COLUMN : NEWELL ’ S NOTES
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
As a freelance writer and photographer , Rob Newell has been reporting on fishing tournaments for more than 20 years , finding the stories between fish and angler to be a stretched line of triumph , heartache , torture and inspiration . tech management is a required skill in today ’ s bass tournament world
W hen I first started bass fishing 30 years ago , the only thing I “ managed ” from a technology standpoint was a “ smart ” charger that I clamped to a 12-volt trolling motor battery after fishing . Yes , just a single 12-volt battery for a 12-volt , hand-controlled trolling motor .
When I watch the best pros on the water these days , I ’ m stunned at the sheer amount of technology they must manage on a daily basis . I would guestimate that pros in the modern era spend almost as much time managing technology as they do actually fishing .
Logic would reason that someone who fishes for a living would not need near the technological skills as someone who works , let ’ s say , in the computer science field . But at this point in the game , I might beg to differ . The mental aptitude required to keep tabs on all the technology pulsing through a bass boat in the top tours is substantially more demanding than it was 20 years ago .
no simple sonar
Let ’ s start with sonar . Don ’ t worry , this is not a forward-facing sonar topic , but rather the unspoken array of power and network infrastructure you must install and manage to bring various kinds of sonar into clear view .
This first requires the installation of “ clean power .” In the simplest form , clean power means each unit and sonar module box gets its own dedicated power from a battery – no sharing power wires among units , or with navigation lights or trim switches . To make this easier , fuse / power blocks can be run from the battery up to the console or bow . These power blocks provide individual terminals and fuse slots for up to three or four units . Then
18 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | APRIL-MAY 2024