High-tech gadgets help anglers reel ‘em in
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For a guy who used to measure the depth of the water he was fishing by lowering a rope with a rock tied to it, Jack Baker certainly has come a long way.
Look at him now.
When he goes fishing these days, he operates in a high-tech world, surrounded by the type of electronic devices that he once never dreamed possible.
He follows a path to a mid-lake brush pile with the help of a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit that pinpoints bearings from satellite signals.
A liquid-crystal fish-finder etches a vivid picture of what lies below, using sonar to show everything from brush to schools of fish.
A flasher unit, also relying on sonar signals, lights up like a pinball machine, with orange bands showing activity at various depths.
And other probes and gauges indicate everything from water temperature to barometric pressure.
“Years ago, I never would have pictured myself fishing like this,” said Baker, 69. “When we’d go to a new lake, we’d spend days finding where the channels, humps and brush piles were. And once we found a good spot, we’d have to line it up with landmarks so we could remember where it was.
“Now we have electronics that do that for us. I’m amazed at how far we’ve come just since I started fishing.
Yes, the future has arrived.
High-tech gadgets and gizmos that once looked like props in a sci-fi movie now are commonplace in the fishing boat.
Take a look:
“Electronic devices do everything except reel in the fish for you. Some offer split screens, with a detailed fish-finder on one side and a GPS on the other. Bottom structure and fish are clearly detailed in color, alarms sound when signals contact fish, and everything from water temperature to barometric pressure to the moon phase are provided.
“GPS units use satellite signals to guide fishermen to within feet of waypoints such as brush piles or humps they have entered into their machines. Many units now include a CD-ROM that includes lake maps with hot spots detailed. When fishermen steer to those hot spots, a splash screen will tell fishermen how to fish there, what types of baits to use and in what season they’re most likely to find fish there.
“Fishermen don’t have to use their imagination when a blip shows up on the screen. Underwater cameras such as the Aqua Vu allow them to lower a waterproof video camera to the depths and look into a monitor on the boat to see what lies below.
“Even bank fisherman have a high-tech advantage in the Smart Cast, a fish-finder made by the Humminbird Co., features a floating transducer that can be clipped to a fishing line and cast out. Through wireless technology, the fishermen then can see depth, bottom structure and maybe even the fish on a wrist-watch display screen.
“Biosonix, the company that developed the popular Rat-L-Trap lure, now offers what it calls the Fish Attraction System. The electronic device disperses recordings of the sounds injured or distressed baitfish make through the water and supposedly attracts predators such as bass to the area.