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im from Chihuahua Mexico, and we have been having some rain lately... in fact, the first 5 days of of July we got more rain than all 2012 rain convined... generally, rainy season is only July, but now it extended up to August, with some hard rains some days.... the weather has been changing really weird, one day you can have literally a thunderstorm, and you will wake up to a bluebird sky, and 3 days later, another storm... lakes are regaining their level, but they are still waaaay low, maybe 15-20 feet below.... since rain is getting more sporadic, we get to fish more this days than last month...

i would bring the wakeboard along... thats what we plan on doing next time we go to a bigger lake, fishi in the morning when everybody is still sleeping or hungover, then ski when everybody else is doing it, and fish again in the afternoon if it is possible...

well, Oteymc sent me a new transducer, thanx again Otey! yesterday i tried it, and, as you may have guessed, i am getting a signal now... it makes a clicking sound, something i hadnt noticed with the other transducer... plus, now im getting some signals, most of it was a flat black line, but i assume this was because it was out of the water... also the depth was not accurate, since i would move it 3 feet and it would read the same, it read about 4 feet regardless of the height i put it... and at first i was getting a temp reading but then it dissapeared. im assuming all these is because it was out of the water... so tonight im going to install the transducer in the transom, and tomorrow ill take it to the lake to see if i can get something.... thanx!!

thank you!! ill prepare my reel today and hopefully use it to get something tomorrow....

thanx... i assume to use the Alberto knot, which i dont know, to tie the mono backing to the braid?? this is the video i found about the knot, is it correct??

hey. last week i just purchased a spool of 30# braid. this will be the first time i use braid, as i have been using mono on my cranking rod, and fluoro on my worm rod... i plan on using the braid on the worm rod, wich is a Falcon Clark Wendlandt 6´6" MH, with a Quantum KVD reel. now, i have heard things about the braid digging into the guides, it slipping in the reel´s spool when trying to reel it in, or knots slipping. so before i spool my reel for a fishing trip this weekend, i want to know what special considerations i have to take... what is the best knot for tying worm hooks?? what to do in rocky areas?? tie a fluoro leader?? or any other thing i should keep in mind?? thanx!!

well, i also use 50:1.... if you add too much oil, the worst it could happen is to have the spark plugs wet in oil, so you would have a poor combustion, too much smoke, and maybe the motor wouldnt start, but you can always drain the tank and put new gas/oil in there... if you use too little oil, you risk lack of lubrication, which could cause a permanent damage to the motor... and for mixing, i use this: http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_10051_13891_-1?Ntt=mixing+&Ntk=All it is a graduated bottle, with several different ratios marked, so you know how much amount of oil to add for any amount of gas you can to put....

ok, thanx!! after i took the first fish and noticed the pics werent that great, i noticed most of the big fish are either held by the lip, of with both hands for the pics... thats why we held the other 2 fish with both hands, i think they look better that way... hopefully i will be able to get one as big sometime soon, and ill try holding him just by the lip...

thanx!! i have some bags of Yum and Zoom plastics, but no senko type, just ribbontail worms, and lizzards... this is the first time i fished with a senko, and i really liked it, i caught a lot more fish on them than with any other plastic i had tried... im just beginning learning how to fish plastics, so that could also be a factor, but anyways, after i ran out of senkos i pulled out a ribbontail yum worm on the same color, and i could only catch 2, while i had caught about 10 with the senkos.... so, i will try the ones you mention, hopefully they will last longer and catch the same number of fish, because those senkos are expensive for only catching a couple of fish at most before getting thorn... another thing i just thought about, maybe im not hooking them correctly?? because somone mentioned the plastic to rip at the first 1/4", but mine ripped at the bend of the hook... i was rigging them Texas, with the hook exposed....

well yes, those are different bass, but i thoght they were going to be more similar between one and the other.... these are the only "big" bass i have caught, the rest of them varying from 1 to 3 pounds.... this sunday, maybe 3 casts after i caught the bass on the second pic, my friend caught this one, and it looks similar to mine... it was a little smaller, but it has the same general shape, not the weird shape of the one in the first pic, with the really small tale compared to the body.... and yes, these were caught not only in the same lake, but within 150 yards from eachother... the first one came on shallower water, the other 2 came from deeper water....

hey... last year i caught this fish, it was just over 5 pounds, and a bit short of 20": and this saturday, on the same lake, and maybe 150 yards from that place, i caught this one, 5.5 pounds, 20 1/2 pounds.... however, on the pics, it seems to me as if the second was was smaller... both were measured and weighted with the same scale.... also, why does the first one shows such a little tail, while the second one doesnt?? it looks as if the first one is really fat, and the second one is not as fat, but, on my scale, it weighted a bit more... are they different species?? thanx!!

thanx, i will check on that... i have got stuck floats on other motors, but not on this one... how do you check the level?? also, here is a pic of the fish i caught on sunday, my new PB.... catching it made all the work on the boat really worth it....

well, Otey send me a pic of the screen with the boat out of the water, and you can see the black line that represents the bottom.... i guess if i see something differente than a white screen, i will be able to tell the transducer was the problem??

well, i replaced the bulb last year... i replaced the fuel lines, and all the connections are tight.... and yes, if the bulb was facng the wrong way it wouldnt allow fuel to pass, as it acts as a check valve.... also, even though i didnt fill the bulb during the day, i made sure it was really full at the beginning of the day, and even then, i had to spray carb cleaner on the carbs for the motor to start.... last week, when i first started the motor after all year without using it, i spent almost 1/2 hour cranking and pouring cab cleaner, until it started.... but once it started and left it run for a while, i could trn it off and then it would turn on again really easy.... now, the first time i start it for the day, it will take several sprays... after than, it if doesnt turns on, it will only require one small burst of carb cleaner.... i will check the spark plugs, but i replaced them lately so i dont expect them to be dirty or burnt... and i think ill replace the gas filter also... any other idea?? thanx!

ok, Otey just sent me a pic of how his screen looks like with the fish finder ON and out of the water, i will try plugging the old transducer and see if it shows something... if it does then i will know i need a new transducer, if it doesnt, then ill come back for more help....

yes and yes.... i actually removed the fuel tank last month, cleaned it, rinse it, and let it dry... then we put 10 liters last sunday to test it, and 40 liters on saturday morning on our way to the lake.... and, the bulb, early in the morning i squeezed it until it was really hard, but after it, i didnt squeeze it... then the boat wouldnt start at mid day, we just tok out the carb cleaner, i didnt try squeezing the bulb again.... but i had already donde that in the morning, with no effect...

this weekend i tried the gary yamamoto senkos for the first time... i am new to worm fishing, but i really noticed a difference... while i had never caught more than a couple of fish using plastics, this weekend i caught 10 out of 16 using plastic worms, and out of those 10, 8 were using senkos.... when i ran out of them, i had to use other worms, which i feel didnt produce as much.... so, i really liked how the senkos work... however, as you may have noticed, you spend almost one worm per fish!!! i was using them texas rigged, and several times i would reel in a fish, and the worm was nowhere to be seen, maybe it was swallowed by the fish (hopefully not), or it fell during the fight or i dont know... one time i actually saw the fish spit it out, and several times, the worm was so thorn down i had to replace it.... so i ran out of a bag of senkos really quick, while on the other worms i use, mostly YUM, they would last a lot before ripping... so is there a senko replacement that will produce as much fish but last longer?? or should i just stock up and buy several packs on my favorite colors?? thanx!!

finally, after about 2 months, it fished again!! this last weekend we took her to a lake 2 hours from home, where i caught my PB last year, a 20" bass just over 5 pounds, pictured on the first page of this thread.... we went there for the weekend, and fished hard both of them, on saturday from 9 am to 8 pm, and on sunday from 630 am to 6 pm because we had to come back home.... at the end, i had caught 16 bass and my friend had caught 10... but best of all, we both caught Personal Bests!! i caught a 5.5 pound, 20 1/2" bass, and 3 casts after he netted my fish, i was netting his, a bass just over 4.5 pounds, 19 3/4" long.... we also did a double, catching both at the same time, and over all had a lot of fun... now, the bad part.... the boat is having trouble to start... in the morning when we launched, one of us had to put some carb cleaner on the carbs while the other one turned the key... after 3 or 4 tries, the motor would start... then, after letting it run for a while, we could turn it off, and then it would start with the key sooner than a new car, without even pushing the choke... but if we fished on one place for too long, and the boat was off for long periods of time, it would struggle again, and as soon as we sprayed carb cleaner into the carbs, it would start, at the first time, every time... then again, we could run to several places, and the motor would turn on every time... we had to use the carb cleaner maybe 3 or 4 times through the day, first at the beginning of the day, and then maybe 3 or 4 hours after that.... so, what could be the problem?? when the motor turned on, it would run great, we could achieve hat-blowing speed, and the motor had a good sound... pics of the fishing trip to come... oh by the way, we also had our seats upholstery done by a friend, they didnt come out perfect, but she nneded the job and charged 1/3 that the best quote i got from real upholsters, plus she had them in 2 days, while all of them wanted at least a week... and, i also made some home made flush seat bases for free..... pics of that to come also....

thanx for your comments!! this weekend i went fishing, so on friday night i did what you said, lowered the transducer, tilt it downwards one notch, and reset to default settings.... on saturday i went to the lake, and still, the FF only displays temp, depth, and vertical lines here and there... but no bottom contour, no structure, and, of course, no fish.... now, as Oteymc mentioned, i purchased the fish finder from him... my next step after trying to set the FF properly, was going to be to send him an email to ask for his help... but this wont be neccesary, as he already contacted me telling me he is going to send me a new transducer... i really appreciate it, as he mentions, when you buy something you expect it to work, but i know this things happen and theres no problem, hopefully we can make it work soon.... meanwhile, i removed an older humminbird from my boat, you can actually see where to other transducer was mounted on one of the pics posted earlier.... this other FF is going on my other boat, but, i believe the transducers are similar and the plugs are the same.... so, my question is.. can i plug the other transducer to see if it is actually a transducer problem?? what will it read if i turn it on without putting it in the water?? because i can take the boat to the lake maybe in 2 weeks, but i could try the other transducer tomorrow afternoon.... but i dont know if out of the water it would give me some reading or something to let me know it is actually a bad transducer and it needs replacing...

thanx, ill lower it a little more tonight and see if that helps... what do you mean "the skinny end"?? i understand tilt it so the rear part gets lower, maybe only a notch on the adjustment washers, right??

i lready moved it as fast and as slow as it could go, without effect....

thanx!! so, what do you suggest?? to first place the transducer where the original one was, a little more to the right as can be seen on the first pics?? should i also lower it more, or angle it more or something?? and then return to Factory settings (Default)??

thanx tony!! this is the first fish finder i have seen, so i dont know how to adjust it properly.... i played with it a little bit last weekend when i installed it, but i increased/decreased sensitivity, and pushed every button and access every option it has, and i didnt get any improvement... thats when i began thinking the problem was more in the transducer or cable, rather than on the settings, as i couldnt get a bottom view, not even when moving only with the trolling motor or completely stopped...

thanx for the input!! the reason i put it there and not where i removed the old transducer, is because on the instructions it said to measure at least 15" from the end of the prop to the transducer... so right now the transducer is at 15", the old location was about 11" from the prop... so, what do you suggets?? should i move it to the original position, and tilt it a little more downwards??

hopefully you are not trying to do this: http://www.hawgtech.com/