Wills Point's Jeff Sprague depends on his electronics when competing on the Major League Fishing Pro Tour, but realizes there are times it works better than others.

If you look at today’s bass boat compared to 20 years ago, there are a lot of differences — none more than the number of monitors mounted in front of the driver on the deck.

Things have changed a lot since the first flashers showed up in bass boats, but up until recently they took a back seat in order of importance to fishermen. With the introduction of forward scanning sonar, 360s, GPS technology and more, that has changed. And nowhere is that more visible than in bass tournaments and in growing numbers with crappie and catfish fishermen chasing big fish.

Along with the growth of the technology has been controversy on the local level — whether it has gone too far. The argument is whether it allows fishermen to depend more on their electronic skills than fishing skills. There are bass fishermen constantly watching the screen for fish, and as soon as their bait hits the water they are watching to see if a fish reacts. Others use it occasionally, some very little at all.

The four screens on the front of Major League Fishing fisherman Jeff Sprague’s boat indicate he does not have an issue with the technology. He sees it as an evolution of fishing.

“The original way we fished was when guys lined up using towers, trees docks and that was their spot. Then we got flashers and then came waypoints and we didn’t have to line up trees and boat docks anymore. Now there is down scan, forward scan and 360s. We went from row boats to two strokes to four strokes and lithium batteries. It is just changes in the sport,” the Wills Point fisherman recently said.

Sponsored by Lowrance, Sprague said use of the technology makes fishing more enjoyable for those who learn to use it, resulting in them probably going fishing more. That includes himself.

“I am very happy with my electronics. There are days I wouldn’t want to go fishing without my electronics. The problem is the majority of guys with electronics don’t know how to use,” Sprague said.

He said he has found those uncomfortable with the newest electronics are often fishermen who are not comfortable using the technology or cannot afford its $3,000-plus cost. Having started his early fishing career unable to afford the latest and greatest toys, Sprague understands the reluctance.

And there are misconceptions about what it can do. There are lakes and situations where the equipment works better than at others. With its timber and the type of submerged structure that exists, Sprague said East Texas lakes are not necessarily the best, but they can still be effective here.

“If it worked on Fork like (O.H. Ivie) everyone would be fishing it on Fork. The fish are not in timber on that lake like they are in Fork,” Sprague said.

At MLF’s General Tire Heavy Hitters tournament on Lake Palestine, they were almost impossible to use because of the rough waters and timber.

They are also not suited to everyone’s fishing style. Emory’s Takahiro Omori said he has a forward scan unit, but because he prefers fishing shallow water with crankbaits it is not as important for him.

“Most of the time I don’t get as much out of it as much as someone fishing grass or deep water. With my style of fishing, I don’t need to see the fish or the grass,” the Lowrance team member said.

That said, he does not have an issue with others using it.

“You can’t stop technology,” Omori said.

Sprague could be described as the next level up, someone who uses it at times, but is not dependent on it.

“There are events I never have it on during the event. Then there are events it is a must have. Whether you are hunting structure or rocks or fish, that it is when it is a tool. It is like a jig, a spinner or a buzz bait, you have to adapt to it,” Sprague said.

Sprague is more likely to fish a variety of water where the electronics can come into play.

“I like to fish offshore as much as I do on the bank. Any time I am fishing on a lake where the fish are in a winter pattern or post spawn, I am going to use mine for fish that are coming and going, or staging,” he added.

Sprague said he often uses the new electronics to see what the lake bottom is like in an area. He said he is more likely to use old-school electronic maps and the GPS feature on the map.

“That will tell you where you are and you can tell what is under you with the map if you know how to use it,” he said.

If conditions are right, they can also tell a fisherman which way a fish is facing and whether it reacts to a lure helping fishermen land suspended fish once thought uncatchable.

Because bass harvest rates on Texas lakes are so low, what is being used when the fish are caught is not an issue. It only becomes an issue in competitive fishing.

The biggest concern about the electronics seems to be in crappie fishing, with those who do not have them worried that those who do are overharvesting fish.

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission recently did a survey on the impact of the new technology on crappie fishing and deemed it a non-issue. AGFC interviewed about 1,000 fishermen on 700 boats. About a third used forward-imaging technology.

They found both groups kept about the same sized fish, the fishermen with the advanced technology kept 42% of the fish they caught compared to 62% of those without, and that only a small percentage of all those interviewed actually brought in the state’s limit of 30 fish.

Local guides regularly say that while they are able to locate fish with their electronics, they often have trouble catching them, and seldom catch every fish off one tree or brush pile.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Inland Fisheries’ biologists have repeatedly said they see no issue with the electronics at this point because crappie are so prolific.

As with things like phones, computers, trucks and boats, the question is what is next with fishing electronics. Sprague said he sees more refinements before big advances.

“I do feel like for the time being the technology that is out is here. There is still a lot of work to be done on that tech to improve it and make better like upgrading software, improving transducers or cone size to get a better image, I know there are some things all companies producing them will be working on,” Sprague said.

Under the right conditions there is no doubt electronics can put fishermen where the fish are. If anything, it reduces the time spent searching unproductive waters, but it still doesn’t mean they are going to always get them in the boat. In fact, one of the comments from fishermen at MLF’s Stage One tournament on Lake Fork is that they could see plenty of fish on their electronics, but could not get them to bite.

But one pro echoed the sentiments of all fishermen when talking about the tool, “We are here to catch fish, not go fishing.”