papajoe222

Funny you guys mention seating the power plug all the way in. That was the FIRST thing he asked me. They must get calls about that on a regular basis. LOL

Surprise, I just got a call from Lowrance tech support and the guy walked me through things to check. After all the checking was done and the unit still wouldn't power up. To my delight, they are asking that I return the display AFTER RECEIVING A REPLACEMENT. I thought for sure they'd want me to return the faulty one first, but I'm guessing the tech walked me through every thing he would have done upon receipt of the faulty one and just put the request through. Talk about great customer service, the guy even gave me his extension number along with the case number if I run into any further problems!

My boat sits covered in my driveway all winter long and has been for 15 years. The original Lowrance sonar unit has never been removed for the winter and still functions flawlessly, so there's no reason to concern yourself. If the flush mount is installed at the factory, many use mounting hardware designed to absorb some of the shock the display will experience.

Using a volt meter isn't a good indicator of how well a battery is holding up. You may get a satisfactory reading after charging, but the first time any load is drawn from it the voltage will drop dramatically and the 'good' battery will be overtaxed, not to mention the TM won't operate at maximum efficiency. If the old battery has a dead cell or two, matters could get worse. You can pick up a deep cycle battery at any of the big discount stores (WalMart, Farm-Fleet) for under $100 and with proper care it'll last for up to five years under moderate use.

I installed my new Hook2-5 yesterday running both the transducer and power cables under the front deck to the unit, which I mounted using a Ram mount. When I hooked up the power cable and attempted to turn the unit on, nothing happened! Figured I did something wrong, so I put a volt meter to the cable and got 12.6Volts to the connector. What the heck!!! Am I missing something? The install guide is useless as it only shows drawings and there is no troubleshooting guide. Does the transducer cable need to be connected before the unit will power up? I'm leery about attempting anything as I may inadvertently void the warranty. I'm heading out this Friday and would like to have this thing up and running. Lowrance is backlogged with inquiries and may not get back to me before then. HELP

I really can't offer anything concerning rods, but I do recommend a reel with faster than 5.2:1 gearing. Something like a Pflueger Supreme, or President with 6.2 gearing will retrieve 28in.-30in. of line per turn vs. 22in. for most standard spinning reels. That is, unless you plan on just throwing square bills.

Fontana in NC, or Murray, Clarks HIll, Moultrie, or Marion in SC. Marion and Moultrie aren't known for giving up big fish on a regular basis, but you'll have a good time catching 3lb-5lb fish while trying. If you choose Moultrie, be aware there is a lot of submerged timber that can pose a hazard if you don't know where it is. On the other hand, those spots are great pre and post spawn habitat.

For light to moderate submerged vegetation, I love a lipless crank. I allow it to just catch the top of the weeds, rip it free and hang on. For the outside weedline, I prefer a stand-up jig and a Reaper, but that style plastic is getting hard to find, so a boot tail has all but replaced them for me. For the really thick stuff, I punch it. The waters I target don't get the heavy matts, but emergent vegetation is common at depths up to 6ft. or so. If I can get a 1/2oz punch rig through it, that's what I'll use, but later in the summer, it often takes a 3/4oz., or 1oz. My favorite plastic on the business end is a craw tube, but I've used beaver style ones with some success. I'll add a little attractant, or a piece of Alka-Seltzer into the tube when the bite is tough. I feel it helps get their attention. A lot of guys like using a hollow body frog, or toad over the matted stuff, but I like something like the big bps Stik-O, it's like 7in. You can work it on top the weeds, and let it fall into any pockets. It's heavy enough to throw on tackle that can get a bass out of the thick stuff.

Can't think of a company that offers one, but a #4 on a bait that light is going to lay on it's side during anything but a slow crawl. It's just too much lift for that light of a spinner. You could try altering a 1/4oz. SB by removing its blades and adding a single #4 Colorado.

It isn't a mispronunciation, but anglers, even some pros, that use the term structure when speaking about cover. When they're actually talking about structure, they use some other term; "When you find structure on a point, it can be a fish magnet." HUH????

Missed the date by a few days. My local club waters are 90% ice free and I actually did some shore fishing there today. No bass, but did land a couple of trout, so I'm a happy camper or should I say happy angler.

This is what you're really asking, not which is more versatile. A square bill only covers the upper part of the water column and unless your ponds only get to six, or seven feet deep, you're missing a lot of potentially good water. A lipless can cover it all and, like any crankbait, with experience you'll learn when it's approaching a potential snag. I fish standing timber in 15-20ft. of water and don't hang up any more frequently than when using a lipped bait.

Depends on where you are for this one. I've been pronouncing it correctly for decades until I went to S.C. and to a man, they pronounced it rap-a-la.

Two baits that I rely heavily on after ice out; A Mepps Aglia spinner and a blade bait. An occasional wallelye or jumbo perch is always welcome, too.

I gotta ask, Whats VPN stand for? Old fart here

The River Runt in the smaller size. Just a great crank for river fishing, or anywhere.

I fish jigs a lot. Other than using a swim jig, the only times I cast them is when I want to pick apart a spot where I've caught a fish, or two, on a crank. I work the jig with the reel, varying the retrieve speed throughout the cast. The other time I'll cast a jig is in the summer when I stroke a jig as my first presentation.

Because no one type of line gives you the benefits of two lines. Braid is awesome, but cuts easily and freys easily. Fluoro and mono stretch and aren’t close to braid when it comes to sensitivity. Want a line that combines braids sensitivity and the abrasion resistance of mono or flouro, a combination is the answer.

For leader material, YES. Abrasion resistance is about the same, but as unscientific as it may sound, for me, it transmits more information back to me.

Good to know. Thanks

I’ve decided to mount my Lowrance TrippleShot on the transducer rather than the TM and was wondering if there is a reason why I shouldn’t mount it on the port side? My console unit’s transducer and speedometer sensor are mounted on the starboard side. I understand that the prop rotation can interfere with signals, but as I’ll only be using the display at no wake speeds, is that really a concern?

Color selection is at the bottom of my list of choices, except when it comes to spinnerbaits. When I want to imitate shad, bluegill, or crawfish, I use one with a skirt and trailer that imitates that color forage. For blade choice, I choose by how fast, or slow I want to retrieve it. Unless, I want to crawl one in the upper water column, I don't throw a double Colorado. A single gets the job done and you can let it break the surface occasionally for added attraction.

Now if I can remember how I did this......

If you look at it logically, a sunny day, mid to late afternoon, in the northeast section, slight to moderate breeze from the southwest and you should be gold. Now if you wait for a day like that when you can actually be on the water, the bass will probably have spawned and the water temp will be pushing 70. Go when you can, you never know until you try.