Tennessee Boy

Welcome!

Nice bass. Congratulations.

Welcome!

I have much more to say but I'm going to wait til next week's thread on this topic.

86 degrees sound more like it. I would just call in 90 degrees and assume the side imaging beams are coming straight out the sides of the transducer. Mount it so you don't have anything blocking it on either side.

Many have won the Bassmaster Classic who switched hands. Just think how far they could have gone if they had corrected this flaw in their technique . I've never known anyone that switched hands with a spinning reel yet most do with a baitcaster. It doesn't make sense to me but to each his own.

Where are you seeing the Curado DC for $190?

I'm not sure what the Garmin guy was talking about. If he understood what you were asking then it's like slonezp stated, each beam is 60 degrees wide and you may be okay but it looks a little close to me. I don't have any experience with Garmin so it would be good if someone who does chimed in here.

I agree. Fisheries are complicated. I haven't filleted a bass in 35 years but I think some harvesting can be very good. When you remove a fish from the lake you reduce the number of fish in the lake but you also reduces the competition for food for the other fish. In some lakes this is good for others this is bad. It depends on the lake and that's why some lakes have different size limits or slot limits. Trust the people who make the rules and follow the rules.

The question is how wide is your side imaging beam. The side imaging beam on my Humminbird is 86 degrees so it covers from directly below the boat (straight down) to just 4 degrees shy of straight out to the side. I think you will have a problem if your beam is that wide. This is a graphic from my manual. See if you can find something similar for your unit.

Been doing it that way for decades. It’s the only way to go. Use your right hand to do what requires the most coordination. Cranking a reel slowly with my left hand is not hard and it frees my right hand to impart action on the lure and for setting the hook.

I think it’s a mistake to think or rods/reels/lines as a foundation. I think of them as tools and you need to know what you’re trying to accomplish before you can determine what tools are needed to accomplish it. It’s pretty clear you love the sport and have the commitment needed to master it. I would encourage you to focus on mastering the type of fishing you enjoy the most and then work on becoming more diverse.

Sounds like you caught a keeper. Congratulations!

I think my first bass was on a green sunfish on a trotline while fishing for catfish with my grandfather. My first on a lure was on a cork popping bug about 45 years ago.

Ya’ll are making me hungry.

Prayers sent. My lifelong fishing buddy was diagnosed type 1 when he was a child. I remember going to see him in the hospital. That was 45 years ago and he has lived well with it.

I know there are a several pros that would not list a soft plastic as one of their go to baits. Does anyone know of a pro that doesn’t fish them at all?

The Curado DC has been ordered. Hope to try it out when the flood waters reced. Thanks for your help guys.

Welcome to the forum and to fishing. I don't think you will regret getting a M or MH. We love to debate rod selection on this forum but you can catch fish on both and over time you will develop your own preferences fishing style and then you can join in on the debates.

Wow! Nice bass

I have no experience with your boat but I have done this several times. I've always been able to do it without drilling any holes but it was always difficult and extremely frustrating. The last time I did it was last spring. I managed to run the cable along the hull from the console to the front of the boat using two different wire snakes, a camera on a wire that is used to inspect pipes, several pieces of strings, a pool noodle, my wife (until she got mad at me), my neighbor (until he got mad at me), duct tape, and cable pulling lubricant. A professional could probably do it in five minutes. It took me about three hours including the cursing. GOOD LUCK!

So are you a believer in the DC concept? I'm a little weird in that I like to have the same reel on all of my slow retrieve bait casting rods. I've got six Diawas that I've been using for 20 years. The time has come to replace them. I never thought I was that picky about reels but I'm having a hard time finding the right replacement reel. I bought a Zillion SV TW last Summer and hated it. I also tried a Kastking Stealth, it worked okay but it just sounded cheap. Neither cast anywhere near as easy or as far as my old Diawa 105HiLAs.

That is pretty brutal. I've struggled during cold fronts but never seen a tournament like that. I fished club tournaments many years ago. In about 250 tournament there was only one where the conditions stumped everyone. The high for the day was in the low 20s and only six boats showed up. One guy caught two keepers and everyone else got skunked. Still if there had been more boats, maybe someone would have figured them out. I don't think we had another tournament where the winning weight was below seven pounds. Seven pounds for two anglers with five fish limits each is not good but still worth showing up for. Obviously, there are extreme situations that can make fishing very difficult. I always hit the water with the attitude that someone is gonna catch some fish on this lake today and it might as well be me. I've had my share of days when it was not me.

@jbsoonerfan I have to agree with you. No flames from me.

Yeah, I've seen a couple of the videos. I haven't seen any where they test it more that a few inches deep. Depth is the key when testing water resistance. I agree they have proven to be reliable but still one part that is 80% of the cost of the reel? I just notice at the top of the parts page that there is a 20% off code so that brings the cost down to $160.