Amen to that!!

Ha, spent four hours yesterday trying to convert .kml SAS planet files to Lowrance Insight Map Creator AT5 files for an old Lowrance HDI.

Had to change raster settings and Atlas for it to kind of work.

I still have some pistol grip Falcons that a use for small worms and lighter topwater baits. My average stick is 6.5 to 7.
Depends on technique and lure.

Fishing itself hasn't changed at all. Fishing pressure on public lakes AND the ability to locate fish in deeper water is very much different.

I remember when three or four 5'6" - 6' rods, one tackle box and a aluminum flat bottom boat would get more fish caught than most days now. I still have those old pistol grips and don't miss using them at all. After the wrists, elbows and shoulders start getting bad all this new lightweight tackle with a long butt end works pretty good. Seems like a 6 footer used to be a long rod for freshwater.
There is no way I could sit on a low/hard bench seat for more than about 10 minutes anymore. A fairly comfortable boat is must for me to stay at it.
I admit I have been sucked into the, I have way to many baits that catch fisherman, category, but I do like seeing what works and what doesn't seem to.
Dang fish have sure gotten a lot harder to fool so I have to go fish a pond every few months just to remind me how simple it was.

When I started bass fishing, it was ponds, tanks and creeks. It was simple. H&H spinnerbaits, Jelly worms and Bagley Honey Bs.

Later, I bought a used "bass" boat with a 50 horse Johnson from a widow woman. Fished lakes like Palestine, Lake O the Pines, Cedar Creek, Cypress and Monticello. Still pretty simple.

Lots of boats have come and gone, all bigger and faster and I wore out several trucks criss-crossing Texas. Not as simple at that point.

A few years ago I bought a small aluminum and sold the big boat. It's simple again and this is how I'll finish.

The pressure is only going to get worse in the future. Fishing has become the cool thing to do, as evidenced by high school tournaments with hundreds of boats each held numerous times a year. I grew up learning to fish in a jon boat that my dad, my sister and I paddled around Pine Island Pond on Caddo. Today kids learn to fish in huge bass boats with 225s and 250s on them, put on the fish by boat captains who give them the knowledge...and fishing holes...so many of us spent years learning on our own. Combine that with the internet instantly telling everyone in the world when and where the fish are biting and finding that honey hole and being able to enjoy it for a while before everyone else knows about it is becoming a thing of the past.

I also have (4) 5'6" pistol grip rods and at 71 years of age it has taken me awhile to adjust to the new split grips but now I love the balance and light weight. I still use a pistol grip rod for wacky worm fishing for throwing in tight cover and under docks. I've owned (8) bass boats and several jon boats over the last 50 years and have went back to a 12' tracker jon boat with a 9.9 mercury four stroke and really enjoy the places i can get into with this smaller lighter setup and with the 3.5 gal tank can make 5 to 6 trips without refueling.

When I first started it was worms,bombers and spinner baits and they still are my go to baits today just have learned many new ways to rig them. Wish I could still find the old bombers. I think we can all make it simple by remembering what was simple and learning to adapt.