LAKE PLACID, N.Y.— Fishermen's lies, those innocent accounts of fabricated catches that grow by size and number since fish don't always bite, could soon be a thing of the past on ESPN Outdoors.

The ESPN Great Outdoors Bass Fishing competition is also the testing ground for breakthrough satellite computer technology that has never been seen in televised coverage of such events.

In fact, the scope of what this technology is capable of delivering could potentially push the envelope of how competitive bass fishing events are covered for television and interactive media. If all goes as planned, the real truth and nothing but the truth about the how, when, and where of what the 10 bass fishing athletes are doing on the Saranac Chain of Lakes will be recorded in real time using GPS satellite technology.

The down and dirty details about how every fish was caught will be punched into handheld computers operated by GO Games camera crews following the anglers.

Within minutes after the fish is caught, details that include color and size of the lure and even the size of the fishing line will be beamed through a boat-mounted antenna to a satellite in outer space. The satellite will send the signal back to Earth at a base station manned by ESPN computer experts stationed at The Oval events venue.

From there, the information will be downloaded into a computer database for future reference and possible use by the GO Games TV production crew. If all goes as planned, the system could be fully operational in time for the upcoming CITGO BASS Masters Classic in Alabama.

"What we are trying to do is bring real-time information to the ESPN audience," said Mike McKinnis, producer of The BASSMASTERS TV show on ESPN2 that will air live coverage of bass fishing's world championship. "NASCAR uses a similar technology to track cars in real time and we're testing it at the Great Outdoor Games for future use with bass fishing."

At the Classic, the world championship of bass fishing that will be determined July 25-27 on Lay Lake, the handheld IPAQ computers, which resemble the common personal desktop assistant or PDA, will be aboard all of the ESPN Outdoors camera boats following the 50 qualifiers.

Tentative plans call for the information to be downloaded into a computer database like the testing underway at this week's GO Games. Real-time news about how the anglers are doing as they compete on the lake could even be made available to information-starved fishing fans.

"What we are considering is providing some of the spectators with handheld wireless devices that can display the real-time information," says Anthony Beasley, ESPN's director of broadcast automation systems. "And some of the information could also be available on espn.com."

He adds, "What we are trying to do is eventually build a historical database where an angler could go to an interactive website and retrieve information about a particular lake where they want to go fishing. What they could do is review all of the places, lures, and any other useful information before they even arrive at the lake."

And the information would be the real thing. And that's no lie.