WalleyeFan News
Here is a video I did on updating your Lowrance HDS software. This is the first of many videos I will be doing for Lowrance, no better way to learn then by example. Have to love the internet and YouTube for all it has to offer the modern day angler.
-sheldon
Well I have been testing the new StructureScan™ for the Lowrance HDS units and it seems to be great for figuring out structure and will be a great pre-fishing tool. I now have some big boulders marked with waypoints out on a local lake.
In the top image you can see the rock pile to the right of the boat and a couple of huge boulders that measured over 10 feet across. I have seen this area many times with an underwater camera but never new the boulders where that big.
In the bottom image you can see the 3 screen selection on the HDS.
The first screen is the StructureScan left and right with a pile of rocks to the left. The next screen on the top right is the DownScan which shows some weeds along bottom. And the bottom right screen is the standard sonar with the StructureScan overlay so you can easily determine structure and easy target separation.
The best part is there are almost no settings and it works right out of the box (plug-n-play), all I had to do was adjust the contrast to get a good image with nice target separation.
I will report more once I spend some more time with StructureScan on the water.
-sheldon
The NEW 2009 Suzuki EQUATOR
I would like to welcome my newest sponsor Rivington Suzuki - This season I will be towing with the new Suzuki EQUATOR 4×4 truck which has a 6300 pound towing capacity. I have been driving Suzuki vehicles for over 10 years and find the new Equator truck is a perfect design for outdoor enthusiasts that need a tow and play hard vehicle. The following article explains why the New 2009 Equator won the 4Wheel & Off road magazine 2009 4×4 Of The Year.
If you are interested in more information or would like to take a EQUATOR for a test drive please contact Rivington Suzuki.
And the winner is…
It happens almost every year. We finish our test, we tabulate the numbers, and we scratch our heads and wonder how much hate mail we’re about to receive. We have been surprised many years by what wins. The fact is that the truck that “should have won” doesn’t always cross the finish line first. When we received the Suzuki Equator for this test, most of the judges had no idea it was going to lay a flying-roundhouse, off-the-top-rope body slam, reverse-pile-driver smackdown on the rest of the trucks in this competition. The fact is it was just more fun to drive, especially off road, and that is one of the most important attributes of a 4×4.
The Suzuki Equator wasn’t the fastest truck in the test, but it was quick. Nor was it the best rockcrawler, but it rockcrawled very well. In the hillclimb it was nimble but not as stable as the biggest trucks, but it still made the climb with little fanfare. The high-speed dirt sections were much like the asphalt testing, where the words fun, peppy, and zippy were all used to describe this little truck. The only portion of the test that the Equator flat-out won was the sand dunes, but it was in the top three everywhere else, and those points quietly added up to a win in the Ride & Drive, in both the on- and off-road sections.
You may wonder how a nondescript midsize truck could outwheel an SUV with front and rear lockers, and we were wondering the same thing. The missing front locker was an issue in the rocks, but that is only one portion of the test. The rear locker, better visibility, and adequate ground clearance helped keep the Equator from placing extremely low in that portion. Plus, as much as we assumed that the Hummers would leave with the trophy, the other terrain tests just kept pushing the two Hs back behind the Equator. In fact, it was the new Dodge Ram that was in the most contention with the Equator for the crown. It must be true that in this test, horsepower is the wild card that can really elevate a midlevel truck to winner status.
Whether it’s for the interior with nothing extra but nothing missing, the youthful exuberance the truck instilled, or its great all-around, do-anything ability, we’re proud to call the Suzuki Equator our 4×4 of the Year. One judge said, “I could throw my cooler, duffle, and sleeping bag in the bed, my dog in the back seat, and my girl beside me up front, and go get lost in the back hills for a week.” If that doesn’t describe the perfect 4×4, we’re not sure what does.
Have you ever wondered how a G-Loomis rod is made? Well now a great video is online that shows all the details involved in making one of the top rods available today. This mostly hand made process is used for all of the G-Loomis walleye series rods I use. You can see in this video a large percentage of hand-made craftsmanship and detailed design that make these rods truly outstanding.
Tracker Boats has introduced a new boat for the 2009 season that will be a hit for the walleye anglers that have a family. The hull design is based on the great riding Tundra with a 25″ transom and 225 HP raiting it is sure to be a big water monster. You can check out all the features on the nitro website or give Georges Marine and Sport a visit or call.
The NITRO® 290 SPORT isn’t just a great fishing boat, it’s also perfect for skiing, wakeboarding or just cruising in the sun.
Lowrance has some great new units for the 2009 fishing season that feature broadband sounders, 3D mapping and other great enhancements for every angler.
After spending many hours on the water with my 2008 TUNDRA 21 FTE I have managed to get the perfect setup. The Mercury Optimax 250 XS really pushes this boat along at a great speed and allows me to spin a 23 P Tempest Plus prop in most conditions. My top speed to date on this setup was 65 mph at 5800 RPM. That is moving pretty quick for a full sized walleye rig loaded with gear and a kicker hanging off the transom.
I have included an image taken from the Government Dock in Dryden Ontario during the PWT Can-Am held in mid August. In the photo you can see how the boat has great bow lift which really helps increase the speed during those early morning tournament blast offs. I never had a boat pass me the whole tournament so i figure the Tundra is on par with the quickest walleye hulls in the industry.
The Professional Walleye Tour (PWT) stopped in Dryden, Ontario, August 13-15 for the Super Pro Division Can-Am Challenge. The event, held on Wabigoon Lake featured 25 top U.S. walleye pros competing against 25 of Canada’s top walleye pros.
The PWT event, which was won by Canadian angler Dan Dolinski. Following closely behind Dolinski was fellow Canadian teammate Wayne Wagner and U.S. Pro Staff member Perry Good. Anglers used a variety of Berkley Gulp! products and introduced a few new techniques to walleye fishing.
Effective presentations used by competitors included tipping jigs with Gulp! Alive! 3” and 4” Minnows. Also effective was Gulp! 6” Nightcrawlers added to a bottom bouncer and spinner harnesses. The bottom bouncer, spinner harness, and Gulp! Nightcrawler combination is relatively snag free allowing anglers to troll around structure and cover water fast.
Being forced to fish with artificial bait was a change of pace for the walleye pros. “Typically, live bait plays an important role in walleye fishing, but Gulp! is proving us all wrong and a Gulp! Minnow on a jig has become a standard bait on many northern waters,” said Gary Parsons, U.S. Team Captain and Berkley pro. “Gulp! baits are catching fish faster than live baits that we typically rely on. This tournament has changed many opinions about the use of Gulp! and competitive fishing.”
Anglers can innovate new presentations with any Gulp! product. At this event for example, anglers double tipped Gulp! Alive! Minnows on a jig offering a bigger presentation and a slower fall for more walleye bites.
“It didn’t matter who won the event; everyone was winning on Gulp!,” said Cody Roswick, Berkley Field Services Manager. “The confidence that professional anglers developed while using Gulp! was tremendous. They wouldn’t use it if it didn’t work, and Berkley wouldn’t make a product that wasn’t proven. Anglers in this tournament found Gulp! to be cleaner, easier to store, reusable, and less costly than live bait.”
