What did we do before loran, GPS and color machines?
By CAPT. MEL BERMAN, 970-WFLA 

Park yourself behind the helm of an offshore fishing machine of the 90s, and you’d probably think someone had shanghaied you to the flight deck of a 747 jetliner.  With Radar, GPS, color and LED machines, GPS tracking autopilots – all those computerized whizbangs truly levels the playing field in the deep blue. So efficient are these space age gadgets that the fish simply don’t stand a chance. 

It’s all very democratic. Anyone with minimal fishing skills, a basic knowledge of how to run these user-friendly devices, plus a book full of choice coordinates can be almost guaranteed a ‘skunked-free’ offshore day. 

One might ask, “How in the heck did we ever catch a fish in the old days?” What did we ever do before loran, GPS and color machines? And are those time-tested fish-finding techniques of yesteryear still valid in today’s electronically enhanced world?  As my late friend from New England, "The Canoeman" would say, “you betcha!” 

Come with me now to those days of yore – when men were men, and had to posses inordinate fish-finding skills to bring back a loaded cooler. 

I can provide a perspective from my own offshore rookie days back in the 70s. The closest thing to a marine electronic device aboard my 24-foot walk-around Wellcraft was a nifty Gemtronics paper machine. Flip it on and a small stylus would whir around and around, scratching out a primitive representation of the bottom contours below.

Unfortunately, that old scratcher didn’t guarantee anything.  While helping locate harder bottom, ledges, wrecks and coral outcroppings, one still had to locate the honey holes -- places where the fish were. Those old fishing methods worked exceptionally well for the handful of dedicated grouper diggers motivated and patient enough to learn them.

The most common method of locating fish was trolling ‘till you find them. The grouper hunters deployed a #6 planer, fitted with aircraft cable, a rubber shock absorber, plus a length of heavy rope, that would be attached to the heaviest cleat on the stern. 

A 30-foot length of 60-pound test monofilament was affixed to a heavy snap swivel at the base of the planer. On the other end was the angler’s lure of choice. In those days, many preferred a skirted Sea Witch, with a strip of mullet attached to its dual hooks. Others trolled up the big gags deploying a large plug, such as Rebels, Rapalas or Bombers. My own favorite in those days was a 7-inch chartreuse Long-A Bomber, with a small lip.

Larger spoons, like the Clark’s No. 5 Spoon Squid or Tony Acetta Pet Spoon also proved to be outstanding trolling baits.  My friend, St. Petersburg’s Capt. Bill Sweet enhanced the attraction of his spoons by painting them white. Whether spoons or plugs, the trolling-to-find-rouper technique was identical.

The first order of business was to decide which direction, and how deep the angler wished to go – an often-arbitrary decision. However, during fall and spring with moderate water temperatures, bottom fishers would work the shallow rocks. During the colder or hotter months, grouper diggers knew that  the best action would be in deeper waters, where temperatures tend to be more consistent.

Locating good chunky bottom, reefs wrecks, or other structure that held fish was critical. In those days -- sans electronics – this was the ultimate challenge for the grouper  troopers.  More on that later.

Once it was determined that there was some good bottom below, the boat would be slowed down to about 4 knots, and the big #6 planer(s) deployed.

Slow-trolling over the hard structured area, a ‘jug person’ would stand by ready to toss the marker. In those days, the jug-of-choice was an empty Clorox bottle fitted with a length of line appropriate for the depth being worked, plus a lead weight tied at the end. The lead would help unravel the line and keep the jug stationary on the bottom.

As soon as a grouper nailed the trolled bait, the ‘jug person’ heaved the jug overboard marking the spot. Then, the skipper would make a 180, trolling back over the same bottom in an attempt to pick up another fish. More often than not, another strike would be achieved, and a second jug would be deployed.

Next step was to ‘motor fish.’ The skipper would hold the vessel over the area between the two markers by putting it in and out of gear. Then one of the angers would drop a bait down to see if they will get a hungry grouper strike. Once the convincing evidence of  fish down below, they’d proceed with anchoring up the vessel so that the stern is held over the area between the two jugs.

Now, back to finding a likely grouper spot. In those days, when grouper diggers did not have the benefit of any kind of depth sounder, they used some fairly effective hard bottom finding methodology.