If you are a traditionalist, read no further.

[sam vimes]

Originally Posted by maceo

I wouldn't get the satisfaction from catching if I'd electronically 'locked on target' using a device like that previously.

They aren't anything like as good as you think they are.

[Ron The Hat Clay]

Originally Posted by redfin123

You get one ron little things please little minds.

Why do you have to be rude?

[redfin123]

Originally Posted by Ron The Hat Clay

Why do you have to be rude?

why are you always having a dig at traditionalists, watch one fishing the trent you might learn something.

[Ron The Hat Clay]

Originally Posted by redfin123

why are you always having a dig at traditionalists, watch one fishing the trent you might learn something.

There is absolutely no reason to be rude. I have never had any digs at yourself. I make it a rule never to get personal, except perhaps if I am defending myself, and most times I just let it wash over me because often responding is tedious.

And much of the time when fishing the Trent I use traditional methods like trotting, legering and stret pegging. Am I not a traditionalist myself?

If I wanted to become a real traditionalist, I would obtain a source of chandlers greaves or bullocks pith and brains.

[mark brailsford 2]

Sorry Ron,
but I just think it's one gadget to many IMO! Why buy a device like this when you can draw fish into your swim using angling skill (and ground bait) and you can use the money saved to buy a few decent season tickets

[Ron The Hat Clay]

Originally Posted by mark brailsford 2

you can draw fish into your swim using angling skill (and ground bait) and you can use the money saved to buy a few decent season tickets

And also by observation and watercraft.

However I have in the past used a bassboat on lakes the size of English counties where a sonar system was often necessary to find fish.

And having found the fish, you still have to catch them.

[chub_on_the_block]

I wouldnt use one while fishing. Prefer to keep it to watercraft/observation, BUT if i was starting out on a new large-ish water and having a good walk around noting features etc, then something like this could be useful to get to know depths/ drop-offs. I wouldnt be looking for anything to locate fish, other than my eyes (or ears).

Nowadays I look for aerial views on google Earth - and thats certainly not something that was available traditionally - unless you could arrange a ballon-ride over somewhere!. Pity the views are often 5 years out of date though.

[terry m]

It's a personal view, but these are just not cricket.

I have actually seen this gadget in action, as was pointed out earlier in the thread they are nowhere near as good as they purport to be.

[beerweasel]

This is just another american gimmick, like those electronic fish attractors.
What next bowfishing ?

[sam vimes]

It's painfully apparent that some have never even seen one, let alone used one. The reality is that they do have a use, they aren't just a gimmick. However, that use is effectively as a glorified plummet. Now I'm not entirely certain how some of you plumb up on a big old river, but I'm happy that doing so with any degree of accuracy is nigh on impossible. (Usually it's a case of setting up and adjusting the depth until you start to trip bottom.) To find underwater features on a deep, turbid and, on the face of it, featureless expanse of water like the tidal Trent, is also nigh on impossible. These gizmos come into their own. Granted, if you are fishing a beautiful little chalk stream where you can see every feature, they probably aren't going to be much use to you. Likewise, if you miraculously expect them to reveal the exact location of shoals of fish, you are deluded. However, to write them off as cheating, or as a gimmick, is simply wrong. In the right situation they can be a useful tool. Ultimately, no one is going to force anyone to buy one and why would anyone else care if someone else uses one? If using one of these is cheating why is a pair of polarised glasses any less of a cheat? Using technology to locate your quarry and maximize your chances of catching a few, yes please.

Honestly fellas, use them or not, your choice. But bandying words such as "cheat" around is overly emotive nonsense. Outside of a competition, who can you possibly be cheating?