In addition to helping us find fish, marine electronics have made the water a safer place for all of us. VHF radios, monitored by the Coast Guard, allow us to venture many miles offshore with a more secure feeling. Even cellular phones, in many case, are usable several miles out. GPS and LORAN can point the way home without worry that the old compass is off a few degrees.
These gadgets have also been responsible for some rather unique experiences. How about a virtual office on board? Because I like to fish midweek and avoid the crowds, I have found myself talking through an issue at work on my cell phone while actually fighting a fish! I even retrieved an e-mail or two on my laptop, up-linked through my cell phone. The modified spreadsheet I sent back kept me from leaving the water that day. Now there, my friend is a real virtual office!
I have also called home numerous times to advise my better half whether she needed to thaw out that chicken for supper. I have talked to other skippers on the water via VHF or even CB trying to locate a school or two of dolphin. Most will help you out, if you'll just ask.
Probably the most intriguing gadget to me however, is the fish finder. I have gone from the flashers of the late 60's and 70's, through the paper graph recorders (I still have some of the graph prints I saved of schools of fish we located and fished over), to the LCD displays currently on the market. I haven't the monetary resources for the more expensive video displays. And do you know, every single one has found fish for me? I've marked small fish, large fish, bait fish, and school fish. I've marked hard bottom, soft bottom, deep water, and shallow water. I've marked ledges, drop offs, trenches, and cuts. If its in the water, its been marked on my boat. I never cease to be amazed at the information these finders provide.
But for all the information, all the images, and all the decision making data, I have not yet found the device that will make the fish bite! Driven to the exact spot by GPS, given some of the best looking bottom and some of the largest schools of fish showing on the fish finder, I have found that even with all these helpful tools, sometimes the best tool in the tackle box is plain old fashioned luck.
Do you use these electronic helpers? Do they work for you? Got a question or story about them? Tell me about it. Emil me your experiences and questions.
