How much electronics before fishing not sporting?

[PerchEyes]

Watch this video and tell me what you think:

[/youtube]

I think it is all personal choice but at some point too much technology spoils the fun.
I’m no purist as I do use a low end flasher (Vexilar FL8) to measure depth and verify if anything is below the hole.
Once I see active fish, I prefer to pull the transducer out and fish old school.
It’s not just about “catching”.

Your opinion?

[river_scum]

im in the same group as you. no sport/fun in finding fish with just technology.  those of us that learned to fish by reading maps and learning where fish mite be from actual fishing tend to disregard those with more tech. than skills.  anyone with a few grand to pissaway can instantly become an Al Lindner now.  and it will only get worse.

like hunting shows with bait feeders or penned up animals, i turn the channel when they are finding fish with these tools.  thats not really fishing. imo   

[trapper2000]

need  video ...depends  where and what i'm fishing  for ...shallow  water and   lots of blue  gills you  don't need the  vex  weedy places it's a  pain anyways  fishing  trout you need the  vex

[bosco2]

My grandfather's depth finder was his anchor line with knots tied every 5 feet.

[mikez]

I was just talking to my 15 year old son who told me he couldn't catch anymore perch after his sonar battery died. That kinda says it all.

[zcm_82]

I don't use any electronics on the ice. I do keep a depth weight in my tackle box, though. I mostly fish shallows, though, so I rarely use it.

I have an old, old Humminbird in the boat, but that's mostly to help avoid running into crap on the river where the depth changes drastically real quick.

[Hijinks]

More electronics the better.

[bootstrap]

i will have to ask siri

[Subway4X4]

Siri prefers Livescope vs. Mega Live.

[fishinjohn]

I am in the middle....
If I'm going to put time and effort into being on the water... i want to be successful... I dont keep everything I catch so for me I'm doing it for SOME FOOD but mostly for the pure enjoyment and relaxation.. I have a marcum flasher and I still can't catch every fish that shows up ... still takes work!!!!!
no matter how much technology you have... you still have to put in the time to really succeed...

[Gorilla]

I am pretty happy just with my Marcum Showdown when I am jigging, seems to add to the amount of fish I put on the ice.     While this thing looks cool and it will have you on many more fish I am too cheap to go spending over $2K on one.   If you show up on the lake with me, I would not turn away your suggestion as to where to drill my next hole.

[ECobb91]

Won’t leave home without my Vexilar. I can still catch fish without it but it definitely helps finding fish. I won’t be getting into the livescope/mega live game though. The vex is about where I draw the line for ice fishing. Even on my bass boat I only have sonar/down/side imaging.

Haven’t caught a brown or rainbow through the ice yet but have heard you’re basically going home skunked if you don’t have one

[mikez]

Haven’t caught a brown or rainbow through the ice yet but have heard you’re basically going home skunked if you don’t have one

Browns and rainbows are my primary targets. I've been ice fishing for them with good success for 40 years. I have never one time used any electronic device to catch a trout.

[ECobb91]

Browns and rainbows are my primary targets. I've been ice fishing for them with good success for 40 years. I have never one time used any electronic device to catch a trout.

Sounds like I really suck more than I thought then 

[BUCKSKI]

Love to see the vex lines come up to the bait, tons of feedback. Usually don't set flags too much with electronics, just getting an idea of where I'm at.
All a personal choice, but no cameras, flasher yep!

[62&done]

I  basically like to see the depth especially if I'm on uncharted waters   after that I'm just looking for marks for a few minutes and if nothing shows it's off to the next hole   They do make us smarter fishermen but they still can't make the fish bite

[Adironzach]

I wouldnt want to fish for lakers without my electronics. Blind jigging isnt necessarily my kind of fun. Panfish in areas you know are good, i cant skirt by but i wouldnt want to fish for my favorite winter species without my electronics. There's still plenty of knowledge needed to find and catch fish, but im also out to catch the fish, and a lot of them too when theyre in the mood. Anything i can do to help that, only adds to my fun. My live cam is a blast to watch fish come in and eat on. Ive only improved my jigging since ive had it. I have a friend who got a panoptics this year and it was incredibly cool to watch pike come through and eat. I started without any electronics and over the years have only picked up more of them and have had more fun on the ice because of it.

[butkusbowman]

I use a flasher. I chase perch and when the bite is hot you don't really need it. I fished a long time without one and caught fish. But I can definately say that when they are fussy and bite is slow I will out fish my friends that don't have one. I might spend 10 minutes trying to intice 1 fish that's looking at my lure and figure out how to make it bite. 1 fish every 10 min. = 24 in 4 hours. Not a great day but not skunked!

[Ice_Fly_Guy]

I fish for fun.  It's more fun when I catch more fish.  Electronics help me catch more fish.  Electronics help me have more fun.  It's as simple as that.  I'm sure when Vexilars came out there were hordes of complainers then, too, about the sport going down the drain.

[don519]

The more the better if you have younger kids just having a camera so they can see fish keeps them entertained out fishing your buddies is priceless

[aacosta]

great uncle Cletus never used electronics, just dynamite. No voodoo fish magic electronics so it was ok.

for real though, fish how ya want

[fishinjohn]

The more the better if you have younger kids just having a camera so they can see fish keeps them entertained out fishing your buddies is priceless

Couldnt agree more!!!!

[regulator]

It's like those rubber gloves they started using in football, once I started using a graph and now my new flasher I am catching alot more passes! LOL.

[hardwaterhonkey]

If you resent technology your catching way less fish then the next guy and there’s no way around it old timer in ya maybe technology will wipe every fish out of the lakes soon and that’s the way of the future live scope mega live and lowrance active target are all out and marcum and vexilar might be next the fl30 is 760$ I think

[stripernut]

I have posted before;
 I would not be surprised if at the old tackle shop there were some ancient anglers saying that in their day a willow limb with a tarred cord, was all they needed, not some fancy braided horse-hair line and a split cane rod... The old American Indian sitting in the back corner of the shop was mumbling under his breath that he just needed a hole, a couple of hides to lay down on and to cover him, and a spear... Not some fancy hooks and lines...
Most of us don't need the high-tech gear to catch fish, but that does not mean we don't want to use it... I grew up cutting my holes first with an axe and then got one of those fancy picks and was dam glad for it, now I use a battery power hand drill on an auger and only use the spud for safety... I don't miss it at all... Could I go back to the axe and catch fish, yes, and due to less time to fish and more time cutting holes I would get less fish.


I will end up with a Live Scope and it will help me find fish, and I will spend less time fishing empty water, it will still be up to me it entices that fish to bite. I am looking forward to it; as any open water flats fisherman will tell you; sight fishing is more fun! And that is what the Live Scope is, we just get to see where and what the fish are doing, just like when you get to fish open shallow clear water... Is it unfair when you get to fish in shallow clear water? Do the fish count for less then? I am sure we will have the same conversation when the next new-fangled tool comes out...

[bigfoot86]

Once you get to the livescope technology, fishing has become less of what it once was.    There will be many people that will post to justify there livescope or mega live technology and tell you there's still a lot of skill set to catching fish.  And to each their own, thats ok. 

[sparksNfishing]

I compare getting a livescope or other type of live imaging to using cheat codes in games. I remember always using these cheat codes after playing a game for a few months. Turn on the setting or running additional software to become rich/powerful/etc, basically invincible. It was only fun for about a week and then the game was ruined. No longer any fun. Boring to play. I see the live imaging doing that for me.
I enjoy the scouting, I enjoy the hunt and then the reward. Even on a no fish day using sonar, at least I got to know the structures around. With a camera and sonar I'm pretty happy stopping there.

[Iceattic]

I'm from the old school to. But I did get a flasher and what a game changer. My brother is still old school and catches more and bigger fish than me almost every time!  I agree  when is it enough? It's not fishing anymore! It does take the fun and challenge out of it.

[Rebelss]

Kinda like sneakin' a peek at those Christmas presents when ya were a kid, right?  ;Did that ONCE, and it ruined my Christmas. I use my flasher/locator and once in a while my cam, but mainly just to scan the bottom structure.  Still like the surprise of that bobber goin' down and pulling up whatever I hooked. It all depends on what and why you are going fishing, and what you are looking for. I like to just get away and have a "simpler", quiet time, with some enjoyable experiences. More old school for me, I guess. 

[mikez]

There's no reason to get defensive, it's all a matter of preference. It's whatever floats yer boat.

I really like tipups. I never need electronics for setting tipups and never will.

I jig occasionally but casually and don't depend on it. Most of the guys I fish with have electronics for jigging. They have the advantage when it comes to locating schools of panfish. Even so, once they find the schools, I often out fish them side by side.

I also have a preference for nature and outdoor experience. I spend enough time staring at screens the rest of the time. When I'm outdoors I don't want any screens or devices.

I may not catch as many panfish as the dialed in electronics guys but I certainly catch all I want. I don't feel I'm lacking success or missing out on anything by a lack of electronics.

I miss the days when it was harder to find fish and a certain level of skill was required. It cut down on the googans. There were less guys on the ice and most of them had a higher level of skill. The mediocre ones dropped out and sold their gear for cheap.
Now anyone who has YouTube and a sonar unit can come out and catch fish. Which is great for them. Just doesn't help with the crowds and googanism.