05-08-2006, 10:34 PM
And I'm one for simplicity...
I have 2 old manual Cannon mini-trolls, and a Lowrance X85 finder.
My dad just bought a new Alumaweld and asked me to set it up for fishing. He threw me his AMEX and said to get the best. (man Cabelas is a fun place with someones elses money !)
The Gorge is our main pond, but we mostly jig for the lakers, so I diddnt get him the bottom tracking stuff. But I did get him 2 Cannon electric sport-trolls ($499 ea.) and looked at the higher end fishfinders, but then I reminded myself that the old man can hardly operate a cell phone, so I setteled on the Lowrance X125 ($299 w/ speed and temp) just because it looked simple to operate.
I got all of the stuff put on and finally got it up to The Gorge last week.
First, I'm glad I diddnt spend any more money on the finder because that X125 is FANTASTIC !!! I paid $450 for the X85 6 years ago and this thing blows it out of the water, I will be upgrading soon.
The only beef I have with the electric riggers is that they move too slow for the way I like to fish. I tend to think the ball scares them, so I like to run my lure about 100 feet behind the ball, and then run the ball 25 feet off the bottom until I see fish, then make a quick drop of the ball to the bottom so that only the lure comes through the fish.
I can move my old hand-crank riggers up or down at 8 feet per second but the electrics only about 2fps. So basically that means that your bait is in the "fish zone" 4 times longer. Also, if you come up on a submerged cliff (often at The Gorge) you can crank the ball up and out of danger faster. Plus, no drain on the battery.
I kind of think that an X125, and 2 mini or sport-trolls provide a bit of an advantage at The Gorge. Not to mention all the gas and beer you can buy with $1500+ you will save...
Good Luck...
[signature]
I have 2 old manual Cannon mini-trolls, and a Lowrance X85 finder.
My dad just bought a new Alumaweld and asked me to set it up for fishing. He threw me his AMEX and said to get the best. (man Cabelas is a fun place with someones elses money !)
The Gorge is our main pond, but we mostly jig for the lakers, so I diddnt get him the bottom tracking stuff. But I did get him 2 Cannon electric sport-trolls ($499 ea.) and looked at the higher end fishfinders, but then I reminded myself that the old man can hardly operate a cell phone, so I setteled on the Lowrance X125 ($299 w/ speed and temp) just because it looked simple to operate.
I got all of the stuff put on and finally got it up to The Gorge last week.
First, I'm glad I diddnt spend any more money on the finder because that X125 is FANTASTIC !!! I paid $450 for the X85 6 years ago and this thing blows it out of the water, I will be upgrading soon.
The only beef I have with the electric riggers is that they move too slow for the way I like to fish. I tend to think the ball scares them, so I like to run my lure about 100 feet behind the ball, and then run the ball 25 feet off the bottom until I see fish, then make a quick drop of the ball to the bottom so that only the lure comes through the fish.
I can move my old hand-crank riggers up or down at 8 feet per second but the electrics only about 2fps. So basically that means that your bait is in the "fish zone" 4 times longer. Also, if you come up on a submerged cliff (often at The Gorge) you can crank the ball up and out of danger faster. Plus, no drain on the battery.
I kind of think that an X125, and 2 mini or sport-trolls provide a bit of an advantage at The Gorge. Not to mention all the gas and beer you can buy with $1500+ you will save...
Good Luck...
[signature]