Tennessee Boy

My experience has been the opposite. All other things being equal, larger line diameter means more drag which usually mean more bow in your line which is the biggest factor in sensitivity in my opinion. This is especially true in strong current.

Welcome to the forum!

I have to disagree with some of the comments in this thread. Sonar units work by sending out pings and then graphing the signals as they return over time. Then a history of the results of these pings are scrolled from right to left. That’s how 2D, DI, and SI all work. The speed of the boat has nothing to do with how it works. Now if you want a pretty picture of that tree on the bottom then yes you need to be moving at a certain speed. Move a little faster and the tree will look a little shorter. Move slower and it will look longer. You would need to know the dimensions of the tree to judge if the image of the tree is somewhat accurate. The same is true with down imaging. Move fast and that drop off will look steep, move slow and it will look more gradual. To accurately interpret sonar results, you need to realize that you are looking at history not an accurate rendering of the bottom. Matching chart speed to boat speed is very subjective. Side imaging can be useful when moving very slow. For example, it can be used to maintain a position a certain distance from a ledge when you are trying to parallel it. You may not be able to recognize objects on the bottom but that doesn’t mean that the results are not accurate and useful.

There's no question that if you want big bass and nice climate, California is the place to go. The problem is, just about every piece of fishing tackle I own has a warning on it that says it causes cancer in California. No way I'm ever fishing there!

According to the posts in this thread, if you have a Lowrance unit, when the screen goes fuzzy you're going too slow. Apparently this is normal. My Humminbirds work fine when I'm not moving.

Try turning off 2D chirp.

I've lived in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama. In all three states, the bass are willing year round. The question is how willing is the angler. I'm willing to fish down to about 40 degrees, the average high in January in middle Tennessee is 47. Around half of the days in January are acceptable fishing days to me. I prefer January fishing to July fishing. The further south you go the more comfortable it is in January and the more miserable it is in July and August. I would recommend that you take a look at North Alabama. You have a nice selection of largemouth lakes like Guntersville, and smallmouth lakes like Wilson and Pickwick. In a couple of hours you can be on one of the Coosa river lakes and the meanest spotted bass in the country.

That's what it's all about.

Does it make a difference if the motor is running or not?

Fall... fishing and football... it doesn't get any better than that.

Welcome to the forum Jason.

Welcome to the forum. You've got a lot of great lakes to fish in your area. Hope you enjoy the boat.

Welcome

I almost never go below 4 lbs because I almost never go below 12# line. That's just me. I would certainly go lower if I was using lighter equipment. It's not like I'm setting my drag to within a 1 oz accuracy. I shoot for around 1/4 lb accuracy somewhere between 1/4-1/3 of the line or rod weight. Also, if I'm using really heavy stuff, I don't worry as much about my drag. No bass is going to break 60# braid or an extra heavy action rod.

I think everyone should do what you are doing a few times to get an understanding of how much force it takes to flex a rod but yes it is a good way to break a rod if you're not careful. I set my drag with a scale before I thread the line through the rod guides. I'm setting the drag to keep my line or my rod from breaking, whichever is weaker. To do that you need to have some idea what the breaking point is for each. A good rule of thumb is 1/4 to 1/3 the maximum line rating of the rod and the same for the # test of the line.

Really good question. How many variable do I change at a time? As few as possible, so hopefully just one. Of course if I'm fishing a buzzbait around shallow cover and then decide to move to deep structure, I'll probably change baits also. ? There are so many things to consider when making these kinds of decisions.

I made the switch in the early nineties because it is a superior way to fish. It allows me to use my dominant hand to impart action on the lure and to detect a strike. It took a few months to get used to. The only real downside was buying new reels. For fast retrieve baits like crankbaits, I still use right hand reels because cranking fast is the most skilled aspect of this type of fishing and I want to use my dominant hand to do it.

I don't do much bank fishing nor do I fish in the Smyna area so take my advice for what it's worth which is not much. The obvious answer to your question is Percy Priest Lake and the Stones River. You've probably looked at a map and figured that out by now. There are many parks around the lake and I assume you could fish from the bank in them. Priest is known for smallmouth. There is also a small lake inside Long Hunter State Park that has a walking path around it and several peers. I have walked on the path and seen people fishing from the peers. Never noticed anyone catching anything. They also have canoes, kayaks that you can rent at the lake. Long Hunter park is on Percy Priest Lake so you can also fish it in the park. Good luck and I hope you enjoy your stay.

Welcome to the forum

Earliest memory of fishing was for catfish with my grandfather in a pond on his farm. A few years later on the same farm I caught a bluegill on a popin bug. That was my first fish on a lure and I was hooked. From there, I slowly evolved into a bass fisherman.

Newer reels are smaller and lighter. That’s what the market demands. Older (pre 2000) reels were well made but bigger and heavier. I grew up in rough era. If you wanted someone’s phone number, you had to look it up in a phone book that weighted 9 pounds. Fishing with a reel that weighted 8 oz didn’t bother my generation ?

For 15 years I used fairly heavy tackle and just locked the drag down. In those 15 years , I only lost one fish because of it. It was the smallmouth of a lifetime and 25 years later I still have trouble sleeping when I think about that fish. Now I set my drag regularly with a scale. I usually set it between 1/4 and 1/3 of the break point. The break point is the weight rating of the line or rod, whichever is lower. The problem I have with thumbing is accuracy. Are you confident you can keep your “thumb drive” between 4 and five pounds when fighting the fish of a lifetime? I set my drag precisely to keep something from breaking and let it do it’s job. As others have mentioned, sometimes you have a bad knot or line abrasion that lowers your line capacity. I’ve lost countless fish due to this. That’s not a problem with my drag setting. That’s me being too lazy to retie.

If you are using an onboard charger, try disconnecting it from the battery your fish finder is attached to. I’ve heard of interference leaking through the charger from the trolling motor. I think this is rare but it’s easy to test in the garage.

Great video! Thanks

Very impressive trolling motor.