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I fished Bear Lake yesterday. What a gorgeous day to be on the water! We didn't catch the fish that we planned on (total of 3 with the largest going 3 pounds), but not having a fishfinder may have contributed to that. I couldn't get my new fishfinder to even turn on (Teroy, I need my old fishfinder back!). Needless to say, the fishfinder is headed back to the factory today. Also, can anyone beat three faulty new baitcasting reels in a row? The latest problem child is a Shimano Cardiff 301 reel. Interestingly, we had to break through 1/2 inch ice, for at least a mile, on the way to the rock pile.
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]WOW! Ice in March. Who would of thought it. Hey, don't worry about not having a fishfinder to catch those fish. You just need to pay attention to that line a lot more to detect that first pick up. I've fished on that lake several times without being able to see below. It shouldn't matter. You can still catch fish without sonar and lots of them. This really is a benefit because you will be honing your skills and not relying on your electronics so much.[/size][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]When the waves and wind are really rockin' and the boat won't stay put in one place you fish blind even though the sonar is working perfectly. Those jigs won't stay vertical and keep drifting out of your sonar cone so it's really important to keep an eye on that line. It's also important to keep contact with the bottom so you learn how to really work that reel. Almost like playing with a yoyo. Bottom line, sonar working or not, let's not lose our prospective of why we're out there. Have fun and try and catch a few fish! It's all good.[/size][/font]
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Defenitely odd to see ice in march, when it's been so warm. What kind of fish finder did you pick up? I've been considering a new one, and I'd like to know what you've used.
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I would never not fish, just because my fishfinder doesn't work, and I will have fun doing it, fish or no fish. I found out that an AquaVu and a downrigger combined can somewhat substitute for a fishfinder. One can help you see what is down there -- structure and even fish (and there are lots of fish near the rockpile, saw lots of white fish, and a huge sucker), and the other will give you exact depth readings. That said, it is still frustrating to spend $390 for a new fishfinder, only to have multiple problems with it, and then finally on only the third trip out, it won't even turn on! To the question on which fishfinder I got, I purchased a Raytheon L470.
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Kent,good to here you had nice weather. I have fished that lake for a lot of years without a fishfinder, you learn to look at the landmarks to tell where the spots are that you have cought fish in the past,since I have got my sonar this year I have cought a lot less fish(too busy playing with with that new toy)Like B.L.M says alot of the time its by feel when your line is on a 60 degree angle and the boat is moveing.Sometimes when I am haveing a tough time catching any I will pull up anchor and drift&jig,we have done fairly good doing that!!"BIG FISH RULE"M.H.
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We tried drift trolling several times on Thursday. Most of the time the wind was so calm that the boat hardly moved at all.
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I think if I had that much problems with a fish finder I would get another brand, it wasn't made in France was it? Ha Ha WH2
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