Maggiesmaster

After paying $430 and shipping my ‘defective’ transducer, Garmin sent me a refurbished one. Hooked it up, took it out, and it still reads in reverse! If I turn the trolling motor 180 degrees, I’m able to see my lure in the water. I placed a call to Garmin support, but was on hold until well after 5:00 pm. I’ll call tomorrow morning. Does anyone have any ideas??

Well, I finally installed the latest update sent by Garmin, the panopticon still reads backward. After calling Garmin again, the tech said the transducer compass is going bad, and the only remedy is another transducer. They can send me a refurbished one with a 90 day warranty for $400. Ouch!

Yes. This is what happens.

I contacted Garmin support, and they suggested restoring the default settings, then recalibrating the compass. I tried that, and the transducer still showed reverse. They then offered to send me an updated card with the latest software to install. . They said the only other alternative is a transducer, which is $400. Stay tuned! When I get to shallower water, the transducer still shows deeper water, unless I reverse the direction of the trolling motor (where the transducer’s mounted). Also, the only way I can see my lure sinking is when the transducer position’s reversed.

My Garmin Livescope is showing reverse; when I get to the shore, I have to reverse the trolling motor to indicate shallow water. Has anyone else had this problem; I’ve calibrated the compass successfully.

I fish a lot of barely submerged timber, and find you can ‘float’ floating jerkbaits over logs without snagging.

I’ll add my voice to the choir of guys recommending pad’s and urinals! Best one I’ve found is a cut off Clorox container; works great!

Instead of the Alberto, I use the Shin knot ( it’s on Google). It’s a bit thinner than any Alberto knot I’ve tied, and I’ve never had it come loose. I use a 12# flouro leader tied to 30# braid.

Fishing before a storm is great! During rain is ok too, but NOTduring lightning. We were fishing with a guide while it was raining all day. When it started lightning we said “we’re going in”, paid him his fee plus a good tip & left.

Walmart made a line of their creature baits ‘Hammer Hog’, that were really tough-so tough you couldn’t set the hook through them, like you could do with Brush Hogs. What I did was to rest the hook point just barely inside the body, and that worked well. They were practically indestructible—you’d catch a limit on one bait. They were inexpensive also. Can’t find them at Walmart this year, though. Guess they were too good,

I take a lot of selfies alone with my bass; first, net the fish in a really big net with a long handle. After removing the hook, put the bass back in the net & keep it in the water ‘til you’re set up. Prop the iPhone on a good spot (such as a boat seat), set it to ‘selfie’ mode, with a timer setting, usually 3 seconds. Hit the button, take the fish from the net, picture snaps & release the bass. If you use rubberized netting, it’s none the worse for wear, and you’ll have a good shot.

Broke one of my favorites by setting the hook too hard on a nice bass—rod was too light for frog fishing; found that out the hard way!

I use both braid and mono—braid for worms, jigs, etc. and mono for crankbaits and top waters. In my experience, braid backlashes much less than mono. I soak mono with KDV conditioner and that helps. As others have said— if you hit a limb on the back cast, you’re screwed with both types of line😂!

I use the Shin knot for braid to leader connections; tighten smoothly & snugly with plenty of lube (spit!) and it won’t slip. At least not yet. Glenn, you don’t use a leader with your braid. Do you use yellow braid? I do, and don’t see how you can use yellow without a flouro or mono leader.

‘’As long as it’s kept at room temp. and out of sunlight, it’ll last forever.’ Bill Dance.

I’m in the market for a new worm rod. How does the Shimano Caius rod compare to others in it’s price point, such as Dobyn’s Fury series, etc?

Braid IS easier to cast than mono. One trick I do periodically is to remove the lures on my mono reels, then slowly let the line out behind a slowly moving boat and reel it in. KDV line conditioner works wonders on mono also.

Where do you get these?

I use a shin knot tying 10 lb braid to 6 lb flouro. It’s the easiest knot I’ve found, holds well and makes a tiny knot. I’m FAR from a ‘knot guru’, and can’t even tie a good palomar knot!

I’ve gone to 30 lb yellow braid with a 5’ flouro leader, tying on another leader when it gets down to about 3’ long. Yellow braid fades, but still is really easy to see. Braid casts a lot easier than mono and doesn’t have memory. I use a Shin knot to tie the braid to flouro. I still have mono on rods I use for surface lures & crankbaits.

I use mesh rod covers to keep lines from tangling. I make my own with mesh from Amazon, shrink wrap, a stovetop gas flame & an empty beer bottle for a mold. It’s on YouTube.

I’ve found the Shin knot better than the Alberto. It seems to be a smaller knot, runs through guides smoother and is easier to tie.

I lost a couple of rod sleeves the same way….don’t have a solution other than to leave them off in this situation.

Some apparatus that ‘welded’ the mono in a loop; looked like snake oil to me. Guess it was, because I haven’t seen it advertised in several years.

Quick story: A good friend (unfortunately deceased) and I were bass fishing, and he hooked the biggest bass either of us had ever seen. Dennis, bless his heart, could not tie a simple improved clinch knot even after I showed him a number of times. As he got the bass to the boat, the knot came untied! This was the only time I ever saw a grown man cry! Later, I was reading an ad in Bassmaster for a ‘no fail’ hook attachment, that cost $200. I said “Dennis, you need to buy this. Wouldn’t you have paid $200 for that big bass?” He replied “ nope, that’s too much, but I would’ve paid $100!”