White Oak Mountain Ranger: Change Is Good, But I’d Rather Have Cash
Not as well extensive back I stumbled throughout this post on fishing for crappie in Reelfoot Lake. At least which is what I believed the piece was about. The additional I go through, the far more the tale turned about a new and enhanced piece of technology that, according to the author, was revolutionizing crappie fishing.
As the tale unfolded, it was mostly an job interview with a renowned Crappie fishing guide and his use of a new fish finder from Garmin.


It is referred to as a “Live Scope”. The writer described how the tutorial was telling the earth about how this new fish finder was instructing outdated guides new and amazing things about this distinct fish. He described items about Crappie habits that the planet had never recognised in advance of.
I figured this was some sort of new advertising method from the marketing and advertising boys that ended up seeking to provide all of us some new piece of their products but as the tale unfolded I ought to acknowledge I was hooked.
The writer claimed that he actually could look at, on this new and remarkable piece of electronics, his 1/36 ounce jig, drop down on a Crappie in 14 toes of water, and that in the course of action, could visualize the fish rise to the jig. Then he claimed he could also see the fish gills flare and inhale his very little bait in purchase to set the hook.
I observed it all fairly tricky to consider.
Now I have a tendency to get cynical at times, primarily when the corrupt legacy outside push marketplaces “new and improved” merchandise. About time I’ve turn out to be fairly jaded about posts that are created by individuals while championing “new and improved’’ hunting and fishing goods.
I’m not what you would phone an “impulse buyer” by any stretch of the creativity, but it’s challenging to calculate the situations I’ve been suckered by “new and Improved” junk fishing lures, guns and primarily, high tech gadgets.
The way I see it, several a devious out of doors writer calls up some significant-driven outdoor promoting organization and the conversation goes something like this:
“Hey, if I generate some glowing report about your item and get it printed in some large outdoor rag, will you mail me your “new and Improved” what ever it is cost-free of demand?”
And, the superior-run promoting genius states, to the alleged author:
“Well, if you’ll make it sound like an extraordinary “new and unique” ought to have providing, we’ve acquired us a offer!”
With that, the writer receives his glowing report revealed and all manner of free of charge things is delivered free of charge of charge, right to his doorway move.
These significant-powered and misleading promoting types get free advertisement and the lousy consumer (you and I) pay back the freight. “Slick as a minnow’s peter” ain’t it?
Not fairly pleased with just one “Crappie guide” story, including glowing praises for this particular new engineering, I continued the investigation.
The following story located was from a writer who was fishing with a guideline on Kentucky Lake. This guide went on to say how this fish-finder was turning the “Fish for Money” boys upside down. He stated, “If you didn’t have this technology on your boat in a Crappie fishing tournament, you would never ever stand a possibility at any funds. “
He said he could now, with this new know-how, discriminate between two pound Crappies and 3 pound Crappies. He could now goal massive revenue fish from tiny revenue fish. And if you could do that, it was about the only way to contend in the “Fish for Money” world now days.
I was surprised but even now truly suspicious.
This unique writer questioned the manual if he assumed this new technological know-how had the probable of executing serious damage to Crappie daily life cycles and an complete class of major breeders. I puzzled the same issue.
The guide went on to say that if each and every boat on the lake could afford to pay for a “new and improved” machine like this specific one particular, he could visualize meat fishermen turning out to be ecstatic.
That devastatingly straightforward statement led me to a little far more in depth study. What’s this “new and improved” technological innovation going to set me back?
As soon as yet again I was merely impressed. This new gadget expense far more than my very first 3 pickups not to mention the expense of my leaky Jon boat, trailer and the old outboard motor. Once again, this “new and Improved” system did not even arrive close to the amount of money obtainable in the disposable profits account. Tale of my daily life.
In studying the charge of this device, I stumbled blindly into the nightmare that has become “You Tube”. You can basically look at genuine “fish searching goobers” and other assorted down-to-earth sorts signing the praises of this “new and Improved” technological know-how.
Some of these men truly look to be putting their videos on this system just for the reason that they are certainly in awe of what they just acquired, or how their catch premiums have exploded.
I watched a person person, who did not in any way appear to be a marketer, income rep, or ready to even compose, as he fished a chilly and windy February Tellico Lake. He loaded his boat with Smallmouth Bass, and it was simply just remarkable as we viewed his swim bait “excite” an whole university of significant high quality fish that rose out of the rocks and inhaled his entice.
I guess early mankind experienced to wait around on glass to be invented before underwater fish viewing came into focus.
I imagine some “hairy dude” standing following to some fish stuffed entire body of h2o, wherever fish are leaping up on the floor sporadically, and declaring to himself “I speculate what else is in that h2o?” So he bravely jumped in and opened eyes for a good peak, and swiftly understood he could not definitely see a lot of everything, and so he went again to the cave and invented glass.
Then he most likely invented rubber, or he utilized a mastodon gut to keep the glass lenses tightly to his face and “magically” the very first fish-finder was born. It ought to have been hailed as “new and Improved’ about each individual cave in the identified universe, at that time.
Now we have obtained far more personal computer technological innovation in our boats than the technological know-how it took to for NASA to pull off the very first lunar landing. The charge, presented todays spiraling inflation, is possibly very similar in the two scenarios.
My 1st genuinely successful Crappie catching tools came from Johnson’s Components on the sq. in Athens Tennessee. If it expense much more than 5 or 6 dollars I’d be impressed, but it was a marvel of technologies at that time.
It was generally a stiff, reliable fiberglass rod, with a cork handle mounted with a Shakespeare level-wind bait forged reel, spooled with black braided nylon.
When you loaded the rod with a major doggy ear sinker and a bobber the sizing of a softball, you could get that old reel to screech like a banshee. You could very easily make tremendous long casts of up to, and exceeding, 20 feet. This was by far, perhaps 4 or 5 toes more time than any cast I experienced formerly been in a position to attempt with my cane pole.
I experienced floundered into the terrifying upcoming of engineering and it was a journey that I identified myself missing in like it was some dim forest that you’d never ever return from the moment you were dropped in it.
We couldn’t find the money for a minnow bucket. When we went to the minnow dealer in individuals days we obtained our bait in a minor, claustrophobic, paper, Chinese have-out bucket. The form of container like you get rice in when you get Chinese have-out.
I continuously fretted that the minnows wouldn’t survive the journey to the crappie docks and we’d have to fish with suffocated minnows. Useless minnows anxious me a little something intense during that period in my piscatorial existence.
There was just one particular minnow vendor up at Ten MIle. It was an aged region retail outlet, the kind that have merely vanished in advance of our pretty eyes.
The minnow dealer had a pet hawk that lived in the trees around the shop. When we went to the out of doors minnow tank with our minor Chinese have-out bucket he would whistle, and the hawk would seem in tree above the tank. The minnow seller would permit me flop a dead minnow at my feet.
The hawk would twist his head about and the swoop down to decide on up the easy snack in his talons, then look me sq. in the eye. I took that as a thank you as he ascended to his tree limb with his prize. His name was Ichabod.
To me, this was improved than any Disney wildlife display, or any Barnum and Bailey wild animal act.
Try out and obtain a minnow dealer right now with a pet hawk named Ichabod!
Santa under no circumstances introduced me a actual minnow bucket and which is possibly about the age I gave up on that notion. There had been no technological improvements in 5 gallon plastic buckets in the period of black nylon fishing line, screeching bait casters, and Chinese carry-out minnow containers.
Modify is superior but imagine of the dollars we saved before all this technology showed up.
We caught crappie, even with a number of suffocated minnows. If you knew wherever the brush piles and hay bales were strapped under the suitable docks, even a beginner could capture superior taking in fish.
It in no way entered our minds to seem under the h2o to check out a fish consume our bait. We just realized they ended up there.
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Notice from the White Oak Mountain Ranger I really appreciatively acquired a comment from a reader of “Sleeping on the Ground in March.” The form words and phrases ended up from a veteran in Northwest Georgia who mentioned that he was reminded of the nights he invested sleeping on the floor when “Mother Earth” was his only “pad” and “luxuries” have been a shelter 50 percent and a sleeping bag compliments of the United Condition Maritime Corp. The Corp seemingly had not discovered higher tech foam sleeping pads for the duration of his tour. My guess is that the Corp could have made a decision that Marines weren’t a bunch of wimps and a shelter 50 percent was a great deal xxxx good adequate for a good night time rest. Retain your opinions coming to whiteoakmtnranger@gmail.com. Many thanks! “We hunt and fish mainly because we can. Really do not shed that!” WOMR.
