jessejames556

KyakR I found that part to be really interesting too

As a preface: I came across this study yesterday and thought it was a pretty interesting read- http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Fishing/fisheries_management/Winnipesaukee_bass_movement_study_2007-08.pdf My home lake is a 2,000 acre lake with two main boat ramps. There is a fishing tournament there almost every weekend in spring and fall. Most tournaments at my lake launch and weigh in out of the two main boat ramps. The "catch and eat" fishermen (who more often than not happen to be bank fishermen) know this and heavily target these skinny coves and seem to do quite well for themselves on making dinner out of the released tournament fish.. As the study linked above states, the ones that are not eaten may still be adversely affected by the relocation that the tournaments cause. I wanted to see what some the opinions are on here about the effect tournaments can have on smaller lakes. I for one am often concerned that they are negatively effecting my local fishery. I wouldn't mind seeing a few boats volunteer to take some of the bagged fish back out onto the main lake for random relocation. Of course, on the opposite side of the coin, relocating larger bass during tournaments could be removing pressure on bait fish and allowing room for the smaller bass to feed and grow.

Any word on where they are catching them here, Rbreedi?

Thanks! One problem...I'm having a heck of a time finding a public boat ramp. I am staying in Hixon, Tenn. Anybody know of a put in close to the lower end here? Edit: Found one...I missed it on my way in.

I ended up at Chickamauga... Thanks for the suggestions!

Alright, Wayne, after reading Bassmaster's Top 100 lakes this year, I have it narrowed down to Chickamauga or Guntersville.

I thought about sticking with Dale Hollow, but the weather is a little cold there so I thought I might as well use this opportunity to head further south. I'm considering Watts Bar right now.. Kentucky Lake is too far west, I was thinking about that until I saw that the recent storm front has temps way lower over there.

Hey all, I was on my way from Ohio to Dale Hollow Tenn. today when my hotel I made reservations at called and advised that they made a mistake on my reservations because they are closed this weekend. So I'm at a McDonald's about 30 minutes south of Lexington Kentucky and am looking for a new lake to hit at the last minute. Any suggestions? It needs to be in eastern tenn. or in the immediate areas of surrounding states including Northern Alabama/Georgia and maybe western N.C.. Reason being because this latest storm has temps low just about anywhere west of Nashville. I need to get there today and I have until Tuesday to fish. A big last minute change in plans but might as well make an adventure out of it, right? Let's hear some suggestions!

Couldn't agree more with Felix. Attitude is big for me. You don't have to go out there and vomit rainbows of optimism, but don't get down on the situation just because we aren't catching. It drives me nuts when I hear my passenger say "There's no fish in here, let's head back".

Saw this and thought it was worth a share here...

What general area are you fishing in (i.e. southeast Tenn., etc.)? My pond here in southwest ohio is 12 feet at it's deepest point. Even in the colder months (when it isn't frozen over) I usually find fish in the 2-6 foot range. Rarely do I pull them from the deep end.

Ha! I think I may just do that!! O.N.: I'd love to hook it up with a new rod/reel for her, but I'm flat broke after the ring and the trip! Thanks all, I'll be sure to let you know how it goes. The hard part will be keeping the ring in hiding and keeping my mouth shut for another week!

I plan to propose to my girlfriend of four and a half years next week. We are going to Dale Hollow for a four day fishing trip. She is a keeper if she is going to Dale with me in December, right? Anyways, I plan to propose on the boat at some point, but I am open to ideas if any of you more creative guys have any ideas. Thanks.

Thanks guys. Thanks for the information and examples JD, that is all very helpful..another question: after inserting the SD card, does the navionics/lakemaster topographic map become my background for my chartplotter/gps? Or does it become a new view that I can select that's separate from my my already existing views?

I have a humminbird 587 ci combo that is SD card compatible. I'd like to get a good card before I make a December trip to dale hollow lake. What would you guys suggest? My unit is compatible with lakemaster and navionics.

Thanks Dwight and Wayne. I have the XNT mount that Wayne is referring to. The above picture is the plug I was referring to. I'm excited to pop that in and see if it works. I was beginning to tell myself that this was something I was just going to have to deal with. Hard to do when you spend money on a decent unit like that.

I just found out that the random plastic plug that came in its own bag with the humminbird is supposed to be installed to reduce rooster tail... I'll give that a shot. You may want to check and see if you have one too.

I installed a new hummingbird 587 on my boat a few weeks back. I have noticed that the transducer mounted on the transom is causing a rooster tail that is splashing on the outboard. I mounted it just like the directions said to, leaving 1/4-1/2 inch space from the transom bottom to the bottom of the transducer mount. The transducer itself is pretty well flush with the hull and angled right. I've read that others have moved theirs higher and lower but have gotten the same results. Anybody have any experience with this? Any solutions?

I like my 587ci...i think that's the one I have...it has downscan and traditional 2 d that can be run split screen..this is excellent for finding fish on structure.. It also has gps/chartplotter with extra map package capability. It was on sale for 429.99 at cabelas as of two weeks ago and you get a free cover if you purchase before December. My only complaint thus far is screen size, but it is still a decent sized one. I have it on the console and moved my older Garmin 300 up to the bow. it's not the fanciest thing they offer, but it is a good quality and keeps me below 500 for the install and all.

I looked at the lowrance for a while..it looks like a good unit, but I, like you, am new to using electronics and notices that some folks on the amazon reviews mentioned that the lowrance came without a decent instruction manual. I ended up buying the humminbird 587... I'm sure you would get the hang of whatever you chose.

It sucks, especially when your fishing weekend turns into a boat repair weekend..and you wait all week unable to concentrate at work because you're so excited to fish...but at least it is all fixed up and ready for next weekend..knock on wood.

I agree with the soft plastic digestive block theory.. I've read about that before...as far as my suggestion for what should you have done/should do: remind your fellow fishermen whenever you can that any litter on their outings can be destructive.

Alright I will start with that.. Is it alright to put both transducers on the transom? The old model is already mounted on the transom and I think I have enough cable to run it to the bow without moving the transducer. I'm assuming they won't interfere with each other if both are on the transom, right?

I just purchased a new Humminbird 587ci HD with down imaging and internal GPS. I want some advice on where I should mount the control head. Until now, my boat only had one fish finder- Garmin 300C with sonar only. This is currently mounted at my console on a swivel so I could drive with it and spin it around and fish with it in view from the casting deck. My new system is a step up from what I am use to. It has down imagining, marine maps SD slot, GPS/Chartplotter, and sonar. I want one on the bow and one on the console. Any suggestions on where I should put the higher quality one? It would make sense to put the GPS equipped one at the console, but then I would not get as much out of the down imaging/sonar with it being further away from where I stand on the casting deck. I'm too cheap to buy a second higher quality one at this time, but that would be a long term goal.

I didn't even think that was possible. I always come out spending wayyyyy more than I planned on.