Tennessee Boy

I thought his name was @everythingthatswims Congratulations to the both of them.

I don't think Humminbird sells Contour Elite any longer but you can still buy if from the company that developed it. I agree the app is better, especially on an iPad.

No that will not work. There is software you can purchase that will allow you allow you to view Lakemaster charts on a PC. It's called Contour Elite and it cost $90 and is packaged with regional lakes just like the Lakemaster charts. https://contourelite.com You can also use the Humminbird FishSmart app on a phone or tablet and purchase individual Lakemaster charts with it.

God bless you friend. ?

And then there was this lion that was on the loose.

@TnRiver46 I think I heard something on the news a few weeks ago about reports of a tiger running loose in Knoxville. I assumed you were on the case.

The source of information on fishing that I find the most interesting are scientific journal articles. They are written in a way that assumes you have at least a masters level degree in biology so they can be hard to digest. I sometimes spend a lot of time looking up the definition of scientific terms they use but I enjoy trying to figure it all out and I learn a lot in the process. Most of it does not alter or improve my fishing but I usually find it interesting. There is very little of it that I would classify as useless. I'm sure I'm a little weird in this regard. The vast majority of angler's find these journal articles boring and useless. I agree with @Team9nine about message boards. Pick a topic pertaining to bass fishing and ask yourself what does this forum say about that topic. The answer is probably everything and we all have to decide who's opinions we respect and believe and who's we do not. That's not always easy.

My Humminbird has a ruler tool that can be used to measure distances. I don't know if your Garmin has something like that. There are A LOT of variables that go into the calculation you're wanting to do. The chart speed which should be adjustable on your unit must be part of the calculation. The shape and width of the sonar beam is also a factor. Are you driving directly over the object or is it to the side and how far? This will matter if you're using 2D cone shaped sonar. It's not simple math. In 2D sonar, a one inch fish can appear on the screen as a 2 foot arch because it was in the sonar cone while the boat travelled 2 feet. You can get the coordinates of where you started seeing something on the graph and again when you stop seeing it and then calculate the distance between the two. This will give you a general idea of the size of large objects to within about 1 meter assuming you're using down imaging sonar. There's more complicated math to get higher resolution measurements that I sometimes do at home when viewing recorded sonar files. When I'm on the water I usually just guess at the size and then do the math when I get home just for fun. ?

Stuff that you buy on sale shouldn't count either.

LOL.. I've been saying that for 40 years.

I think @A-Jay said it well. I think Method 1 on your list is the right answer. Just realize that step 3 might take a long time. Take the time to learn to cast correctly. Learn to use your thumb, it's the greatest breaking system ever invented.

Tennessee is a popular destination for elderly elephants. We even have an elephant retirement home here. https://www.elephants.com/

You just gave me a great idea. I'll order medium heavy fast rods from China for $15, put a sticker on them that says "Swim Worm Rod" and sell them for $350. First swim worm rod on the market. I'll be rich. ?

I know one thing. If my fish finder suddenly reversed and started going left to right, I don’t think I would be able to find my way back to the ramp. ?

It’s a graph of sonar signals over time. Every graph I can think of where time is represented on one axis has time advancing left to right on the x-axis. An example would be a stock market chart. I doubt if anyone knows when or how this tradition started but to do it any other way would be confusing.

The trolling motor including spot lock will work without the heading sensor. Only the jog function and the circle a spot function will not work without the it.

The GPS module is built into the Ultrex. The puck is a heading sensor. It doesn’t draw much power so you can connect it to any 12V source. It has an electronic compass so it needs to be mounted with the arrow pointing straight ahead and should not be mounted near any electronics that might generate a magnetic field. You can use a compass or the electronic compass in your phone if it has one to check for magnetic fields. Mine is mounted under my console and work great.

I think the book is a must read if you are serious about understanding bass. The title of the book should be just "Knowing Bass" as he does not suggest an approach to catching more fish just a lot of evidence on bass behavior. As for his methods. Some experiments can only be performed in a lab and others can only be performed in the wild. None can be accurately performed without controls. For those of you who have criticisms of the book, have you read the book? and can you give specific examples where you take issue with it? Many angler's want to immediately jump to a conclusion based a single observation. It just doesn't work that way. Consider this quote that I pulled from the book by just opening it to a random location (page 130). "Do rattles increase lure appeal to bass? Not always. In one positive test, soft plastic crayfish, each loaded with four glass tube rattles, garnered 20 percent more strikes from bass than the exact same plastic crayfish without rattles. In another test, however, an assortment of crankbaits equipped with rattles actually scored 25 percent less overall than a similar assortment without rattles. Both test were run in clear water where the lures were easily seen. Running the test in stained or muddy water would have probably yielded results more favorable for the rattling baits." I find this type of information very valuable but it does not give me absolute guidance on wether or not to use rattles. It's just further evidence on the subject which he presents in an honest way. It simply suggest that rattles can make a small but significant difference both positive and negative in some circumstances. Interpreting this information and deciding how to apply it to the way one fishes is up to each individual angler. It's a life long journey. The question is do you want to make that journey with as much information as possible or not. If you prefer to make informed decisions, I recommend this book.

I agree! This flat worm craze is out of control. It's just a worm. No better than any other worm. I should probably mention that I've got some on order just in case I'm wrong. ?

I'm glad you're selling a covered porch kit and not a whole house kit.

The most fishing friendly job I know of is a Firefighter. Around here they work 24 hours and get paid to sleep if there are no fires. They get off at 6:00am and are off for 48 hours. Great opportunity to fish during the week. They also get to retire at a fairly young age.

There are certainly a lot of grey areas with these unwritten rules. Another factor in the OP's scenario is the size of the lake. On a 50 acre lake, yeah 9 acres of stumps should be available to everyone. If it's a huge reservoir and the guys making a 40 mile run to his secret 9 acres stump field, that's very different. All this interesting discussion reminds me of the big Haines/Lambert controversy on Kentucky Lake in the FLW tournament in 2018. In that situation, I think Lambert had every right to be on the spot since he found the fish on his own and had fished there before Haines did. On day three he got to the spot 2 seconds before Haines did. The guy is this video does a good job of summarizing what happened.

I didn't say any of that. If it's a community hole that everyone knows about and everyone fishes then the fish belong to everyone that knows about it. In your example of the guy in the Bassmaster tournament, if his competitors know about the spot because it's a community hole, or because they caught fish there in practice then they have every right to fish it. If they find our about the hole after finding out a competitor had a big day 1 catch there then they should not fish there during the tournament. Can I fish the spot after watching the tournament on TV? Well, I have done that before as I'm sure many people have. Is it ethical? That's up for debate. We all have spots we fish that we found out about from others. I would never fish a spot in a tournament that someone else showed me or told me about if that person is competing in the tournament unless they gave me permission.

I agree there is a difference between a secret spot and a community hole. I agree a guy can't claim nine acres as his spot. I also think the reason you want to fish the spot matters. If the only reason you're there is because he's been winning all the tournaments and you know where he's been catching them, then you're trying to catch his fish. Find your own fish. I think fishing is a lot like golf. It's played with respect for the sport and for other competitors. In golf there are rules based on your intentions. Since only you know what your intentions are, these rules can only be enforced on the honor system. I would like to see a tournament organization write similar rules for fishing. It would take a lot of thought and effort but would be good for the sport.