question: How many of you have seen black n white polaroids (do you know what that is ?) of your father or grandfather standing by the lake boat ramp with a stringer full of huge bass they are taking home for dinner ?

2nd Question: Why is it that we think we need $3000 graphs to find those fish when your father or grandfather did not have those luxuries to fish with ?

I know a couple of 60 year old down in Houston that fish Houston County and other lakes a lot and have a 1980s model Skeeter that have never put a graph on their boat and catch 8-9-10 pounders a lot.

I know electronics makes it easier to go to different lakes and reduce the learning curve for said lake,,,,,,,but those old geezers sure knew how to find and catch fish. Have we lost the TRUE ART of BASS FISHING ???

Too many bank chunkers so electronics help find schools that are less pressured.


But I agree that you don't need graphs to catch fish, it's just nice to have them. Like a nice boat or thousands of dollars worth of tackle, you don't need all that stuff, but it's fun to have if you can afford them.

60 is an "old geezer"? I'm 61 and likely in better shape than the poster. I prefer "experienced" as a label.

Doesn't matter how many graphs or imagers you have, you still need talent to actually catch them. Trust me I know.

You can get around in a horse and carriage just fine, but why would you with cars? Because we use cars does that mean we lost the art of transportation/navigation?

back in the day, most didn't travel as far to fish different lakes. You fished the same lake(s) all the time so you figured out the patterns, plus they actually shared info with their friends. I can remember growing up in Grapevine, we used to think driving to Six Flags was a major excursion for our family!

Saved alot money on fuel I'm sure , didn't have 50 way points to check . They just launched the boat and put the Tm down and fished.

Back in the 1960's, my father (an old Navy man), used a spark plug on a string to check the depth. He also made a mean plug knocker by welding small chains to a spark plug! We saved many a "plug" (we didn't call them crankbaits back then), with his plug knocker.

Less pressure in the old days. When my stepdad moved to rayburn just after it opened, all you needed was a spinnerbait year round he said. Every bush and tree had a fish or two in it

I used to do business with some local Country Clubs.
I'd see these old guys come in there carrying a small bag of clubs, maybe three irons, couple woods and a putter.

I guarantee you they were the best golfers on the course. And they walked it, no cart for those old boys.

You don't need a ton of equipment to be good.
(but it sure can help)

Old geezer...I think I'm offended Those old geezers as you call them spent their whole lives learning where and how to fish. We now live in a world of hurry, hurry, hurry and electronics help you to hurry. If I'm fishing my home lake I seldom use my electronics.

what makes you think you are in better shape than me ?
sounds like a personal challenge to an obstacle course or maybe a weight room workout.......

that is correct,,,,,but I bet you can't communicate with a horse as well as the folks that used horse and carriages could. and I never said you lost the art of transportation/navigation but maybe the "art" of fishing.

Just because a printer can mass produce a painting with his machines does not make him a painter.

this & this is what I am talking about.
This 2 comments represent the "true art" of doing something.
Nicely stated

Uhhhhh Ohhhh sounds like a fish off is coming!!
It's funny, when I was young and dumb, I looked as guys 50 years old and think they were old men. Now as I'm 50 I may look old, but I sure don't feel old except for all of my back trouble. If I didn't have that, I'm confident I could still do just about anything I did as a young man...

Where did all the time go??????

I learned how to fish from my uncle, who sadly passed away in 2012 at 64. I feel as though older guys who have been fishing and figuring out the bodies of water for years wouldn't need graphs,or anything fancy. Back then they all had their own way of finding their fish and I'm sure fishing wasn't as big as it is nowadays compared to back then so there was less fish pressure. Today fish are so pressured and there are so many tournaments going on. Take Rayburn for instance you can always catch fish beating the bank,but normally it's the guys who have learned how to read their electronics "which takes a large amount of skill" and the guys that are out deep that normally cash a solid check because they had less pressured fish located and did something different than most anglers do. Honestly in my opinion, electronics and technology today is what is making us better fishermen. If no one knew how to fish deep or had electronics and every angler went around the lake beating the bank every tournament it would push those fish out deep because they know they won't get caught. That's just my opinion, anglers who know how to read their electronics and know what fish do when they get pressured divide themselves from the every day bank beater and become more of a "stick". Also I still know a ton of guys that use sonar to find their fish but side imaging is definitely a time saver!

More anglers & more pressure is a very large part of it. Another component is water time - QUALITY water time. What I mean by that is years ago there weren't as many distractions, or tools you may call them. Distractions being the plethora of rods/reels, lures, cell phones, graphs, GPS, etc. Before the advent of those tools, anglers honed their instincts & observation skills. They fished conditions more than waypoints. That's the lost "art" you're talking about Nutman.

Will all the fancy equipment we have at our disposal nowadays help us catch more? Absolutely, but they can never take the place of QUALITY water time.