TommyBass

Hello all, When you network two lowrance HDS units, one bow and one at the wheel, where do they base their coordinates off of? Does each use its own seperate antenna? Say I mark a waypoint on the console directly over a brush pile. I then go to look at it on the bow... is the bows position to the brushpile correct or did it create its own position at its point, different from the coordinate of the console? The way I understand (and the only way that makes logical sense) is that they simply share the original marked coordinate, and each unit's distance from that coordinate is different and based off of that individual units curent position... not which one it was recorded on.... correct?

I think a week of off limits is a little much... but definately the last three days or so leading up to the event would suffice. Three days will also allow for a weather change, which I feel makes it more interesting. Having an open practice day on friday, before a saturday tourney? Are you kidding me? That is just begging for someone to cheat. I know its not mentioned much but we all know it happens (I've seen it). That makes it too easy for someone to just go out, catch a few fish friday and put them out for easy grabbins saturday morning.

I always hold them by the underside / side. Just like burleytog's pic only from the bottom. Theres no reason to mess with that top fin if you don't have to. The small ones are a pain in the arse and about 2 in 5 will definately sting you no matter what ;D

Exactly. I never know why people don't fillet and throw away. The heck with all that nailing and skinning and cleaning. ive watched people get in DEEP trouble for that. for some reason, something about it being against the law for people to clean fish in, on, or near the lake where i lived is chiming in the back of my mind. idk why tho?! seems stupid, but i can clearly remember reading somewhere in a rules and regulations brochure on a local lake that u cant clean or fillet fish on, near or in the lakes waters?! :-? Yes be careful with that, there are many laws prohibiting such things, especially in public areas. Remains attract unwanted pests, give off bad smells, and can make the nearby water very unattractive. There are alot of people who don't want to see that. Personally, I just put them on ice (or in a livewell) and clean them at home. Its easier that way. Its not like a gut shot deer. As long as its cold or alive your meat will be fine until you get where you need to be.

Its not far removed from Bass fishing really- just a little easier. Stick to some simple grubs in simple colors or like the others said, a float and minnow. Try around brush and keep throwin back, there are usually alot where there is one. Its a good way to get your attention off bass fishing for awhile... plus they are some good eatins

Bye Slimecoat...

I agree that it will help to test their skills some and may better reflect actual talent (of course we can't base everyones talent on one event - people still have bad days). When the bite is on on a lake its really a toss up. People bring in big bags across the board and many of times the better anglers don't actually win. With fields as large as they are today, you get the lucky ones who just happen to catch a giant... or the ones who win by a few ounces because their fish swallowed a crawdad 10 minutes earlier. Actually, on my tournament days, I HOPE for bad fishing conditions. I feel it gives people who know more about what they are doing an edge and it weeds out the lucky bank beaters. The good thing is though, sometimes its you that gets lucky Really, consistency is what matters most, not individual tourneys.

I don't think thats so much to do with the transoptic as its just a monofilament (I think, I don't really know what transoptic is). Mono and flourocarbon both will hold memory more than braid. There are many methods and products to help ease this but it never completely goes away... just a part of fishing. Here are some tips that help me: 1) Don't rig a lure so that it "spins" around your line unless you are using a swivel of some sort. 2) Use something like KVD line condition or Reel Magic to help condition your line. 3) If you get alot of twist, put your line out the back of the boat with nothing on it and let about 100 yards out.. then drive. Reel it back up with pressure on it and it removes alot of the original twist. Dosn't work as well with old memory. (If you don't own a boat, this also works by tieing your line to a tree with a swivel in-line. Then simply pull lightly and the line will untwist some.) 4) Change your line as often as you can afford... old line has many problems... including memory (especially if it sits unused).

I get what your saying but I don't think it matters. True you have more mass to essentially lead the front end of the spinning spool downward but that same amount of mass is also holding it back on the rear end. Think about it in terms of the light spool, you have less mass to help counter / slow the spool down. Basically its a circle so any weight differences are cancelled or offset by an identical weight difference on the other side of the spool. Thats my theory and I'm sticking to it

Havn't tried it... but if its anything like the Vanish Transition I would dig a hole, throw it in, set it on fire, bury it, then move far far away. I had tons of trouble with transition becoming very brittle. Also, as Skinny stated, it wouldn't clear up fast enough to matter. You might as well just use brightly colored line. Give it a shot though, maybe it will surprise us.

A local lake of mine varies in depth from side to side. Its a total of 80 acres.... one side's deepest water is around 11 ft and the other side's deepest water is around 60 ft. I fished both sides the very same day and caught fish on both sides. The deep side consisted of fish holding on the bend of a drop off, around 25-30ft deep. The shallow side the fish were caught out of a ditch with some timber on it around 9 ft deep. Actually the biggest fish I caught was around a 6 lber and it was in that ditch; however, more fish usually come off of the deep water drop off. I tend to think that they will just go to the neerest deep water as long as it suffices. Try the deepest areas around certain parts of the lake and focus on structure and cover near those areas. And like they said, the depth at which they hold / suspend can vary day by day based off weather, food, etc.

I'd think the comparison with golf would be more accurate using brands. Maybe a Taylormade vs. a Spalding. Both will get the job done but the Taylormade has both the name and maybe a little more performance (ie 10 more yards / drive). The original golf comparison is rather strong. You'd struggle to golf good with one club and thats not so for fishing (unless maybe you picked the putter or driver). I effectively fish almost all techniques on a MH 6'6-7' pole (I guess in your analogy, a 7 iron). I'd find it hard to believe anyone would outfish me with an identical lure because they selected a different rod (club). Same way in that there are some golfers that would down right destroy other golfers using their Wilson and Spalding Walmart club sets. Interesting points of view none the less! Note: I wasn't trying to dis anyone who does do this... I was just simply wondering why I see more and more of it now then I used to.

I don't know whats worse... someone designing that like they did or someone taking the time to photoshop something so meaningless.

Not sure what all of the "wouldn't buy them at normal price" talk is about. I don't think thats the question. He asked how they perform. There alot of people who would consider all bigger name rod brands to be highly over priced. They arn't a bad rod at all. Sure, maybe not as good as some high end Loomis but they will hold up just as well. Most have decent Fuji eyelets (atleast I think they still do) and the same materials that comprise 90% of all other rods. Its all in what feels good to you. There are plenty of people who could outfish anyone with a Loomis with $10 walmart pole... it dosn't matter really. Get what you like at the price you can afford. I have one BPS rod, a Johnny Morris, and honestly it fishes just as well as any other rod I've owned. Good sensitivity and great backbone when needed. But since everyone else brought it up.. definately wait around to get one from them, they put them on sale all of the time and you can get a good deal.

What is all of the speckly clutter look in the water column above and around that tree? It dosn't look like fish. Is it just noise or sensitivity settings? Or possibly prop wash (I find it hard to belive there would would be prop wash though at those depths under the slow speeds required for that picture.. unless its from another boat)?

Seriously who designs this stuff? They invented bull dozers for a reason.

Makes sense I suppose. I do fish alot of tournaments and have managed to do fairly well with my simplistic approach but I can see where your comming from. I didn't really think about it in terms of collecting or "enthusiasts". Obviously you probably will need different rigs for different species... thanks for pointing that out Paul (gotta love my ultralight crappie pole!). I meant to target this thread specifically at bass fishing. RW - good point about playing with the gear... I find I like that as well to some extent.

So I was looking at the Rick Clunn thread and it got me wondering how many people think like I do. I have never been one to buy different rods / reels for certain techniques. I find it almost funny / weird for someone to have 10 rods on their boat, all 10 of which are setup different for a particular technique. Now I'm not saying its good to use a buzzbait on something with low gears or throw a crappie lure with a baitcaster... those are just commone sense and limited by actual physics. But is it necessary to acutally have say a spinnerbait combo, topwater combo, jig combo, wacky rig combo, crankbait combo, swimbait combo, etc??? I find it hard to belive that if someone came out on the boat with me and we both fished with the same lure and completely different rod and reel setups that they would outfish me soley because of the setup. To me, anyone who is slightly seasoned and decent at fishing can catch anything on anything. To me, the approach of different setups, if anything, limits / hampers you and takes your focus off of what is actually important. It all comes down to putting a lure in front of a fish and making him bite it. He dosnt care if you have a kistler or an ugly stick above the water. I'm not saying decent fishing equipment isn't a must, it is. But the variance I am seeing in rod and reel style / techniques is ridiculous. I feel it is undoubtedly the fishing world propagandists behind this movement. In summary, from my point of view I think that all you need is a decent reel on an average rod, and maybe own 5 of them (if not the exact same then relatively similar). You can learn and implement all techniques on such outfits and easily do anything that is required of bass fishing. I understand why you would take multiple rods fishing, just not the different types. If you don't feel this way, you can also feel free to explain to me why it is to such importance that everything be fished the way you fish it.

I have a tendency to agree with basically anything he says. He's a good fisherman and knows whats up. I particularly like his attitude toward one type of setup (ie same reel, action, rod, etc).

Completely necessary, because there arn't any fish anywhere near launch sections for tourneys... black bass are known to stray at least 10 miles from the launch ramp of any tournament. : Those mileages are ridiculous. You could stay semi-close and have 2 free hours of fishing compared to the yay-hoo who runs 60+ minutes. I could possibly see it if you had the mega-amazing honey hole but it better be alot more than a hunch. I would say if you broke it down and actually looked at the statistics those long runs would be counter-productive x 10. Heck on big lakes like KY, all you have to do is stay within a mile or two and you have the lake / bass to yourself. The grass is always greener.............

I agree that this topic is out of control on some other forums. But I disagree that means they shouldn't talk about it. This isnt "other" forums and for the most part people on here are helpful and nice (not to mention many of them don't visit the other websites). Dogface is correct in that we should best inform each other about making such a big decision, its alot of money. Don't bash a brand because its the one you don't have... just give your best knowledge and input so others can make informed decisions. Its the free market at its best. And yes... please do put up more pictures... of both brands. I'm sure many people would like the see more of them.

Hard jerk baits... I don't try them enough so that dosn't help. Have never really got good with them. Maybe if I had some smallies to try them on.........

I think there needs to be a distinct difference between "influence" and "rigging". You can only do so much influencing as a ref... the players would have to play along. You'd have to call a ridiculous amount of 15 yd penalties on someone like Peyton to make a huge difference. He can erase 4 of those in one pass.

Thanks Wayne... I didn't see that there was an extra page of those images!

He was also one of the worst corners of all time in college and gave up big plays to absolute no-name people. Now hes picking off Peyton on Reggie?..........but no I don't think its rigged for the most part. The NFL has a ton of parity and literally any team can win on any day period. It just wasn't the Colts day.