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Times change, technology evolves, while forward thinkers and pioneers change the way things are done, writes Livingston Lures’ Steven Paul (below right). That is difficult to argue with as you read this on a screen instead of a sheet of paper, much less etched into a stone tablet.
The same principle applies to fishing tackle. An old pike plug carved from a broom handle may carry a sense of nostalgia for bygone days and deserves a place of respect. Put it on the bookshelf. Hang it in the tackle room. Appreciate what it represented. But ask an angler in their prime whether they would rather fish that relic or a modern lure designed with today’s materials, actions, hooks and technology, and the answer is obvious.
Like it or not, this is how technology ages. Ask your flip phone, PalmPilot or, dare I say, typewriter.
History should be studied and respected, but Livingston Lures has never been interested in living in it. The company continues to look toward to what comes next, and it is undeniable that forward-facing sonar has become part of modern fishing and will remain a major part of its future.
That matters because forward-facing sonar has changed more than how anglers locate fish. It has changed how they present a lure, how they watch fish react and how quickly they can determine whether a presentation is working. If anglers are changing the way they fish, lure companies should be changing the way they design.
Livingston Lures has taken that position seriously. Its Forward Facing Sonar Certified programme is built around designing and testing lures for use with systems such as Garmin LiveScope and Lowrance ActiveTarget. The goal is not simply to make a lure visible on the screen, but to maximise a strong, clean return while still building a lure around the action and performance that makes fish strike.
That begins inside the bait. Livingston uses proprietary components within each lure to optimise its performance with forward-facing sonar while also incorporating EBS™ technology. Those proprietary components and their configuration contribute to the strong returns anglers need when tracking a lure at distance with forward-facing sonar.
But seeing the lure is only half the equation. The lure still has to catch the fish.
That is where I believe the conversation around forward-facing sonar sometimes gets backward. Electronics do not replace lure design, action or an angler’s ability to make a fish commit. They simply allow us to see more of what is happening. A bad presentation does not become good simply because you can watch a fish reject it in real time.
Livingston’s predator lures are therefore designed around both sides of modern fishing: the physical action predators respond to and EBS™ technology that adds a biologically relevant sound cue, while proprietary internal components are configured with forward-facing sonar visibility in mind.
Fishing will continue to change. It always has. The companies that matter ten years from now will not be the ones complaining that anglers have changed. They will be the ones building better tools for the way anglers actually fish.
T: +1 210 410 2041
erick.arnoldson@livingstonlures.com
www.livingstonlures.com
