Click on the images for a larger view!

The two fishing machines I use (and the spare I carry) are the heart of Virtual Reality Fishing!. They produce the illusion of fishing by pulling on the line or allowing it to go slack, in a way which mimics what the angler sees the fish doing on the screen. The machines contain a special digital motor which can change directions very rapidly (like a fish!) Both fishing machines receive the same “orders” from one of the sound tracks of the DVD/VHS. These signals were painstakingly programmed by an expert to correspond, action for action, with what the visual image presents to the angler. (The other sound track provides ordinary audio.) The players must play the fish correctly and maintain the correct line tension throughout, to get a high score. The fishing machines sense how much tension the anglers are applying an compare that with the proper amount of pull. The closer to the correct tension, the faster the player’s score goes up.  Besides scoring how well the proper line tension is maintained, the machines can also instruct on keeping the right tension. Each has four lights in a row, two green in the center, and a red light on the left and right. When both green lights are illuminated, the tension is perfect (for the time being!) and the user should continue doing whatever they were doing. If the red light on the left is lit, there is too little tension on the line and the player should reel in (or reel in faster). If the red light on the right is lit, there is too much tension and the user should give the fish some line by either reeling backwards or freewheeling. (For descriptions of these techniques, see Types of Fish.)