How to hunt for fish

[hopedale]

You need a fish finder for your boat, and I'm in information overload as I did some cyber research today.

In the fish finding market there are several brands to choose from, but my focus was on Humminbird and Lowrance. Both companies have been in business for some time and make a quality product, so who has the best value available for my fish hunting needs. I started my research with Lowrance first.

Lowrance has several negative posts on the after sales service or lack there of. Apparently the company was purchased and a new culture or management is in place, and customer service is out. It is disappointing since I've found a number of youtube posts on how to effectively use a fish finder, but reading I am SOL if my investment needs service is a deal breaker.

With Lowrance leaving its customers high and dry, IMO based after the posts I read, there was nothing to think about. What did Humminbird have for sale? For me it is down to three models 385ci, 587ci, and 788c.

The 300 and 500 series are identical except screen size. The 788 has a bigger screen, more pixels for display, and the power is more then double. But it also cost about $250 more then the 300, but considerably less then the top of the line Humminbird.

Now I have to decide if I can put this in myself or bring the boat somewhere.

[Cuz]

If you were planning on going pro or making a living and fishing I'd say go with the 788 BUT for recreational use the 500 series will do just fine. I like the bigger screen so you can see from the back of the boat and see easier when trolling and can't focus to long on the finder...
They are usually easy to install. I w2ould without a doubt at least try to do the install myself.
Let me know when you want a fishing partner!

[hopedale]

Well do. I barley took the boat out last year, but as soon as it warms up just a little, I plan on changing that.

I want to catch some Stripers and Scooter sold me on how important a quality fish finder is.

On my last boat I didn't have one, but on occasion I'd use my portable. I didn't need one to be honest. I knew where to find fish on my own, but fishing on these fresh water reservoirs is a whole new experience.

Fishing in Louisiana was more catching then fishing. I'm truly learning how to fish all over again.

Treebass dies every time I tell him I'm head for Travis, as he insists there are no fish there. I'm 6 miles from a boat launch that puts me on Travis, and while most folks in Austin tend to agree with him, there are people who put fish in the boat. I've finally figure out how to catch bass on Travis, so now I can move on. I want to start learning Belton.

Last year Scooter took me on his boat to Belton and it is a nice lake. It has way less boat traffic then Travis, but it does have some dumbARSE water skiers.

I was blown away that we're fishing and no one was around. Along comes a boat with a skier, and as they are moving out, they've got 2 miles of open water on their right, and no much room on their left. We're on their left, so what do you think they did? Commonsense and courtesy would dictate you steer the boat closer to the open water and away from people fishing, but nope. They came to within casting distance. Other then that it was a good day of fishing.

[Cuz]

What lake do you fish in TX?

[sethfish]

gill net across a creek

[RGC]

I prefer DYNOMITE or an old hand crank telephone.