VFW Lake 9-03-2014
 

Seems the only pics I have lately are of imaging. Wanted to go to Pickwick today but will hit it tomorrow. Just wanted to get out in the kayak and get a little seat time before heading to Arkansas. I didn't catch any fish today. This summer I have spent more time in the kayak than ever during late summer. Usually this time of year I am on the bank at Pickwick. I had a light action rod that had a broken tip and I put a new tip top on but it made the rod really stiff for casting UL baits. So my idea was to spool it up with 4# test and use as a vertical jigging rod for deep water Gills. Well I headed to VFW...even though I have not had much luck there this year.....and found out I had left my hooks and weights at the house. So I put a Rapala UL3 on it and put it in the rod holder and started paddling around the lake. I passed over a school of fish and very shortly after I heard the rod clunking around in the rod holder behind me. The rod has virtually no flex and when I pulled it out and started fighting the bass I knew I had the drag set way too tight for such a stiff rod. One jump and a flip of the head and he was gone with my Rapala UL3....LOL. I just paddled over the whole lake several times today looking and fishing but not catching. Just as I had the kayak on the trailer and tied down a hatchery truck shows up with a load of fish. Hoping it would be a bunch of 3 inch Gills to get the lake back full of Gills again I was disappointed to learn it was 1100 catfish from 5 to 13 inches. I had already marked a lot of catfish today and had the kayak not been loaded I would have been casting into those...LOL. Just with that load alone...not counting how many already there..and there are a bunch.....that figures out 51 cats to the acre. Pretty good odds of catching catfish there...but it always has been. Oh well...there is always tomorrow..

Regards

I see you're sticking with the 800 kHz. You like it more than the 455?

No that is 455 kHz. Whatever they did to this unit it has made a huge difference in the imaging. I was satisfied before I sent it in even though the 800 kHz was not working correctly but it displays images so much better now. The fix was supposed to be only for the 800 kHz side imaging. But it was a hardware fix to the unit and IMHO it has helped the 455 kHz also. The 800 kHz is a much sharper image but as a Gill and crappie guy I want that 180 degrees of coverage. My settings for those shots were sensitivity and contrast at default...sharpness was set to low in both di and si.


Regards

I'm surpised. I've never had it get fuzzy toward the bottom like its picking up a thermocline except on 800. That's why I use 455 so it doesn't do that.

Probably because I had sharpness on. Yeah on the 800 setting that tends to happen often.


Regards


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I ordered the HB 899 yesterday and have to tell you all your shots from your outings has convinced me I need to move up from the 597. SI is huge in finding the fish and structure. A buddy of mine and I are going to fish some different lakes (Granada being one of them) and SI will be huge in finding fish. May have to get you in the boat with me to show me some of the tricks. Could come down there to go on Woods or Normandy.

Another part of the report that I can agree on is where are the fish this year. My crappie count is way down this year. I've been experimenting with trolling and spider rigging but that aside when I get out shooting docks or fishing the deeper brush I'm coming up empty in a big way. I've had more outings with zero fish caught, looking back at my notes if I didn't catch keepers I did at least catch a few shorts. Some of the other guys that fish OH have said the same thing, even spring was down. JJP on the other hand has been strong this year for crappie and it seems like the size of the fish has been larger also. I know OH and JJP get a lot of fish removed every year due to the large population around the lakes, I wonder if going to 12" size or 20 fish limit would help improve the over all population. Granada and Stargis both have a limit of 20 fish and 12" size and they are premier crappie fisheries that have seemed to keep good numbers even with the pressure and fish removed. It would be nice to catch 3 pounders and not have to drive 5 hours. Heck you would have more meat on the talbe with 20-12" plus fish than with 30-10" fish. Don't know if the rest of the fishing community would feel the same....

Happy fishing to all,
Ray

I have a self imposed 12 limit". Mainly because I have enough fish in the freezer but also because the difference in a 10" and 12" (as far as meat) is huge.

I caught a lot of crappie on OH this last year with very few being under 10", and I give all the credit to SI and the Minn Kota Terrova.

The Terrova is my next big investment, been selling some equipment from the welding shop I had to finance my fishing habit. My wife came out to the shop the other night and first thing out was "when did you get the new reels?" (at least she knows what a reel is) She's good with it all, in fact if I spend money on fishing stuff she usually goes and gets some cloths, a purse or the like to match what I spent on fishing, so when she asked how much was the fishfinder I paused and said a couple hundred and wispered under my breath times 4 as I was walking away.:)

Have a good one,
Ray

I know this spring on Priest most of my fish were 12" or bigger. You are right when you talk about the fillet size it's amazing the difference between a 10" and 12-14" fish. Some days I would throw the 10s back because I was having a good day. I fish with a guy that does not keep anything under 11".

Ray can you imagine using an si unit down at Nickajack? It will put you on more fish no doubt about it. Be happy to go out with you sometime....though I am no expert on these units. One thing about their new si units...you get it messed up and set all settings back to default and it is already pretty close to being dialed in. I read an interesting read last night about using fish ID symbols on the 2d sonar. A lot of folks think that "real fisherman" don't use fish ID. Here is the link to what this guy had to say about it on the 2d. I have read a lot about Humminbirds algorithm used for fish ID and it is supposed to be pretty good. These units stop one from wasting fishing time on water that doesn't hold any fish. I am within 2 years of buying a boat again. It will have a side imaging unit and one of the GPS trolling motors.....preferably and IPilot but will look at others that are out at the time. The new electronics are really game changers.

Regards

http://www.bbcboards.net/humminbird-...ile-plane.html

I'm really blessed that I rarely have to even measure a crappie. It has nothing to do with my crappie catching skills.....it is just the places I fish for them is stacked with 12-15 inch crappie. Nickajack....Center Hill and Kentucky Lake. October 1st, or maybe a little earlier.....you will find me at Nickajack. Life is good.


Regards

I need to add nick to the list of lakes we can try it out on:):):)


Ray

alphahawk, Wayne P (Pardum) is a friend of mine. I met him while guiding him and a friend for crappie on JPP this spring.

The man is a veritable warehouse of knowledge about H'birds.

When he comes down, we go fishing just as friends, no guide and client stuff. I probably owe him a LOT just from what he has shown me on the birds. And he's a super nice guy and awesome bass fisherman!

That post he put on the forum was some great info. I have more time than a lot so I read....read......and read some more....LOL. I'm not a member of that forum.....can't join them all.....but it has great info.


Regards


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