Jon/ Fishing boats... Teach me.

Is this your lake?

 

Um. I think that the right lake.

 

Well i stopped got tags and registered the boat need to grab a battery and we should be water ready....

 

Get a net to grab the big'uns when they're near the boat.

 

Got one. Came with the boat.

 

That lake is shallow! Looks like you’re going to put in over on the left where I highlighted. I’d start with the spots that I circled. Wouldn’t be bad to get a spook or some kind of walking topwater since the lake isn’t very deep.

 

Yea,i known its not very deep. It has a 7mph speed limit i believe because of how showllow it is.

 

Better leave a day early to get to those spots with a trolling motor.

 

Got the biggest deep cycle battery interstate had. Will run 240 mins straight at a 25 amp draw.

 

Side note: Navionics app is flippin awesome, I have it on my phone/tablet. Modern electronics in general are pretty unreal. I remember back in the day having depth finders to find drop offs/flats/shoals etc, and trying to triangulate your position using trees on shore (always picked birch because they stood out). Now you can sit on the couch scroll through a chart, pick a bunch of way points that look promising, and have your trolling motor automatically take and hold you there. And while there you can down scan, side scan, and use a camera to find out exactly whats down there.

While not necessary, you might look into getting a small modern fish finder with gps (mines an lowrance elite 5). Might make those trips with the boy a little more productive (to help hold attention) and also it give hope and something to do when the fishing is slow..... I can't be the only guy who's trolled around staring at a screen whispering "here fishy fishy, come out where ever you are....."

 

Go with a Garmin or Humminbird. Lowrance misses WAY too much. I just swapped out this year from a Lowrance Elite 7 HDI, and will never go back.

And yes, I absolutely try talking to the fishies as I’m on patrol.

 

Anybody ever heard of a buzzbait?

 

20-30 mins on a trolling motor. It’s a very small lake.

 

Yes. Get one. Black, put a Zoom frog or Chunk as a trailer.

 

You need to make sure your tackle can handle the lures.

 

I have a buddy at work who tournament fishes and says the same thing. Garmin, or Humminbird. Got a new boat last fall, and I want to get something new, and better, so I've been shopping. Still don't know what any of it does, or how to use it though lol.

My dad bought the Lowrance for him because he can use it in his little boat, and for ice fishing (flasher) also. I've got a humminbird flasher for ice fishing, and he wanted something different because 2 humminbirds don't play nice together in close proximity. I run into that with my buddy all the time with his humminbird even 20 ft away. With my ice 45, and dads lowrance, there's no issue even beside each other in the same hut.

 

I’m in the Lowrance camp. They all work great but I haven’t seen anything that compares to Lowrances 2D. Mega is over hyped IMO and unless you’re running a Solix 12 or 15 the screen isn’t good enough to take advantage of the higher frequency. If you do go Humminbird I’d stay with the Helix series in a 9 or 10, these are great units. Every single Solix I’ve used both on water and off has been frustratingly glitchy. They’re getting better but need more time IMO.

Has anyone seen the new Garmin livevü or whatever it’s called. Pretty cool.

I’m running Carbons at the bow and console. They are awesome. I had Helix’s from another boat but for me it’s night and day when you start marking spots and ease of use. Plus 2D is far far superior.

If you want something just to get started. I have an Gen1 Helix 5 laying around that you can have for $100 plus shipping.

 

iCast is coming up. I’d wait to see what they’re bringing out and then make a decision. Right now, Garmins high end or Lowrance HDS Carbons are where it’s at. Like I said earlier, Helix’s are nice but are getting long in the tooth. Unless you have access to a Humminbird guy all the time, I wouldn’t even consider a Solix right now. Humminbirds are cheaper so a lot of people get them and I get that. They work and do a great job, but HDS Gen 3 or Carbons are much much better all around.

Yes, I spend a lot of time idling and mapping. Especially when it’s a tough bite or it’s brutal hot like it has been for the past week here. A good time to find some brush piles, timber lines, etc. The fishing was tough this weekend. Pulled 9.8 and it only took 11 to win. Never did get that one good bite.

 

I’ve got a new Garmin with the panoptix. Unbelievable. You can literally watch the fish come up and take your babe on the screen. As far as the charts and graphs, Lowrance can’t touch it.

 

Yea! I’ve seen the videos. Looks really cool. How far out can you see? I can see fish taking bait and following down while drop shoting but nothing like looking over a flat or anything. What unit are you running it on? I was thinking of adding a 16 at the console and taking the 12 up front. But I may switch it all up to Garmin.