America”s two favorite outdoor activities, fishing and hunting, have changed dramatically during the past 30 years.
Just how much the outdoor scene has changed was graphically illustrated to me recently when I received my fall outdoor fishing and hunting catalogs. It had equipment in there that I couldn”t believe. In other words, the outdoor scene has been taken over by the high-tech business.
We all know how fishing has changed with the modern high-speed boats and the ultra-modern fishing equipment and electronics. No longer does a fisherman fire up his 10 hp Johnson outboard, climb in the aluminum boat and spend a relaxing day fishing. In today”s high-tech world you must own a $60,000 bass boat with a 250 hp outboard capable of achieving speeds of 75 mph as you race across the lake. When you get to your destination you lower your 100-pound thrust bow-mounted electric trolling motor, turn on your electronic fish finder with its split screen that can pick out a fish hovering on the bottom, grab your $300 fishing rod equipped with a $250 casting reel and start flinging a $25 crankbait. There are even underwater video cameras that can be lowered by a dock to see if a fish is hiding underneath.
And you”re doing all of this to catch a 2-pound bass.
For years hunters escaped the label that has been put on fishermen because of their big boats and expensive equipment. The hunter was always the one who took the old .30-30 rifle down from a peg on the living room wall, walked out in the woods with little more than a canteen, sandwich and a book of matches and shot a buck for the larder. A few even took along an old magnetic compass to help them find their way home.
No longer. The modern hunter has a Global Positioning (GPS) unit that allows him to find his way back to camp under the harshest conditions. Rarely does he have to spend a night in the woods huddled against a tree for warmth. Most hunters have the latest in ATVs or four-wheel drives. There are even night goggles that allow the hunter to walk through the woods on the darkest of nights. And if the going really gets tough, all he has to do is climb a hill and use his cell phone to call home. If he”s really wealthy, he can carry a satellite phone that allows him to make calls from even the most remote location.
Deer hunters can now purchase a deer decoy that actually moves its head and tail, which is controlled remotely by the hunter in a tree stand. The hunter can use the decoy as either a doe or a buck by just adding or removing the antlers. Little does the poor old buck know that the love of his life is made of plastic foam.
Duck hunters have benefited the most from modern technology. When I was a young man the decoys were made either of wood or papier-m?ch?. A hunter had to rely on his calling ability and the decoy placement to be successful in luring in ducks and geese within range. Now there are electronic motor-controlled decoys that swim around your decoy spread and they look just like the real thing. If that isn”t enough, there are decoys that actually fly around your duck blind. They are suspended from a cable that”s attached to a pole. If you get bored while waiting for the ducks to fly, all you have to do is turn on your iPhone and watch a movie or text your best friend.
The big question is what impact does all this high-tech stuff have on our fish and wildlife? The answer is that no one knows. The human population is increasing at an alarming rate, which means more hunters and fishermen, and the results could be catastrophic for our fish and wildlife in the next decade or so.
The other factor is that many old-timers say we are getting away from the experience that fishing and hunting brings. We are also teaching our kids the wrong lesson … that getting a limit is everything. The truth is we don”t have to shoot a limit of ducks or bag a buck every time out. There is also more to fishing than just catching a limit of bragging-size bass. For example, a hike up to the summit of Mount Konocti is free and all you need is a pair of suitable hiking shoes. When was the last time you sat on a hilltop deep in the woods and watched the sunset without yakking on your cell phone?
