Not your grandpa’s bass boat
Boats, electronics, gear have undergone dramatic changes the last 50 years
Few things have changed as much in recent years as fishing, especially bass fishing. Fifty years ago boats were a primitive affair. They were made of wood and were either rowed or powered by a small outboard motor. Fishing was more of an effort to put food on the table than a sport. That has all changed.
The modern bass boat features thousands of dollars worth of electronics that can spot a fish swimming along the bottom of the lake. Electronics already have changed fishing immensely. A few months ago I went fishing with a friend who had just purchased a new, fully-equipped bass boat. He had all the latest in electronics. We went to Long Tule Point and the electronic-controlled trolling motor automatically took us to the exact location he wanted. We saw four bass on the fish finder screen holding near the bottom. My partner positioned the boat right above the bass and lowered a plastic worm. We could actually see the plastic worm fall right next to a bass, which grabbed the worm. My partner reeled it in. After releasing the fish, he repeated his action and another bass grabbed the worm. He ended up catching three of the four fish.
Boats and equipment are changing every year and manufacturers are scrambling to make their product better than the competition. Future bass boats will be hovercraft that can skim over the water at speeds close to 100 mph. They will be equipped with electronics so sophisticated that you’ll be able to spot a bass just about anywhere beneath the surface. These same types of electronics will be able