Introduction
It
is no secret that technology in the bass fishing industry has
changed dramatically over the past several years. There are scores
of new "High
Tech" products that are intended to help us catch more bass.
Two of the most obvious would be the new high resolution color
sonar units that are so incredibly accurate in their detail and
fish display that you can almost see the color of the bass eyes
below your boat. Or the advanced GPS units built right into our
boats with lake mapping capabilities by geographical regions
that can help you navigate lakes you have never been on before.
These units even offer fishing hot spots and can record hundreds
of waypoints, trails and more. If you are reading this review
and your an avid bass fisherman you know exactly what I'm talking
about.
If
I was a betting man (which I'm not) I would almost wager that
many of you will also admit that you don't get any where near 100%
out of these high tech tools because they require considerable adjusting
and fiddling with to make them perform at their peak. Right?
You see many fishermen just don't take the time to do what's necessary
to get the max from these units and I guess that will always
be the case. We spend considerable $$$$$ on technology that can help
us be better fishermen but then don't take the time to make it work
properly.
But
there is a tool that I would safely say 75% or more of all we
bass fishermen carry all the time. We carry it on our boats and in
our tow vehicles. We already operate it at high efficiency levels
and we are way past the learning curve. And that is our Cell Phones. By
now I can already hear someone say " The cell waves have fried
Rick's brain. How can our cell phones help us to catch more bass?
I'm glad you asked......Let me explain.
What
if I told you that there is a service that offers to you the
ability to access instant- real time-area lake specific (Just incase
you missed that AREA LAKE SPECIFIC) (1) Current (2) Forecast weather
information 24/7 from your cell phone? How valuable would
that information be to you? You and I both know that having the
ability to keep track of changing weather on the exact lake you
are fishing can make a big difference in how you approach the
lake. It can make a huge difference in your safety and the numbers
of bass that you put into the boat. Here's a little background
information on how I use WeatherWave.
Sometime
ago I talked with Sande Smith of WeatherWave Inc, and Sande
explained in great lengths to me how this new technology works. He
set me up to test his service for several weeks here in middle Tennessee.
Being a full time guide, having the ability to call in (or)
get specific warning calls from WeatherWave straight to my boat
about approaching bad weather caught me attention immediately.
The
first thing we needed to do was to identify three areas that
I wanted to keep track of the weather conditions. This was easy to
do since I guide full time on two lakes, which are Old Hickory
(Gallatin Tn.) and Tim's Ford Lake (Winchester Tn.) I also
added my home in Woodbury Tennessee. This was accomplished simply
by entering the zip codes of these cities on my WeatherWave profile
sheet via my PC at home.
When
you get into the WeatherWave web site you will find that you
can choose from over 50 different advisories and warning types. You
can
choose the exact times that you want warning calls to come automatically
to you. For instance I only want the warning calls to come to
me for Old Hickory and Tim's Ford during the normal hours I would
be
going to and from the lake. 4:00am to 4:00pm, all the other hours
including the week ends are blocked. I customized it to my exact
needs.
My
normal week day routine is make coffee at 3:00am-get dressed-eat
a bagel and call WeatherWave on my way out the drive way headed
to the lake. Another great feature is your ability to access
weather for any U.S. city. This is fantastic for those of you that
fish a Bass Circuit. Let me give you an example. Let's say that you
are going to fish Center Hill Lake here in middle Tennessee. All
you have to do is call the toll free WeatherWave number, enter in
the zip code of let's say Smithville Tennessee and presto....you
can choose from current or forecast conditions. Maybe you are going
to fish a tournament on a lake in Texas...just enter in the nearest
cities zip code and you will have instant access to real time
weather information.
Several
weeks ago on a Tim's Ford guide trip I wanted to make a run that
would have been almost the entire length of the lake. The morning
forecast called for heavy thunderstorms and possible high winds and
even small hail. Before I made the run I called into WeatherWave
and the update said the storm was emanate at any time. I chose
not to make the run and less than an hour later it hit
us full force. That's what I'm talking about-real time lake specific
weather information.
Conclusion
There
are so many features to this service that it would be better
for you to visit their site and check it out. You can do this by
going
to our site at www.tennesseebassguides.com and
go to the links page or directly to WeatherWave at www.weatherwave.com .
Currently there is a 14 day FREE trail available-so if your interested
now is the time to move. If you have specific questions about
how I as a full time guide use this service feel free to contact
me at rickm@dtccom.net or
through our web site. I will be happy to help you. Thanks for
reading about this great new service that can help every bass
fisherman to
stay safe and catch more fish. Rick McFerrin
