PS theres not *only* two types of angler, -
1) goes fishing with over 8k worth of tackle including fishfinders,
baitboats, bite alarms and many other expensive items.
2) goes with a broom handle, string, bent pin and bucket of worms.

There are thousands of 'middlemen' who have *some* bits of fancy gadgetry
*along with* old fashioned techniques, these are the forward thinking
anglers, who over the years have accepted new tackle, only when its proved
its worth.
If something they've had in their box for over 30 years still does what it
was made to do, why change it?
I'm not one to shun a piece of new tackle simply because i think its not
going to work, i look at what others do and what works.
Let me ask you this, considering you've been an angler for a long time,
and
these fishfinders have been about for at least a decade, how many times
have
you seen anyone use one?
If they did what they are meant to do, everyone would have one.

Beleive me, i could think up a piece of crap like this, get a patent on
it,
get it manufactured and some anglers would buy it if they were told it
would
catch them more fish, whether it actually did or not is irrelevant,
because
when tackle companies produce anything at all, they dont have to prove
that
it works, they only have to make you think that it does.

BTW, i already have a fishfinder, in fact i have two, as the fish i go for
(carp) are usually visible when near the surface, and when bottom feeding,
theres also visible signs that they are disturbing the bottom.



I have seen fishfinders user on the banks but generally by matchmen who seem
to be preparing for a match and are 'scoping' out the water, they fix a
transducer at the end of one of their poles and watch the fish passing
through a swim and their reaction to the bait, the one featured in AT was
the first time that I have seen one that has taken the next step using
wireless technology so that it could be cast from a rod and the fact that
they had given the option of being able to suspend a bait from it seemed to
me to be that someone was actually thinking about the variety of uses that
this could encompass where as the fish finders in general are designed for
use attached to a boat and have been adapted, I would be pretty sure that
they have been used before to discover the actions of fish to bait landing
on the surface and the difference between scattered loose feed and a ball of
ground bait on different venues because the fish are a trapped species and
fish in one place may act differently from those in another, just as one
type of bait can be effective in one venue but not another.

But at the end of the day these fish finders are only a tool, an aid to
fishing, and they will not directly help you to catch fish, and in my
opinion anything that states it can should be avoided, but they could help
you understand the venue and fish therein better.

I still think that this 'gadget' has its uses and like all aids if used
correctly would be of great benefit, but I doubt it will catch on as most
will avoid it either believing all gadgets take away the pleasure of fishing
or just too embarrassed to use it on the bank, will I buy one -no probably
not- fishing to me is my hobby, my get away from it all, and like most its
on a budget but if I see one in the free ads for a fiver I think I'll snap
it up, if I ever see one on the bank I would be very interested in it.