Laurel Hill 05-29-2014

[Alphahawk]

Hit Laurel Hill early hoping to beat the lightning......and I did. I had a great morning. Caught 49 Gills before leaving. The fish were mostly at the 9 inch mark. Good healthy fish that pulled hard. The fish are moving off the beds....some beds have no fish on them at all. I just paddled around finding more beds with the side imaging and pulled the few fish on the beds off and moved on to another one. I am hoping around the next full moon they move back onto the beds. I have not played around with down scan much but decided to do so today. I pulled right on top of a bed I found with si and on down scan you could see the depressions and fish sitting in them! I hit mark to take a snapshot and no snapshot indicator showed on screen......I had left my SD card in my computer. It takes some effort to do this in a kayak. I was talking with the TWRA officer down there today...he has just gotten into kayaking....and he was remarking how it can be hard to load a kayak. Of course he is younger than me but while he enjoys kayak fishing his biggest complaint is about the weight. Since TK chopped my trailer down for me loading on flat ground is a breeze. But I got to tell you doing this from a kayak is very gratifying. I really feel good after a day on the water. Life is good!


Regards

[MNfisher]

Great fish! I would be interested in seeing those down scan images, too bad about the card.


Mike

[XxthejuicexX]

I really wanted to see the DI pictures.

[Transplanted Sportsman]

Originally Posted by MNfisher

Great fish! I would be interested in seeing those down scan images, too bad about the card.


Mike

X2, I cannot distinguish the fish on the DI on my HB, what setting (intensity) do you have the DI transducer on Mr Randy??

[creekcrappie]

I would love to see the DI pics. Great gills too!

[Alphahawk]

Originally Posted by Transplanted Sportsman

X2, I cannot distinguish the fish on the DI on my HB, what setting (intensity) do you have the DI transducer on Mr Randy??

I roam from 10-12 depending on water.


Regards

[Transplanted Sportsman]

Originally Posted by Alphahawk

I roam from 10-12 depending on water.


Regards

I think last time I set mine I left it on 8, will try a higher number next time out, are those beds normally found around 6 ft of water or this number also varies? thank you in advance!!

[Alphahawk]

I will have my SD card back in next trip out....LOL. Fish show up different according to size of course. But it was like looking at a 3d image of depressions and in the center of the depression there was that bright white grain of rice just a little off bottom. Neatest thing I ever saw. I find speeds of 1-2 MPH is all that is needed to show crystal clear info. I need to get out to Williamsport to get some shots of schooling hybrids. While I have not been paying much attention to the down scan I am going to have to now that it is getting hot. Those Gills will be out in deeper water and just hanging around...a little tougher to find but certainly much easier with this unit. I love my bank fishing spots and will continue to fish them but being on the water with one of these units is pretty exciting. You get so caught up in the unit you have to remind yourself to fish...LOL. I have a much better understanding now of the difference in the 455 and 800 kHz settings. I now know why several guys told me if I didn't largemouth fish I would not need to upgrade to the HiDef transducer....but I got it anyway. You lose some coverage in si when you go to 800kHz. But the clarity you see in a lay down or bush is far better....meaning you can easier see if there is a bass holding on a branch. Just pretty neat stuff.


Regards

[Alphahawk]

Originally Posted by Transplanted Sportsman

I think last time I set mine I left it on 8, will try a higher number next time out, are those beds normally found around 6 ft of water or this number also varies? thank you in advance!!

A lot of Gills bed in 1 to 2 feet of water. Those beds anyone can find just by cruising around and seeing them with the eye. But it is the deeper beds where this thing pays off. The beds I was fishing today were in 8 feet of water.....probably why they held more fish than the shallow beds.....plus one of the bedding areas was out in the middle area of the lake. Other folks were on the points and coves and there I am in the middle of the lake. But that is where the beds were that still had fish on them.


Regards

[Transplanted Sportsman]

Thank you!!

[SAMBOLIE]

Those are pretty fish Randy.

I went to Pickwick yesterday. Really wore them out on two casts. The other 999 casts were not so productive.

Stopped by Laurel Hill. My first visit there. I caught some nice gills and a couple small bass. I was impressed and will be returning there.

I got a few sprinkles on my windshield between Summer Town and Savannah. Got a small shower between LH and Summer Town. The temps were very pleasant all day.

I still want to fish Indian Creek. Beautiful water.

Almost forgot. Bought some 2 lb SOS at LH store. Just spooled up and will go to JPP later today to see if it can handle those 5 lb smallies I have been catching there lately.

[FloatNFish]

Good looking fish alpha! You sure know how to wear those big gills out.

-Alex

[Alphahawk]

Originally Posted by SAMBOLIE

Those are pretty fish Randy.

I went to Pickwick yesterday. Really wore them out on two casts. The other 999 casts were not so productive.

Stopped by Laurel Hill. My first visit there. I caught some nice gills and a couple small bass. I was impressed and will be returning there.

I got a few sprinkles on my windshield between Summer Town and Savannah. Got a small shower between LH and Summer Town. The temps were very pleasant all day.

I still want to fish Indian Creek. Beautiful water.

Almost forgot. Bought some 2 lb SOS at LH store. Just spooled up and will go to JPP later today to see if it can handle those 5 lb smallies I have been catching there lately.

Thanks guys. Laurel Hill is a great bluegill lake...and really pretty. Ott that Indian Creek is a jewel. Another one you crossed is Forty-Eight Creek. Both of those streams have crystal clear water and a ton of Smallies...black perch....but got to know someone who has some land next to it.

Regards

[Alphahawk]

Went back to Laurel Hill today and caught a couple of dozen nice Gills. It was tougher today as none of the beds I looked at had any fish on them at all. It was just hit and miss catching one or two in some deeper water and move on. I was however able to pull 6 Gills out of a school until they moved on. Down scan and side scan are great but it won't lock on and track like a radar...LOL. Got some good shots of big catfish. They are on the move down there and quite a few folks had a lot of jugs out today. You will have to look close to see the beds in the dsi image but they are there. I have had a workout this week with the kayak. But it has been a blast.


Regards

[nomad60]

Just as in previous years, you are on a roll, Alpha. I have SI and DI on the console but rarely use it, but have both sonar and DI at the bow and I love it. It's so neat to see fish on the sonar then look over at the DI to see them as well and to see the blobs on sonar turn to rocks and trees on the DI. Now if I could just start identifying different species of fish, I'd be good to go. Right now they all look the same to me LOL