Having just downloaded the brand new Apple “Find Fish” App to my waterproof GPS Smart Phone I was eager to give it a try tonight. Advertised as a “Shore Fisherman’s Fish Finder,” the new software allows a shore fisherman to use the latest side scanning sonar technology to locate fish. The hype on the website was, “Find fish before you even wet a line!”; “Great for pier, river, jetty, or surfcasting.”
Now dark I worked my way down the steps near Block Island’s Southeast Light. Once at the water’s edge I waded out to an area over 3 feet deep per the app instructions. Here I dipped the wireless, corrosion proof, side scanning probe (purchased separately) into the water the requisite 10 seconds. It took about 20 more seconds for the GPS Smart phone to receive the display. The 360 degree display was in color and the internal compass showed relative bearings – 0 degrees was always the direction you pointed the phone. The scan had a range of 200 feet and the underwater structure including rock perches that I knew existed in this location were easily recognizable along with the words “No Fish Detected”. To test the reading I spent the next 15 minutes casting my favorite plugs and some rigged eels into the area – no strikes.
I waded back in and continued my hike towards SE Point and waded to a favorite perch in that location. I dipped the probe, 20 seconds later the scan shows up on the phone only this time the words “Fish Found” are displayed along with four blinking “fish icons” that appeared at 020 degrees at 50 – 75 feet. All icons were relating to some underwater structure in the area. “OK”, I told myself, “Here comes the real test”. I placed my first cast in the general direction where the structure existed. Within 5 turns on my retrieve a fish hit my needlefish plug. I released the bass and cast again. Another bass struck my plug. At this point I was chuckling to myself thinking that this was probably just a mere coincidence. This can’t be real; no way could this app be locating bass. Another 10 minutes of casting produced no action. Just to be sure I took another reading, it displayed “No Fish Detected”. Hmmm… I thought.
I hopped off my perch and continued to my favorite flat rock near Old Harbor, an area I know like the back of my hand. This time I was going to test the app a little differently. I’d fish the spot BEFORE I scanned the area. I cast my plugs for 15 minutes with no action at all. Ok, nothing here I think, now for the scan. I placed the probe into the water and when the scan is displayed onto my phone it lights up with multiple blinking fish icons in bearings from 280 degrees to 045 degrees from 25 to 125 feet out from my position. Ah ha! I thought to myself. This thing really doesn’t work – false positives all over the place. Just to be sure I decided to cast the area again – this time with some live eels. Long story short… I had non-stop action for an hour until the tide bottomed out. When I quit for the night I took one last reading – “No Fish Detected”. Things just got easier.
The future of surfcasting?
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