Rod Building time!

So as part of my blog, I figured I would take you through my journey of building my son's first Fly rod and Spin rod for his first birthday in April. Yes, I know he will be too young to use them but this is kind of a tradition in our family so I wanted to continue it. With this being my first rod build, I am sure I will be making some mistakes along the way. I am not going to bore anyone with how to build a rod, rather just share some photos of the progress.

The Fly Rod will be a 5'7 small stream rod (just like my dad made me). I chose the St. Croix SC2 Graphite, fast action 4-8 lb blank.  It is a solid blank that I won't mind putting some split shot on if he wants to dunk a worm every now and again! This rod was purchased from Anglers Workshop.

The spin rod is a Batson Rainshadow (IS661) in 5'6" 2 piece. Rated for 2-6 lb test, this will be a dual fresh and saltwater rod so the components will match.  I purchased this rod from CMS tackle in New Bedford with the help of Eric (great guy to work with and very patient with new builders).

If you have any questions on any of the photos, let me know. Otherwise, just enjoy the images of the progression as I am sure I am going to!

Bryce, the soon to be owner of my first custom rods. I am hoping to have them completed in time!! 

Sounder Setting on the Lowrance Gen 2

So a great follow up question came in after the structure scan blog went out. How about some general information on the Sounder settings?
Good Idea. I think the best way to show this is by example.  I will use two of my screen shots to discuss this topic.

In the above photo, taken from Mt. Hope Bay, you can see on the screen some of my settings. I am at 200 KHz, common for fishing. I also keep my sensitivity at -2% to -3%. To me, this gives the best clarity on screen to "weed" out background noise and pull fish images clearer. Since the fish were in depths of 70 ft (you can actually see my sinker bouncing at 75 ft prior to the strike on live Pogi... the point where all of the fish converge), I needed to get a gauge on their exact location as we were in a channel. So I combined my sonar with my structure scan/downscan to identify they were moving to my starboard (towards the edge of the channel on an incoming tide).  If I showed you my other images of my chart (which I won't for secrecy purposes), this will all confirm this point.

Here, we identified the Pogi/Bunker ball in the middle of the channel. On my structure/side scan you can see clearly the ball, where it is on my boat and the depth of it. This goes along with my last blog as to why you absolutely need structure scan if you want to find fish.  This ball is over 25 feet in depth, yet on my sonar, it barely shows up. Why? Well, looking at my side scan, you can see that the ball is off to my port side. The image you see on my sonar is what is captured "underneath my boat". The bait however is NOT underneath my boat so all I am seeing is the last edge of the ball! Remember, the side scan uses a different transducer so the cone angle is different on each one.

One of the biggest areas to play around with is your sensitivity and Palettes. Find the best one for your environment. When I bass fish, I like the sepia color with -2%. Tuna fishing, I switch to the blue palette and go to -1% or 0 as I want to pick up as much as possible.  

I hope this shed a little more light on your sounder settings and can get you into fish with your new Lowrance Gen2 unit.  Remember to hit up the boat shows and speak to a pro staffer in person. Nothing beats hands on training!

Thanks for the great feedback on the blog. I hope I am helping at least one of you!

Capt. Brian

Providence Boat Show Article by Dave Monti

I have to admit it always feels nice to be quoted by a reporter and have it done correctly. Dave Monti did a nice job with the article and actually quoted me word for word on how to use and learn your new electronics. Thanks Dave!  If you buy new equipment, don't wait until the season starts. Hook it up, grab a drink and learn it! You Tube is a great resource. For us, Navico has some very helpful videos and we will be putting out more this year. With the great deals going on now and the cold nights, there really is no excuse not to learn your equipment.

http://www.providencejournal.com/sports/content/20140205-fishing-report-boldwater-tv-is-new-window-to-all-things-on-water.ece

Structure Scan settings

So I had a lot of questions at the recent Providence Boat show while I was working at the Lowrance Booth.

One of the biggest questions was around the structure scan.
Structure scan covers both Down Scan and Side Scan on the Lowrance units.

I use my down scan to verify what I am seeing on my sonar and I use my side scan to know which way I need to move or cast to get back into the fish or bait.  All three screens are usually up on one unit at any given time.

Side scan settings are pretty clear from the factory install.  If you need to adjust anything, it may be the palette or distance. I tend to use the sepia and only go out as far as 80 feet either side. This gives me the best clarity and ability to pick up fish.

I won't go in and say that there are not units that can be good for you but I will say is that Lowrance is head and shoulders above Humingbird (I know several tournament fishermen that have left them to go to Lowrance), Garmin (mainly navigation but horrible on sonar), Raymarine (I had the C90 series and found it just miserable to navigate around and the sensors kept seizing up on me).  So I guess I would say that is is the best unit out there!

Keep them coming!

Capt. Brian Patterson