Joe Balog

[520runner]

I bought my current 2002 Ranger from Joe. He lived in Ohio in 05. It had 2 Bottomline state of the art monster FF's on it. And came with a spare unit. Very expensive set up back then. I asked Joe then "why all the electronics?".
He said that he would put the boat back on the trailer rather than fish if could not use his electronics on Lake Erie. Joe was a hammer on the great lakes back then. He fished a lot of wrecks and pioneered the offshore bite.
He's not being a hypocrite when he states his observations on the state of bass fishing most relating to the competitive side.

I agree with him 100% in that Panopix and the like give anglers a distinct advantage on SOME bodies of water. As well, anglers are discovering more places where this technology works to their advantage. A small lake tournament location that our circuit has fished for years was completely dominated by the anglers with forward looking tech in their boat this summer. 2 or 3 events this year were won with 20-22 lbs of smallies where traditionally 17-18 lb of LM would win.

They found bait balls in the clear end of the lake that had previously undiscovered schools of big smallies following. Most knew that there were big SM there but it was random at best. The new tech enabled guys to follow the bait thus following the bass.

Had that circuit selected that body of water for our classic location it would have come down to those few boats that had that tech competing for a $70,000 Basscat as the rest of us competed for a top ten. Not complaining! Just saying.

I am an older guy who has relied on sight fishing smallies and power fishing LM on most of our tournament locations. I doubt that I will drop 5K to add another unit to my boat but you never know.

What Joe was getting to I think is that guys like us are kinda getting left behind. But we have always had to pick our tournament techniques that suit our strengths and preferences. Just nowadays they cost a lot more $.

[Mark Perry]

I liked it better when there was not any fish finders etc. You had to learn to fish then look for structure read the water etc.

Nothing stops anyone from still doing that.

[Bassin Dude 365]

My personal experience with forward looking sonar had me in the back of the boat throwing at nothing while the "boater" spun circles trying to stay on a brush pile. All day. Between the hand held remote for the TM (no foot pedal..yes..no pedal at all) and the silly stick the ducer was mounted on, he spent more time dicking around with all that than fishing.

[JK]

I think what he's saying is starting to come to pass on Guntersville. Great electronics along with an extreme amount of pressure has changed the deep bite here.

[bman5150]

Same goes for some of the lakes around me. Not a doubt in my mind. Our relatively few bass really got beat up here in central Ohio and it really started to show in the late summer all the way thru today. I’m still waiting on a great Fall bite, lol!

[bschwoep]

Tournament fishing has always been about innovation to catch the biggest fish. It’s not going to change and electronics are the latest innovation. Those willing to spend the money AND learn how to use it will have the advantage. I’m luckily to fish a few times a month these days so that guy isn’t me but plenty of guys are willing to do it even at the club level.

[Quillback]

My personal experience with forward looking sonar had me in the back of the boat throwing at nothing while the "boater" spun circles trying to stay on a brush pile. All day. Between the hand held remote for the TM (no foot pedal..yes..no pedal at all) and the silly stick the ducer was mounted on, he spent more time dicking around with all that than fishing.

Doesn't sound like your boater did any pre-fishing scouting. That's where I see Livescope stuff really coming in handy is finding fish before the tournament starts. Tournament day is not the time to be "dicking around" as you put it.

[Mark Perry]

Fancy electronics do not seem to be an advantage at the Open on Cherokee this week.

[618PRO]

Fishing has become what deer hunting has been for years. Compare a 300 Win Mag to a recurve bow. Some people enjoy having all the advantages they can get and some enjoy the chase in a more primitive way. I do have 2D and know what bass look like. If I see them deep I turn around and try to catch them. I am not interested in watching them swim to my bait....At least if I can’t see them I can pretend one is about to bite!

[AMSDJS]

Doesn't sound like your boater did any pre-fishing scouting. That's where I see Livescope stuff really coming in handy is finding fish before the tournament starts. Tournament day is not the time to be "dicking around" as you put it.

They (BASS, MLF/FLW) need to change their rules and disallow ALL prefishing. Before side imaging and waypoints guys used to prefish by actually throwing baits. Now all Elite guys do is simply motor around the entire lake for 2-3 days putting waypoints down on schools and structure without even wetting a line. Add to that all the local guys out spectating during the event can just follow pro boats around and hit waypoints so they can come back later and milk spots dry. That's what bothers me the most - on the water ettiqutte among anglers is a thing of the past. Not saying it's only in bass fishing but that (fishing and being on the water) was the last bastion of hope for escaping the craziness of the rat race. The other thing that BASS and FLW should do is run 1,2 or 3-day events only during the week to give working stiffs the freedom to fish weekends without the added pressure. They also need to stop fishing the same bodies of water every single year. Give lakes like St Clair, Guntersville, Chick, etc "time off" from getting pounded every year and this would also help lakes in other parts of the country get their due. No reason they can't go out West to the Delta and Clear Lake - two phenomenal bass fisheries that used to be on the tour until the pros whined about having to travel "so far out West". I for one love watching these "grind fests" where the entire field isn't bringing 20-25lb sacks to the scale every day. Great for their egos and TV but I want to see who has the "stuff" to catch 'em when fishing gets tough.

[Mark Perry]

They (BASS, MLF/FLW) need to change their rules and disallow ALL prefishing. Before side imaging and waypoints guys used to prefish by actually throwing baits. Now all Elite guys do is simply motor around the entire lake for 2-3 days putting waypoints down on schools and structure without even wetting a line. Add to that all the local guys out spectating during the event can just follow pro boats around and hit waypoints so they can come back later and milk spots dry. That's what bothers me the most - on the water ettiqutte among anglers is a thing of the past. Not saying it's only in bass fishing but that (fishing and being on the water) was the last bastion of hope for escaping the craziness of the rat race. The other thing that BASS and FLW should do is run 1,2 or 3-day events only during the week to give working stiffs the freedom to fish weekends without the added pressure. They also need to stop fishing the same bodies of water every single year. Give lakes like St Clair, Guntersville, Chick, etc "time off" from getting pounded every year and this would also help lakes in other parts of the country get their due. No reason they can't go out West to the Delta and Clear Lake - two phenomenal bass fisheries that used to be on the tour until the pros whined about having to travel "so far out West". I for one love watching these "grind fests" where the entire field isn't bringing 20-25lb sacks to the scale every day. Great for their egos and TV but I want to see who has the "stuff" to catch 'em when fishing gets tough.

Several Elite guys film their practices. There is pmenty of line wetting and bait throwing in practice. They upload it on Youtube. Hours and hours of prefishing. Its not all electronics watching. Between BASS, BPT and FLW there are less than 50 pro events per year spread out over 20-25 lakes. They ain't keeping the working stiffs from enjoying anything.

[Tenn.todd]

Live scope and panoptics are great but cant tell you what species of fish you're looking at. On Erie it's just as likely your wasting your time casting to sheephead walleye white bass catfish white perch large gizzard shad steelhead... you get the point.

[RangerBob52O]

Live scope and panoptics are great but cant tell you what species of fish you're looking at. On Erie it's just as likely your wasting your time casting to sheephead walleye white bass catfish white perch large gizzard shad steelhead... you get the point.

I’m seeing that but I’m also seeing what I think are fish getting spooked by the livescope beam. You know they’re getting hit with an array of frequencies that range up into the MHz. I think fish will adapt be just fine.

[Philly]

I like Joe. I fished against Joe a bunch on the Great Lakes back in the day...Joe took a lot of my $$$ on the Great Lakes, lol.
Joe now earns his living through outdoor writing and it is his job to address these topics and "light a fire" now and then...I get that and I still admire and respect Joe. However, I can assure you that Joe had nearly every piece of new electronic gadgetry on his boats each year that was available at that time.

The technology will ALWAYS evolve, but the fish will ALWAYS adapt and respond to pressure and the best tournament anglers will ALWAYS adapt in tune with the fish. I have an insane amount of $$ invested in my electronics, spotlock, etc. and I've put in a ton of work learning to use them to their fullest potential, but it is amazing just how quickly fish adapt and change as a result of the added pressure on off shore schools and there will always be an opportunity for a guy with a strong shallow/mid depth game to excel.

[opaleski]

I agree with Joe. Maybe, just maybe all tournament fishing should be catch, weigh, take a picture, and release. Could help the Fisheries. Also this year a lot of people were and are still fishing because they had plenty of time on their hands.

[Quillback]

Live scope and panoptics are great but cant tell you what species of fish you're looking at. On Erie it's just as likely your wasting your time casting to sheephead walleye white bass catfish white perch large gizzard shad steelhead... you get the point.

Well I respectfully disagree, I can, for the most part, tell what fish I'm seeing with my antiquated down scan. Another thing that Livescope can do is look under docks, that's a big deal at certain times of the year around here. Lots of guys are fishing docks in the summer and not all docks hold fish. It can save a person a lot of time. And not all fishermen are bass fishing, Livescope is a boon for crappie fishermen.

[Mutt]

Nothing stops anyone from still doing that.

Never said it did.
Just get a laugh out of people who think they need 10k worth of electronics to go fishing.

[520runner]

Live scope and panoptics are great but cant tell you what species of fish you're looking at. On Erie it's just as likely your wasting your time casting to sheephead walleye white bass catfish white perch large gizzard shad steelhead... you get the point.

Most fully equipped guys around here will drop their camera down after finding fish with down/side scan or 2D to confirm the amount and quality of the target species.
The best deep guys on the river here all have cameras as well. The guys that camera tell me that it is quite addictive so you have to be careful to not waste time gawking at big fish that won't bite.

[grout-scout]

I agree with Joe. Maybe, just maybe all tournament fishing should be catch, weigh, take a picture, and release. Could help the Fisheries. Also this year a lot of people were and are still fishing because they had plenty of time on their hands.

Want to help the fisheries, stop tournament fishing all together. Then we’ll just stop all fishing, to let the fish be un-disturbed.

[jrbdad]

I can and never will fault anyone for buying and learning to use new technology. I have the same opportunity to do so same as everyone. I know where my line in the sand is on how much money and time I will spend on it. I am honest with myself in that I am not out there trying to be AOY on the Elites either. I prefer shallow water power fishing by far and it works for me 12 months out of the year. I can fish deep and with the electronics and TM I have I can do that efficiently if I choose.
I think there is a misconception that a person can run out and buy "success" but it takes a whole lot of time and effort to learn. In many cases older anglers are not willing to put that time in to do so. For everyone saying that all events or even a majority are won deep its just not the case. John Cox, Andy Montgomery, and Bryan Thrift remind us of that on a regular basis. Many of the young guns are shallow water beasts too.
I hope everyone finds what works for them, puts that into practice and lets the next guy make those same choices.

I get your point, But Thrift prides himself in being good with his electronics and fishing offshore ( not necessarily deep ). Although i am not sure there is any thing he is not good at, well except tidal rivers. He hates those. lol