Felix77

Personally I think it's a toss up between the two when it comes to side imaging. With $1000 you will be able to get one of the best either has to offer. Have you checked each out at a shop which sells them?? FWIW - I have been exploring both for a purchase. To me the clarity of the image at the upper levels are the same. Next for me is usability/ease of use. Lowrance is winning that battle with me.

That was funny!

Because you are working on a budget I am going to avoid brand recommendations. Here's my 2-cents. 1. Flipping, pitching, punching, frogging and swimbaits - Braid 40+ lb test 2a. Topwaters - 15 mono at least 2b. Jerkbaits - 10-12lb Fluoro 3. Crankbaits - 10-12lb Fluoro 4. Texas rigs and jigs - 15-20lb Fluoro 5. Spinnerbaits and swimming jigs - 15-20lb Fluoro 6. Power spinning - Assume you mean Spinning Rod here. 10-15lb Braid. 6-10lb Fluoro leader as needed. Note: I throw Jerkbaits and Cranks on the same rod. That might help you here.

Awesome frog catch from the bank ... The look on his face is priceless.

As you can see from my avitar I caught a 4oz bass on 10lb line ... oh wait ... got this post backwards ... NOPE ... got nothin'

With the winter we are having the ice will just be thawing off in June.

Today we broke 50 degrees ... and then I went to the weather channel and saw Thursday will be back down to 18 degrees and snowing. Will this winter ever end?

Glimmerglass is on Ostego Lake. I hear it's tough there but there are Smallmouth and Largemouth in there. Schroon, Sacandaga, Lake George, Saratoga Lake are very viable options. Depending on where you are going to be there are some other spots like Thompsons Lake and Grafton Lake (4 lakes in there). Both which rent boats in season. PM me when you are coming up. Maybe I can help out better then.

Exactly why I bought it ... I didn't want to settle for something much less expensive just to replace it with something more robust. I see this Ride 115x growing with me if you catch my drift.

Interesting. Thanks for posting.

Saw that too but I couldn't post the episode online. This was the closest I could get. He basically shows the same stuff.

Both have their place ... period.

Bassmaster.com has every tournament since 1971 online. http://www.bassmaster.com/video/bassmaster-classic-vault

I just did a small writeup on my purchase of the Wilderness System Ride 115x. Hope this helps ... http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/131930-bit-the-bullet-on-a-new-ride/

I focused on drop shotting a lot last year. As a co-angler in my club there were a ton of times I ended up around weeds which made the nose hook technique somewhat ineffective. I did however began using a T-rigged drop shot setup and fell in love with it ... It turned out to mimic JVD's setup with one exception. I use a uni-2-uni knot instead of the swivel ... Here's a video that might help you. IMO - One critical tip is feeling the weight on the bottom. If you don't feel it then upsize. Period. Good luck.

Already been said ... Just adding my vote to the mix. 1/2oz is my main size too.

Alot depends on depth and the thickness of the cover. I carry all the way up to 3/8oz because sometimes you just need that weight to get through some stuff. If I were forced to pick two those would be the two that I use. 1/4 for sparse weeds, shallow (less than 10 fow or so) 1/2 for everything else. Good luck.

I got to play with the new HDI this past weekend at BassPro. It's an awesome unit. I also noticed the screen is relatively bigger than the older model 4 series. They happened to have it near a kit which was on sale and it was noticeably bigger.

I'm partial to JJ's and Megastrike. Was turned on to them from this forum. Tried them last year and never looked back. I also do carry a Smelly Jelly scent for tubes which seems to work for me.

So ... I will be fishing with a Lowrance Elite 4 HDI unit for the first time this year. I'm curious about how you use electronics to study a new body of water. So this is beyond simple map study (points, flats etc.). Once you know where that stuff is how do you leverage your electronics to dissect the area further?

Jerkbaits. ZERO confidence in them.

DSG has bumped up their fishing gear like crazy. Mine now carries Keitech stuff along with Megabass. They totally overhauled the fishing section. Love it because that is all I have nearby.

x2

Wind from the West, fish bite the best. Wind from the East, fish bite the least. Wind from the North, do not go forth. Wind from the South blows bait in their mouth. This is the saying I learned.