bobby b.

I think this failed prematurely for me for several reasons but I posted this because if this fails while the motor is deployed it would take 2 men and a boy standing in the water to get it stowed. The reasons I think it failed maturely is because I use a TH marine troll-tamer so I don't have to use that velcro hold down. This requires me to kick the troll tamer release with my foot as I pull the cable and if I don't connect with the troll tamer release correctly, I am pulling on the cable release while pulling up on the motor to deploy and of course nothing is happening other than me pulling harder, putting undo stress on the cable connections and well as where the cable comes out of the motor hole. Also I have a live scope transducer turret on top of the troller adding some more weight. I do think I could retro fit with another handle but the other weak point is at the other end connection. In summary the Force guys might want to inspect the cable periodically. For me I have changed my method of deployment by being more aware of the troll tamer release and use the cable to just release the motor latch and then deploy the motor by lifting the head.

Coated stainless steel aircraft cable.

I'm thinking if you went fishing with a Table Rock guide (i.e. Bill Babler) who uses Garmin stuff and go this time of year that would work.

The cable broke unexpectedly at the handle but from the pic you can see it was frayed at the point where it comes out of the motor. I'm sure that this is due to the way I use the cable to lift the motor from the stowed position. A new cable was provided free of charge by Garmin. I looked around to see if there was an after-market part that may be better but none found. The replacement process was easy. What will not be easy is getting the motor stowed if the cable broke while deployed. Garmin tells me that one can use a flat bladed screwdriver to release the "keepers" on the slides but I could not do it maybe in part as I had installed the upgraded heavy duty spring. I plan on replacing this about every year. My unit is about 18 months old. Bobby

Poetry?☺️

Two ways to transfer data to the Garmin. 1) install Homeport from the Garmin website, upload the GPX file to the Homeport app and then convert to ADM format, download the file to an SD card (probably micro depending on your Garmin chartplotter model.) - put the SD card in the chartplotter and it will probably prompt you to upload, merge, or download. If there is no prompt - go to Nav Info - Manage Data - Data Transfer. or 2) If you have the gpx file on an SD card, you may be able to skip the Homeport app and go directly to the Chartplotter and it will convert to the ADM format. If you have data on the Chartplotter that you want to keep, take care regarding merge, replace, etc. Putting old data into Homeport at some point is good as you can change symbols etc. to match Garmins symbols.

Bill, ya know that someday we could be too old to trailer and launch a boat at the ramp and yet not so old as to operate a boat off of a lift and therefore have a few more years to enjoy the lake. However, in my case I would be stuck at the dam area where there are no fish. Bobby

Yes, quality stuff - I recall meeting him at a restaurant in KC to pick up an order.

Like the Damiki rig that "circles" when vertically jigged. How does the action change if you use the other eye hook?

Happy Birthday Bill, Bobby

Thanks to all for your concern and prayers. Wife is doing OK. Here is a little more info about Covid - I did not know this - maybe you do. My wife tested positive at home two days before we went to Urgent Care - at Urgent care she tested negative - the health care workers told us that the test we used at home is 99.5% accurate as is the ones they use. They told me that these nasal test will only show true within a 5 day window with day one being when you contracted the virus. Also, at this time there is nothing that can be done unless you are in a really bad way. One of the ways to know is if your O2 falls below 90. They told me that the monoclonal antibodies used to treat Covid is in very short supply because the government decided against this treatment until just recently. Covid can cause other things - in my wife's case - bronchitis.

Water temperature at the dam area is 48 degrees. I seem to have lost my deep bite, yet I note that Dock still has his at Mid Lake. Is the lake turning over? Question - How does the winter turn over effect YOUR fishing and where do you mostly fish? i.e. dam area, mid lak, upper White, James? Something to talk about for the next cold days. Bobby PS - My wife just tested positive for Covid - Not too bad of a case so far - thank God, this house don't work well without her at near full capacity - she has had her 3 shots and she only goes to Church and curb side pickup for groceries and always wears an N95 mask- rarely leaves the house. - we did have a couple of test in the house but tried to buy more - none available around Branson West - a few came in at Lakeland last night, got a couple but paid twice the price, $35/2 test. You can order free ones at special.usps.com/testkits

Dock, Another excellent report. What is the line you are using? Nanofil? I was recently introduced to it and like it. I use a fluro leader. Thanks Bobby

The Garmin Livescope has a Color Gain and a Power? Gain. I think the Color Gain is like Contract. The Power Gain adjustment shows on the screen and is used mostly for changing water depths. Bill, I did try the Rust Steel - not sure I like as well as well as the Emerald BUT it really does make the fish POP out with a whitest/pinkest color. I tried it on the Clear view as well. This might be a place to mess with the color gain as well.

Dutch, You must be the first kid on the block with the new toy as my neighbor tells me there is a waiting line for this. I would start with the settings in the default and adjust the bottom to fill the screen or use the auto bottom setting if that fills the screen. I would set the gain as high as possible without filling the forward looking portion with all that noise, assuming it acts like Garmin in this regard. Range 50 ft like Bill said. Then throw something like a 3/8 oz jig head/grub out pass 50 ft in the direction that the transducer is facing, count down such that you know what the depth of the jig should be (20 - 30 ft) and then slowly reel back looking for the jig to appear on the screen. You may have to move the transducer direction a bit if the boat has moved. As the jig appears on the screen if may be faint but should brighten as it gets closer. Also try the different color palettes to set what works best for you. Garmin offers a green/black (emerald I think they call it) that works well for me. After that try a vertical presentation at about 30 - 50 fow. You should be able to see the jig drop to the bottom and see fish appear and likely reject the bait. 😁 The Garmin has some additional settings when the depth is deeper. The Garmin Panoptix runs at a higher frequency than the 2D, and down/side imaging so there is no interference. So then on your vertical presentation, compare the 3 views if you can - Mega Live, 2d, and down image. My gain setting is generally about 60%. Good Luck, Bobby

Dock, Good job and excellent pics. I had been down the last couple weeks with a kidney stone operation but got out yesterday as well but not until about 8 am. Either I was late or the shad were gone down in the dam area. I did manage a couple. Did you find that bait in the White or in the creeks?

Yep, I saw Bill's boat recently when I visited him to buy my Christmas presents - the boat looked like brand new. The used Cara's I bought looked like brand new as well. Bobby

Since it is too cold for many of us to fish for a day or two and thus nothing to report, I thought I would ask a question regarding sunglasses. I find that for me to see the best into the water, I like a dark lens (polarized obviously) with an amber coating on the outside of the lens. My issue is that the outside coating rubs off over time due to cleaning. I talked to some of the manufactures and they advise to only use water with a micro towel which I do. I have bought Oakley, Revo, and Shady Rays. I find little difference in performance as long as the coating is good. The Revos did last the longest in this regard. So the question - Have you found a reasonably priced non-prescription lens that the coating does not come off? Thanks Bobby

Any pics of the images in our future?

Where you on the upper end or further down?

Bill, I had a Helix before the Garmin but I'm guessing it's more or less the same as the Solix with the 2D displayed -- Menu, options, preferences, RTS (real time sonar), A- scope I recall that there are some preferences regarding the width and color of the A-scope display. Thanks for asking about my dog bite - dog & I will be fine but likely knocked out of the waterfowl season before it really got started - can't say those rabies shots are much fun either.

Look under Menu, Sonar Setup, Appearance, A-Scope - I think you can have a choose of lines or circles (like Lowrance), I prefer the lines Humminbird calls this Real Time Sonar(RLS)

this feature is available on the Garmin and Humminbird units.

which county is that?

One of the nurses at the ER where I got the first rabies shot told me her son was bit by a stray dog and the Arkansas sheriff where she lives told her to shoot the dog, cut off its head, and bring it to them so it could be tested. She was not up to the task so her kid got the shots. Lots of needles are involved in this and I'm sure the kid was terrified. I think the bigger issue here is as it always is - people. If my neighbor had just called to show his concern and if I could have trusted him, I could have avoided the shots. I think a normal person might have offered to pay the doctor bills. In the big city, the system takes care of it so there is no need to have trust in another. I am not promoting big government - just saying. Dog and I will be just fine - the duck season may have ended for us before it started. I just pray that another person is not attacked by this dog but I do think it is likely. Thanks for all your concerns. Bobby