As a self-confessed gadget freak I cannot help picking up new and exciting bits of kit and playing with them.

Having broken more expensive bits of electrickery than I care to remember, it was a real delight to get hold of some relatively indestructible high-tech toys.

I am talking serious technology here. Not communications or business technology, not internet or mobile computing technology. Fishing technology!

It all began when I dropped into my favourite Brighton tackle shop, The Fisherman's Friend and had a chat with Dave Sprigg the proprietor. We started discussing the way fishing had changed over the past 20 years and how, in some cases, technology is taking the place of technique.

Gone are the days of quill floats and split-cane rods. The average angler is now using a high-tech carbon fibre rod that is many times stronger and lighter than any natural material and is using bait that is scientifically formulated to provide exactly the right combination of attractors and bulk feed.

Many fishermen now regard bait technology as akin to alchemy. Bait gurus have sprung up and a whole new industry revolves around the manufacture of esoteric "boilies" (little round blobs of boiled paste).

"The subject of bait is a tricky one," said Dave. "You might well have the right combination of ingredients but that doesn't actually guarantee you will catch anything."

Technology is even dictating how the angler fishes.

Forget about warm summer days with a tartan blanket on the river bank and the sun beating down. Forget the mosquitos buzzing gently around your ears and luke-warm tea cooling in a scuffed thermos flask. Nowadays really big fish are hunted in dead of night with the acrid smell of Jungle Formula bug repellant wafting and mixing with the frequently evil stench of boiled bait.

"Proper" carp anglers treat fishing like a military campaign with green or camouflaged tents to sleep in, the multiple rods and reels racked up on stainless steel rod-pods, gleaming in the moonlight like automatic weapons. Grim stuff.

You have probably guessed that this type of madness does not come particularly cheap. A dedicated carp fisherman now expects to pay at least £2,000 for his basic fishing outfit and many regard that as a low estimate. Match fisherman, often regarded by serious carp anglers as poor relations, will also shell out a small fortune for their fishing kit.

Dave said: "A lightweight, match-quality, carbon fibre roach pole can cost as much as £8,000 - that equates to around £400 per foot."

Electronic carp buzzers that alert the angler to a "bite" cost from £25 to £150 each and most carp fisherman use three costly carbon rods, three expensively-engineered reels and three buzzers at a time.

There is even a trend towards using small radio-controlled boats to carry ground-bait out to the fishing area where it is tipped out using a remote control.

These boats are really pricey, starting at around £400 and going as high as £1,200 for a model equipped with lights and an echo-sounder to tell how deep the water is.

Dave Sprigg was keen to add that fishing does not need to cost huge amounts of money and a beginner can start out for less than £100.

My own observations lead me to believe that this is quite true, but I have to say that it is very easy to get carried away with fishing technology, especially if it looks really cool and has lots and lots of flashing lights.

The Fisherman's Friend is based at Islingword Road in Brighton, call 01273 681010.