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SCIENCE.TXT
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1993-04-03
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THE SCIENCE OF FISHING by Bill Clede (reprinted from March, 1991
OUTDOOR LIFE article with permission of author).
If you're a science fiction fan, like me, just imagine: It's a
lake you don't know very well. You're not sure of the techniques
that will work best under the conditions you find there. Along
with your tackle box and rods, you also put a briefcase into the
boat.
You open the briefcase to expose a portable computer. Calling up
the map program, you study a chart of the lake. You zoom in on
the likely looking spots to reveal greater detail of the growth
and the structure underwater. It shows you the weed beds, a
sunken wreck and a deep trough.
Then you bring up the Fish Expert program and enter the type of fish
you're after, the time of day, time of year, type of water, water
clarity and depth, wind and weather, the season, the spawning stage,
weed conditions, water temperature, type of bottom and whether the
barometer is rising or falling. The computer then tells you the
technique and type of bait most likely to succeed.
When you've boated your limit, you open up the computer again.
You bring up the Fish Expert program again and enter the day's
information into your log. It's a database that you can review
later to check what worked and what didn't.
Science fiction? Not anymore.
Today, computer mapping of streets, right down to house numbers,
is being used by surveyors and emergency service agencies. So why
not a computer charting lakes? The only reason why it hasn't been
done with fishing waters is because it's expensive and no one has
identified the market for such a product - until now.
Chester Ceille of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has found a willing audience
for his fishing program. He started with a program he calls
the Deer Expert System (See "High-Tech Hunting," OUTDOOR LIFE,
December, 1989), and what he learned from perfecting it, he applied
to his Fish Expert System.
A computer expert system is not quite artificial intelligence,
although it comes close. For every possible variable you enter,
there are many different answers. As you define the conditions more
specifically, the program homes in on fewer possible answers. When
you've told it all that it needs to know, the program displays the
best advice for catching fish.
For example, say that you're after largemouth bass. The program
covers largemouth bass, trout and walleyes so far. I defined a
sunny summer day on a river of moderate depth. The program suggested
that I stillfish or cast into shallows and weed beds, look for
structure and use topographic maps to find sharp breaks in contour.
If I defined the same circumstances for night, it suggests casting
or stillfishing with spinnerbaits or other vibration/sound lures,
trying the points where the bottom breaks sharply, then reminds me
that fish are more active at night. If I changed to the fall, the
program says to cast or stillfish backwater holes.
The program also covers boat control. Yes, I said BOAT CONTROL. When I
answered "no" to get past the fish species, it asked if I was won-
dering about boat control. I said "yes." Then the program asked about
conditions. I set up the same situation as above on a sunny bright
day with light winds. "Anchor upwind or upcurrent from where the fish
are," it said. "Drift back to the fish with the sun at your back."
Seems that fish don't look into the sun so they're less likely to see
your boat.
The Fish Expert's main menu gives you five file choices: general
overview, determine method (enter conditions), library, fishing logs
and exit.
The general overview is a help file to get you through the program.
The library is filled with information about line, lures, methods,
gear and tips from the professional fishermen.
Fishing logs is a collection of files where you can inventory your
rods, reels, lures, clothing, boat(s), motor(s), and electronics.
Another section prompts you to enter descriptions of the lakes you
fish so that you can refer to this information later. There's a
names file, which is an address/phone book of places and services
you may want to remember. And a notes section with tips on trip
planning. There's plenty of room for you adding your own notes, too.
The packing file is a checklist of all of those little things likely
to be forgotten when you pack for a trip. A quality file is a prod-
uctivity chart so that you can figure out the ratio of big fish for
particular waters. And there's even a section where you can keep all
of your favorite recipes.
You'll like the record section. Here, you enter our catch records:
date, waters, weather, species, size/weight, bait, time, method and
location. As this file builds, there's a search function so that you
can quickly find information on past activity at a particular body
of water. The safety file includes tips on what to do when you're
boating, wading, if you encounter lightning, as well as tips on sur-
vival and contents of a survival kit.
The last section, sources, is a bibliography. One of my favorite
sources of information has always been to strike up a conversation
with some salty-looking character at the launching ramp. It will
continue to be. That's what to put into your Fish Expert program,
besides your own observations and experience. If you're an active
fisherman, you will build up quite a base of helpful data in one
season.
Then, when you go back next year, you'll have all of that data at
your fingertips. You'll have forgotten what the old man said, but
the computer won't. You may remember the size lunker, but what
were the weather conditions that day?
If you have a computer, any computer, and a modem to hook into the
telephone line, you can try out a limited-capacity version the
Fish Expert System with just a phone call to CompuServe Information
Service. If you're not a subscriber, call 800-848-8199, ask for
representative #156 and tell 'em you want to join the Outdoor
Forum. They'll send out an IntroPak that lets you join free and will
also give you $15 worth of free time to get acquainted. The connect
time charge at 2,400 bauds per second (bps) adds up to 21.3 cents
a minute, but you quickly learn how to complete your business in a
few minutes. Then do our time-consuming reading and writing when
the charge clock isn't running.
When you've joined Outdoor Forum, leave a message for Bill Clede
(74736,165), and I'll tell you where to find the Fish Expert System.
If your computer is mute and you can't telecommunicate, contact
Strat-Tech, Inc., Box 1957, Milwaukee, WI 53201 (414-271-0980).