sticksteer

Thanks guys for all of your valuable comments . . . . much appreciated. I swear I must have put in 50 hours this past week reading, researching, reading, researching and then more reading and researching on forums, retail outlets and online support sites in an attempt to make a half-way intelligent decision in choosing a new gps/finder combo. I have decided to choose a Humminbird unit over Lowrance and a Lakemaster chip over Navionics. I have gained a wealth of knowledge over the past week. The average cost of installation will be between 125 and 150 . . . . the chip another 120 to 130 and perhaps a Ram mount between 35 and 70 . . . . . the numbers keep moving higher even without the price of the actual unit included. The entire process would be made a lot easier if money was not a factor . . . . . as I mentioned once before, I think the highest priced units should include a link to a list of divorce attorneys. The new technology come with a price, for sure. I think I've narrowed it down to the 798ci HD SI Combo . . . . although I am concerned about the side-imaging details being somewhat too small on a screen measuring only 5 inches diagonally . . . . I will attend the Tuesday night presentation at BPS and check back on this thread for possibly some additional input . . . . . you guys on this forum are great! Thanks so much for any and all input.

Go to BPS during Monday-Friday regular day business hours (before 4pm) and talk to Scott in Marine electronics . . . . . he will demo to you how how humminbird has it all over lowrance and lakemaster has it all over navionics and then some . . . . . he will leave no doubt in your mind . . . it is a shame that the rock is not a part of the lakemaster chip at this time . . . . . . just remember, the side imaging will be very difficult to read over an expanse of more than 50 feet if your unit has a 5 inch display or less . . . . tough to pick out details when you are side imaging 75-125 ft on a 5 inch screen . . . and, of course, the 7, 8 and larger size screens are so costly they come with a free link to a list of local divorce attorneys.

Thank you so much to all the regulars whose comments and advice are soooooooo helpful and very much appreciated. I am considering a unit with down imaging . . . . . however, lately I have become a little hesitant about jumping into a DI unit. I have been reading some comments on various forums nationwide about problems with fuzzy images unless speed and boat steadiness are very constant, precise and controlled. What those specific speeds might be I am not certain. I would very much appreciate feedback on these issues of DI . . . . . . . and, if these concerns are justified, does that mean that the fiberglass bass boats would be a more likely candidate for DI (and perhaps also SI) than the lighter-weight aluminum fishing boats? Thanks for any and all feedback.

$30 a night for a covered slip for a 16 foot fishing boat . . . . . give me a break . . . . the Marina at Bass Pro Shops Big Cedar Lodge (also too rich for my blood) only charges $20 . . . and I thought that was high . . . . . . Geeeeeeez . . . . . wouldn't be a bad deal if it included all-you-can-eat at their restaurant . . . . . I don't have a need for a nightly slip rental very often, but I thought the going rate on midwest lakes was around $12-$15 night . . . .am I badly mistaken? . . . . . please correct me and I owe an apology if I am simply out of touch with the $30/night price :-)

I bought the Bass Pro Shop digital scale for $20 . . . . . I weighed about everything I could find in our household that had a specific weight marked on it by the manufacturer . . . . examples: 5 lb bag of sugar, 1 lb of butter, 12oz box of cereal, 10 lb bag of potatoes, 2 lb pkg of bacon, etc . . . . . every item I weighed registered "3 ounces over on the scale" - no matter whether it was heavy or light, every object was + 3 ounces . . . . very accurate, just subtract 3 ounces on each fish :-)

thanks for the report . . . . . nice of you to share information on your great day . . . . . . nice pic / nice bass . . . . thanks for your service to our country :-)

Nice report . . . . . thanks so much for sharing the info :-)

Great Fish ZX190! I'm glad I motivated you to give it a try. It'll be difficult to top that one. I commend you for releasing this one. Just start a "picture wall" in your office . . . you'll be able to display more of your achievements and for a lot less money, while doing a good deed for future anglers and fish populations. I have not kept a fish in years . . . at the most, I'll keep one in the livewell until I get a second decent fish, photograph the two and release them . . . just as I did yesterday. If the livewell is well-aerated, clean and not overcrowded, the fish will be released in excellent condition. Keep up the good work.

Water temp 56-57 degrees . . . . approximately 40 bass between 12:30pm-4:30pm . . . great fun! . . . beautiful day! . . . caught about half on jerkbait and half on "Yellow Magic" . . . can't believe they're hittin on top at this time of the year . . . . boat positioned mainly in 17-20 feet of water and strikes coming in the 6 to 10 foot column of water . . . . fishing half-way back in coves off main-lake points . . . best activity on rocky shorelines with or without wind . . . seemed to do just as good in calm water as shorelines with moderate wind . . . 30 out of the 40 or so bass were "shorts", but most were "stout" 13-14 inchers . . . largest bass (photo) approximately 2 1/2 and 4 pounds . . . . the fishing season seems to just "keep on keepin on" . . . fished mainly within 1 to 2 miles of dam, both east and west sides

61-62 degrees in every area that I fished (which was mainly within 1 to 2 miles of the dam} . . . The Yellow Magic is a top water popper . . . and certainly would not have thought it would be the best producer of the day . . . . I don't think I have ever thrown a topwater of any kind in 8 to 12 inch waves . . . I was shocked that it was so productive this time of the year and in those windy conditions . . . the smallies weren't playing with it . . they wanted it

fished from 1-4:30pm . . . . nothing on my usual "go-to" jerkbait . . . . nothing on my shallow and/or deep-diving crankbaits . . . . . then about a dozen smallmouth on the "yellow magic" . . . . all smallies, not a single largemouth . . . . crazy . . . . all on the north side shoreline (windy side) off main-lake points . . . . lost a couple of really nice ones . . . . . most hit hard and were hooked well even in the 12-inch waves . . . . most of the time the boat was in 12 to 15 feet of water and I was casting close to the shoreline . . . . strikes came in the 2 to 8 foot column of water . . . the photo is the typical size of the smallies I was able to land

fished today from 11am to 6pm . . . . not exactly the peak fishing times but a beautiful day on the water , , , , and a lot of action . . . . the first time this year where the jerkbait produced only bass . . . . no walleye, no cats and no carp . . . . just bass . . . . . . no complaints from my end . . . . . . fished mainly the northern part of the lake, east and west sides from the State Park to the dam, including entry and exit passageways to the quarry . . . . . no wind and sunny to partly cloudy conditions . . . . . backs of coves were 68 degrees . . . . . main lake points were 62 degrees . . . . . . caught approximately 35 bass all on jerkbait . . . . . . . largest bass 3 ½ lbs . . . . . . approximately 10-12 of the bass were 15 inches or better . . . . . . majority of the bass were 12-14 inches . . . . . . . . . most bass took the jerkbait in 5 to 10 feet of water while the boat was in 15 to 25 feet of water . . . . . most were taken on gravel and rocky shorelines about midway between the main lake point and the back of the cove . . . . hope everyone has a chance to get out there this time of the year and take in some of Stockton’s pristine beauty . . . . . a wonderful, tranquil day on the water

walleye were caught in 10-15 feet of water with the boat in 20 feet of water . . . both walleye were released alive and well after photo:-)

14 bass today with largest being 2 3/4lb . . . . some caught on jerkbait and some on slab buster jig while fishing for crappie . . . . . . caught 5 crappie (all 9 1/2 inches) . . . . both walleye (see photo - click to enlarge) caught on jerkbait . . . . water temp 62-67 degrees . . . . caught walleye and larger bass off main lake gravel points and just off the side of the points . . . . caught smaller bass and crappie near the backs of coves . . . crappie in 7-9 feet of water and walleye and larger bass in 10-15 feet of water . . . fished from 7am to 1pm . . . a beautiful day and a lot of action . . . . very little wind