Thursday, April 24, 2008

Extreme Broadband Detail for your Lowrance Fishfinder


L.E.I Technologies (Lowrance/Eagle) is constantly looking for new innovative ways to increase their fish finding abilities. The latest is a Plug-n-Play, high speed broadband module for your color Lowrance Fish finder. The Lowrance broadband networking system enables high speed, plug-n-play expansion of your Lowrance Network. All you have to do is connect your Ethernet capable Lowrance head to either of the broadband modules and you are ready to go.

The unit is called the Broadband Sounder 1. This unit sits in between your unit head and transducer. It gives you unprecedented echo clarity between fish, underwater obstacles, and bottom composition. Even in the nastiest murkiest water it eliminates water clutter to give you the best fish / structure separation. This unit will work with all compatible Ethernet 2007 or greater LCX , LMS, X-Series, and Global Map Lowrance models with a 5 pin connector.

Another new accessory is the Navico Expansion Port-1. This is a networking hub to hook up to 4 head units to share the broadband clarity. So whether you are fishing the depths for Grouper, or scanning the shelves of Lake Erie for Giant Smallmouth bass, you need to check out the awesome new products from Lowrance.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Choosing the right trolling motor


With the way boating accesories are now adays you could spend days going through the options for a trolling motor for your boat. I am going to try to help you narrow down your choices. You have to choose a 12v, 24v, or 36v system for the trolling motor. For those of you that know as much about electricity as I do 12v is one battery, 24v is two, and 36v is three batteries. The way to choose the power that you need is by how much your boat weighs and what you are doing with it. For small boats under 1000 lbs. a 12v system should work out fine. The Minn Kota Endura is great for a transom mount, but a Minn Kota Edge is more suited for the bow mount. For boats from 1000 lbs. to 2000 lbs. a 24v system is required, so the batteries will not run out quickly. For bass boats a bow mounted Minn Kota Maxxum would be a great choice, and then for a Deep V or multi species boat a Minn Kota PowerDrive or Minn Kota Terrova would be ideal. Now that you have chosen the correct power you need to look at shaft length. Minn Kota Motors makes Composite Trolling motor shafts from 36"- 60". The advantages of lenth depends on the draft and height of your boat. Larger boats like big walleye boats and Great lakes Bass boats, need the longer 54"- 60" shafts to keep the motor head in the water while bouncing in the waves. Where as the shorter 48" shaft is good for shallow water fishermen. Now onto the most important part of choosing a trolling motor, choosing the thrust. The thrust determines the force the motor excerts to pull the boat. The thrust ranges are from 36 lbs. to 101 lbs. Depending on the what you are using the boat for is what you need the thrust for.

Big Waves - Heavy Boat = Strong Thrust
Smaller water - Smaller boat = Less Thrust