How large a part do electronics play in your fishing? 2024

StrikePrince reply :

How crucial are your fish finders to your typical fishing day? I've been browsing units, looking to purchase a fish finder for the first time and am overwhelmed by all of the options. Plus, the fact that I'll need to complicate my boat with more holes/wires/more devices, etc ...I'm not a fan of complicating simple activities.

So I want to ask the superior fisherman here- how important are your FF to you? Did you find that your skill as a fisherman increased significantly when you were able to visualize what was under/around your boat? Am I limiting my own growth as a fisherman by not having a FF?

FYI, I fish mostly smaller lakes (up to about 600 acres) that don't have much in the way of structure. But, having a FF would make some non local lakes that are a bit more structure oriented to me.

Brew City Bass reply :

I wouldn't ever call myself superior haha.

I find my sonar to be helpful, but it's just another tool in the tool box. The biggest thing it does for me is tells me the depth and what the bottom is made out of. I'll know if it's rocky, weedy, or grassy. I'm not really the type to troll the whole lake and pick apart every cinder block or tree I find on downscan.

On lakes I've fished 1,000's of times I sometimes don't even turn it on. On new lakes I find it most helpful for locating schools of bass held on ledges or humps. It is a good feeling driving over a hump, throwing out a marker flag and then pulling a few off that hump.

I don't have a fancy sonar, just a Garmin 5DV. It gets the job done. Gonna be upgrading to sidescan next summer though.

Team9nine reply :

On 8/1/2018 at 6:10 AM, StrikePrince said:

How crucial are your fish finders to your typical fishing day? I've been browsing units, looking to purchase a fish finder for the first time and am overwhelmed by all of the options. Plus, the fact that I'll need to complicate my boat with more holes/wires/more devices, etc ...I'm not a fan of complicating simple activities.

So I want to ask the superior fisherman here- how important are your FF to you? Did you find that your skill as a fisherman increased significantly when you were able to visualize what was under/around your boat? Am I limiting my own growth as a fisherman by not having a FF?

FYI, I fish mostly smaller lakes (up to about 600 acres) that don't have much in the way of structure. But, having a FF would make some non local lakes that are a bit more structure oriented to me.

how important are your FF to you?

Very - turn them on when I launch and never turn them off until loading out - every time out

Did you find that your skill as a fisherman increased significantly when you were able to visualize what was under/around your boat?

Definitely

Am I limiting my own growth as a fisherman by not having a FF?

Not necessarily...

Glaucus reply :

A fat whopping zero. I bank and kayak fish. When I'm on a boat, it belongs to a friend. He'll have electronics, but I don't pay attention to them. I'll fish where he takes us. The fun for me is locating fish on my own. Wading a river or reaching tough places in the yak. Hitting the right weedline in a pond. I spend so much time looking at screens at work and at home, that when I'm fishing, it's me, God, my rod and reel, the fish and the water. Unless I guess right right away, I'll catch a few here and there til I reach a spot where they're holding. And again that's the fun for me. Fishing is as much peace and outdoors and hiking and walking and wading and paddling and scenery as it is fishing itself. Don't need no stinkin screens to stare at.

Logan S reply :

I use them quite a bit and think they are the most important accessory on the boat. I don't think it increases my skill, a better way to put it is that they make me more effective. Here's a quick example:

This is a spot that's pretty well known because you can see the top of this tire reef when the water is clear...But those single tires out deeper you can't see. But with side imaging they show up clear as day. Sitting at the wheel while scanning I can drop a waypoint on each of those tires and have them appear on my map up front thanks to the ethernet link between my graphs. When I come back to fish them, I have range rings on my map so I know exactly where to cast and can drop a bait right on those individual tires that are 12 to 20 feet deep without ever seeing them with my own eyes. I catch fish on these frequently.

Side imaging, linked units, and good mapping can make you very efficient if you put the time in to use them to their full potential. Plenty of other scenarios too.

Glaucus reply :

Most important electronic to me is my phone to indicate lightning. That's it.

A-Jay reply :

The role my electronics play increases as the size & or newness of the water I'm fishing increases.

Smaller waters, not as much, but still they're on and I'm using them.

I will say that if you've never been on 'your lake' with electronics, once you do and you learn to 'read & use it effectively', you may find that you do not know that body of water as well as you think you do; especially if you fish off shore / deeper than you can see to the bottom, structure.

You'll be able to locate cover on structure, which can be quite a big deal.

It may seem like a whole new lake - at first anyway.

Good Luck with your choice.

I say do it.

You'll be glad you did.

A-Jay

Log Catcher reply :

I'm not very good with understanding electronics. I have two Garmin units with down vu. I use mine for knowing the depth and temperature of the water. I don't look any specific pieces of cover or structure to fish. I know most of the places I fish fairly well so it is not a big deal.

Way north bass guy reply :

I second what A-Jay says about “your lake”. Once I got side imaging units on my boat, I was amazed at what I saw in areas I’d fished hundreds of times over the years. They can show you so much more detail than traditional 2D sonar, and for me, it makes a world of difference especially when offshore fishing.

portiabrat reply :

Ever fish close to somebody who's crushing it but you're getting skunked? It's almost certainly not presentation. Instead, he's fishing an isolated boulder, irregularity in weeds, or some other kind of awesome fish-holding spot. On any lake that's not gin-clear, the only way to find good spots is with a fish finder.

If I could do it all over again, my priorities would be

reliable boat and motor (e.g., something that doesn't take on water and almost always starts)
fish finders: 2 on the bow (one for map and down imaging, and one for side scan) and 1 on the console would be sufficient
nothing else matters all that much

I'm not good at fishing. But as I improve, the more I realize that it's important to focus on spots on spots. If you fish a big point, but you have no idea where boulders, transitions, or weed edges are, you'll be wasting a ton of time.

There are many tournaments on the lake I fish, and the pros are always hammering the best spots. You can't do that without good electronics.

DropShotHotShot reply :

Depends on what you do. If all you do is fish visual cover then it's not needed. But if get off the bank its huge. I don't use it to find bass, I use it to find their home.

My best smallmouth 21"+ was found on an isolated boulder in the middle of mille lacs, dropped right on it, would have never caught it without side imageing

Mjmj reply :

I fished 2 small lakes (90 acres) Once I learned to use my ff side imaging my catch rate doubled. I found structure that I fished over or went by and never new it was there. My fishing skills haven't changed, just the places I fish

StrikePrince reply :

Thanks for all input, I'm leaning towards getting a FF now. The lakes are fish are pretty structureless, but I have a few lakes in mind where I'm sure I'm passing over a lot of cover away from the banks.

gimruis reply :

Depth from sonar is vital. Its a safety factor for me. I'm not launching my boat and running my outboard unless I know there is some depth to do it in. GPS also plays a safety role for me because I sometimes fish at night on bigger lakes and I would literally get lost without it. Most of the lakes I fish are mapped and the contours are shown on my GPS. Water temperature helps a lot, especially in the spring when fish are looking for warmer water.

WCWV reply :

I like to hunt bass, not just fish for them and I use mine alot.

I'm kinda on the older guy side now and any kind of electronics use to intimidate me but I really tried to learn mine. And over the last several years I find myself really using it. Like stated above, I have found stuff on a lake that I've been fishing for over 30 years.

Once you target them and then catch them, you'll be hooked.

jbmaine reply :

I use them for depth, water temp, finding structure, you name it.

I'm spending more time this year hunting for SM and I'd be lost with out it.

ohboyitsrobby reply :

My garmins play a vital role in my fishing. Today for example I was idling a hump and came across quite a few holding tight to the bottom. Dropped the drop shot and caught my pb drop shot largemouth. I fish quite a bit offshore so my maps and sonar come into play a lot. Only time they really don't is when I'm throwing something at isolated bank cover

Scott F reply :

I seldom use my depth finder as a fish finder. As others have said, I use it for the thermometer, depth and to show me weeds or rocks. Mapping has been very important to me since I got a unit that has accurate maps. The older maps that did not have good information, were not very useful. If I only fished the same small lake over and over, a small unit that did not have advanced features would suit me just fine.

BuzzHudson19c reply :

I have never used any type of fishing electronics. I can definitely see where they would be handy, I just enjoy the mental chess match. On new water I sometimes wish I had something though.

scaleface reply :

I rely on them even shallow . I patterned the bass today and had to keep the boat in three to five foot to keep a buzzbait over the grass .Not to shallow not to deep ..

WRB reply :

My 1st sonar unit was Lowrance portable Green box flasher in the early 60's and since then Sonar has become a essential tool for my bass fishing. Over 60 years of looking at and interpreting sonar returns showing structure, cover, fish and thermal layers all over the country and Mexico and Canada.

Tom

TOXIC reply :

While I never had to use a paper graph, I started out with dual flashers. I was never as good as some others on reading them. I knew other guides who could ID fish as well as depth, bottom composure, etc. With the advent of sidescan and downscan, I have done my homework and taken the time to learn them. Do they increase catch rates? 1000% yes. Could I catch fish without them? Sure.

Tennessee Boy reply :

On 8/1/2018 at 6:10 AM, StrikePrince said:

how important are your FF to you?

I think of my boat as a mount for my electronics.

On 8/1/2018 at 6:10 AM, StrikePrince said:

Did you find that your skill as a fisherman increased significantly when you were able to visualize what was under/around your boat?

20 years ago it took a lot of skills to use the electronics of the day. I would pull out my paper maps at home, find interesting off shore structure and use my high school trigonometry to calculate the coordinates and plug them into my GPS. I felt like I earned the right to fish these spots. Today it's easy to find these places and everybody fishes them. The technology makes it possible to find fish off shore and on hidden cover, it does not give you the skill to catch those fish.

On 8/1/2018 at 6:10 AM, StrikePrince said:

Am I limiting my own growth as a fisherman by not having a FF?

I would say yes but I think the more important question is are you limiting your enjoyment of fishing by not having a FF? Only you can answer that question. I'm into technology in general so to me using the technology is half the fun of fishing.

geo g reply :

Not much, most of my waters are 3 or 4 feet deep in the swamp. I get water temp, the thermocline in the canals, and occasional cruising fish in the canals. Not much the cone can tell you when your in 3 feet of water and full of weeds. I use old fashion detection by looking for happy water, weeds moving not from wind and waves, bird activity, boils on the surface, isolated clumps of weeds, funnel points from wind blown current, clear sand patches, and that inner feeling you get when out fishing.

WRB reply :

If your bass fishing is limited to the shoreline without a boat and how far you can cast or access the shoreline sonar units have little use.

Anyone who bass fishes from a boat knowing what is underwater, how deep it is, what the underwater terrian looks like, how deep the fish are, including bait and bass, helps you to determine where to fish and what use. Without sonar you're looking at the waters surface and depending on water clarity how deep you see underwater and basically fishing blind.

Tom

StrikePrince reply :

On 8/2/2018 at 1:54 AM, WRB said:

Anyone who bass fishes from a boat knowing what is underwater, how deep it is, what the underwater terrian looks like, how deep the fish are, including bait and bass, helps you to determine where to fish and what use.

Thanks @WRB. If you are able to find depth of batifish, how do the bass relate? Will they generally be located on structure/cover in that same depth range?

WRB reply :

On 8/2/2018 at 1:57 AM, StrikePrince said:

Thanks @WRB. If you are able to find depth of batifish, how do the bass relate? Will they generally be located on structure/cover in that same depth range?

I like to call the depth the majority baitfish and bass are located in the "life zone" and that is the depth bass anglers should focus their efforts at. The very first thing I do after launching my boat is survey the marina are to deterime the life zone to help me decide where to start and want to use.

Active bass are always near prey hunting food, the predominate prey type usually dictates if bass are using structure or a combination of structure and cover depends on the specific lake, pond or River.

Bass neutralize their weight in the water with the airbladder at a specific depth zone and that depth is the life zone. If they are at 20' or 3', 3' is usually more cover related and 20' would be more structure related, both need abundant prey to attract bass.

Tom

190 Tracker TX reply :

I purchased my boat 5 years ago this past July, so I do not consider myself a “superior fisherman”, but I am able to share why I think fish finders are important equipment to have on a boat.

My boat came equipped with a Lowrence X-4 Pro fish finder, and being eager to get on the water I realized a few things:

Fish finders provide you with information about how shallow you can operate your specific boat without a hydraulic jack plate.
They also show you as you begin to move away from skinny water were the drop off begins as fish like to travel this ridge for a number of reasons
And, as has been mentioned you now know the water temperature

So, I started taking my boat to lakes that I have never been on and bigger than the last one, and that is when I realized that my Lowarance X-4 Pro located at the helm was not adequate for a specific issue:

The bigger the lake the more I could explore and the farther I went from where I launched my boat. When it came time to head back to the dock and daylight gave way to evening and I turned to head back to the dock, particularly on new and big lakes, I didn’t always recognize exactly where I was on the lake much let alone how to get back to the dock. So, I upgraded to a fish finder with a chart plotter and it came with down scan imaging; now I can go where I please and if concerned about where I am or how to get back to the dock I can have my fish finder plot a course back to my dock even in the dark.

Now with all this information at the helm I thought I was set except I don’t fish at the helm. I fish at the bow and that information on depth, water temperature, contour lines, boat orientation I no longer have access to unless I want to rearrange the unit at the helm, so I added a second and larger screen at the bow.

Now some of these guys and ladies have systems with side scan imaging and the ability to communicate waypoints and mark structure to multiple units, but they are expensive and may be suitable for your second upgrade.

grub_man reply :

On 8/1/2018 at 6:10 AM, StrikePrince said:

1. How crucial are your fish finders to your typical fishing day?

2. So I want to ask the superior fisherman here- how important are your FF to you?

3. Did you find that your skill as a fisherman increased significantly when you were able to visualize what was under/around your boat?

4. Am I limiting my own growth as a fisherman by not having a FF?

5. FYI, I fish mostly smaller lakes (up to about 600 acres) that don't have much in the way of structure. But, having a FF would make some non local lakes that are a bit more structure oriented to me.

1. On my home lakes, not that crucial. On a new or big body of water, much more crucial. I use them to see at what depth most fish/bait are suspended to get an idea of where to start looking for fish. I use them to keep myself in the proper depth zone. If I venture offshore a bit, then they become very important in helping me stay on a structure or spot on that structure.

2. I'm far from a superior fisherman. When I upgraded to a small screen unit with the bells and whistles of GPS, Navionics Maps, and SI, I had an eye opening experience. It's incredible how much is down there and easily missed. Using the GPS and maps have proven instrumental in improving my confidence as I venture offshore. Spending a year on Lake Norman taught me the importance of finding the spot on a spot. There are some pretty big structures on that lake and the fish tended to group up around shell beds, rock piles, brush, etc. If you didn't have a good way of finding those spots a lot of time could be wasted thinking there were no fish in the area.

3. My ability to aid in eliminating unproductive water and start honing in on finding fish improved a bit with the addition of electronics. The challenge still is pulling myself away from places I've caught a few in the past and trying new areas. If you learn how to use them for the tool that they are, then electronics will definitely help.

4. Time on the water and learning something every time out is still key. Buck Perry, the father of structure fishing located offshore structure, the spots on the spot, and how to catch them without electronics. It's a tougher challenge and time consuming to say the least, but it can be done.

5. My home lakes are in the 1000-3000 acre range, and you would be surprised at how much is out there.

BassNJake reply :

Here's an article that details why a FLW tour pro decided not to use a fish finder for an entire season.

He ended up finishing 2nd in points for the Angler of the Year title.

He does indicate he used GPS for navigational purposes.

https://www.flwfishing.com/tips/2015-06-06-shallow-running

Wurming67 reply :

On 8/2/2018 at 1:49 AM, geo g said:

Not much, most of my waters are 3 or 4 feet deep in the swamp. I get water temp, the thermocline in the canals, and occasional cruising fish in the canals. Not much the cone can tell you when your in 3 feet of water and full of weeds. I use old fashion detection by looking for happy water, weeds moving not from wind and waves, bird activity, boils on the surface, isolated clumps of weeds, funnel points from wind blown current, clear sand patches, and that inner feeling you get when out fishing.

We fish same body of water ,I don't even turn my on.

geo g reply :

On 8/3/2018 at 8:55 AM, Wurming67 said:

We fish same body of water ,I don't even turn my on.

Lol, I turn it off as soon as I'm ready fish. These reservoir guys don't have a clue of fishing the swamp.

190 Tracker TX reply :

https://www.bassresource.com/fishing/fishfinder-buying.html

haggard reply :

Quote

How crucial are your fish finders to your typical fishing day?

For me not crucial; I can do without it especially on the home lake I'm somewhat familiar with, but when I bring the finder I do find it helpful, glad to have it. I just use a basic model with small 4 inch screen (plug GPS). The features I rely on most, in order of importance, are

- bottom type (ex: mud vs vegetation)

- water depth / locating bottom transitions (humps, slopes)

- GPS coordinates (logging location when I land a fish)

- GPS & contours (boat's current location relative to where I want to be)

I fish purely for recreation; tournament/pro anglers of course may consider the finder one of the most basic and indispensable tools in the box.

Even with the finder, I tend to find spots first by scanning visible features with my eyes, then use the finder (secondary) to hone in on the spot. Not saying it's the best approach; I still don't catch a lot of fish

I love the finder, but if I had to do without it, it would still be a great day.

Wurming67 reply :

On 8/3/2018 at 9:00 AM, geo g said:

Lol, I turn it off as soon as I'm ready fish. These reservoir guys don't have a clue of fishing the swamp.

No electronics are going to help you in that slop.

WRB reply :

If you target shoreline shallow visual cover or structure like rip rap, retaining walls, trees, docks etc, you don't need to know what you can't see below the surface....unless it's foggy or night.

Tom

Logan S reply :

On 8/3/2018 at 9:00 AM, geo g said:

Lol, I turn it off as soon as I'm ready fish. These reservoir guys don't have a clue of fishing the swamp.

The Potomac and Bay are shallow/grassy also, similar to FL waters in many ways (I lived in FL previously)...90% of the fish I catch there are in 4' or less (with a good chunk of them coming from 2' or less). I still use electronics pretty heavily...

Side imaging can map out the grass edges and find isolated clumps that don't reach the surface. I also use it to locate rock/ballast piles and wrecks that don't uncover at low tide. Since the grass changes season to season you can mark productive areas, hard bottoms, or other things so that you can find them quickly even if the visual identifiers are gone. While fishing shallow like this I sometimes turn the sonar off, but I always have my map/GPS on. Mapping and location are just as important overall as sonar.

Not saying you're wrong or anything...Just pointing out that electronics aren't useless in shallow, swampy water if you decide to take advantage of them .

geo g reply :

Where we fish there are few grass edges because grass is everywhere. Not like Florida lakes, this is in the Florida swamps. Edges are only where there are canals. I will not pay big money for side imaging when it will not help me fishing. You are a believer and that’s good, but for me a waste of money, in the swamp.

J Francho reply :

What I learn from scanning deeper areas determines where I will fish shallow.

Catt reply :

My earliest experience with "electronics" was during early 60s with paper graphs.

Compared to today's down/side imaging, GPS mapping it's almost like cheating!

When my prop hits water, I start the outboard, & turn the electronics on. When my bow hits the trailer I turned the electronics off & kill the outboard.

Everytime I catch & before I leave the area I idle over & graph that area.

Catt reply :

On 8/3/2018 at 9:00 AM, geo g said:

Lol, I turn it off as soon as I'm ready fish. These reservoir guys don't have a clue of fishing the swamp.

Wanna bet? ????

sully420 reply :

On 8/4/2018 at 12:40 AM, Catt said:

My earliest experience with "electronics" was during early 60s with paper graphs.

Compared to today's down/side imaging, GPS mapping it's almost like cheating!

When my prop hits water, I start the outboard, & turn the electronics on. When my bow hits the trailer I turned the electronics off & kill the outboard.

Everytime I catch & before I leave the area I idle over & graph that area.

Same here, I'm still learning but graphing is improving my fishing every day.

flyfisher reply :

On 8/3/2018 at 4:59 AM, BassNJake said:

Here's an article that details why a FLW tour pro decided not to use a fish finder for an entire season.

He ended up finishing 2nd in points for the Angler of the Year title.

He does indicate he used GPS for navigational purposes.

https://www.flwfishing.com/tips/2015-06-06-shallow-running

he decided not to use it so he wouldn't be tempted to use it offshore which was not his strength of fishing. He also ran an aluminum boat to maximize his shallow water fishing too. Slightly different situation to me.

Krux5506 reply :

If I fished more bodies of water I'd be using them a lot more carefully. Typically I'm fishing the same bay/lake every weekend so they aren't absolutely crucial but I've gotten pretty attached to the bow mount unit. At the end of last year I shorted the transducer cable for it so I didn't turn it on at all during late fall, and I just felt like I was kind of missing something...

Like many of our modern day electronics, it's easy to become dependent on them even when we don't need them....unfortunately.

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