conroekro88

Unfortunately my unit only has down scan capabilities, no traditional sonar. The picture that caught my attention the most is the fifth one (going from left to right on photo bucket). I've read that when looking for bass with electronics, they will often times be close to the bottom & will not stack up more than one or two fish vertically. I've also heard that looking for a Sharpie-sized dot when using down scan is something else to keep in mind. I'm definitely not an expert on finding fish with electronics though.

I went to the lake today with the goal of finding a school of bass using my electronics. Needless to say, I definitely found some fish, but I'm not sure if they were bass or not. I fished this area and did not get a bite. From what I've read on the internet, the white bass population in the lake has basically become nonexistent. There are hybrid stripers, crappie, catfish, etc. Any ideas? My unit is a Lowrance Elite-5 DSI. http://s347.photobucket.com/user/conroekro88/media/IMG_0449_zpsnbuk4ffi.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

I ordered a HotMaps Premium card a little while ago after doing some searching. As long as I'm able to get updated maps (even just for a year) with the HotMaps Premium card, I'm fine with sticking with that. Here's the compatibility page I was looking at on Navionics' website: http://www.navionics.com/sites/default/files/documents/americas_compguide_2.pdf It was updated at the end of last month. The section that has my unit (Elite 5 DSI) basically doesn't show any compatibility with the newer cards. I do understand what you're saying though about being able to run portions of the newer cards, but I would rather have a card that I know is 100% compatible with my unit. I basically only fish one lake, and I'm sure the HotMaps Premium card will be a world of difference from the mapping that came preinstalled on my unit (which is pretty basic).

I'm interested in getting a Navionics chip for my Lowrance Elite 5 DSI unit. I found a page on Lowrance's website that says the "Gold" and "Premium" editions in the microSD card format are compatible. Do I just buy either the "Gold" or "Premium" card and that's that, or will I be able to download updates after I buy the initial card? From looking at Navionics' website, it doesn't look like the unit I have is advanced enough to run the HotMaps Platinum or Navionics + programs, but I just wanted to make sure since I don't have much experience with SD/microSD card maps.

Thanks for all the tips guys. I should add that many of the spots I fish/have confidence in are primarily feeding areas: humps, points, rocky banks, etc. that are 5-10 feet deep but are a cast distance away from 15-20 feet of water. I would think that since these types of areas by nature will not have fish on them at all times (or at least a large portion of the day like a deep brush pile or a creek channel ledge would) it would make sense to fish them multiple times throughout the day since you never know when a fish or a group of fish are going to pull up and get active. Or at least that's my take on it.

Do you guys tend to fish the same spots multiple times a day, or do you fish a different spot every time you move? Here's what I mean in more detail: say you have 15 spots that you have confidence in. Would you fish the 5 spots that you feel are the best 2-3 times during the day, or would you fish all 15 spots only one time? I caught a 6 pounder a few days ago at 9:00 in the morning, but I didn't get another bite the other 2 or 3 times I fished the same spot. However, I fished the same spot multiple times a week before, and I didn't catch a fish until around noon. Obviously, fish have fins and can move. I was just wondering if anyone has had better results doing one or the other.