Yankee_lake Posted April 2, 2005 Share Posted April 2, 2005 I read a converstation online and somebody said that they thought live bait is kind of cheating and i didnt know what to think... Then they said fish finders are kind of cheating cause that takes the fun out of fishing.. What is your take on this. I couldnt see why live bait is, maybe fishfinders but not live bait. Do fishfinders work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Username Posted April 2, 2005 Share Posted April 2, 2005 I think live bait is "cheating" for tournaments, because you just let it sit there and the bait does the work for you, wehre with a crankbait or soft plastic worm, your trying to give off the impression that its real. As far as fishfinders, i dont see why they'd be considered cheating. I mostly use them for depth, and to find brushpiles and stuff. I dont think they really find fish, unless your on offshore structure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burneddude1 Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 I agree 100% with "User". Any fish, under any situation will hit live bait. As far as the fish finder goes, probably the last thing I use my fish finder for is finding fish. I use it mainly to read the bottom, find tempature changes, that sort of thing. Besides, even when it does mark a fish, it doesn't tell you what kind fish it is. Its not much help casting to a school of walleyes during a bass tournament. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GamblerFL Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 I agree 100% with "User". Any fish, under any situation will hit live bait. As far as the fish finder goes, probably the last thing I use my fish finder for is finding fish. I use it mainly to read the bottom, find tempature changes, that sort of thing. Besides, even when it does mark a fish, it doesn't tell you what kind fish it is. Its not much help casting to a school of walleyes during a bass tournament. I agree 100%. It is so rare I even pick a fish up on the depth finder I dont even look for them. I use it for the depth and the bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick_Barr Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 I agree with all of you! I bareley even pay attention to fish on my fisfinder cause It might not even be a fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yankee_lake Posted April 3, 2005 Author Share Posted April 3, 2005 i was about to buy a fish finder too lol.. but whats your opinion on live bait Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebbasser Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 In a tournament live bait is against the rules, but for fun fishing if you like to use live bait have at it. I haven't used live bait since I was a kid because I prefer lures, but that is me. I don't think I have ever used my depthfinder to find fish. I do use it to find fish holding cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tradguy Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 nothing is cheating,well maybe tnt...but whatever you enjoy is the way to go.... :)come to think of it,you can make a lure go and do what you want...is that cheating...baits hard to train.... ;D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbass Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 that's why I refer to mine as a depth finder. Even when the alarm goes off for a fish, I pay no attention to it all. No way does that unit give a fisherman a huge advantage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GamblerFL Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 As far as live bait, I dont use it. I dont have anything against it I just perfer lures. I cant argue live bait doesnt catch fish. You can just about catch something when using live bait. Most of the large bass caught here in Florida are usually with live bait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BamaBassn78 Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 that's why I refer to mine as a depth finder. Even when the alarm goes off for a fish, I pay no attention to it all. No way does that unit give a fisherman a huge advantage. Same here, i have the fish id on mine turned off. I use mine to find grass and points, underwater structure, etc... The only thing i might (rarely at that) use minnows for crappie. I have always used artificial lures for bass. Im not patient enough to sit there and wait for live bait. I have to cast and tug... Tater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yankee_lake Posted April 4, 2005 Author Share Posted April 4, 2005 oh these post teach my alot, now i guess theres no point of paying 200 dollars for a "depth" finder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BamaBassn78 Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 There is no point of paying 200.00 for a depth/fish finder. Or i wouldnt atleast... : You can get a good depth/fish finder for less than 200 bucks. Like i said in my earlier post, i use mine to locate underwater structure, ditches, drop offs, flats, etc... Unless you can see underwater, id recommend a depth/fish finder. If your thinking a fish finder will help you catch fish, then your mistaken. They will help you find the structure that fish like, but there not gonna put them on the hook for you. If someone considers depth/fish finders cheating, i guess they need to go back to a cane pole and string to fish then. A depth/fish finder is a necessity on a boat. Like i said earlier, unless you can see underwater, then your good to go. A good depth finder with water temp and Grayline and other options are available for under 200 bucks. I just agreed with bigbass, i dont use mine to specifically target a fish on there. I use mine to find the locations were the fish might be... For what its worth, just my .02... Tater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel_Hwang Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 Fish finders are useless for finding fish. It's good for finding the depth and bottom structures. Live bait is not cheating, it's a skill and you just need to know how and when to use them. You don't just let it sit there. It can be very productive too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedar1 Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 I have to disagree, fish finders are a very valuable tool and when used properly will help you find and catch fish. I fish lake erie alot and without them you would be peeing into wind. Finding bait fish is the key to finding fish on this lake, without a fish finder you couldnt do it. The charter boats survive using them to find the schools of walleye and perch for paying customers. These guys will tell you they are for MUCH more than just seeing the bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User roadwarrior Posted April 4, 2005 Super User Share Posted April 4, 2005 I like big fish and lots of 'em! When targeting largemouth, I'm 100% artificial and I fish everything and nearly every technique from time to time. I really don't like flipping because I like more fight, I don't like to drop shot much because I only catch little fish. So what? If you're a tournament fisherman and money's on the line, the goal is to put fish in the boat. Now for the rest of us, the recreational fishermen, maybe the goal is different. I don't want to catch little fish, I spend all my time searching for big fish. I like using all kinds of equipment but I catch all of my big largemouth on Senkos and Fat Ikas. Smallmouth are different. When I'm lake fishing, I'm always artificial. I catch lots of fish, but only one smallmouth over 5 lbs (on a baby diaper yellow, Gitzit). On the Tennessee River I fish live shiners and I catch a lot of big smallmouth. Now that's what I'm talking about! Big fish and lot's of 'em...Different styles for different situations. Maybe that's not fishin', but I'm sure it's not cheating...We call it catchin'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassfearmee Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 It looks like the majority of you feel the same about fish finders as I do. I have an old flasher that I just love because very few people know how to read. I use it for checking out the bottom and for reading depth. I will say that if you are out on the ocean fishing or fishing in a deep water lake like Winnipesaukee then the fish finder will work good for finding salmon, lake trout and other fish that like to be way down deep. As far as bass fishing I think the fish finder is better suited to reading depth and the bottom than for finding bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L.D. Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 Like most of the above, I use my fishfinder for depth and structure. Now if things slow down I'll get out the underwater camera. It will show you the fish just about as clear as watching your TV set at home. Cheating, well maybe a little. People pay me good money to put them on fish and I'll do what,s needed to make them succesful, but the camera does make me feel like it's too easy.. As far as live bait, I don't need it. Part of the game for me is to catch all my fish on artificials. It takes more skill to play the game with lures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yankee_lake Posted April 4, 2005 Author Share Posted April 4, 2005 then if its a game using artifical then why do u use it to find structure.. make that a game, i personally think that might be harder i dont know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedar1 Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 I posted about the advanages of fish finders on lake erie, you may think this is all deep water. WRONG. We hammer the smallies in less than 20 feet of water, most times much shallower, anyhow the graph will still find fish. Now talking about flashers!!!!! If you read these properly you can see the bottom through the weeds!!!! You cant do this with a graph (unless its a good color graph). All these tools are a great asset to your fishing, sometimes we prefish without casting a lure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BamaBassn78 Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 If you read these properly you can see the bottom through the weeds!!!! You cant do this with a graph (unless its a good color graph). All these tools are a great asset to your fishing, sometimes we prefish without casting a lure. Well, i haven't fished Lake Erie and probably never will. I'm sure they are a valuable tool to find the fish on that lake. I don't search for schools of bass or whatever fish im after. I have to retract my earlier statement, every once in a while, i might have a school of shad show up as a clump of grass or a big fish. I guess i was wrong, i do use mine as a fish finder... 99.4% of the time, it's easy to tell where the baitfish are, because they are getting hammered. Anyone with any amount of time on a certain body of water can locate a school of shad. But im not fishing Erie, im on Guntersville Lake. I rarely fish deeper than 6-10'. Especially this time of year. A fish finder is good, but when you are in less than 2 feet of water, knowing where the bottom is essential. I dont look for fish on it when im fishing that shallow. As far as a graph having to be color just to tell the difference between the "bottom" and the grass, i don't have that problem with mine. Although it's not color, that GrayLine stuff actually works rather well. Just like you said, if you read these properly... I wish i could catch big fish on live bait, i like the reward of working a lure to entice a strike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedar1 Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 On my graphs I can tell the difference between bottom and weeds, but if im in thick weeds I cant see the bottom through the weeds, with mt flasher I can. This is really helpful when trying to find depressions in the bottom (ditches, ect.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rattlinrogue Posted April 6, 2005 Share Posted April 6, 2005 I DON'T think it's cheating.I use a Hummingbird depthfinder mainly fot depth readings and to find channels and dropoffs.It doesn't help that much,but it does keep the interest high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LONGEARS Posted April 6, 2005 Share Posted April 6, 2005 It's only cheating if you break the rules.I only want to catch that lifetime fish by my rules so the memory is unclouded. My rules are No live bait depthfinder is OK No braided line (might as well use a winch cable) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinker48 Posted April 7, 2005 Share Posted April 7, 2005 Whats wrong with A winch and cable if it gets the job done. Besides I thought thats what bait casters are for! Good Luck! Sinker48 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.