BLOG: Back to the future

FLYING cars and attire that looked more at home in the snow fields dominated our perception of the new millennium back in the '80s. Fast forward 30 years and unfortunately my car doesn't hover and (thankfully) I don't wear ski boots to the shops - either I'm behind the eight ball or the films of yesteryear were a little off the mark.

Predictions on the fishing front were likely as high. Not that long ago, lures that swim under their own power were advertised and punters could be excused for thinking the future might be filled with self-propelled artificials that would do all the hard work while they sat back and took in the scenery.

We've come a long way over the last few decades, however, in this day and age with shorter product life cycles and the expectation of rapid technological advancement, I wonder what the fishing landscape will look like in 20 years time?

In 2011, fishos have advanced tools at their disposal such as sounders that have improved almost exponentially since the days of the old paper units. These modern higher frequency sonar sets now allow users greater definition of underwater targets than ever before.
I wonder if in the future, sounder picture clarity and signal processing will allow for unambiguous target identification? Will an almost photographic representation of the fish appear on your sounder? Will we be able to punch in a target species then drive around and wait till, say, the "snapper alarm" goes off?

In years to come, lines will probably continue to get thinner for a given rating, rods and reels more compact and lighter - will a single-handed casting outfit have the ability to store 600m of 50lb braid and be featherlight yet able to stop a marlin?

As marine scientists uncover more information about fish feeding habits and migratory patterns there will no doubt be some revolutionary lure that smells, tastes or imitates the real thing better than ever before - clever marketing will have us believing the advertised science and crazy new fads will no doubt emerge.

Marine electronics, mobile phones and the internet will no doubt also have a more intimate relationship with one another.

To be completely honest though, I don't know what to expect in the future and what I'll be writing about. Some things may change, many won't. We'll still be fishing with baits, we'll forever be fighting for the right to fish and for the protection of our marine environments.

I don't really care if I'm wrong or well off the mark with my crystal ball gazing, however, in 2040 I would have ticked past the age of 60 and as an old bugger I'll be able to talk about the good old days (2011) when we had "primitive" colour and touch screen electronics, along with old school electric motors that only featured GPS.

I'll be able to tell the young fellas about the days when that stretchy mono line was prolific and how the introduction of braid revolutionised the fishing we did back in the day. The passage of time will also give me poetic licence to reminisce about how we did it tough and how easy things are with modern gadgets and fishing equipment. The internet has a long memory, however, so I'd also like to forewarn the youth of 2040 not to give me too much cheek as they zoom past my "old tinny". Being an old timer implies being cranky so I'll be sure to complete some vocal training over the next 30 odd years and will have that stern, scary old man's voice at the ready ...

Glancing through my vintage fishing magazines reveals a different world in the '60s, '70s and early '80s so I wonder what the future holds for us. Anyone game to make some predictions?