Tennessee Boy

I think the 360 is due for upgrade so it may be smart to wait. Keep in mind that the 360 is not just a transducer. It connects via ethernet to your network or the ethernet connection on your fishfinder. I would be surprised and ticked off it a new 360 did not work with any of the newer networkable Humminbird units.

Great fish. I love winter fishing.

There are ALWAYS low cost options!

Now that was CLEARLY the dog's fault.?

Welcome

Welcome!

I'm no expert on insurance but I've found that when an agent ask you a question, your answer will affect the price you pay. They will most defininately ask you how big the boat is, what it's made of, and the HP of the motor. Personally, if I called my agent with the question you just ask and he couldn't give me an answer, I would look for another agent. When I bought a new boat last spring, I got an exact quote then when I pulled the trigger the agent called the dealer and got the serial numbers.

The answer to your question for the great majority of people is simple. They find their dream boat, they take out a loan and they regret the decision when they get to around age 55-60. If you don't worry about financial security in your old age you can afford a lot of nice things.

My use of the words "low resolution" to describe 360's limitations may not be the best way to describe it. It's very good in 5ft of water and worthless at 30ft. I'm usually fishing in around 15ft with shallower water on one side and deeper on the other. It's great at showing me where the structure is in relation to the boat which is why I love it. It's hit or miss at showing me breaks on the structure depending on how deep they are. I'm sure the technology will only get better and I'm looking forward to it. I have not seen Livescope in person. It scores very high on the cool factor. I'm not sold on the concept of having to point the beam at what you want to look at but I'm sure it would come it handy at times. I like glancing at the screen and being able to see what's around me. Sometimes I'm suprised to find something in a place that I would never have looked with Livescope. It would be great to have both but that's not very practical.

I outfitted a new boat last spring and this is why I choose Humminbird Solix. First was the Lakemaster charts. They are fantastic and will help you catch more fish hands down. This only matters if there are high definition Lakemaster maps for the lakes you fish. Like you I'm in middle Tennessee. There are HD maps for all of the Tennessee River lakes, Barkley, Old Hickory, and Percy Priest. There are not maps for Center Hill and Dale Hollow. You can check the web site if there are other lakes you are interested in. Make sure they are high definition maps, the lower definition maps are made from the same old public info that has been used in paper maps for years. The second reason I went with Humminbird is 360 imaging. I wanted it and I like it. It's a great concept but the implementation has a lot of room for improvement. It gives you a view similar to side imaging but while you are fishing and with MUCH lower resolution. The low resolution can be frustrating but the information it provides is still very helpful and I catch more fish because of it. The third reason I went with Humminbird is the i-pilot link. I have a Minn-kota Ultrex and I'm a very big fan of i-pilot. The integration that i-pilot link gives you with Humminbird is very nice but I woundn't say it alone is reason to go with Humminbird. I very please with my decision to go Humminbird. If Lakemaster maps were not available in my area and if I was not planning to spend the money to add 360 imaging, I would probably have gone with Garmin.

Their water level offset feature works with the card or if you download the maps. Like @zeth I prefer to download the maps instead of buying the card but it does require tinkering with technology that some folks may find difficult.

Fantastic news! Hope you're back to pullin in fish soon.

Welcome

Thanks @BassNJake for taking the time to create this diagram. It's facinating to see the approaches others take. Personally, I would probably be very focused on fishing the rock veins at different depths and I don't know if I would ever get around to fishing the isolated rocks that produced for you.

Welcome to the forum!

Ultimately, the fish decide what they use for cover. This can vary from lake to lake and from season to season. Most people would say that a lake has structure even if there are no fish in the lake. I would have to agree but as a structure fisherman I don't see it that way. To me the fish also decide what is structure.

Great discussion. Thanks for the Buck Perry refresher @Team9nine . I'm definitely in the Buck Perry camp. Again, my real concern is how something affects the bass' behavior. What we call it only matters in our discussions. Does a cement block that holds down a brush pile affect the bass in a way that I need to be aware of? If it does then maybe we need to classify it. If not then it doesn't matter what you call it.

Welcome!

In our discussions, it helps if use the same terminology. When fishing it may be more important to understand the concepts. I think of structure as what the bass uses in their movement between their deep water home and shallow water. I think of cover as their hiding place. Sometimes the bass might ignore our definitions and hide in what we call structure and move along what we call cover. I hate it when fish don't follow the rules ?. I think I remember Buck Perry calling an old fence row structure. It could probably be classified either way and be used either way by the fish.

On Kentucky lake the crappie fishermen drop a lot of stuff on the flats in the backs of creeks. During the post spawn I look for this isolated cover on the flats between the spawning areas and the main creek channel. I can usually catch good numbers and a few quality fish just off the bed. This is a great pattern for a few weeks in late spring.

Welcome!

Welcome back

Tom's points about line sag are very important and often overlooked. Line stretch and line sag have the same dampening effect between the bait and the angler. I don't think anyone can deny line sag has a much larger impact. I can feel every rock and every stick when I'm fishing a 3/4 oz weight on a Carolina rig with 40 feet of mono between me and the weight. It's much more difficult when I'm fishing a t-rig with a 1/8 oz weight even with much less line between me and the bait. Why, because I can keep a tighter line with the heavier weight. When I'm fishing a weightless Trickworm, I'm watching my line very closely because it's hard to feel anything. The best way to improve your connection with your lure is to increase the weight you fish with. Of course increasing your weight can have many undesirable effects. The smaller diameter of braid offers real advantages due to its reduced drag. The lower stretch/higher sensitivity argument for braid and FC, while undeniable, is wildly overrated in my opinion.

Me too. I've never caught a fish while messing with my line. A-men.. Preach it brother!!! I try something new every now and then but I've always come back to mono. Braid has it's place but not so much in the fishing I do 90% of the time.

Welcome