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Location: Manitowoc, WI | A group of us at an SWC meeting had a discussion not long ago about what innovation in walleye fishing moved fishing forward the most. Items that were considered included inline planer boards, GPS mapping, improved sonar, bigger boats and motors, linecounter reels, dive curves, superlines, and mapping cards for GPS units. What single innovation do you think was most important in moving modern day walleye fishing forward? I am asking this to help my son with a high school paper he is writing.
I chose the inline planer board as the item I would never leave shore without, as it is indispensible in Great Lakes trolling. I tend to fish Green Bay the most and can identify most of my places using landmarks, so I rated the inline board ahead of GPS mapping. |
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Location: Berlin | No question, it is the Drop-n-Stay 
Seriously, I would say the GPS/Mapping. I would not be able to fish the way I do without it. |
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Location: Menasha, WI | GPS
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| definatly the beer cooler built into the ranger boats, seriously it would have to be gps mapping |
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| I would go with GPS/Mapping and add in sonar also, since we did troll without inline boards and also with mast and ski planer boards. But GPS brought you back to the exact same spot, weather it be jigging or trolling. GPS also gave you accurate speed. Sonar has improved so much over the last 10-15 years vs the old flashers and even the primitive grey scale units.
Electronics, 2nd most important piece of equipiment after the boat. IMO. |
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Location: Fremont, Wisconsin | Walleye insider magazine coupled with the walleye annual. With out this mag, we would never have spread the word about all the wonderful inventions. The how to's of open water trolling, the wille's line of products, and it all goes Hand in hand with the Lindners love of teaching people to fish.
Edited by stacker 4/14/2009 3:27 PM
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Location: Neenah, WI | While I like the beer cooler nomination, I'd also have to agree GPS/mapping is #1, with planer boards #2. GPS/mapping can help with all types of walleye presentations - trolling, jigging, rigging, slip bobbering, etc. - to get you to and keep you on the spot on the spot. |
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Location: Chicago IL. | I will also have to go with GPS mapping/speed. But the cooler is a CLOSE 2nd!!!!! |
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Location: Lincolnshire, IL | GPS/Mapping for me...no doubt about it! The days of lining up the pine trees and the cabin with the red roof off that rock in order to find the crib are a thing of the past.... |
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Location: LaCrosse, WI | I don't drink much, so I'll have to go with the GPS, (especially for big water fishing).
Here's one that nobody has said yet, but has definately played a big part in many peoples Walleye fishing. The Credit Card!!! |
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| "Modern day walleye fishing" How about the internet and websites like this, and others, that allow us to share techniques and practices, make equipment recommendations, solve problems, help prevent one another from making the same mistakes, and even provide exact locations. These forums also provide us with a place to vent, a place to come when cabin fever and the long winters get us down. Heck, they have probably indirectly saved a few marriages along the way. These all have an affect on, and impact my walleye fishing. |
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Location: DeForest, WI | I too nominate the avenue of sharing of INFO-
The Internet- The PWT/FLW Tournament Coverage on TV... Magazines-
I appreciate the insightful marketing the Pros bring to this sport.
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| Interesting thread Jerry. I for one would like to read the paper when he has it complete. Or, if he dares, have him post a draft and let the 'experts' appraise and/or critique it. |
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| "What innovation moved walleye fishing forward the most"
Without a doubt it has to be the LEAD HEAD JIG. A shad shaped Crank has to be a close second. There are tons of people that fish without electronics and have for years. They deffinately moved a lot of people into better successes but from an innovation standpoint it has to be tackle.
Who was the first pro to say a jig put him there?
Good Luck
Tyee
Edited by tyee 4/14/2009 5:27 PM
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Location: Oshkosh, Wisconsin | GPS hands down IMHO. I grew up fishing the Wisconsin River and other smaller bodies of water. The only way to learn these waters was to spend tons of time on them. Today, you can buy a map, call a local bait shop, show up to a place you have never been before, and start catching fish.
Can you imagine trying to fish Lake Sharpe without a GPS? Or how long it would take to find the off shore rock humps on Winnebago?
The jig is hardly new to fishing and as far as I'm concerned, many internet sites have done more to damage fishing than improve it. The in-lines are great tools for trollers, but nothing has improved my ability to catch fish like GPS. |
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Location: LaCrosse, WI | One more thing about the GPS, it can save lives. When we were at a championship on Erie in 05, some guys had a boat sink 17 miles off shore. They were able to radio the Canadian Coast Guard and give them coordinates, and get rescued. That's more important to me than how many fish I catc. |
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| GPS in my opinion |
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Location: Manitowoc, WI | Okay....the consensus is the GPS. Now, if we can, please rank them in importance from 1-5.
I'll start:
1. GPS mapping
2. Inline planer boards
3. Linecounter reels
4. Dive charts for cranks, dipseys, and snap weights
5. Improved sonar |
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| The order of this list would be dependant on the fisherperson's level of expertise. Maybe we should include how we would rank ourselves on a scale of 1 - 5, (1 being a rookie and 5 being a expert) What an 'expert' sees as important might not be the same as what a newbie to the sport look at. I would consider myself a '3' 1) GPS/mapping 2) Internet, Magazine, Information Sharing 3) Planer Boards 4) Sonar advancments ('Digital' might move this up the list) 5) Line improvements, (Braids, Flourocarbons) |
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| GPS? Really? the most innovative product in "walleye fishing"? Maybe to fishing in general, or better...maybe tournament walleye fishing...I'd venture to say that 75% if not more of walleye anglers don't use a GPS or at least not on a daily basis.... The most concentration of walleye anglers are river fishermen next time your on the river count the rigs with a GPS not many 14'ers with one. Maybe a GPS helps you find your way but in my mind it isn't the innovation that grew "walleye fishing" to what it is today. It's only been around for a short time, and there isn't a huge influx of people buying them specifically because it helps them fish for "walleyes". EVERY walleye angler has a lead head jig. The majority of lake fishermen head to the crowds. The internet is one heck of an innovation but as Brad says is that a good one or a bad one? Planner boards greatly improved the amount of lake fishermen as well but I'd be hard pressed to say that every walleye angler uses them.
Good Luck
Tyee
Edited by tyee 4/15/2009 9:29 AM
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| Lead head Jig? Heck, if were stepping that far back I change my mind. I think the spear is more innovative!
Grew the sport Vs "what innovation in walleye fishing moved fishing forward the most."
"Moved forward" can be debated within itself. More people? more success? changed the scale of difficulty?
Edited by Jayman 4/15/2009 10:07 AM
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Location: LaCrosse, WI | One of the things that "Grew" Walleye fishing was big water tournaments that helped bring attention to Walleye fishing. The folks who fished those events used GPS as soon as it came out to find their way back to fish over several days, which increased the bag size and increased the buzz around Walleye Fishing. Not all big bags have been attributed to GPS, but it has certainly helped, especially in big water events.
I still think the TV shows, internet, and tournament results have helped this past time grow. If that's not the case, then explain to me why Green Bay has seen the increase in fisherment that it's experienced in the last 10 years. I'm not one of the people located right in the Fox Valley, so catching monster Walleyes on Green Bay and seemingly unlimitted amounts of eaters on Winnebago was something I'd never heard of until reading tourney results and seeing tv shows. |
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| tyee - 4/15/2009 9:23 AM GPS? Really? the most innovative product in "walleye fishing"? Maybe to fishing in general, or better...maybe tournament walleye fishing...I'd venture to say that 75% if not more of walleye anglers don't use a GPS or at least not on a daily basis.... The most concentration of walleye anglers are river fishermen next time your on the river count the rigs with a GPS not many 14'ers with one. Maybe a GPS helps you find your way but in my mind it isn't the innovation that grew "walleye fishing" to what it is today. It's only been around for a short time, and there isn't a huge influx of people buying them specifically because it helps them fish for "walleyes". EVERY walleye angler has a lead head jig. The majority of lake fishermen head to the crowds. The internet is one heck of an innovation but as Brad says is that a good one or a bad one? Planner boards greatly improved the amount of lake fishermen as well but I'd be hard pressed to say that every walleye angler uses them. Good Luck Tyee Jerry's original question was "What single innovation do you think was the most important in moving modern day walleye fishing forward?" The lead head jig was long before what I consider "modern day". |
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Location: Manitowoc, WI | I agree with Anonymous. Jigging was around when I started fishing in the 60's
My question deals with the progression from around the early 80's till now. We started with Loran C, then GPS without mapping software, we moved to mapping and now we're in the era of 3D mapping and side scanning sonar.
My earliest memory of where this information was passed would be from In-Fisherman and the Walleye Insider. I recall reading how Gary Parsons and Keith Kavajecz used GPS to mark schools of fish out over the mud on Lake Erie after the spawn.
Edited by jerry 4/15/2009 12:33 PM
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Location: Rhinelander | Electronics that daisy chain together, IMO. GPS modules that network with multiple sonars and computer interfaces...what's next? The GPS as a stand alone was pretty cool, but what's out there now in a single unit that can network with others is literally amazing. |
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