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I fished UL this weekend and used my new Showdown. My friend and I caught 26 BG's.
The next day I took it to DC where obviously the altitude increase affected it's ability to direct me to large amounts of hungry fish. I only had one bite and it was a 12 or 13" perch that I lost at the hole when one of my tandem jigs hung up on the bottom edge of the ice.
I wonder if Marcum will give me a partial refund?
I was checked at DC for my license while loading my truck. I told the female CO I had caught and lost a yellow perch. She said she had never heard of a perch being caught at DC. She then asked her fellow CO if he had ever heard of a perch being caught at DC. He also had never heard of one being caught.
Man, how that lake has changed.
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I think you may have found the two worst-informed COs to ever stalk a parking lot.
My showdown failed to create fish at Pineview recently, also. I forgot to recharge the fish level in the battery after the previous trip. Maybe that was your problem, too.
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yeah really, that lake was a perch factory 20 years ago.[crazy]
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I love catching smallies in the summer and I loved catching lots of perch in the winter.
I guess I can't have the best of both worlds at DC.
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I had the same problem with mine, found out that it was just low batteries. It would not show that low battery warning until it was too low and fish quit showing up. Tried new batteries at the same locations see how that works. I've had best success with it 12 v gellcell. With fresh batteries I've had no problems at Fish Lake Schofield strawberry, works great.
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[#0000FF]I have used my Showdown for about 3 years...at lakes at all elevations. Altitude will not affect the performance as much as extreme cold or low battery.
Be sure to turn on the "ICE" feature before you leave your car. Give it a chance to warm up the display unit and to keep it on all the time you are fishing. If you turn it off to move and then turn it back on it will take a few minutes for the warmer to get the display working fast and efficiently.
If the battery gets too low you will get wierd displays...like the depth changing back and forth from one level to another.
You also need to adjust your sensitivity whenever you move from shallower to deeper water...or change lakes. Keep adjusting it until you can see your jigs...and fish...without clutter on the screen. And be prepared to check and readjust it after it has operated for awhile.
No sonar will show fish that are not there. Well, maybe some of the low end ones will. But if there are fish present you want to be able to not only see them coming through but also see them when they move in on your lure/bait. That can be critical in anticipating a bite that you might otherwise miss.
For the most part, you shouldn't really have to mess around with your settings once you have everything set for the conditions of the day. But to get the full advantage of any sonar it should be properly set up to show exactly what is going on below you.
It took me a while to learn my Showdown well enough to really appreciate it. And I still have to sometimes look at the manual I carry in a plastic bag...in the carry case...along with extra fuses.
Don't point a finger at your sonar without remembering that there are three more fingers pointing right back at you...at least on one side. Harsh? Nope. Just speaking from personal experience.
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At first i thought they were joking.
Once we all got in the cab we decided from their response they were not joking, maybe they were from a different area covering for the local CO.
They were very nice and respectful and I hope they catch someone breaking the law that is stealing from all of us.
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Hi Pat,
It worked great and I was poking fun at myself more than anything for the inability to even pick a general area where the fish were at.
The one perch I caught at 48' showed up great and as soon as I moved my eyes from the screen to the pole it was already going bendo.
I do have one critique of my Showdown. Why in the world did they not incorporate an audible fish alarm? At least then you can be looking around and then re-focus if you hear the alarm go off.
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I caught your humor! My Marcums (not Showdowns) weren't working as good as normal on Deer Creek either. It just wasn't showing fish like it had the previous three weeks! Something was indeed wrong! I tried all the knobs, moved all the way across the lake. Nothing seemed to work! It was just a slow day on Deer Creek. Fish weren't moving at all. I left at noon because my license expired at 12:17. Guess I'll fish Wyoming next week. I have a valid license up there!
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I caught the original not working at altitude jibe and was joking about the "fish level in my battery" needing a recharge. But at least your post reminded me to go put the battery on the charger...
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[#0000FF]I suspected that you might be "funnin'" with your remarks, but I have learned never to "assume" anything...especially on this board. Some folks are just too sensitive...like a finely tuned Showdown. They see hostility when none was intended.
My wife and I sometimes make jokes about our sonars being broken...on those days when we cannot find the fish. Either that or the "fish filter" has been activated on our screens. There are days on all waters when the fish don't wanna be seen by anglers. And as I often say..."Ya cain't ketch 'em where they ain't."
I am one of the old guys who can vividly remember days of old, when perch literally carpeted the bottom of Deer Creek...at all depths. In the good ol' days we did not even use sonar...just walked out and drilled a hole. And it was rare to NOT catch a grundle of perch...or a grundle and a half on good days.
Once the smallmouths were introduced the perch fishing took a nosedive...as did the crawdad population and the largemouths. Perch had coexisted with walleyes for years before the smallies. Now the young smallies vacuum up all the baby perch...on good spawn years...before they can even reach dink size.
This past year was not good for perch. There were some good sized ones caught...but not more than a paltry few per trip. No big schools to stay over and hammer them. And there were not even many dinks this year which does not bode well for the coming years.
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With so many anglers that like to target perch has the DWR ever considered a stocking program for perch.
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I sometimes have that problem with mine. I have found changing locations sometimes helps. Hope you get it cured soon!
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Hi Gary,
Hopefully one night after work in the next couple days!
Fishable ice on UL this late in the year is a rare treat.
Last year a couple guys were water skiing UL on Presidents day.
Get that boat ready to wash nightcrawlers for eyes at UL in about 30-40 days.
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[quote lovetofish]With so many anglers that like to target perch has the DWR ever considered a stocking program for perch.[/quote]
[#0000FF]HERESY!!! Stock anything besides trout? Not bloody likely.
In reality, perch are seldom in need of help from DWR. They usually do just fine on their own. But whenever the predator to prey ratio gets tipped over...in favor of the predators...the perch can take a hit.
There are currently plans to net some perch out of Fish Lake to help replenish Yuba. But that is not a trout lake. Since Deer Creek is primarily managed for trout it is highly unlikely that it will ever get a perch boost.
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Do you have the performance package that's running on a 12v battery if not I highly recommend it. The AA batteries are basically garbage with that system. It will always glitch up and die off.
I've fished my show down from echo, rockport, dc, UL, and many other ponds. Never had any problems with it with using a 12v battery even on a cold day. Fished out on DC early morning with harsh wind chills and the temperature was probably like below 10'F and it was running great.
You can buy it on amazon, ebay, or even scheel of where I know of.
Those people are totally bs. Two summers ago I wen't fishing for 4 hrs before dark and caught 39 perch. About 4 years ago pontoon around the island when it was full caught some monster fast perch.
There are tons of perch in the lake still.
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FFL,
I have the 5.6 that has the 12 volt gel battery built in to the package.
Just a tip,don't be too hasty to call bs on these guys that know DC pretty well.
You may have done really well on perch the last 2 or 4 years but those were some high water years. Remember it was only two years ago the Jordan River gates ran wide open for almost a full year. Now those same gates have been shut down all the way for what seems like since last summer.
Starvy had gazillions of perch after the high water year and now you can't hardly buy more than a couple a trip.
It only takes a year or two for perch to take massive swings in numbers, for good and bad.
The good is if you can find them right now in DC or Starvy they are definitely picture and pan worthy.
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[quote RockyRaab]I think you may have found the two worst-informed COs to ever stalk a parking lot.
My showdown failed to create fish at Pineview recently, also. I forgot to recharge the fish level in the battery after the previous trip. Maybe that was your problem, too.[/quote]
and that's when you put the fish-eye lens on your transducer? Kinda akin to beer-goggles.
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