I have an HDS Live 12 with the FFS for sale here at a substantial reduction vs new. I must say, the resolution in down imaging is amazing. On my Humminbirds, weeds show up as sticks but on the Lowrance, you can see the leaves and often tell what kind of plant it is. I was up on a northwoods lake and the crappie schools were easy to see and target.

The new depth finders are slower to boot up, I suspect because they are more like computers now than before. A lot of power to the processors than before.

I thought about my last response and it wasn’t completely thought out. I am more of a bass fisherman, and that’s how I responded but FFS for walleye and crappie is a game changer. Last year, I was up north and could see the schools of crappie and even tell how big the fish were. Same with walleyes. I found a school off of the hump out in the basin that were very catchable. Probably wouldn’t have found them without FFS.

I have a friend who lives up in walleye country and it has changed the way he keeps fish. Before, if he got on a good bite, he’d keep a limit, but now, he feels more confident that he can find fish, so he only keeps two or three for a meal. Down imaging with FFS is far better at showing the size of fish compared to forward facing but in forward mode you get to scan around so either way, you are getting info you wouldn’t get any other way.

I really find it useful for finding weeds off of the weedline. I was amazed at how much weed growth is out there away from the major beds of weeds. It’s not easy, or sometimes impossible to see the fish in weeds. We are so used to seeing the pro’s out on a smooth reservoir but when your boat is moving it’s hard to tell a fish from a weed. Not to mention, you are moving east, the wind is from the south and you have to angle the trolling motor away from the weeds to steer. Hard to cast to the fish that way.

Plus, here in MN, we have so many fish cruising around it’s hard to tell what you have in front of you unless it’s big like a musky. But it is great for scanning for stuff like weeds, rocks and baitfish. You will most likely catch more fish with it than without. Also, keep in mind, the cone angle is pretty narrow so you have to cast straight along the cone or you don’t see your lure. Not easy in a wind or a very long cast.

Sorry about that. It’s the HDS Live

Florida! Home of the concealed carry and the Castle Doctrine. That guy is lucky the kid he messed with was chill. Could have gone very badly and if I was on the jury, would have taken about four seconds to acquit. Bet this does wonders for his charter business. Catch a tarpon and get assaulted plan. Schmuck.

A much simpler way would be to give Fishlectronics a call and have them wire it. They did my boat and it wasn’t crazy expensive. I have a bass boat and running wires from the front to the back is a pain and it took them a half day. These new electronics suck up the power so it’s a good thing to have them check you over top to bottom to make sure you don’t run out of power and you have good connections.

I love RadioK, 770AM the U of M radio station. You never know what you are going to hear and you do have to wade through some rather self indulgent… not sure what it is, but you also get some truly amazing unheard talent. Always worth a listen and if they are playing god knows what, it’s easy enough to change the channel and listen to talk radio pollute my mind.

I totally forgot, not everyone that surfs this site is a member and cannot leave a message. For those of you interested, my phone is 651-500-7768. Now you telemarketer types, I don’t need a burial plot, insurance or new windows and I get both local papers at work. Otherwise, have at it. On the other hand, if I don’t sell this unit soon, I might have to sell my body, but I guess that would be at another site.

I got an incredible deal at Sheels. Check out their “discount” rack for rain gear. I got a Stryker bib and a Rapala top both about 50% off since they were singles and they are both the same color and you’d think it was a matching set. Very happy with them and with the money I saved, I spent it on more tackle, gas, bait… you know.

I can’t edit my post, so here’s a followup. I’m reducing the price to $2500. I have my new boat on the way and I want to get this off of my couch. Lowrance has incredible resolution in the 3D scan. My Humminbird showed spikes for weeds, but I could tell what kind they were with my Lowrance because I could see the leaves.

And FFS is a ton of fun.

Get it while it’s hot! Spring is coming and I only have one.

I’m sort of landing on being for this. Most of us on this site spend plenty of time on the water and know how to handle a boat, but a large chunk of boaters don’t really have a clue. They don’t know that there are “rules of the road” boaters should follow so a lot of the time, they aren’t being jerks, I suspect a lot of them just plain old don’t have any idea what they just did was wrong.

Then again, I also think a lot better enforcement of the law wouldn’t hurt much either. I see so many party barges running around and by the afternoon, look out! Then there are those wake board boats that leave a small tidal wave behind them and the jet skiers that are just nuts. I don’t think any course will solve those issues, but it just might give the three times a summer boater a bit more of an idea on how to behave. Can’t be a bad thing and a few more dollars into the DNR would be a good thing, if they spend it on securing access, stocking or a few more officers.

I fish the rivers heading into Lake Michigan and from what I see, I don’t think the color is that big a deal, but you don’t want too big of a float. You want one that just barely holds the bait at the right depth. You want to see it twitch when a fish hits, but also, those many times when a hit isn’t obvious, you don’t want that big bobber suddenly dragging on the fish as the current pulls it downstream.

It doesn’t hurt if you can change the depth easily as well. Sometimes they want it higher or lower and the pools can be different but bobbers work great, which is why so many use them.

@Rodwork. I hear you! I have a great system and a honkin big flat screen. Nothing better than great music that actually sounds amazing. Also, with this setup, there are some incredible music videos out there and when played on a huge screen with an excellent sound system, it adds so much. Check out some of the VNV Nation vids, or Steam Powered Giraffe. Go with The Steam Rises or Hunnybee. I’d also recommend Gunship videos. They have a Miami Vice vibe and despite being a contemporary band, they also have a very fond spot for 70’s, 80’s and 90’s memories.

Has anyone been to Wisconsin steelheading? I’m guessing the rivers are open, but my buddy that used to clue me in died last year and I don’t have any good contacts I can trust.