J-Doc

Yes. You just have to jump in and learn it. I've spent a year learning about sonar and have just scratched the surface. I think I have a much better handle on it now than before. But I can tell you that I'm more productive because of it. It's a tool. In order to be productive you have to learn to use the tool effectively. Not knocking anyone, just restating what many pros have said many times. For that matter, I'm trying to encourage others to learn to use what they have. Not go buy a fancy unit. Using what you have is key. When you do upgrade as I have, your tool just became a super tool.

kjackson Wrap this thing up so I can take you out on Beaver and catch some fish. :-) I have about 4-5hrs of break in left and after that, it's all business.

Yep. You caught on to that one. :-) I would love to just disappear in that part of Florida. I know you're working really hard and you understand, I am only teasing in good fun. Hope you get it all done so you can enjoy some of that awesome location you are in. No one should have to visit there and work all the time.

Net may be sketchy but you had time to live it up in Naples this weekend. I have no sympathy sir. None...... Lol

I forgot to post the pic of the smallie. Here's the smallmouth I caught. I shamelessly placed an Ozark Anglers sticker in the livewell for the fish pics. I call it the "glamor shot". Hehe

I'll say it's a new 18'-8" alum. rig. :-) It's identity will remain unknown for now. So many lurkers here already follow Feathers&Fins like a puppy and he even has people pull up to him and ask if he's catching them and what's he using. One guy said he was going to come back later and fish his spot. Really?????? Yep, I'll keep quiet thank you. LOL

Good link. Also think right to left. What is happening immediately on the far right of your screen is "NOW". On the left is what happened previously as a scrolling history. Thus you can change the "scroll speed" or chart speed. Signals are sent to the bottom based on ping speed which is roughly like 15 - 30 times per second. When a signal is bounced back, it registers on the graph showing fish and bottom composition. So...........far right is current. General sonar basics are a must for anyone with a fish finder. Having confidence in your tool will change your fishing there is not a doubt in my mind. I know it did me.

And................that would be the issue. And some maniac on a jet ski. He kept flying in and out of that entire cove at wide open throttle like he was a BMX moto racer on a closed track. Saw that guy 10 times plus.

Yep, tried that. This color seems to pick up the smaller details oddly. I tried multiple colors configurations this weekend.

I'm thinking in screenshot 4 its showing old railroad cross-ties from the old Monte Ne railroad line that was adjacent to the creek bed. Consistent length, consistent location. Only seems logical.

I know not what you speak of sir.......

HAA!!!!! Yes you do. :-) (kidding) You can get an HDS7 for $700 now at Cabelas. I said the same thing. I've lived with the low end stuff for years. Finally got a deal on a Lowrance Elite 5dsi and it was between a $100 unit and a $700 unit. Between by halfway between in quality of image and the info it gave you. NOW............these big HDS units I have are simply amazing. I promise you........once you learn how to use the tool........you will understand why the pros love them so much. The quality of the information they feed you is so nice. I am a bit of a "sonar geek" too so I really love the technology. I had always wanted to "learn" to read a fish finder and once I got the initial concept of what it was telling me, the light bulb turned on and then I researched. I highly recommend the Dr Sonar DVD for basic sonar information for any brand or make of fish finder. Once you understand what you're looking at, you "get it" and the value you get from your current fish finder just went way up.

I was breaking in the new boat this weekend and witnessed more than my share of stupidity from the "other kind of boats". As I was loading today, trailer is in the water, I'm headed towards it and guy in cabin cruiser doesn't even look my way and cuts me off to load his family/friends. Really hacked me off. I just had to sit there and wait till he was done because he was completely in my line of loading next to the dock and Prairie Creek. Anyway. So I have new graphs and could not wait to share these. I'm going to get some better images of the amphitheater but due to boat traffic, my boat was rocking on a couple of images or...I was turning to get a better angle and that just messes up the image. I did make note that the old bridge from the early Monte Ne era where the gondolas used to take passengers under has had a portion of it collapse. Which is sad but hey.......it's been underwater and forgotten about by most for over 50yrs. It's lucky to be standing at all. Look at the very bottom of this post for the screenshots and images. For fishing.........I only fished to cool the motor down during the break in period. I found lots of active fish in multiple species around the 12 bridge area. For that matter, with these new graphs I found fish in almost every place I stopped and lots of fish too! And.............I covered 97 miles in two days on about 3/4 of a tank of gas (20gal) so I was doing REALLY good on fuel. Varying speeds/rpm for motor break-in. So..........to find fish in almost every area, that's saying something about this fishery. AND.........it pays big time to get really good quality graphs. You just don't know what you're missing until you have used lower end stuff for years and then all the sudden........you get 1080p HD Blue-Ray! LOL!!!! Oh.......the fishing. I almost forgot. This morning I got a very late start and was on the water around 8 I think. Very calm water. Was really nice. The wakers were not "awake"...(HA!). I knew of a main lake point that always holds fish and sure enough, they were there in a big way. I found this nice 17"+ smallmouth on a Strike King Sexy Dog topwater plug. Long casts in clear water was key. They wouldn't bite it within a reasonable distance from boat. I also got a couple on drop shot and the jigging spoon. The fish on this point were tough. Water clarity was about 10-11ft easy so in 20ft, they could see my boat fairly easy. That big lurking shadow must have thrown them off because I couldn't get them to bite much at all in multiple bait presentations. Even my "cheating" baits were not working too well. After about 12, the wake crowd was in full force and when I left around 1:30........there was a stead convoy of wake makers heading to the lake which made me glad to be off the water. My new boat rides really well but in really rough water, it can be dangerous because the strakes on the bottom grab suddenly and can twist the front of the boat a little and throws you around. You just can't get crazy in it. I don't know Karate.....but I do know Ca-RaZY! :-) Here's the screenshots......really love these new graphs. Worth every penny! Here is the old bridge at Monte Ne (out of the water years ago) Here are my screenshots. Here is the amphitheater Here is the old bridge pilings off the corner of the marina at Prairie Creek. I've always wondered what I was seeing on my old Elite 5dsi unit. The piers are long concrete piers that were in the old creek bed. You can see this pretty clearly here. Here is a good example of an old road bed that follows my map card to the letter. Really cool.

For everything but stripers? Someone better tell them don't bite small baits then. Lol

That's a big ole slab in the front row on mid-left. 3lbs? Are you using a 1/8oz weight for jig head at that depth? Yesterday morning was awesome weather and the topwater bite was good.

I checked my new Hot Maps card and it has the same contours as the app. It has more data and mapping information like road beds and such, but the back of Honey Creek looks the same as the app.

I believe you can set the water elevation too.

I have my own chip and I will have insight by end of the weekend thank you very much!! :-p~~~

I just looked at my app and it does not show detail in Honey Creek. I suspect it's because it was not scanned. You should expand your map and look at intercostal waters. It's dead on with a friends Garmin chartplotter in SW Florida. For that matter, I can look at the Bahamas and see depths. You get a lot for this app in my opinion. My Elite 5dsi would not work with Hot Maps so the app filled in the blanks for me on Beaver.

I like the app. I haven't paid much attention to the dam end. I find its pretty accurate.

I went last year on Memorial Day and fished the south portion for bass for most of the trip. Only a bite. Fished the north end and found a lot of crappie. It is new water so it needs to be dissected in a few trips to figure it out. Now that I have side scan........well the poor suckers don't stand a chance. Lol. Reports are, nice fishing if you get lucky.

This could be a good thing. It's such a beautiful lake. And NO WAKE BOATS!! LOL

Lol!! I can't hide anywhere..... Yes, I posted a recipe and one for striper gumbo too.

Lol!!! I know. I was teasing. I couldn't resist bud. :-)

Crappie better than striper???? Um....if you say so. Blackend striper is as good as grouper! Boat pics?? Nope. Soon as I do that I'll have people following me like they do F&F. The location (and identity in this case) of the lockbox is only known by me and the Joint Chiefs of Staff" - Al Gore. In other words, I ain't spillin' the beans! Lol