BLOG: What couldn't you do without?

One of the best things about fishing is the nifty gadgets you get to play with. Some are beneficial to the cause, others are just plain novelty value.

Part of the enjoyment is trying out new gear and testing whether it will actually in some format catch us more fish. In the end, that’s how I determine whether any new tool is a success.

If I had to nominate one tool I certainly couldn’t fish without it would be my Minn Kota electric motor. In fact, so deep is my love affair with it if it wasn't working my boat would not leave the garage. Period. It is so integral to my overall fishing success that I refer to it as crucial as a rod and reel.

So why has this relatively new phenomenon become so important to my fishing? Good question really. The fact my fishing is now solely lure-based is a significant factor. My overall mantra for lure fishing success is "stay mobile". My electric allows me to do that. Effectively what it allows me to do is hunt my fish, work over an area, and once located, stay with them.

The bonus is the whisper quiet operation. It won’t spook fish like a clunky old two-stroke will. I get close to my fishing spots using the main motor then cruise in on the electric for a high degree of covertness. In an era where the emphasis is on stealth tactics it's imperative to have a high attention to detail, not just with rod and reel. I leave nothing to chance.

The other aspect is boat placement. Just recently my boat was in for repairs and I fished out of a mate’s runabout for a few weeks. While we still caught good fish using lures without an electric, the one aspect I noticed was the amount of wasted fishing time repositioning the boat every time we drifted too close or too far from structure.
While this sounds pedantic, if one hour out of eight is spent repositioning the boat, then it stands to reason we could effectively catch an eighth more fish by removing this "dead-time". This was vindicated when I got my boat back on the water and repeated the techniques in the same location. The ability to stick with the fish all day paid handsome dividends.

The last benefit is negating the conditions. With an electric to counteract the tide or the wind, my electric motor has allowed me to fish conditions I would have otherwise conceded defeat on previously. Basically my Minn Kota keeps me out there longer, much to the behest of my lovely wife. "Don’t stress" I tell her. "The long grass in the front yard will be there when I get back!"

What fishing tool couldn’t you live without?