by
gunner
Now…in today’s fishing world
Hummingbirds, Eagles, Bottom Lines (to name a few) are just as common as the
reel on the end of your fishing pole.
And there's a good reason—knowledge!
It is a simple equation that works in almost anything in our everyday
life, “The more you know about something, the easier it is to do." The more you know about the water you are
fishing, the better you can make decisions on where and how to fish.
I recently heard a story about a guy that wanted to buy one of
these electronic miracles. His wife
questioned him, wanting to know “why” he needed this. His answer was, “Because I want one”. Now, as it happened, he bought the unit…but I am sure not without
some further “questioning” once they got back home…and anyone that is married
should know what I mean!
Had this man given a better answer—or, better yet, told her what
he wanted one for before they even went to the store—I might not have even
heard about this little incident. So
what I would like to do in this article is offer some ideas that might help as
how to answer that “Why?” question when it comes your turn to buy one.
"Because I want one" or "Bill Dance uses one"
might be good enough reasons for the person wanting to buy one, but it is not
the answer the one in charge of the finances is looking for. Price is a big factor when the one that
handles the monthly bills is also the one that will have to write the check for
this new “toy” (as I have heard them described before). So the proper thing to do is tell just what
the unit will do for your fishing…basically, sell the idea. A good example of this could be, “With this
on the boat, I will be able to find exactly where the fish are, instead of
riding around all day looking for where I think they should be.” Then, you could add, “That will help me get
home sooner!”
Then explain a little as to what it does, staying away from
how it works…there is a difference. Something like, "With this I will be able to see what the
lake bottom under the boat looks like, the drop offs, underwater
structure, and so on. I will also see where the fish are and how
far down they are in the water…which will take the guesswork out of knowing
what to use to try to catch them."
(Also throw in the "get home sooner" right about now if it
will help!) Most times it won’t take a
lot of information to satisfy the check-writer…just the right
information.
The ones that show the speed you are traveling on the water are
great for controlled trolling. There
are ones that show the water temperature—great for lure and bait
selection. Now there are ones that also
have a GPS unit built into them—great if you get lost a lot, and also for
marking that "secret" fishing hole.
What I am trying to say is this…if you don’t have one in your boat
yet, chances are you want one. A lot of
women in today’s households are the ones that handle the actual bill-paying, so
they will naturally wonder why you want to spend hard-earned money on something
that will NOT guarantee fish. Why fight
it, just share the right information beforehand…it might make it easier than
you think!
See you on the water…
gunner