns read every sign. If they know that Jewfish hold on the lee side of a particular Georges River point on a small run in tide then there is a fare bet they will be holding in the same spot of a similar structure in a different river.

Gun fishos dont "locate their current places" they know exactly what to look for every time they go out.

As for the rest of us we just have to be content with the other 10%.

Dave

[The Iceman]

As Slinky says the guns read every sign. If they know that Jewfish hold on the lee side of a particular Georges River point on a small run in tide then there is a fare bet they will be holding in the same spot of a similar structure in a different river.

Gun fishos dont "locate their current places" they know exactly what to look for every time they go out.

Dave

This is correct and to give an example I extensively fished the Boyne and Calliope rivers in QLD for years and applied the same fish locating techniques to the Georges river and found good schools of estuary perch a fish that a lot of fishos didnt realise existed in the river

[jewgaffer]

Hi Slinkymalinky. I think having a sounder helps track down and confirms where fish are holding. In relation to sounding baitfish, it's up to you to determine where it is best to anchor first up. The mere presence of baitfish in rivers does not guarantee that any predators are behind them or whether or not predator fish like jewfish will eventually come into that location as the baitfish may well be holding in safe.

In fact you have to work out what corners etc the bait fish will come into when they need to fossick for food at a later time, times when other small fish and baitfish themselves have to be aware, watchful and daring to find their own food supply. You often find the times when baitfish schools go on the move needing to feed, predators are prowling the area and hiding in cover waiting in advance, anticipating their own time proven opportunity to feed. So in that respect and, after you have tried for larger fish like jewfish without success, you have to decide whether to move or stay. It often pays to move and settle in where there are no baitfish, especially when you are not sure of repetitive predator activity in the particular location. On the other hand with high tide incoming jew it is better to fish behind the baitfish, whether or not you feel that the close in depth where the school of baitfish are holding suits the jew. Fishing these waters are good opportunities to have live baits staggered out from shallower water into more suitable depths when fishing landbased. If you are in a boat and know where baitfish are holding, stagger the rods in deeper water and cast crippled or tailed trimmed live baits in behind the baitfish, and you should always cover the direction where you yourself think those baitfish will eventually come out with wind and tide etc.

As to GPS position plotters, it is an advantage to be able to go back to the same spot in same type conditions etc where you have hooked up jewfish previously. You can't always remember the exact position by taking a mental note of the position with line ups etc, where you anchored or let out more rope. Remember jewfish generally hunt in packs and schools and they stick to the same thouroughfares where they themselves are comfortable. They will break away into shallow water, either to ambush a target or round up and drive a baitfish school towards the pack, provided it suits them.

Tony while we are watching the rods with Grant on Monday you could pass off what you know of the modern menus provided of course that it doesn't interfere with our jew chants.

Cheers

jewgaffer

Edited May 12, 2008 by jewgaffer

[krill]

The people who catch the most fish are the pros, and on their bridges you will find all the goodies, furunos and simrads, huge plotters, searchlight sonar. They do not have this gear because it does not work or they could get by without it.

I would guess that rec catch rates are well up with the advent of GPS and more powerful fishfinders. To be able to position a vessel (esp in an offshore context) in a repeatable fashion is crucial if fishing structures. How many could get to Browns or Heatons via landmarks? GPS also lets you fish longer, making night time navigation a lot less of a headache.

I am also astounded at the clarity of the quality sounders on the market. In my experience it is typical to mark individual fish of 50cm length down to 150m of water. This definition means it is possible to avoid a lot of fishless water. Marking fish is no guarantee of success, but my observation is the areas which do not show any fish on the sounder are normally pretty lifeless (excluding mud and sand dwellers which are hard to distinguish from the bottom).