Wayne P.

When you can't find the "gain" setting, it's the "Sensitivity" setting. The best setting to see the most without a lot of clutter is to set it show the bottom plus one echo. A lot of units can operate in "Auto Sensitivity" very well for all depths.

Deep, the conditions at Sandy River Res., Lake Anna, Buggs Island, etc are good now for that presentation. It could be good for Briery Creek also except it would be just an anchor there, LOL. I'll be dunking it at Sandy River next week to find out.

Hey Deep, they are easy to make. I put this one together this morning after going to Walmart to get some small swimbaits. I make it with a center wire that is just a little longer than the other 4. The total weight of this one is about 1 oz. Heavier and larger baits can be used with it.

I think the setups used in the Gunbersville tournament were all swimbaits, all spinnerbaits, and all grubs. The swimbaits and grubs were on different weight jig heads depending on the depth and retrieve speed. 80-100# braid is used and a very heavy action rod to handle the weight. The Everstart event (happening now) has Tennesse restrictions on the presentation that only allows for three lures with hooks on them. That leaves two of the snapswivels empty or with "teasers" on them. A willowleaf spinnerbait blade would make a good "teaser" application.

I read today that the maker had set up near where the Everstart tournament is and had 400 for sale. Anglers were lined up to get them.

That rig is going thru the same panic buying like the Chatterbait did when is was used to win several tournaments a few years ago. There were 7 offered for sale on another web site for $1,000.00 or $160.00 each. On the same site, a couple were available for $200.00 each then the price was dropped to $150.00 each.

I have an infrared temp sensor also that I got from Radio Shack. It does not work well with taking water temps. It works very well with solid media.

It does now, I "painted" the head and swivel aluminum ferrules with a black magic marker so the fish won't be "attracted" to the bright metal, LOL. I am going to give it to a guy that has a tournamet soon since he can't find any of the "real thing" and was wanting to know how make some.

I made a knock-off of it a few minutes ago. Took me about 5 minutes to put it together. Cost less than $6 for the parts.

The county does not what to pay for labor operating the check-in/boat rental with a low volume of traffic.

Better hurry up, Ni and Hunting Run are closing after Nov 20.

Sam, only one throwable devise is required. Everyone on board has to have an appropriate wearable life preserver.

Just shipped a bunch of rods to a friend using the Pro model. Plenty of room for 7' rods.

The "BEST" would be a 100 or 200 amp hour Lithium Ion marine deep cycle battery/s. Very light weight comparably. Do a web search for that battery If you fish more than you ride around with the outboard, the Optimas are not for you. Their largest marine battery has about the same A/hr as the group 24 regular deep cycle battery. Quite pitiful for serious fishing. Just about any other deep cycle battery between those two in the group 27-31 size would be the best compromise.

Call Humminbird Customer Service for repair.

If you keep it charged, you will have no problems. Just think of all the vehicles in all the cold climates that are outdoors all the time. What is a "battery control box"?

Deep cycle batteries----- Number One battery care must: never, ever, leave a battery in any state of discharged. Recharge it as soon as you stop using it. Number Two battery care must: never, ever, discharge it completely. If you haven't already screwed it up, it may recover from your lack of proper maintenance. A voltmeter and/or specific gravity meter are the two items to check you battery's condition. Read this: http://www.windsun.com/Batteries/Battery_FAQ.htm#Major%20Battery%20Types

Follow the shad schools and you will find the bass. I'll be there the first week of October looking for the frog bite more than the channel break pattern. From what I have been reading, the catching is off this year with lots of excuses why (over harvesting, too many tournaments, bad weather, grass poisoning, etc.)

When you create a waypoint it puts it in the program Waypoint Libary. Click on "GPS" at the top of the program. Select "Waypoint Libary". Then use the symbol at the top left (second one) to choose "Export Waypoints" to your SD card. Check your sonar unit GPS waypoint format setting before putting the card in the unit (they should match). I've never done it, so I'm just looking at the software operation choices. Use the Help function at the top right of the panel to learn how to use the software. That is covered by the usual statement "when in doubt, read the instructions"

Sonar shows the water density changes due to temperature when the thermocline is present. When turnover happens, the water temp is the same thoughout the water column so any returns as a result would be suspended solids and may not be clearly shown like the thermocline is ( more like a muddy water situation).

That is in the Hardware River Wildlife Manangement area. There is another near Howardsville. Also an area called Warren Ferry that is between Howardsville and Hatton Ferry. Farther downstream is where Rt. 15 crosses the river at Bremo Bluff.

For a stand-alone chart plotter, the Lowrance HDS-7M is at the top of your price range. The HDS-5M is less expensive. Garmin has several chart plotters with-in your price range. If you can find one in stock, there is the discontinued Humminbird 786ci chartplotter in the middle of your price range. Just do a web search for Chartplotter in each brand and read the specs.

GPS only, or a sonar/ GPS combo unit? Just about any marine GPS unit will do what you listed. The name for those is Chart Plotter. You can get those functions in a handheld unit.

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Lunker City (they market Sluggos) has lead nail weights in 3/64 and 3/32 oz sizes. I use them for wacky rigging finesse and Trick worms. I also use steel finishing nails (mostly the size 3D)