Forward facing sonar

[Chrisper4694]

What are your thoughts about all this new technology in the fishing world? Specifically the foward facing sonar? Is it too much? If not, where SHOULD the line be drawn?

This weeks episode, we have Taylor Stewart who both uses ffs in competition and recreationally, with different opinions on each. We also talk about throwing big swim/glide baits to target big fish.

Link to the yoitube episode is below:

https://youtu.be/_HgFi0nb6rA?si=0KMpeF6Ou0IRSvDw

[NJSquatch]

everyone hates the idea until they fish with it...it really is cheating

[bunker dunker]

all the tech in the last 20 years has changed fishing for ever.better hooks,better line,faster reels,lighter rods,better boats and now much much better electronics.
think about all the fish that would not have been caught in those last 20 years
and think of all that have been.we had what we had and learned to work with it.
are's was all trial by error,we had to work for them everyday without the help.i am only speaking for"me" but i like it allot more when we had to hunt for them.know the seasons and patterns of not just the target fish but the forage
and habitat.i know i'm old but turning on the boat, lighting up the eltronics and running around the lake till you"find them on the screen"is just that.

[AndrewT]

I don’t go fishing to stare at more screens but I only fish recreationally. I would get FFS if I fished tournaments due to the competition having it. If I had a vote to ban it, I would vote in favor of banning it.

[Broad Bill]

All these technological advancements have taken the sport out of sport fishing, are threatening recreational fishing in its purest sense and tournament fishing should be banned. Tournament sponsors, bass masters, boat and tackle manufacturers all make millions on a public resources at the resources and public's expense. Millions of the largest fish every year are killed because these fisheries are being commercialized and tackle manufacturers have a platform to advertise their merchandise. All the technology in the world won't mean a thing when there's no more fish left to catch and then what happens to our beloved past time.

[AndyS]

If they come up with a sonar to find tires I'm all for it !

[Jigman13]

I know they've split many offshore tuna tournaments into 2 categories now due to the sonar enhancements available now. LiveScope with auto pilot is bananas. You can literally find tuna and essentially follow them now. Next we'll have AI deploying spreads, robots rigging flawless ballyhoo and automated prehensile gaffing arms that come out and stick fish with only calculated headshots. Lol

[Broad Bill]

Saw too many tournaments years ago with enormous tiger sharks, makos and threshers killed. At least makos and threshers were consumed, killing a huge tiger for a tournament is nothing but a disgrace. Same with the big billfish tournaments killing 800-900 lb blue marlin so that the uber rich can have their bragging rights and millions are made.

It all has to stop and so does advancements in technology as it will be the end of every fishery. It's what Dan (Hammer) said about spot lock. Guys who couldn't anchor up within a football field of a small piece are now able to drop right on top and blackfish populations which are already in decline are under even more pressure and don't stand a chance.

These advancements, while amazing individually, collectively will cause tremendous amounts of damage to our natural resources. Fisheries have limited pressure they can sustain and these technologies have made it as easy as fishing in a barrel. How can that be beneficial? Like everything else, it's all about money and not at all about the sport or fisheries management.

[Gerry Zagorski]

I don't fish as much as I'd like to but if this helps me target fish for me and my buds when we do get out, I'm in. Problem right now is it's very expensive with the hardware and the batteries and charging system to run it effectively.

[Broad Bill]

These technologies will eventually ruin sportfishing as we've known it forever. If you're focus is primarily or exclusively catching, you don't understand the intrinsic values of fishing, spending time with friends and family and enjoying nature. And you certainly don't understand the importance of preserving natural resources.

To me front facing sonar is the equivalent of spotting deer at night or illegal baiting. We're moving further away from the experience and value of sport fishing and closer to immediate gratification at any expense to the amazing fisheries we currently enjoy.

FFS has nothing to do with fisheries preservation and everything to do with conglomerates making millions. If your short sided and concerned only with catch, you'll love all these advancements in technology. If you're focus is sport, enjoyment of the outdoors, preservation / conservation and fishing versus catching, these advancements all have potentially consequential damaging impacts on every fishery so years from now with all these electronic advancements your fishing dead water, don't complain. Many tournaments are considering banning FFS in 2025, that alone should give you an idea how lethal it can be to fisheries.

What drew me and many to fishing was love of the outdoors and the challenge of figuring out patterns. Catching was always an earned reward. That's what made it special. It's a sport people can enjoy whether they're 5 or 75 with family, friends or by themselves. No other sport like it. Why risk it's future with these technological advancements. That's not progress, it's destruction of a past time tens of millions enjoy so why destroy all the things that make it great for the benefit of corporate greed and tournament elitists. How many think a 10 your old gives a crap about forward facing sonar as opposed to spending a day fishing with their family and learning all the incredibly important values fishing teaches our kids at a young age. If it were up to me, I'd ban it.

[Godrew1972]

I wish I wasn’t so cheap or I would get one. It will eventually be on everyone’s boat as the prices come down. Just like 20 years ago no one had iPhone, now everyone does. Technically is both awesome and terrible.

[cool hand fluke]

Interesting topic and good discussion. Fluke also impacted - Navionics (I think) premium app shows bottom/rocks much clearer than previous versions.

[hammer4reel]

I don't fish as much as I'd like to but if this helps me target fish for me and my buds when we do get out, I'm in. Problem right now is it's very expensive with the hardware and the batteries and charging system to run it effectively.

Most set ups it’s just an additional transducer , that costs 1200 bucks .
Thats no more expensive than a standard air mar .

What it’s done in freshwater is show where the 85% of the suspended fish were that hadn’t been getting fished for .
.
To say it’s effective is an understatement .
Guys are crushing hybrids using it

[Chrisper4694]

Ive fished with guys who use this and havent yet been impressed enough to shell out the cash for it.... i dont think its as big of a cheat code some guys make it out to be.

It really just reveals more of the under water mystery (which totally understandable, ruins the appeal for some, but makes it easier to get to the funner part of getting bit for others)

I do understand the conserns that if technology does keep making fishing easier and easier that it will keep diminishing our fisheries.... that may be the only real concern for this technology. I dont think its there YET, but there should definitely be a line technology doesnt cross in the fiahing world.

[bunker dunker]

very well stated.i am one that likes the 'hide and seek" not the "seek and seek".

[hammer4reel]

Ive fished with guys who use this and havent yet been impressed enough to shell out the cash for it.... i dont think its as big of a cheat code some guys make it out to be.

It really just reveals more of the under water mystery (which totally understandable, ruins the appeal for some, but makes it easier to get to the funner part of getting bit for others)

I do understand the conserns that if technology does keep making fishing easier and easier that it will keep diminishing our fisheries.... that may be the only real concern for this technology. I dont think its there YET, but there should definitely be a line technology doesnt cross in the fiahing world.

The guys that understand it absolutely crush fish with it .

Everyone knows keeping your lure in the strike zone the longest increases catches .
Guys that know how to do that can keep their presentation in front if feeding fish 90% of the time .

As much as bass guys like it .
Crappie and hybrid guys are really using it to its maximum .

.

[Wilson]

What's next, dynamite and a long handled net?
Going fishing wlll be renamed to going catching.

[Jigman13]

When an offshore tuna trip can cost $4500-$6000 depending on the boat, I prefer catching. Just sayin'. It's tough chipping in on a nut like that to come home with some mediocre pot-hopping mahi.

Sweetwater is a bit different. But I don't know many guys that keep a lot of sweetwater fish in NJ. Most guys using that tech in freshwater are catch and release. And if they're keeping hybrids, so what? The state stocks 10s of thousands of them, they're hybrid and can't spawn and have a fairly short life span.

I think spot lock is way more detrimental to inshore and wreck fishing vs FFS. Tog are f'ed.

[bunker dunker]

to me there is allot more to fishing than just catching.i have always liked the hunt much more than the kill.don't get me wrong i love eating fish & game but the hunt and all that goes into it is what does it for me.taking time for myself and clearing my mind doing something i love,its a blessing for sure.

[Ol Pedro]

to me there is allot more to fishing than just catching.i have always liked the hunt much more than the kill.don't get me wrong i love eating fish & game but the hunt and all that goes into it is what does it for me.taking time for myself and clearing my mind doing something i love,its a blessing for sure.

I also love all the aspects of fishing and hunting. Being out in nature experiencing Gods creations is a truly humbling experience. Puzzle solving and the chase are hardwired in me. Using electronics to find fish doesn't put them in the boat/on the shore. You can't make them bite. I think experience combined with electronics will improve catch rates but you have to know how to catch fish first than work in the fls. You can have all the gadgets in the world on your boat but their just so much junk if you can't fish good.

[Broad Bill]

Interesting topic. Personally I believe we're going way too far with electronics and technology. And yes I agree spot lock and other navigational advancements will be the death of black fishing and other structure oriented stocks. Fresh water, smaller impoundments and fisheries that tend to have predictable migration patterns which frequent the same habitat year in year out will be most vulnerable and feel the greatest impacts.

Would be interesting to poll people on this thread and ask why they fish. Make up five categories, i.e. love of the outdoors, the challenge, catching for consumption, trying out new techniques, fishing with friends and family, sanity etc. Then compare the results to what forward facing sonar does to recreational fishing and what attracted us to the sport to begin with and see if what FFS offers lines up with why people enjoy the sport.

On this site, more than occasionally, we talk about great fisheries that existed in past that no longer do for one reason or another. FFS and advancements in technology are going to accomplish exactly the same thing and make fisheries that we enjoy today obsolete 10 to 20 years from now if not sooner. So the immediate benefits might be phenomenal but the long-term impacts will be devastating. Is that a trade off everybody's willing to accept because personally I feel it's a very short-sighted and risky approach to fisheries. We're not fishing anymore, we're cheating and for the manufacturers of this equipment the focus is strictly profits. For the users of this equipment the goal is immediate gratification which is everything other than what sport fishing and recreational fishing has been about for most people in their lives. I'd rather fish 8 hours in a day for that one bite, learn something whether the fishing was good or bad and enjoy being outdoors, observing nature while taking in the peace and solitude of the day. As opposed to fishing a half hour to catch 20 fish because all those unknowns which used to exist in the sport that we had to personally figure out beforehand through trial and error no longer exist. If we weren't jonesing about the need for technology years ago, why the need for it today other than a basic fish finder, GPS and a radio for safety.

Tournament angler's will love it, tournament sponsors, equipment manufacturers and people running tournaments will love it because of the millions they'll make but these groups are becoming the commercial fishing industry of freshwater and their impacts of year-round pressure on these stocks as well as tournaments conducted during the spawn will ultimately catch up with every important fishery recreational anglers enjoy. And just like we discussed about the ASA or manufacturers lack of give backs to the recreational community, what do these tournament anglers and sponsors give back to our freshwater fisheries. We're taking what is arguably the most important recreational sport we have in this country and commercializing it. That's probably the best I can describe how I feel about FFS and all these other technological advancements to our sport that are making it into a commodity as opposed to an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and a learning tool and priceless time spent with our children, family and friends.

[Chrisper4694]

Interesting topic. Personally I believe we're going way too far with electronics and technology. And yes I agree spot lock and other navigational advancements will be the death of black fishing and other structure oriented stocks. Fresh water, smaller impoundments and fisheries that tend to have predictable migration patterns which frequent the same habitat year in year out will be most vulnerable and feel the greatest impacts.

Would be interesting to poll people on this thread and ask why they fish. Make up five categories, i.e. love of the outdoors, the challenge, catching for consumption, trying out new techniques, fishing with friends and family, sanity etc. Then compare the results to what forward facing sonar does to recreational fishing and what attracted us to the sport to begin with and see if what FFS offers lines up with why people enjoy the sport.

On this site, more than occasionally, we talk about great fisheries that existed in past that no longer do for one reason or another. FFS and advancements in technology are going to accomplish exactly the same thing and make fisheries that we enjoy today obsolete 10 to 20 years from now if not sooner. So the immediate benefits might be phenomenal but the long-term impacts will be devastating. Is that a trade off everybody's willing to accept because personally I feel it's a very short-sighted and risky approach to fisheries. We're not fishing anymore, we're cheating and for the manufacturers of this equipment the focus is strictly profits. For the users of this equipment the goal is immediate gratification which is everything other than what sport fishing and recreational fishing has been about for most people in their lives. I'd rather fish 8 hours in a day for that one bite, learn something whether the fishing was good or bad and enjoy being outdoors, observing nature while taking in the peace and solitude of the day. As opposed to fishing a half hour to catch 20 fish because all those unknowns which used to exist in the sport that we had to personally figure out beforehand through trial and error no longer exist. If we weren't jonesing about the need for technology years ago, why the need for it today other than a basic fish finder, GPS and a radio for safety.

Tournament angler's will love it, tournament sponsors, equipment manufacturers and people running tournaments will love it because of the millions they'll make but these groups are becoming the commercial fishing industry of freshwater and their impacts of year-round pressure on these stocks as well as tournaments conducted during the spawn will ultimately catch up with every important fishery recreational anglers enjoy. And just like we discussed about the ASA or manufacturers lack of give backs to the recreational community, what do these tournament anglers and sponsors give back to our freshwater fisheries. We're taking what is arguably the most important recreational sport we have in this country and commercializing it. That's probably the best I can describe how I feel about FFS and all these other technological advancements to our sport that are making it into a commodity as opposed to an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and a learning tool and priceless time spent with our children, family and friends.

Makes you wonder if technology is the main culprit in declining fisheries or if its over population or social media bragging or something else

[Drossi]

Makes you wonder if technology is the main culprit in declining fisheries or if its over population or social media bragging or something else

I'd speculate that its some combination there within plus poor watershed/waterbody management and shoddy building practices.