Welcome all Shore, Bank, Dock, Pier & Surf Anglers

[Rick]

You asked for it and here it is.

Enjoy.

[irvingdog]

Oh man! You can sum up the "Best shore fishing" item with product "Smartcast". It will change everything for shore anglers!

[Steve Foss]

Thanks Rick. Fast action.

Sometimes if you ask, you get, and thanks to the fellow on the Open Water main board (forget his handle) who brought up the idea.

Let the shore fishing saga begin.

------------------
"Worry less, fish more."
Steve Foss
[email protected]

[Blackstarluver]

Hey Dog! Do you have a smartcast? And if you do, how well does it work? And do you have the full size display or wrist watch?
Thanks a million!
God lyk!
JC

[Aquaman01]

Glad to see this forum!

------------------
Aquaman
<')}}}}}><{
Peace and Fishes

[Sheephead Slayer]

Thanks Rick!!
BTW Rick, after we fished Cannon Lake (and I got a sheephead) Paul and I went to Rush later that week. Guess what!, I got 3 6lb Sheephead....grrrr.....Hence my new name, from all the crap I received for it, heh
Hope to fish with ya again soon
Kevin

[Guest]

ATA Boy!

Thanks Rick!

A wise addition to the FM.com format.

We may even lure in some knowledgeable anglers from the "Old Country"? Shore fishing still out numbers boating over much of the world. There are many very knowledgeable anglers who can add to out collective experience here.

Thanks again!

------------------
Ed "Backwater Eddy" Carlson

Backwater Guiding "ED on the RED"

[DARK30]

Just got back from a nice couple of hours on the shore. Had one nice run and a miss but when you only have time for a quick fix, shore is where its at.

Now, Whats a "Smartcast"? anything like a smartfire?

WET NETS!

------------------
cast,cast,cast,cast......

[Aquaman01]

Dark -
A smartcast is this year's offering from Humminbird. It's a sonar and the transducer is a little $20.00 thing that you tie to the end of your line and cast out up to 100 feet, and it sends a wireless signal to a screen that you keep with you. The screen is the same type and resolution & stuff as their Pirahna model (low end). The 'ducer is a sealed unit, and when the batteries crap out, it's done. Not designed for use in super cold water (ice fishing). It's about $160.00.

My thoughts are mixed on this gadget. In still water I see it giving a good read and an accurate graph - if there is little or no wind. In current I see one major possible problem -
The nose of this thing is gonna be the 'front' of the 'ducer, and thus the first image presented on the right of the graph. How is that gonna read moving backwards (downriver) in current or wind?

Sounds kinda neat, but I'm not saving up for one. I like to keep my shore-time simple.

------------------
Aquaman
<')}}}}}><{
Peace and Fishes

[Toad]

Just got one of these Smartcast deals for field testing-- and looking forward to trying it.

To me, the Smartcast kinda seems like it could be a huge help to shore anglers-- particularly for us catmen, curious about the depth and cover characteristics of snagpiles and other potential spots. Cast the transducer out right next to the wood, for instance, and you get a pretty accurate picture of what's below, including, hopefully, fish. Of course, at about $100 bucks a pop, I supose you hate to get too daring with your casting the thing near snags, either.

But think of the time you could save, looking at potential spots from shore, rather than trial and error.

One thing I didn't like, in reading the product press release, is that apparently, it's not for use while icefishing. Bummer. Next year, I'll bet . . .

-a friend,
Cory

[Duffman]

Actually, the replacement sensor will only cost you $20. Hummingbird also has a remote display that is just like a wristwatch for the Smartcast. Some interesting stuff hitting the market these days, you can check out the specs of the Smartcast at Hummingbirds website. I have no use for one, but I'm curious how they have performed for those that have one.

Toad....
Did you happen to get my e-mail?

[Toad]

Hi Duffman,

Haven't had a chance to check my home email in a few days. Will do so tonight. Thanks!

[irvingdog]

At first I figured I didn't have use for a Smartcast either. But I like to fish Millifoil pockets for largemouth. You often dont' know you are on one until you are "on one". By then, the fish are spooked. I use mine for depth, snags and contour.
For my money, the only one that made sense was the "wristwatch" style. Talk about portable!
Other uses I see are for belly boat, boundry waters, and things like that.

[Rick]

Irvingdog,
if one really thinks about it, there are a lot of potential uses for it. Many uses for boaters as well. As for river fishing, it sounds like it has very good potential.

Are these available and Gander Mountain???

[irvingdog]

I don't know. Why? Is Gander Mountain a sponsor of F.M.? Every time I mention where I work, it's like walking on egg shells. BTW, I work for Galyans, and yes, we have them there. $89.99.

[Aquaman01]

They are available at any major retailer that sells Humminbird sonars.

------------------
Aquaman
<')}}}}}><{
Peace and Fishes

[Rick]

Hi Irvingdog,
I guess I didn't remember where you worked. I thought they might be available at Gander.

Nice to hear we can see them at Galyans.
Which store you at, maybe some of the guys can come in and you can show them the Smartcast and how it works (Smartcast isn't a sponsor of FM, in case you're wondering)?

We're just glad to have you here. You've been very helpoful with good info.

To answer your question, no, Gander is not a sponsor of FM either.

[This message has been edited by Rick (edited 07-04-2003).]

[Guest]

Wall Mart and Scheels has them as do many sporting goods outlets.

It is an interesting concept that may just develop into bigger things over time.

------------------
Ed "Backwater Eddy" Carlson

Backwater Guiding "ED on the RED"

[blkfrg]

I purchased one at the begining of the softwater season. It is the one with the large display. I found it great for shore fising and have found some structure just of shore of one lake that I never knew was there. In the river, it seems to read well but you must control the speed downstream of the transducer, with this years rains, the river I most often fish is really booking and the transducer doesn't read when moving to fast. Being the first year offered I do hope that the following units have some improvements. Saying that, I use it to find depth and some structure points, the fish ID thing, like most fish IDs, is way to sensitive and shows billions of fish everywhere. I would suggest that if you can wait, see what improvements are made next year, or get the large display model, the wristwatch display is not even as good as a cell phone.

Fish on Dudes!

[LuckyFish]

Team the smartcast up with a planer board and I bet you could check out a large area of the river right from shore. May have to give it a try.
Lucky

[Guest]

Hello USA
just to say hi to y'all from the UK - as you may be aware 99% of UK fishing is shore fishing, so I hope from time to time I might be able to contribute some of our ways that may be of use to you as well as spreading some US style methods over here. I like the sound of that Smartcast device - anglers here would kill for something like that ( if it works, of course ). The most typical way we find out about lake and river bottoms is to borrow a boat and look down through a glass bottomed bucket!
Knowing our luck though over here it would either cost ten times as much and/or interfere with local air traffic control.
Tight lines, now where did I put that bucket?.......
Cheers
Steve

[This message has been edited by englishsteve (edited 07-30-2003).]

[Blackstarluver]

Hi Steve! Too bad about the smartcast for you folks in the U.K. It does interfere with your radio laws However, when it is approved just couple the Smartcast and a side planer, and you will have one heck of a river fishing system. Oh and Steve could you give us yankees some info on UK fishing conservation? Even tho we have abundant waters the size of our pike by and large are just a bunch of jacks compared to the size of yor pike.
God lyk!
JC

[Steve Foss]

Hey Steve:

Thanks for posting. Glad to see your expertise here. Go right ahead and start a few topics of your own about techniques an setups for shore fishing. Not only tackle, but philosophies on finding fish and such.

People here will eat it right up.

------------------
"Worry less, fish more."
Steve Foss
[email protected]

[Guest]

Re Pike
To be truthful I don't know fully the answer to that one - it may be our catch and release policy, which virtualy all 'specimen' pike anglers follow. I do know that a few years ago some stillwaters, particularly trout fisheries, had a policy of killing off large pike in their waters. This effected the ecosystem in an unexpected way in that they then encountered a problem in that the pike population did not decrease but instead they had large numbers of jacks on their hands instead. It was obvious that, being cannabilistic by nature, the larger pike were feeding on the jacks as well as other fish thus balancing the population. That policy was dropped and large pike flourished once more. Equally the growth over the past 20 years or more of commercial lakes, stocked heavily with smaller fish has contributed to growth in pike stocks, as has the government's Environment Agency work on reclaiming 'lost' rivers and also restocking existing waterways. However we have a major problem here with Cormorants now who are killing off fish stocks as fast as you put them in on some waters. Who knows?
I think maybe catch and release is probably the main reason, although to what degree this is practised in the USA I couldn't say - over to you
Cheers
Steve

[Blackstarluver]

Catch and release? Not bloody often enough mate!
God lyk!
JC