skeeter

Recently heard that Humminbird is suing Lowrance's parent Company for infringement on Patent rights to side imaging. It seems H'Bird claims Lowrance stole a lot of their SI technology. As far as cost of H'Bird units, I hear you loud and clear. If it's any help I got an email earlier this week that Bass Pro is running their "six-pay" plan again where you can divide the cost of anything you buy over a certain dollar amount into six equal payments on your plastic. H'Bird also released a FREE software update in January 2010 to registered owners that updates certain existing SI units to the 2D technology Lowrance is yapping about. I've seen both and they are pretty much identical in results. Neat stuff !!! All you have to do is download it to a SD memory card and follow very simple and concise instructions to install. The unit boots back up at the end of the install and your new 2D view is there !

IMHO, save your money and get the Hotmaps 2010 and not the Premium. Last Spring a VERY kind gentleman at BP Springfield put demo's of the 2009 Premium and 2009 Non-Premium cards in a sales counter mounted H'Bird 1197si identical to what I had just installed. There were only minor differences in the Premium vs. non-Premium which certainly wasn't worth the extra $$ for my needs and then he showed me the 2009 vs. the 2008 Navionics card for TR and, other than the 2008 being $75 less expensive, there was no difference at all. I see you are in the Nixa area....maybe you could drive up to BP on Campbell and go to the Electronics dept. and ask to see their demonstrator cards in action ? That would answer your questions first hand. Nothing like seeing the real thing. Good luck, hope you enjoy whatever you decide on.

IMHO, warm(er) rain will be the key along with Sun and wind, but we need the wind to come from the South. It's been blowing out of the North for so long I think it forgot where South is. Another good sign is the nighttime temps have not been falling below freezing. With the strong sunshine Monday, I think a lot of the weekend run-off still flowing into the Lake got warmed up. The Sun was so strong I had to put a hat on my "follically challenged" melon while I was scraping paint off our old siding.

Jason, Like you, I am concerned about what this 1.5 inches of super cold rain will do to water temps ? Can't be anything good... Found only 43 degrees on main lake in Baxter area late Friday afternoon and 49 back in only a couple of coves. Shad were everywhere we looked in the coves, you could just about walk on them and nothing was into them. No predator fish visible on electronics and we searched, fished and struck out for six hours. Used PB&J jig n'chunk, swam three different color single tail grubs on 1/8 oz. heads in varying depths and had one angler in the boat throwing a wart. Nothing, not even a bump. We did notice a large school of bluegill had moved into a shallow cove just before sundown but this cold has probably run them back out.

Phew !! At first glance at your unknown fish I thought " OMG! It's a Bighead Carp in TR" then I noticed the placment of the eye above the jaw line. Landowners who stocked the "White Amur" in farm ponds for weed control were told they were vegetarians only, then they discovered otherwise when the weeds were all eaten.

Very nice ! Thanks.

We used to catch Walleye and Sauger just above the old Gravois Road bridge up to the new Highway 30 bridge at this time of year. There is a lot of bedrock on the bottom in that stretch of River. Haven't been there in many years and I see where they blew up the old Gravois bridge and dropped it in the River and are cutting it apart. That probably spooked the fish pretty badly. Another decent place was downstream from the Winter Park gravel mining operation where the River first flows back into it's original channel and creates a fast riffle at low water. You had to be very early to do well at either location and with the recent, although late, warm-up it may be over and done with there.

Thanks much for the info about time it takes to transmit/enter brush piles on MDC maps. I understand. Always appreciate replies and information. Maybe they figure the fishing season hasn't started yet ??? Really thought the cove we saw them working in would benefit from their work and the placement seemed well thought out. But....four months as of next week ?

Having watched the MDC work boat late last Fall place brush in local coves and seeing the pink ribbons they tied on shoreline trees to indicate where the off-shore brushpiles are, I can tell you for sure their map is NOT up to date. Have no idea what the problem is about updating the interactive map on their website but I can tell you one cove where there are far more brushpiles than what the map indicates.

Well said !

Good answer Techo and I have the same experience. Beware BP Reels unless you go with the very high end. If you buy, put your receipt somewhere safe. Just my two cents and experience with their products since Brown Derby days. Johhny Morris signature rods are great on sale if you get the ones with the titanium guides. Again, keep your receipts.

In the new budget, but no lock-closing details. Notice the "Great Lakes Coaltion's" comments. http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/illinoisnews/story/4557D7C3FE337DB0862576D200164758?OpenDocument

That is "neat stuff" resorting to gene manipulation to solve this problem. Maybe that "suicide gene" can be introduced to the Zebra Mussel species too ? From a layman's point of view I kind of question the single sex reproduction strategy as we know that certain fish are quite capable of changing their sex during their lifespans. A couple of years ago the TV news reported about a plan to catch these fish and turn them into pet food in some way but either it wasn't feasible or was underfunded. I know the commercial fishermen up in the Grafton IL area have their equipment repeatedly just about destroyed by these carp due to sheer numbers of the darn things and it's made life on the Rivers tough and dangerous. Can you imagine being in a fast moving Bass rig and getting hit by one of these fish ? There was an article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch Wed. or Thurs. about the recent cold snap killing possibly half of the invasive Pythons that got loose in the Everglades along with many species of non-native fish. The article went on to quote some figure in authority about the need for Federal law prohibiting the deliberate importation of live, non-native critters. At the end of the article some "deep-thinker" commented that to ban those imports would put ( in his words ) thousands of Floridians out of work and destroy an industry. ???!!! http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/lifestyle/stories.nsf/pets/story/E281EF631F55E376862576C80019B96B?OpenDocument

Gee fellers, how's it feel when the shoe is on the other foot ? A little thin skinned, aren't we, when your guy is in office and in charge and screwing up while bowing and kowtowing to obvious monetary pressures ?? Seems like the politicos really are all alike aren't they ? "Crap"? Hardly.... it's a legitimate criticism that you don't want to hear. Go back and read some of the " W " bashing that went on. Did you conveniently forget all that stuff ? Welcome to the real world, it's a two way street. It's hilarious to hear you obvious Obama backers whine about complaints and watch you squirm with disbelief at how your guy caves to the ultimate political goal.....raise campaign funds to get re-elected and to heck with the consequences. Change ??.... my fat fanny !!! Close the darn locks whether they leak or not. That waterway connecting Chi-town and L. Michigan to the Illinois R. was originally hand dug to flush Chicago's sewage down the Illinois River and into the Mississippi rather than discharge into L. Michigan and then try and use the lake for the City water supply. The Lampreys, Zebra mussels and the Goby's were/are bad enough.

Yeah, the truth hurts doesn't it ? http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_asian_carp_great_lakes

What is REALLY sad is reading the last sentence in the second paragraph in the opening statement on the website.....Our wonderful President !!! Maybe we should re-name these things as the Nobamahead-carp ?

Thanks for correcting the link. Sounds like a great way to save fish. Like the idea of carefully using a thin piece of stiff wire rather than my oversized fingers in that delicate area of the gills but have a question. I'm assuming that the hook point and arch has to be gently pushed deeper into the fish's throat to free the barb then rotated to the side to free it ? Is that correct or am I completely missing something in the illustrated explanation ? Thanks.

Found this article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Thought it interesting that MO and AR governments are planning to cooperate on this issue. http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/sciencemedicine/story/6E5C41735F94070E862576C50012F96D?OpenDocument#tp_newCommentAnchor

The link doesn't work for me. Anyone else having any success ?

Thanks for posting the links. It's gotten so bad in the Marine industry you need a scorecard to keep up with who owns what. I have lost track of how many times Champion has been sold. After John bought and sold his boat Company back, again, for the third time I gave up trying but that was many years ago. Champion started off in Mountain Home after John sold his Bass Trail trailer business and it looks like it may be headed back to the same general area. Long term manufacturer's warranties apparently are worthless these days. Again, it's the banks that caused all this turmoil.

After last Winter and the monster ice storm I am really greatful for the outstanding job of powerline brush and tree trimming Carroll Elec. Co-op did last year. So far, this is the hardest Winter we've had in many years. Haven't noticed the Eagles out over the lake lately and they and the gulls are usually scooping up the dying shad by now. The resident Canada geese seem to have disappeared too. But the birds are cleaning out the feeders like crazy. Good luck with the construction, last year I was doing the same thing at this time in the basement and looking forward to a lot of Winter fishing this year....oh well ! At least the sleet turned to steady rain and melted the ice on our deck....for now.

Nope, it's not a Pro XS, just the standard Optimax and I and others are really impressed with it's performance. Based on hearsay and talking to a lot of service dept. folks, I recommended it to him and he's grinnin' with the results. The gentleman had to have a leg amputated due to long term Peripheral Artery Disease and needed something with a flat deck so he could get around in a boat on the prosthesis. He sold his Stratos Fish n' Ski with a 200 Johnson Venom on it so he's familiar with higher performance boats and outboards and that Stratos was only one of many he's owned over the years. Speaking of using oil, the dealer service dept. manager who has over 30 years experience in the industry strongly urged using only the Merc Optimax oil in the new motor. We noticed Merc also seems to have quieted the air pump injection systems on the new Optimax. I can always tell without looking when another buddy is pulling into the Marina at idle speed with his older Optimax. Always sounds like something kind of "fizzing" but not on the 2010.

4fishys, My neighbor and good friend got a 2010 150HP Optimax back in the Fall on his new pontoon boat rigged for fishing. He had it out seven / eight times before weather got too cold for him and that is one great running and performing outboard. He got the "lifting strakes" on the tritoon and the thing get's up on plane and scoots for a 24 footer. "Out of the hole" acceleration is unbeleivable for a 'toon that size and it's not due to the prop as he had them prop it for cruising. Several dealer's service dept's. managers said the new Opti's are using less fuel than comparable four strokes and you don't have the oil change hassle on them. Hope yours works out for you and you enjoy. How in the world did a guy from Chicagoland hook up with Cook's down in little old Troy MO ? I'll bet that's a story in itself. Wrench and Bill, thanks for posting the info about the '05 Opti's. Good to know.

Here we go again ! Light freezing rain, sleet and a little snow this morning in Baxter area. Started down to the boat and couldn't even walk on the iced-over boards going out the ramp to the dock. Supposed to continue off and on through tomorrow (Friday) then more snow Sunday night and Monday. Darn that Groundhog !

Strongly disagree. In those seas that were running at the time the change of course the Japanese vessel made was a deliberate "hard to starboard" turn of the rudder. If they were trying to avoid the "bat boat" you don't turn into it at that proximity even if attempting a specific turn like the "Williamson" or "Scharnow" turn to avoid the "bat boat" with the stern of the whaling vessel. If the people of the Sea Shepherd group don't take action, who will ? I don't see the elitist tree huggers at Greenpeace doing squat here except a lot of lip service. The Japanese whaling interests are breaking International Law and thumbing their noses at all of us so have at 'em.