BigEbass

Yeah, at least as far as what I have read so far, I have not seen anything reagarding customer service issues or product reliability with HB - there were some pretty angry folks out there about lowrances customer service and they knew names and all....Having said that there were plenty of people that had great experience with lowrance....I am leaning toward HB thought I must say so far - I will keep researching and let you all know anything I find out. \ THanks for the educational sources everyone - I will read throught them very soon.

wow that is some survival story need....glad you are here with us today ;D

Also the bass pro shops guy today when I called and spoke briefly with him was leading me away from lowrance toward HB...he was concerned about a lawsuit goin on that HB has against lowrance? Patent? and possible if they lose, concerns about what would come of that as far as warantees - I think he was likely wrong in this thought - set him strait for me people?

I have read through some of these forums and it is very much back and forth guys....why is it back and forth so much....perhaps cause both of these units to a great job.... I dont own one YET, but my assessment based on tons of the images put out there is that lowrance images look overall "cleaner".....but one post on another site asks the more important question - how does this slightly better clarity mean catching more fish - winning more tournaments?? I have seen some great images of stuff from both brands and I am convinced this is a cannon vs. nikon like argument..... Will both the lowrance or HB units pick up what we would see as a suberged log, rockpile, stump, roadbed, railroad track (there are some in lay lack I learned from one of my patients today), etc....will they not both essentially find the creekbeds, ditches, drop offs that surround as as we are searching?? This is a question I pose, not because I know the answer - I have seen the individual images all over the net now, but I will let someone answer this question. Again, my intention in buying one of these units is to cruise an area of my local waters and find pertitinent structure, mark it, then fish it....Does it matter one unit can resolve a #12 swivel better than the other or a tennis ball better than the other?? Perhaps for the moste elite of the elite you could make that argument?? But for a lowly basser like me that has no clue about all that stuff underneath me - I am certain both will reveal more than enough?? Again, that is my thoughts so far in all this mish mosh of reading. I plan on doing what was stated before - go to my local store - look at em - price em out - and make a decision and roll with it - I did it with my SLR last year - bought the nikon never looked back - I am sure this will be the same.... Having said that, the one group of loud voices I have seen on these sites were people ticked at lowrance's customer service - but I am not sure how far to take these individuals issues and was it just a transient thing....?? My head is spinning just thinking about it.... I will add this quetions too that adds to the oringinal question: For someone buying into one of these deals - what all stuff are we going to have to buy - multiple tranducers? cables? etc?? Also, what screen size do people recommend - I am tempted to splurge and get something moderate in size - but it tacks on huge to the cost - I am wondering if the smaller one for my purpose will serve me fine (perhaps get the small one for my console to start and later get a big un for the bow )? wow, sorry, totally hijacked the thread - please disregard if you would like to - but hopefully my questions are others as well at this time....

I am in the same situation right now - I have read through the yahoo forum and other forums. In my reading of all of the posts I have read so far, it is so d**n confusing. What I got out of reading all the crap was a few main points that stick out in my head - and others on here that own these units, please add to these points with your experiences. 1) image clarity - seems like many believe that the lowrance HDS produces a better looking image - it looks "cleaner" - and at least the screenshots I have seen seems to show such - however, the HB images are not bad, and there are those on the net that make the point that they will both essentially do the same thing from a functional standpoint and produce good quality results. 2) Reliability/service.....it seemed like a mish mosh from the pages and pages I had read - both seem to overall not have major complaints, although there were a very vocal group of folks out there that have had their share of problems that screamed about lowrances customer service - but there were plenty that also said that this problem was "transitional" and many said their experience so far has been reliable.... 3) Cost - I am not sure, but it seems like HB may be a bit cheaper? 4) ease of use - seems most people felt they were easy enough to learn to operate in general, but they both seem to have alot of advanced functionality to sink our teeth into It was hard for me to read through all this stuff and come out with any kind of clear idea....I started to think back to when I bought my first digital SLR - this whole lowrance vs. HB discussion starts to sound alot like cannon vs. nikon....??? I called bass pro shops in Leeds, AL (I live in birmingham) today and asked the guy in that department some questions - he could not talk long cause he had another customer - he never called me back...anyway - he stated he felt that lowrance looked better too but that HB was just as good too - and he stated some concern about a new lawsuit that HB has against lowrance and suggested that if they lost lowrance perhaps would not honor warantees - I pushed him on this assertion cause I find it likely to be bogus - someone clear the air here?? As a newB basser myself in the past 2 years (got my boat just 8 months ago) and starting to venture out on my own and find structure - I really want this new technology - I presume it will hasten my knowledge of important structure to fish....I feel very deficient in fully understanding all the ins and outs of this stuff and at times get lost in terminology....does someone have a really comprehensive source for total idiots like me to read from start to finish to become versed in this mess?? I am gonna drop the dough by april, but at this point I need to learn a heck of alot more - Not to hijack the thread, just adding this cause I assume you will have the same concerns - if not then pardon my intrusion.

hahahah, It isnt a bowl is it I somehow remember it different in my head from years ago....anyway - I guess my question still stands - without electronics of any sort, am I best to fish perhaps the dam area throughout the water colomn and perhaps points and shallow areas - around visible weeks that I can work around - I would like some specific suggestions if anyone has any good ones regarding spots on this little lake I cannot decide in my mind how to approach my search for the bass there - at that time of year in SW VA, were are the fish at in their cycle of life anyway - I am not sure what is going on as far as water temp - prespawn?, spawn? - where do you think I should focus on the lake specifically?

So I live in Alabama. I will be going to visit family in southwest VA (tazewell, VA) in may this year. There is a nice little public lake near there that gets little pressure from bass fisherman (mostly trout I think). Its name is lake Witten - I will not be bringing my bass boat up there, plan on renting a jon boat and bringing a trolling motor to fish it with my brother. The lake is pretty clear as I recall, very little cover, mainly rocky edges and some vegetation on the edges - I think it is pretty deep near the dam side, but I am not sure of the depth exactly. Without a depth finder, I presume I will have to fish the edges - they seem quite steep in general - there is a realtively shallow flatter area on one side - other than that I am not sure about the bottom features. I think there are a couple points, but it is pretty much a big bowl when you look at it. Any advice for me everyone - would like to impress my brother or at least not embarrass myself.

Sounds good, but pricey! If you havent been to triple D ranch (about 1 hour west of tuscaloosa) - I hightly recommend - 75 bucks per head per day - call in advance to reserve - the owners are the coolest people - we catch em all day 2-4 pounders - always someones catches a 5-6 pounder (once a 8 lber last year) - I have unfortunately not cleared 5 lb fish yet :'( - only been fishing for under 2 years - my day will come. You will have to post some pics of your catches on here when you get back - take care.

That looks awesome - hey everyone - I have tried to go to that yahoo forum but it seems to be more geared towards people that already have one. Where do I go to learn which one I should buy and which specific unit would be fore me? Including lowrance vs. Humminbird....?

sorry I hijacked the thread a bit....thanks for the advice guys - my primary problem is finding the weeds at this point - real shallow I can obviously, but mostly below 3-4 feet in my local waters you cant see jack - my sonar that came on my boat (bass tracker 16 ft) is pretty crummy I think - I really cant differentiate much except for depth and contours - so I do try to just drag the bottom and rip through weeds - problem down here afer spring is that weeds become much more prominent and thick and when I cannot see it clearly, you get too think into them and too much stuff on the lure then - I am looking into new electronics this summer and get some marker buoys to better find submerged weedlines and workem....thanks for the advice guys - I will be workin on it hardcore starting this weekend!

I think as a relative beginner I likely find myself making blind casts relatively speaking - I try to fish "good spots" - points, flats, humps, around cover, etc.) but sometimes when I am in a good area I try to simply fan cast out across points or in such an area as KVD was in - likely I would not have "mined" it as well as he did as I would not know the smallest best areas within a given "good spot" - I will be much more critical of such in the future..... Side note: I was impressed with Russ Lanes come back with his relocation - he made up some serious ground as I recall -

I am pretty new to boating - just got mine about 8 months ago - forgot the plug once But the worst thing I have done so far was leaving 4 rods unsecured laying next to the lower seats (between the gunnel and the passenger seat - we got motoring at about 45mph, neighbor driving, he plowed into an oncoming wake - if jolted the boat - thus jolting the rods, jolting enough that all for bounced upward then caught the wind and flew into the middle of lay lake in some 28 feet of water or so - never could retrieve them. I have never been so ticked - this was 4 basic rod/reels - my first ones for bass fishing - I had nickeled and dimed saving and buying them - and in an instant - gone > But, my awesome neighbor gave some 3 hand me down combos that kept me going for a while while I replaced them - thanks Troyce!!!

Makes perfect since - but my question was: are there really many pros (for example in the classic) who really "chunk-n-wind" in this sort of "thoughtless" manner? These guys/gals who qualify for a classic surely are all pretty versatile folks?

I am no expert and only get to fish very little at this point in my young busy life. But can I just pose this general thought about this deep vs. shallow argument. Bass live in deep and shallow - true? You can catch many bass in the shallows, and you can catch big ones there too? You can also do the same at spots more than a cast from the bank fore sure including in "deep" water. But does one really as a generalization beat out the other? Are the biggest bass caught solely close to shore or far off shore? Are there not big huge bass caught in both historicall (anyone have such data)? Surely big bass will move to all sorts of spots depending on many many factors guys right? Example - I am sure some of you have caught some really big ones out offshore right? I have read bill siemantels book and he firmly believes you can cover all areas to catch big bass - and he seems pretty good at it - he methodically casts banks on shore and structure off shore and has caught big ones on both (including stopping his boat and fishing from the bank). He mentions too in his book that bass may come up from the depths to slam something on topwater if the opportunity presents itself. So fish it shallow or deep - I dont care - but I do think that there is value in being able to know the structure that is "off the banks" right? I think this is like a black vs. white argument perhaps in a world that is more grey?

Now children, play nice or timeout

I live in B-ham, never fished these lakes before - how much does it cost? I have fished triple D ranch lakes a few times in Boelegee which was mucho fun - always very productive.

Welcome fellow alabamian I live in B-ham. Take care!

The question sorta makes me sad cause my parents split up when I was seven and they really have not been there for me mentoring and "spending those days on the lake" etc - when I was 5-6 we would bank fish a bit (my father included) and I have fond memories of that, but it never really took - but just 2 years ago my 68 year old neighbor bass junky got me into it - invited me out - mentored me - and I really appreciate him for that - he is a real buddy and a great mentor for me in fishing! But it kinda makes me sad too cause I wish my dad had showed a portion of the same interest - but people are not perfect I guess - take the good, leave the bad. I love bass fishing now - it is such an escape for me - I think my only bass buddy and neighbor for that.

Are there many anglers that really ignore on the whole the "deeper" water and only just "beat the bank" ....this is a question becuase I am just starting to learn about pro bass fisherman. Surely the top pros make it this far due to their versatility across the country in different waters which I would think force them to fish at various depths in various regions in various conditions? Could be wrong though...?

The whole concern regarding too much familiarity is person to person dependent I think - some people need more alone time - some people less - I like my weekends to myself sometimes, but I also spend quite a bit of time with my wife and do not mind it really at all - we lived in very close quarters during college, in all the same classes in pharmacy school - studied together non stop and we were always still crazy about each other - not to say that this is for everyone with personalities likely varying, but it works for me fine and others too. Yeah, I opted to wait till the spring to fish more with the wife due to this issue - doubt any newcomer is likely to take to it right off in tougher fishing conditions - now that I have learned to catch them more, I dont mind fewer bites in the winter - I feel I have to work for them harder and feel like an accomplishment when I do get em - but fore a brand new person, it does not build any confidence much at all IMO. Very cool that your wife was wanting to "make one last cast" - thats the spirit!!!

hahaha - ditto man - I had been very interested in this before when I saw some pictures in a magazine or two, but after seeing it at the BJCC in birmingham last weekend at the expo - the boatmonkey is also on my back. I am starting to get out on my boat on my waters by myself more - used to ride around with my neighbor and he usually sticks to spots he knows and rarely "deep" structure - I intend to get this technology on my humble fishing boat so that I can learn structure faster (I do understand it is not optimal for seeing fish per se). I am moonlighting this thursday and friday night (6pm-10pm) at CVS (I am a pharmacist) - I will quickly save up - PLan on buying it when I visit my inlaws in NJ in april - will take a quick trip to delaware and buy it (no sales taxes there ) I really need to read up though on what unit in specific I will want for myself (lowrance vs. hb and size and all that jazz)... But I am encouraged to take the dive at this point based on what seems to me pretty postive remarks by everyone across the board. CANNOT WAIT TO GET ONE - I just know that I will instantly become a pro with it....just kidding

wow, that is fascinating for sure!

Good idea - perhaps I will play some tapes or fishing videos while she is asleep....

Its all speculation likely - would need to see more studies to show this is a really big difference in the entire fishery of such a lake as lay lake - likely could have caught them in other creeks too....But I am speculating too

Whatever works for you doug - I am sure you spend other quality time with the Mrs