RIP specialist: part three
The
sheer volume of information and techniques at our fingertips Is overwhelming. Everyday
we are bombarded by an enhancement in electronics, or a new lure or new
technique. Progress, innovation, and new products are the fuel that feeds the
engine of the fishing industry. It’s not all hype either. I’ll use the original
chatterbait as an example. When it first appeared a lot of established pros
wrote it off as an infomercial gimmick. Slowly but surely it became a staple
and is probably in the top five winningest tournament lures of the last ten
years. Knowing what is hype and what is true innovation can be tricky at times.
When you find a technique or lure that hasn’t been introduced to the masses you
can get ahead of the curve and go on some serious runs. Brett Hite did it with
the chatterbait, Paul Elias with the Alabama rig, the list goes on and on.
The
deal is to always look for innovation, embrace it when the opportunity presents
itself, but don’t get too wrapped up and go all in for longer than you should.
Ride the gravy train then jump off when it’s time to jump off. I kind of see
the forward facing sonar bonanza as one of these new techniques. For the last
couple of years this technology has played a role in nearly half of the major
trail tournament wins. And with it becoming more affordable, I see that trend
trickling down to the local level as well. Anglers who have embraced it are
outpacing the naysayers and will continue to do so for some time. The sport is
evolving; there is no way to stop that, but there will be a time when this
newest craze isn’t as effective as it was. Put simply, it allows us to target bass
that are not in their feeding locations but randomly roaming and suspended over
deep water. At some point these populations won’t be untapped. They will be
just as pressured as the ones on the beautiful row of laydowns on a channel
swing leading toward the back of a pocket. I think the technique will remain
effective, but certainly not as effective as it is now. This is where
versatility will come into play. Will there be an entire generation of anglers
who can’t fish without this tech? Possibly, but what is more probable are some
will see it for what it is – another tool in the belt – and learn other ways to
think about a tournament game plan and other ways to target bass that forward
facing sonar just isn’t as effective on.
This is
a difficult subject for me to cover since I have never spent an appreciable
amount of time with forward facing sonar. I’m not against it, but the thought
just doesn’t really do it for me. I think the best application I’ve seen of it
thus far is Jason Christi in the 2021 classic. Jason used it effectively when
the time was right, then put it down when the time wasn’t. He won the biggest
title in sport fishing because of his willingness to adapt, and his
versatility. We should all be more like Jason Christi.
One last
thought for the die-hard specialist. The guys who go all in on forward facing
sonar are no different than the guys who went all in on a black and blue jig in
1985. And to come full circle, it worked. Without a doubt there will be days
that the forward facing sonar gurus simply can’t be beat by another technique, conversely
there will be days when flipping a black and blue jig in three feet of dirty
water can’t be beaten by forward facing sonar. I maintain the best approach to
tournament fishing and the approach that will bring long term success is to be
as good as possible at as many things as possible. No when to go all in, and
when not too. Time on the water is the only way to make these decisions easier,
and there is nothing that will replace that…ever.
Thanks
for reading and be on the lookout for next week’s post. It will cover something
that I think is missing from the national kayak tournament fishing scene.
Comments
Post a Comment