Don Slimmer : Fishing Forum Posts

Hello Ray. . . we don't have Lowrance specific seminars scheduled for 2019. However we do have an excellent video from Jamie Hartman explaining how to setup a Lowrance unit for "video fishing" and what fish will look like on the Lowrance screen, plus trolling motor interference and much more. Please check Jamie's video out and let us know if that helps you.

December 29, 2018 07:27:20 AM

Hello Bassn Aint Easy... if you see fish arches on your 'Birds, you have passed over that fish. For more detailed information on fish identification, please review our Humminbird videos, particularly "Catching Bass with Sonar Electronics" by pro-angler Brent Ehrler - one of the best on understanding Humminbirds.

December 29, 2018 07:35:40 AM

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Frank... reading your post, I will assume you have not used your Humminbird units since your last post on 2018-12-08. I also have the Helix units and whenever I put the bow unit on standby, I take it out of standby prior to pulling the trolling motor out of the water. No particular reason, that's just what I did. I also have not been on the water for a few months, however I can't recall having the "goes to mapping" issue that you're experiencing. I'm wondering if pulling the transducer out of the water while the Humminbird unit is in standby mode is causing the unit to go to mapping. Once you get on the water again, try taking the unit out of standby mode prior to pulling your trolling motor and please let us know if that solves the issue. If not we will be glad to help you further.

December 29, 2018 07:55:58 AM

Happy New Year Derek. . . did the SD card work for you? I'm like Bassn Aint Easy, I clear my old tracks every so often also.

December 29, 2018 07:59:11 AM

Happy New Year Douglas. . . I would like to expand on the The Dean's response. As you and The Dean mentioned above, the manual trolling motors do not have the additional mechanical components as the Ulterra. I think there's one more key component and that is time, though it's only seconds. Let me explain; Having the opportunity to be in the boat with pro-anglers during tournaments, I've witnessed the pros get up out of the cockpit seat, remove their PDF, and drop the trolling motor in a matter of seconds. I've never seen the Ulterra in operation, but I suspect that the pros can engage that manual operated trolling motor quicker then it takes the Ulterra to deploy, and vice versa when taking off.

December 29, 2018 08:14:58 AM

DE-bassin. . .
Thank you for your membership to Bass University and thank you for the question. I have Humminbirds, however I'm sure this applies to Lowerance products as well; I use an SD card from Navionics (www.navionics.com/usa), and the lake maps on the SD card are very informative with depth contours, structure, etc.. The Navionics SD that I use is a "Navionics+" and I can download any body of water that I want to fish and then update the card with different bodies of water throughout the year if needed.. . . hope this helps.

March 13, 2019 02:35:37 PM

Hey Derek... I'm a Humminbird guy, so I'm not knowledgeable on the "best bang for your buck" Panoptix setup. However I don't think you can use your Humminbird transducer for your Garmin unit and I believe transducers are usually included with the head unit. Hope this helps...

March 13, 2019 02:42:09 PM

Winter is the time of year that I look over my tackle and boating gear - clean and inspect rods, reels. I clean the rod blank and cork, inspect the line guides for cracks, insect the reel seats and handle section for defects. The reels will get inspected for defects, cleaned and re-lubed. Some reels might get totally broken-down for a thorough cleaning and re-lubed. I inventory baits for restocking or for selling. Inspect boat, trailer and accessories for defects - repair or have repaired. Inspect safety items, such as PFD's to ensure compliance. I also practice some of my pitching and flipping skills either outside or in the house. . . I need to be cautious in the house however, as the wife's plants will take a beating from the 1/2 oz. jig.... haha!

March 13, 2019 03:12:34 PM

Blake869... it's hard to overlook the hometown favorite - Ott Defoe

March 16, 2019 03:08:52 PM

BigHammer... I'm thinking that you want to create your own maps with Autochart Live. In doing so, you'll want to be running your big engine and mapping the body of water as your driving the boat. With that in mind, I would want the Humminbird transducer either installed in-the-hull or on the transom or jackplate, etc., and de-energizing your Lowrance SS and 2D while mapping. Hope that helps...

March 22, 2019 08:44:56 AM

That's an outstanding question Rooster.... man, it seems that everybody struggles one time or another with boat organization. I'm not from Florida, however I just spent three weeks there if that counts :-) Here's my boat organization, which wouldn't change much regardless of where I lived. To help with understanding my layout, I own a dual-console Ranger 2010 Z519.
Let's start upfront - I store all my rods in my port side rod locker. In the center storage area I store my heavier tackle - terminal tackle, weights, jigs, soft plastics, etc.. In the starboard rod locker, I store rain-gear, extra PDF's, and misc., gear/tackle that I don't need to access frequently throughout the day. I use the build-in ice chest for water and food.
OK, lets move to the back of the boat. . . in the storage compartment behind the driver's seat I store my hardbaits - crankbaits, jerkbaits, topwaters etc. This is where I also keep my personal items such as extra sunglasses, boat registration, insurance papers etc.. In the storage compartment behind the passenger seat, I keep a small tool box, livewell treatment, rope, etc., and leave some room for my partners gear. In the battery compartment I keep a throw-cushion and maybe some extra motor oil.
I do have a small glove-box in the passenger console and that's where I keep sunscreen, remote PowerPole switch, and any items my partner might have for the day.

Thank you for the question, I hope that helps....

March 22, 2019 09:17:25 AM

Tims. . . I use fluoro for most of my cranking applications and as is skeeter3335, I'm also a Sunline user. What pound fluorocarbon line that is best for cranking is difficult to answer, as the line size (poundage) can change with the habitat that your fishing and personal preference.

Here's a snapshot of what I typically use;
I use 10 or 12 lb., for my mid to deep diving (10ft to 25ft) crankbaits. I use 16 to 18 lb., for traps and chatterbaits (I included traps & chatters, because I use CB rod for those techniques). For crankbaits in the 3-10ft range I mostly use 10 or 12 lb. For squarebills, I jump up to 18-20 lb test because I'm targeting a lot of wood/brush.

The knot that I mostly tie with fluorocarbon line is the San Diego Jam knot https://www.animatedknots.com/sandiegojam/index.php . . .
A couple of points to note on fluorocarbon line; ensure you moisten the line thoroughly when cinching the knot down, and also if you get a backlash and kink the line, the kink will be a weak spot prone to breaking.

Hope this helps....

March 23, 2019 11:51:19 AM

Hey Paul... man, that can be a tricky question. Depending on water clarity, for me, I would start off with a shad colored swimjig/bladed jig. If I feel that I wasn't getting many bites, or the bass were just swiping at the bait, then I would try the black/blue. With that said, I've done just the opposite, started with black/blue swimjigs and bladed jigs, and then switched to the shad colored baits. Not to be cliche-ish, but I try to let the fish tell me what they want.

March 31, 2019 03:55:56 PM

Douglas. . . Sorry, I have no recommendation for a bass forecasting Iphone app. Maybe someone else will jump in the conversation with what wildlife predictor they use. I don't use forecasting/predictors for fishing or hunting. For me, I fish and hunt when I have the time regardless, so I have to make the best out of all wildlife conditions - good or bad.

March 31, 2019 04:05:42 PM

Richie... I don't have any experience with making a jon boat stable, however I have seen some jon boats with plywood laid across the bottom of the boat for a more stable platform to stand on. Sorry that I can't be more help, maybe someone else will jump in here with their jon boat modification experiences.

April 2, 2019 07:00:32 AM

My PB was over 7# and inhaled a jig in April.

April 6, 2019 09:28:03 AM

Thank you for the positive feedback Warren. We here at the Bass University sincerely appreciate our partnership with you and our other valued subscribers. Feel free to contact us at any time with suggestions, questions and/or comments. Thank you !!

April 6, 2019 09:34:26 AM

Hey Jason. . . the Jesse Wiggins's shakey head video is scheduled to be released on April 18. In case you missed it, we do list our upcoming video releases on our homepage - directly underneath the scrolling banner.

April 11, 2019 09:30:31 AM

Thank you for the suggestion Jim Dalton. Currently we have about five videos, with Justin Lucas, Jacob Powroznik, Paul Mueller and Pete "The Dean" Gluszek discussing bed fishing. There's a couple different ways to find specific videos; go to the Bassu.TV homepage and scroll down just below the "Coming Soon to BassuTV" section, to "Bass Fishing Videos." Click on "Categories" and scroll down to the specific category that you're searching for, or by the anglers name. To find the "Bed Fishing" specific videos, scroll down to "Techniques" and the category "bed fishing" is the first choice at the upper left. . . hope this helps.

April 11, 2019 09:48:35 AM

To All. . . there's a new BUTV video, where Miles "Sonar" Burghoff discusses the "in's and out's" of why he uses three different brands of marine electronics on his boat.

May 1, 2019 09:06:45 AM

Bob... I also use the trolling motor nut and I personally have not experienced or heard of a TH Marine trolling motor nut pitting. The explanation provided from TH Marine sounds logical. Maybe Pete Gluszek will chime in on the conversation and provide some info if he has heard of this problem before. Did TH Marine provide any other info?

July 1, 2019 08:50:37 AM

Sorry Ramdriver15 I do not know, however I'm more experienced with Humminbirds. Did you contact Lowrance about your issue? If so, please let us know what Lowrance recommended as we all can learn and help each other.

July 1, 2019 08:55:24 AM

Check out the new video of Bryan Thrift using his Humminbird to find offshore structure. . .

August 14, 2019 08:10:06 PM

I usually buy my HB products from BBG Marine, who carries a good inventory of marine electronics and electronic accessories.

February 7, 2020 02:57:41 PM

Bass University Annual Membership Sale