I’ve never thought of myself as an angler while growing up. I used to go fishing on the weekends with my dad, but that was pretty much it. Around the age of 10, he let me use his rod and reel for the first time, and, pun intended, I was hooked.
I never believed that this sport would be so incredibly relaxing yet challenging, at the same time. I used to think that all that fishers did was sit on their boats drinking beer for hours on end. And to some extent, that’s precisely what happens on any fishing trip. But most of the time, there’s also a lot of planning and even suspense.
Back when I was a kid, I had no idea one could make use of technology when it came to fishing. At that time, I didn’t even know there was something like fish finders. And I don’t really think they were invented back then. When my dad and I used to go out on the lake, we didn’t use any fancy gadgets to get our catches. However, things have changed a lot in the past years, and I can’t think of a single reason I wouldn’t use something like that nowadays.
I started out with apparently ancient models like the Signstek FF-003 and then moved on to improved ones. My latest acquisition is an excellent Deeper Fish Finder that I absolutely adore. This gadget has saved my face several times, and now that I have my own family, I’m supposed to bring back some fish for my wife to cook. Otherwise, she might say that my angling pursuits aren’t worth the time and effort.
The coolest thing about the Deeper model is that it comes with just the transducer, which is a dual-frequency model, like those that many other choices are outfitted with. What this means is that you can use it in both shallow and deep waters. Plus, the most user-friendly feature is that the Deeper can be used with any smartphone or tablet you own already.
Plus, the fish aren’t displayed as arches as they used to in older fish finders. They are actually displayed as fish, so the angler understands what’s happening underwater. I haven’t bought the more expensive Deeper gadget, but that one can also be used as an ice fish finder.
Over time, I’ve tried out a lot of devices that could help me better my angling performance. Some of them have worked and some have not. One thing I found particularly useful was a bite alarm. This neat little gadget can save the world, in that in many states, you’re allowed to use two fishing lines, so you can utilize two separate setups. Instead of having to move from one to the other to jiggle and check whether there’s a potential catch nearby, this bite alarm notifies me whenever I have to get to the action.
Needless to say, it saves me a lot of time. Finally, another cool gadget I’ve used and still use even now is a fish skinner, the Skinzit, to be precise. Whenever I catch catfish, I use it to get rid of the skin as quickly as possible and then store the fish on ice. If I don’t, I’ll do the same when I get back home and therefore, save my wife some time that she’d otherwise have to spend skinning my catches.