Took another break from moving for a few hours this morning. Headed out to Blue Cat at Williamsport. I caught 16 large mouth along the transition off the dam. I kept thinking I would get a larger one but all of them were 13 inches....some a little smaller. I was throwing a Rapala #3 UL. Several of the bass did not hit until I was ready to lift the lure from the water at the kayak....that was a lot of fun. Those lures will run from 5 to 7 feet using 2# test line. Water temp was 82 degrees when I started this morning. Goldeneye is low but is still open to fishing. I didn't go out there to really fish. My Huminnbird 899 was sent in to be fixed from having an 800 kHz white out problem and it was waiting for me on the porch when I got back yesterday...so I just had to go out and see if the problem was fixed. Not every unit comes with a HD transducer but I paid the 85 bucks for the exchange but had never seen what the HD part looked like due to the issue. All of the 2014, 899...999...and 1199 models had this problem. I was happy with the unit as it was but wanted what I paid for to work. It took Humminbird several months to come up with a fix for this problem. Once notice was given that they would fix these units I sent mine in right away. Humminbird didn't even have the unit for a complete week and had it back to me. I must say I'm impressed with the 800 kHz signal. I don't quite have it tuned in yet but there is much sharper detail than the 455 kHz signal. Looking forward to getting back out and playing around with it some more. The wind was beating me up today or would have stayed out longer. Tried to stay parallel to the dam but each time I hooked a small bass by the time I got him landed and unhooked I was in the rocks. Still a great day though. Some of the images I uploaded may or may not show hybrid...I can't say for sure. I can say they were schooling fish. On several of the images you can see the shadows of the fish...which means they are higher up in the water column.
Those shots are awesome! You think that one weird shot with the long lines could be nessie?
No juice that is in all likely hood one school of the ten thousand 8 inch crappie in that lake...LOL. Now this pic on the other hand I am not sure of. At first I thought it was a shadow of the line of fish...but I don't think so. Could be a piece of something left over from the mining days out there...I just don't know. Any guesses?
Thanks Dakota...I need to try and remember to go back over the same area with the screen in di or 2d but always just keep on going. I need to start doing the short recordings then I can review it at home in all 3 modes and look at it. In my research I have found that the fisherman in Australia prefer the 800 kHz over 455 no matter the unit be it Hummnibird or Lowrance. The two signals are different though in the degree of coverage. If my reading is correct the 455 kHz is the one to use to look for Gill beds.....and I can attest to finding plenty of those but now would like to go back over them and scan those with the 800 kHz mode and see the difference.
Alpha, you would be my grandfathers best friend if you would show him so of those beds on center hill. He loves to fish that lake for big gills. I will vouch for some of the trips we have had up their. We have filled many a cooler full of big gills in a day.
Alpha, you would be my grandfathers best friend if you would show him so of those beds on center hill. He loves to fish that lake for big gills. I will vouch for some of the trips we have had up their. We have filled many a cooler full of big gills in a day.
I can do that. I plan on hitting it hard in the fall as there won't be hardly any wind and I will find a bunch more and share those coordinates with you. Then come spring just pull up on em and catch fish.
I can do that. I plan on hitting it hard in the fall as there won't be hardly any wind and I will find a bunch more and share those coordinates with you. Then come spring just pull up on em and catch fish.
Regards
Sounds good, I would like to get together and watch you catch a bunch of fish on the trout or crappie magnet and try to learn something.
Alpha - Thanks for taking the time to share your pix. You have me considering upgrading units. I have a 597di combo unit now and I love it but I don't get anywhere near the clarity of images you have. In fact, I rarely use the DI and often think I should have just purchased the Sonar/GPS combo. As far as the 800 vs. 455, my understanding it the 800 is for deeper water because the cone width is more narrow (but more capable of accurate readings in deeper water. I.E. more than 100 FOW or ocean stuff). So if one were using the 800 in 20 or less FOW, he would be scanning a much more narrow field below the boat vs. the 455. Is this correct? You seem to know what you're talking about on this stuff.
Gees... What did we do before GPS and high quality electronics? I know for me, I'd never be able to pinpoint the hybrids and stripers on JPP w/o it. Now I have the GPS trolling motor. It's kind of like cheating. I'm ok with that!!!
Alpha - Thanks for taking the time to share your pix. You have me considering upgrading units. I have a 597di combo unit now and I love it but I don't get anywhere near the clarity of images you have. In fact, I rarely use the DI and often think I should have just purchased the Sonar/GPS combo. As far as the 800 vs. 455, my understanding it the 800 is for deeper water because the cone width is more narrow (but more capable of accurate readings in deeper water. I.E. more than 100 FOW or ocean stuff). So if one were using the 800 in 20 or less FOW, he would be scanning a much more narrow field below the boat vs. the 455. Is this correct? You seem to know what you're talking about on this stuff.
Gees... What did we do before GPS and high quality electronics? I know for me, I'd never be able to pinpoint the hybrids and stripers on JPP w/o it. Now I have the GPS trolling motor. It's kind of like cheating. I'm ok with that!!!
Thanks.....your theory is correct. But.....as I found out yesterday the clarity of the 800 kHz is going to allow me to find more fish. You will notice a lot more shadows than in my earlier posts since March. That is because of the angle of the 800 kHz image. Many say your si range should be set to 3 times the depth when using 800 kHz. So in 20 feet of water setting the si range to 60 feet would be the max you should see....according to theory. So that means if I am scanning for Gill beds in 7 feet of water I could only see out to 21 feet. I will be back out on the water by the middle of next week and I will test that theory out. I do know that using 455 kHz I can find Gill beds 50 feet away in as little as 2 feet of water. While I can tell if Gills are in a bed with the 455 I need to see if I can see them clearer with the 800 mode. One reason a lot don't use 800 kHz mode is that when fishing in a lake with a mud bottom the return is much darker with 800 kHz and makes it a little more difficult to make out what is there. Most of those picture like images one sees from side imaging sites are made with the bigger units and the screens have a much better resolution than my 7 inch screen. I am certainly no expert in this but the theory is the same as in in radar's and I had a 38 year career studying and working on those. So to me...now that I have seen 800 mode in operation.....I will use the 455 like an acquisition radar and the 800 mode as I would a tracking radar once I have acquired the target..so to speak. I am sure you know that the di on the Humminbird si units is not a true di signal but a composite from the 2 si crystals. To some that matters but to me I can still tell there are fish under me...the depth....size....and sometimes a good guess of the specie. I do think Lowrance has the edge on the di. I am sure Merv and Aero use their units to target and go after those stripers. Would love to see them post some images. There is no doubt in my mind that I could have caught a lot more fish out in the deeper water yesterday if I was setup for fishing 15 feet deep. Unfortunately I am not and I am terrible at fishing deep out of a kayak. Trolling in a Big Game Prowler II with a big si transducer hanging over the side is no easy task. As for me I just won't put my kayak in now without my si unit. It spoils you and they don't lie.
Alpha - Thanks for taking the time to share your pix. You have me considering upgrading units. I have a 597di combo unit now and I love it but I don't get anywhere near the clarity of images you have. In fact, I rarely use the DI and often think I should have just purchased the Sonar/GPS combo. As far as the 800 vs. 455, my understanding it the 800 is for deeper water because the cone width is more narrow (but more capable of accurate readings in deeper water. I.E. more than 100 FOW or ocean stuff). So if one were using the 800 in 20 or less FOW, he would be scanning a much more narrow field below the boat vs. the 455. Is this correct? You seem to know what you're talking about on this stuff.
Gees... What did we do before GPS and high quality electronics? I know for me, I'd never be able to pinpoint the hybrids and stripers on JPP w/o it. Now I have the GPS trolling motor. It's kind of like cheating. I'm ok with that!!!
You actually want a lower frequency in deep water. Most deep water sonars are 200/50 instead of 200/83.
If you look at Alphas last picture of his original post you will see the thermocline and the picture will be fuzzy. I only use 455 because it works better deep and has better coverage shallow. Sometime I will switch to 800 if I want a better image of structure but when I'm fishing I only use the 455.
Williamsport 8/21/2014
