Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
The first boat I ever ran on my own offshore was a 19-foot Robalo center console with a single 140hp Mercury outboard. My father purchased it from a reputable dealer here in Ocean City and it came absolutely bare bones with the only accessories being a compass and two flush mount rod holders. He made the mistake of giving me the keys and allowing me to use it at my will and accessorize it as I saw fit. I couldn't afford much but within a year I did manage to get her rigged with a couple more rod holders, a CB radio, and a Lowrance flasher depth finder.
For the next seven years that CB radio and flasher depth finder (that would only read down to about 100-feet) were the only electronics on the boat, but somehow we still managed to find our way out and back each day and actually caught fish including marlin, tuna, dolphin, mackerel, bluefish, sharks, flounder, seatrout, and just about every other species available offshore and inshore.
Back then that was about as sophisticated as a small boat would usually be rigged. Some of the big boats (with "well-off" owners) would be equipped with VHF radios (that were the size of a toaster) and LORAN-A's (which were the size of a microwave) but that was about it. GPS, video depth finders, plotters, sonars, satellite phones, color radar, AIS, night vision, and all the other electronic gadgets and gizmos available to boaters these days were nothing any of us could have imagined would ever be invented, let alone installed, on our boats to help us safely navigate and catch fish. Today we have more and better navigation capabilities in our cell phones than we ever had screwed to our consoles back then.
These days it's almost hard to imagine that despite the "primitive" electronics back then that every season anglers were still able to board their boats in the morning, leave the dock, head off to distant waters, find fish, catch fish, and return home. It certainly didn't happen with the efficiency or even the safety it does now, but everyday - it did happen.
Of course, through the years electronics just got better, better, better-better-better and even BETTER! When LORAN-C came out everyone was amazed because not only did it tell you where you were (which was all LORAN-A would do) but also store waypoints, and give you a course to steer, distance to go, and ETA. The new device also came in a small and affordable enough package that they were practable on even small boats. At the time we all thought "we've reached the pinnacle - it can't get any better than this!" Well, of course it did get better, a lot better! Like everything these days, technology in the boating and fishing industries is constantly moving ahead. These days many vessels are packed with so much state of the art fish finding, communication, entertainment, navigation, and situation awareness electronics that you'd think they could fly off to the Moon and back!
There's no doubt that all these advances in technology have continually allowed anglers to become more efficient at locating and catching fish. And it's not just the electronics, boats these days are faster and more seaworthy and loaded with all kinds of innovative equipment from Sea-Keepers to trolling motors to ice-makes to underwater lights. And then there's the tackle! Precision reels that can be so dialed in and tweaked out for a specific type of fish and fishing that anglers can catch fish in locations while using techniques never thought of before.
Since it's getting tougher and tougher for a fish not to end its life in the bottom of a cooler these days, I'm thinking that they probably aren't so keen on most of this new technology as the game of hide-and-seek they've always played with us is tipping the competition more and more in the favor of the "fisherman" rather than the "fish". "Not fair!" I can almost hear them say as they dart left and right with a boat tracking their every move from above or as they slink down into a hole or pile of debris they didn't think anyone on the surface could find.
But now it seems that fish aren't the only creatures calling "foul" on technological advancements. Recently some fishermen have begun to debate among themselves the use of certain technology to help them make a catch. To some degree the concern is about the ethics involved in using high-tech gadgets to find and catch a fish instead of the traditional way where fishermen use their own experience, skill, intuition, and a dose of luck to get it done. For instance, in some places they're using drones to locate fish and in some cases using them to actually deliver the bait.
To most of us the thought of using a drone to catch a fish is probably more laughable than something to be worried about becoming a big deal - let the geeks have their fun. But there's another segment of the fishing community that is beginning to raise some interesting and possibly legitimate concerns about when to say "when" to new technology.
Very few fishing tournament winners these days end up with just a handshake, a pat on the back, and a trophy for the mantle. Now participants might find themselves competing for thousands if not millions of dollars in prize money, and with those kinds of bucks on the line you can bet that everyone involved wants to know that they are competing on an even playing field.
Enter technology into the picture. Technology that maybe, up till now, was just frowned upon by the scaly creatures it was designed to help catch, but is now looked upon by some of the "have-nots" as giving the "haves" an unfair advantage at capturing not just a fish, but a "winning" fish and all the cash that goes with it. Back when a tournament win meant your name in the paper and a plaque for the wall, folks wouldn't have worried so much about who has what gadget screwed to their console. But big money tournaments have quite literally become big business for some anglers, many of whom take very seriously anything that might affect their chances of winning or losing what could be life changing amounts of money.
Of course tournaments have always had rules to help keep everyone honest and make the competition as fair as possible. Traditionally these rules have applied to fishing times and locations, as well as bait, tackle, and techniques that can be used - pretty basic stuff. But now that at least a few folks have raised questions about whether or not some of the latest and greatest technology might offer an unfair advantage to competitors, I'm guessing that a few tournament organizers will at least kick the idea around a little even if they aren't inclined to work it into their rules.
I have no opinion one way or the other on the subject, but I've heard arguments from both sides. Those who don't have the technology (some of it is VERY expensive) say that it just makes it too easy to find and catch fish. From the other side, those who do have it claim that advances in boats, equipment, navigation and fish finding electronics is simply a continuation of the ongoing evolution of the marine industry. If it continues, this will be an interesting debate to follow - but one I'm glad not to be involved with. ยง
