Sounds like the Pro Muskie Tournament Tour is banning livescope and forward facing sonar from their tournaments the rest of the year. I heard one boat had something like 8 different livescopes on their boat and caught 10 fish or something ridiculous and that may have been the tipping point.
Thoughts? When is too much technology a bad thing?
Sounds like the tipping point has finally been reached in tech.
We haven’t seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of tech. Saltwater guys are 100s of thousands of dollars ahead of fresh water fishermen. This Omni Sonar has been around for 40 years. They can see fish 5,000ft away and track them. We haven’t seen anything yet.
Finding fish is one thing. Getting them to bite is another. To my knowledge, there’s nothing that’ll make fish bite yet.
No chance anyone has more than a couple livescope type systems on the boat. There would be far too much interference to be effective. Most tournament guys run 2, one for each partner. I don’t see the ban lasting.
The biggest change since FF sonar is that the fish being caught are bigger and the bags will be heavier.
Finding fish is one thing. Getting them to bite is another. To my knowledge, there’s nothing that’ll make fish bite yet.
This is a common argument I see and while I agree to some extent, I have to say the chances of “getting them to bite” are much higher when you know exactly where a fish is, how far and what direction it is from the boat.
Personally, I think tournaments should be about highlighting your skill and not your checkbook and what you spent on electronics.
Personally, I think tournaments should be about highlighting your skill and not your checkbook and what you spent on electronics.
I agree, but then they would have to limit the days of pre-fishing and somehow prevent teams from working together. I always laugh when a top finishing team thanks like 4 “competitors” for helping to dial in the plan, and the other 4 were like top 25% finishers too.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>rjthehunter wrote:</div>
Finding fish is one thing. Getting them to bite is another. To my knowledge, there’s nothing that’ll make fish bite yet.This is a common argument I see and while I agree to some extent, I have to say the chances of “getting them to bite” are much higher when you know exactly where a fish is, how far and what direction it is from the boat.
Personally, I think tournaments should be about highlighting your skill and not your checkbook and what you spent on electronics.
Electronic companies are big sponsors of events like the NWT and MWC. Professional anglers are usually partnered up with companies to promote and use their products. Neither the pros or the big circuits are going to shoot themselves in the foot by banning specific electronics.
Professional circuits aren’t about fairness, it’s about catching the biggest fish by any means necessary. Some big name guy with a Warrior 238 and a 450 Mercury are going to have better odds of catching the necessary fish on lake Earie than a guy in a 18ft lund when the wind is blowing. If you don’t have a boat/motor big enough to get to a spot in big wind you won’t place as well.
It’s a slippery slope once you try to make it “fair” for everyone. We’re talking about a $1,500 transducer here. That’s a drop in the bucket compared to 95% of the rigs. To have a chance in some events, it’s what you’re going to need. No different than spot lock, or fishing reels with a drag… What if a guy can’t afford gas to run 100 miles on tournament day to the area with big fish? They aren’t going to put a 50 mile limit to how far you can go from launch because some people don’t want to go further.
Wow the PMTT needs to lose the P, what a joke. A team dominates one tournament and they ban LI, apparently as voted on by the teams. The worst part is they are trying to sell it as “protecting the fish”
The worst part is they are trying to sell it as “protecting the fish”
Someday soon we will see a “forward thinking” muskie angler casting lures with no hooks so as not to hurt these delicate beasts that live forever, but those follows tho…. 
I’m really on the fence on this debate. I don’t have live imaging so it doesn’t matter much to me but it does give you a big advantage. I would think with muskie fishing it would be extremely benificial.
I think it’s a good thing. Fishing used to be about fishing. Now it’s about catching and keeping up with the Jone’s.
I think this technology will ultimately lead to over harvest and poor fishing. I think it will also create a generation of poor anglers who will know how to watch their graph and that’s it.
These electronic companies could be shooting themselves in the foot in the long run. If there’s no fish left nobody will buy the products they’re selling.
It could take a generation or two to really see the damage being done on large lakes. We’re already seeing it on the smaller lakes though.
I’ll agree that sometimes fish won’t bite but overall the biggest challenge in fishing is finding the fish. It’s also a hell of a lot easier to catch the fish when you can watch their reactions to your bait and make changes on the fly.
RJ – you make some very valid points that I cannot rebut.
Along those same lines… they should outlaw drug testing at the Olympics. 
Let them take whatever supplements and steroids they want. Who cares about integrity and natural abilities… I want to see the fastest and strongest athletes the scientists and labs can create.
I can understand a LI ban for local club tournaments or the local Jaycees fishing contest. But the PMTT is supposed to be the best of the best in muskie fishing. The P allegedly stands for PROFESSIONAL. There’s nothing professional about banning electronics in the middle of a season because one team mopped up one tournament. That’s a good old boys club move.
Like the old saying goes “if you can’t beat them ban them” or something like that.
Let’s all go back to rowboats and hand lines.
So did they have like 8 Livescope portable setups pointed in 8 different directions looking for fish passing by? If that’s the case, then you can argue they took the “sport” out of it by just staring at screens the entire time and then casting to the exact spot a fish shows up on screen…
Maybe just limit the number of live sonar transducers that can be used at once?
As much as I do not enjoy the live imaging technology personally (I have 2 on my current boat and I simply don’t enjoy this style of fishing) I feel that this is a slippery slope for tournament circuits to cross and the best approach may be to let things come full circle like what happens to most technological advances in this sport. For example, there is already quite a few rumblings in the bass world about fish getting conditioned to Live Imaging and acting negatively towards getting “pinged” by these live imaging transducer signals. Its only a matter of time before this debate dies down and there’s a new fancy technology toy in town that everyone is talking about..
I think it’s poor sportsmanship to ban it mid season, as voted by other losing competitors. If they want to burn this bridge, do it in the off season before it starts, not during. The rules should be set in advance, not altered as the season is going. I agree that it seems to be a knee jerk reaction right now.
I remember when underwater cameras came into play. What an uproar that was. Hard to believe there are any fish left.
Just joking. But technology will continue, limits, fisheries and so on will slowly change.
I am in the minority here, but I agree with the ban. Yes, I understand the guy with a Warrior 238 has the advantage over some guy in a 18′ tin boat, but the 8 live-scopes crosses a line for me. I just don’t find it that “sporting” to drive around all day and not lift up a rod until you “radar lock” on a muskie and then throw a lure 1 foot in front of its face.
I know this is just about tournaments, but I do believe the continuous electronic advances will harm the sport long term. Fishing has become more like a video game than the sport I grew up with.
. I just don’t find it that “sporting” to drive around all day and not lift up a rod until you “radar lock” on a muskie and then throw a lure 1 foot in front of its face.
Absolutely agreed. There are many limitations to athletes equipment across the sporting spectrum.
Some things can’t always be proactively thought of. It’s more reasonable to cut it off midseason and reassess when all teams have time to make accomodations in offseason than it does have it continue through.
I used to wonder how anyone could ever get sick of fishing or bored with fishing. I still love it, but there may come a day. The older I get and the more technology comes into play, the more I can see myself one day packing it in and investing the time into something else. I am by no means innocent with technology and use it in my boat and on the ice, but there will be a point where the thrill of the chase is gone – at least for me.
As far as bans and regulations go, I don’t support going that far. Adjust limits and monitor fish populations accordingly as technology makes things easier. If catching fish with great ease and technology brings someone joy while not hurting someone else or the shared resource…good for them – have at it.
I like a challenge and a little failure along the way. My wife says I’m nuts for hunting morels for hours on end sometimes. I love it because there’s no shortcut, no expensive tool to locate things, just a lot of sweat and miles in the woods. With regards to fishing some of my best outings have related to the company I had, the new shot in the dark spots away from anyone else, or the simple times of a flat bottom on the river pushed by a 15hp 2 stroke while using random debris for an anchor.
We haven’t seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of tech. Saltwater guys are 100s of thousands of dollars ahead of fresh water fishermen. This Omni Sonar has been around for 40 years. They can see fish 5,000ft away and track them. We haven’t seen anything yet.
And pick up a copy of Florida Sportsman and read all the articles talking about over harvest, limits needing to come down, and how good the fishing used to be.
LS is a $1200 piece of equipment. Muskie guys can be the biggest Prima donna‘s in the fishing world.
I bet each rod and reel with braid and flouro runs at least $700-800. Best technology out there. Make them go back to 5500’s and 7 ft pool cues like the old days
Best in technology boats that can cost more then a house. I’m sure they have $2-3k side imaging units and all the bells and whistles imaginable. Just use 455 on SI and ban birds mega SI cause it’s not fair. Why not ban SI altogether? All that’s just fine though.
Every other piece of technology is good to go though. They have no issues using all the latest and greatest technology. It’s just livescope technology is bad cause fish just jump in the boat when you spend $1200.
Fish in a canoe with a 1950’s rod and reel
I fish with a piece of twine and a hook i fashioned out of a piece of bone.
Of course, I use this setup while fishing out of my fancy ranger with all of my fancy electronics so my catch rate has actually gone up. Who’d a thunk it?
It is silly to band it from the tournament. They are still going to go out there to prefish without putting a pole in the water. Just drive around and scan. I would not be surprised if some lakes don’t start banding tournaments.
I tried looking for an article or online information about this on the PMTT and I couldn’t find anything about it last night. Anyone have a link about it? I even went directly to their website and it doesn’t have anything about it in the rules either.
An outright ban was probably overboard and midseason doesn’t seem right, 1 unit per boat or person decided after the season was over would have been better.
Do they limit the number of people in the boat for tournaments? If not I would not be surprised to start seeing a team with a dedicated scanner or scanners like what is happening with the Marlin fishing tournaments.
You cant use gadgets to hunt on land. Spot lighting, infrared, radios, etc.
They must be limited for fishing or the resources will suffer greatly.
I tried looking for an article or online information about this on the PMTT and I couldn’t find anything about it last night. Anyone have a link about it? I even went directly to their website and it doesn’t have anything about it in the rules either.
The PMTT probably just put it on Facebook or sent out an email to the teams. Professional?? Or good ole boys club??
The PMTT probably just put it on Facebook or sent out an email to the teams. Professional?? Or good ole boys club??
That is probably how they communicate these changes. Seems like that is what most people do. A buddy of mine found out months later that his cousin died because they only announced it on Facebook and he isnt on it. He was absolutely pissed about it.
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