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Tim, A warm welcome to you. You will like it here. Let u know if you need any help.

Tim, Nice pics of the boat and fish.

GJ Nick. Do you use a light? I never fished em hook and line. We used to scoop up a lot of them after ice out. They just don't run like they used to. I guess they do get some decent runs in the UPs Carp River.

How much detail is on the Garmin Base Maps?? @#%* for $90 you would think they could cover the State. Maybe the base map will do me fine. I got by with a lot less for a long time.

Capt Rob, Nice slide show of those Fantastic Lake O Kings.

The link doesn't work. I was curious how they were going to get rid of the foreign beetle.

Nick, What chip are you running in the 292?? ty:)

Instead of the combo unit, I'm leaning towards two stand alone units. I may end up with couple New but outdated color units. These are what I'm now considering after weighing all the useful data in this thread. Garmin 172C GPS Chart plotter. Garmin 340C Sonar fishfinder. I can get both of these for the same price as the combo. Any info on these stand alone units would be welcome. With two units I can set it a forget it, because I'm not always @ the helm. I'm working a deal though a friend of a friend. I put them both on a limit of walleye in 08. Someone told me that Garmin has a decent lake map loaded in. I think Garmin also has the Lakemaster SD available now. Just like PCs the software will eat your lunch. Thanks again for the help. And let me know what you think about the above units.

Randy, do you still have the same problem with the external antenna?? I sat at your helm, and remember it doing that. At that time you were using the internal antenna. Thanks

I have an older Nikon Cool Pix 5000. I don't take it out in the cold often, but I have never done anything special bringing it in. Mine is most always in a padded case.

I fish Tawas once in awhile, but mostly AuGres. I live between the two cities, and AuGres is a tad closer. Don't get me started on Jet Skis out of Tawas. It was real bad when the Holiday Inn was renting them to any idiot that had the fee.

WTG John and Nick. Gotta Love The Bay and it's tributaries.

Gotta Luv Dat Bay. Just save a few for me Bomber. Ya know I like a boat under my butt. Be Careful.

I trucked across I69 to PH, last month, with Paperboy. We picked up a trailer load of Woods N Waters magazines. I must have passed close to you. I knew where Lapeer and Imlay City were but now I now where Attica is also. If you're on the Saginaw Bay on a weekday give me a shout. There's a good chance I may be there.

Come on Spring.

Erik, Eli looks like a keeper for sure.

I had a older Hummingbird Sonar on a 16.5 ft boat. It always performed flawlessly. I head a lot of guys talking about the newer birds. If you get one give us a report.

The Lowrance LMS 350 that I have, came with the boat. It has to be close to 20 years old. I also have an old hand held Lowrance GPS that is 12-15 years old. I guess they don't make them like they used to. I have been able to get by nicely without a chart plotter. The old Lowrance would get me to my way points, and back to the piers. In it's day it was the cats A$$. The sonar worked well also but by today's standards it's stone age. I will not take it off until it quits working. There are a lot of instances where a new color unit will come in handy. Spring fishing puts me in shallow waters, and it's important to know ahead of time, when the depth changes significantly. There is some structure on the basically flat Saginaw Bay. I'm kinda looking forward to see what all I was missing. Us poor sighted old guys need all the help we can get. Thanks for all the input.

Any feedback on the Garmin 535 combo??? TY This unit is last years model. Anyone have a good source for the Lake Master chips?

Congrats Nick. The thrill of a lifetime.

^5s Veronica and Ed. It's so cool to share our sport with kids. Her wide smile says it all.

Justin, You'll bounce back quickly after surgery. Winter is a good time to get stuff like that done. I wish you well. I have two titanium hips that get me by. It's great what they can do for you.

I have 6 of the 209s that I bought new about 25 years ago. They are a decent reel. Check with Tuna Tom (Ludington), I'll bet he has some. Some of the small Mom and Pop bait shops also repair reels and have parts. I wish I knew the answer for the size and thread.

I have an old LMS 350 Lowrance GPS Sonar Combo. I will probably keep this unit in play. I was thinking about adding a Lowance HD 5, or possibly a Garmin 535, both Combo Sonar GPS Chart Plotter. I can buy either for same price. If I get one of these, I will probably run it full screen sonar, or GPS. Does anyone use these models, or know anything about them. Your thoughts and feedback: TY in advance.