“The boys with the expensive toys.” That aptly describes many of today”s bass fishermen.
For example, a new bass boat can run as much as $60,000. In fact, just the outboard motor alone can cost $15,000 to $20,000. When you toss in all the equipment and gadgets, that can add up to another $10,000.
Some fishermen are asking, “Where will it all end?”
No one can question that bass fishing has become an expensive sport. One bank loan officer told me many fishermen have taken out second mortgages or home equity loans to buy a boat. Others use creative financing such as nothing down and spend 15 years paying it off. However, few actually keep a boat for the 15 years. The common practice is to keep the boat five years and then shop for a new one (many wouldn”t be caught dead with a boat more than five years old).
The size of the boats and motors are also getting bigger. It was only a fewyears ago when most of the bass fishermen had an 18-foot boat powered by a 150 hp motor. Today”s boats can be as long as 23 feet and have outboards as large as 250 hp or even 300 hp. In fact, today you see very few bass boats powered by 150 hp outboards.
The equipment that comes with the modern bass boat often resembles a spaceship. No longer does the fisherman use a hand-held magnetic compass to find his way around the lake. The modern boat is equipped with Global Position Satellite (GPS) units that allow fishermen to locate his fishing area within a few feet.
Fish finders have come a long way from the old flasher units that would just show you water depth. The modern fish finder displays the complete bottom on a screen and can detail the smallest structure on the bottom of the lake.
In fact, today”s fish finders are so accurate they will spot a fish on the screen and then lower their worm right down to the fish. You can actually see the fiish grab the lure. Some of the units can cost as much as $2,500.
There are a lot of other electronic gimmicks available. There is a unit that will tell you what color of worm to use by placing a sensor in the lake.
Another electronic gadget (cost $700) mimics the sound of bass feeding on bait fish. It”s advertised as a sure.
If all else fails, you can purchase a remote-controlled underwater TV camera that will actually show you the fish swimming beneath the boat.
Fishermen get caught up with all the latest in technology and constantly buy the new gadgets that come out on the market. Just pick up any fishing magazine and you will see pages of ads with the top professional bass hawking the latest gadgets. What the ads don”t say is that these professionals are being paid megabucks to endorse these items. Few of them rarely ever use the products during a tournament. It”s not just the latest electronic gadgets that reel in the fishermen. Lures are constantly changing and fishermen spare no expense buying the new ones. A few years ago the Banjo Minnow and Helicopter Lure were widely marketed. Now it”s rare to see one. It”s not that they won”t catch fish, it”s just the ever-changing times.
The past few years has seen swimbaits draw most of the attention. Swimbaits are large and soft plastic lures that resemble a small fish and they have proven deadly when it comes to catching large bass. But they don”t come cheap. Some cost as much as $100 each.
The owner of a local tackle shop reported last year that several tournament fishermen came into his shop and each bought more than $1,000 worth of swimbaits. In fact, the lure was so popular that tackle shops had a hard time keeping them in stock.
Yes, we”ve come a long way from the days when a fisherman would venture out onto the lake in a row boat with a cane pole and a can of worms. Today”s fisherman has to have it all. Of course, the bass themselves don”t know if you”re in a $50,000 bass boat or an old aluminum skiff, and they really don”t care.
