Wide Coverage, Very High 320 Vertical Pixel Resolution and GPS Ready!If you're looking for the most capable, yet affordable expandable Fishing System available, get the Matrix17. Packed with a very high resolution 5" 320V x 320H LCD with UltraBlack Pixel Technology and 12 level Clear Edge Inverse Grayscale, The Matrix 17 displays sharp images of fish and structure. And, with wide 60 degree DualBeam Plus you'll see a wider area with greater bottom detail. Other performance features include the Sonar Echo Enhancement that tracks a jig to over 40', accelerated Real Time Sonar that captures the action instantly, and our patented Quick Disconnect Tilt and Swivel Mount System with no cables to plug in! Choose TrueArch or Selective Fish ID+ Target Identification and see Temperature on-screen! Don't forget to check out Humminbird's exclusive add-ons for GPS, SmartCast Wireless Technology or WeatherSense Barometric Pressure Monitor to give you that extra edge to bring home the big one.

Features:
• Choice of Whiteline, High Contrast Bottom Black, or Structure ID Bottom Presentation
• Fully Gasketed Housing is Waterproof and Impact-resist
• Selectable Large Digit Screen for Easy-to-Read Number Display
• All Models Include Water Surface Temperature and are Speed Capable
• Backlighted Display for Low-light Viewing

Darin Murphy is still the Prop Doctor, with 16 years experience repairing boat propellers and doing business in the Houston area. There are a few significant changes in his business this year, however. First, his main location has moved. He is now on the west side of I-45 at 22303 I-45 North. You still take the Spring-Stuebner exit to get there, but now the Prop Doctor is right on the freeway and is easier to get to. The building is larger, too. Darin’s younger brother, Sean, shop foreman, thinks the move was a very good idea. “We hope to increase retail traffic,” he says. “Our new location is much more accessible and it’s a bigger building to handle our increased workload.” The new building is more than 3000 square feet, which is twice the size of their former building. Darin says one of the things he likes most about their new location is the Prop Doctor can be seen from the highway. “You can’t miss us.” Another change in the Prop Doctor this year is their new location. It serves as a drop-off station for propellers and is located on 105 West next to Quality Marine. At this new location, they are also starting a boat trailer repair business. Dickey Lightfoot, who operates their 105 store, has been repairing boat trailers for over 10 years. His business, Rol-ex Trailers, Inc., works with the Prop Doctor to supply boaters with assistance. “My trailer repair service also supplies 24-hour road service for boat trailers,” says Lighfoot. Darin started his propeller service business in Spring six years ago. He says the move to the Houston area was a very good idea. “Texas has been very good for me, my family and the business.” Darin and his wife, Kim, have seen the birth of their three children since their move to Texas, including a set of twin girls born during the January Boat Show of ‘92. The Prop Doctor specializes in all types of boat propeller service and repair. The store stocks new and re-conditioned propellers for sale and performs aluminum boat welding, lower unit skeg repairs, prop shaft straightening and high polishing of aluminum, stainless steel and bronze. The propellers Murphy keeps in stock includes such names as Volvo, Mercury, Evinrude, Turbo, Power Tech, Stiletto, Force and Michigan. The Prop Doctor does an equal amount of sales and repairs. He promises quick, quality work at low prices and backs this up with a 100% guarantee against any defect in performance or appearance. Look for the Prop Doctor at the January Boat Show again this year. You can call the Prop Doctor at the Spring location at (713) 355-PROP (7767) or at the Conroe/Montgomery location at (409) 441-PROP (7767).

Rinker’s Boat World demonstrated its ‘95 line on February 25-26 at Del Lago Marina. The show was open to the public and boaters came from Houston, Dallas and New Orleans to see what the boat dealer is offering this year. Twelve of Rinker’s boats were shown from the 14’ 7” Rinker Rocket to the 28’ Cruiser. J.C. Pontoons from 20’-30’ were demo’d as was the Rinker Bullet, the bass boat. The Rinker Bullet is available in a 20’ boat and a 21’ 10” boat. The latter sells for $21,995 with a Bass 150 Suzuki and is the most popular size. New to the line this year is the Rinker 212 Bow-Rider and the Rinker Rocket. Also shown was the Rinker Flotilla, the J.C. 203 Fishing Pontoon, the 22 Tri-Toon with a 150 fuel-injected Suzuki and the 20’ Bullet Bass Boat with a 150 fuel-injected Suzuki. Expected at the show were 28-30 clients from the Gulf Coast area. Most were follow-ups from Houston’s January ‘95 Boat Show who wanted to see the boats perform. Jerry Rinker of Rinker’s Boat World said he hoped “to show the quality and performance of the Rinker line” while the company celebrates its 50th year of building boats. The Rinker line of boats is built in Syracuse, Indiana, by Rinker Boat Company, a company started by Jerry’s father, Lossie Rinker, in 1945. Bobby Schields, Jerry Rinker’s future son-in-law, was on hand to show the boats to clients. He said he wanted “to show the versatility of the J.C. Pontoons and the high performance J.C. Tri-Toons powered by up to 250 HP. I want to show everyone the great performance and handling of Rinker boats and that they are the best value on the market.” This is apparently an opinion shared by Rinker’s clients as well. Rick Hague is a pilot for United Airlines and the owner of a Rinker 212 21’ Open-bow. He found working with Jerry Rinker in the purchase of his boat to be a very rewarding experience. “You are working with a gentleman who is personally involved with his product.” He has been so pleased with Rinker’s Boat World that he has purchased a total of four boats from Jerry. “He didn’t try to gouge me,” Hague went on to say. “The reason I deal with Jerry is he’s as straight as an arrow. If he misquotes a price, he’ll stick with it. He’s got an awful lot of character. He wants repeat business - and he’ll get it, too.” One Rinker boat you’re sure to see on the lake was purchased by Constable Don Chumley’s Office for its Lake Patrol on Feb. 17. Sgt. Greg Gibson operates a crane or davit from the vessel for lifting injured persons, boat parts or underwater debris from the water.

The fact that Lake Conroe lacks vast amounts of aquatic vegetation requires us to extensively use our electronics to find fish. Fish live on structure, therefore, we fish structure whether it be dropoffs, creek channels, roadbeds, pond dams, humps, rocks, or standing timber; these are the areas that you will find concentrations of fish. Taking into consideration that most of these structures are underwater and are not visible from the surface means that to locate them and fish them effectively a graph is a necessity. The graph is a very crucial tool when fishing Lake Conroe. This is the only “window” that you have to figure out what is going on underwater. Understanding how the graph works and what you are looking at when you view the screen is one of the most important attributes to using the graph to your advantage. The unit(graph) has a transducer that is mounted somewhere in the hull or off of the transom. The transducer is what sends out a beam and receives back the information that is relayed to the unit. The beam is the shape of a cone and anything that comes into the cone appears on the screen of the graph. To get a better understanding of this completely forget about water for a minute. Picture yourself standing in a field at night, it is pitch dark. Now picture a helicopter hovering at twenty feet above the ground just out in front of you. The helicopter has a Q-Beam pointed at the ground and the only thing that you can see is what comes into the beam of the light. This is exactly like what happens on the water when you graph the bottom. Your boat is like the helicopter and the transducer shooting beam from the boat is similar to the beam of the Q-Beam from the helicopter. Also the information is put on the screen as if you were looking at from the side. What goes on the screen of the graph is a profile of the cone(beam). To get the most accurate reading when locating fish program the unit in the manual mode. This will dis-enable the unit to put the little fish symbols in where the unit “thinks” that there is a fish. Fish will show up as inverted V’s. The longer the taper from the inverted V the bigger the fish. Also the size of the inverted V is an indication of the size of the fish. Bait fish in large school will show up as a cloud or ball on the screen. Individual or small schools of bait will show up as specks or small dark areas on the screen. Finding underwater structure is the key to catching fish on Lake Conroe and a good understanding of the graph will make you more successful. For more information or a guide trip booking call me at (281) 380 8222. Good luck fishing. Bill Cannan - Professional Fishing Guide

High-brightness 4" (10.2cm) diagonal Film SuperTwist LCD Highly visible 240V x 160H pixel resolution Amber LED backlit screen and keypad for night or low-light viewing Transmits NMEA 0183 data Complies with Digital Selective Calling (DSC) requirements for transmitting position, time, and date to DSC equipped VHF marine radios Simplified keypad with Menu and Pages keys Overlay Data feature displays GPS information over sonar screen, and sonar information over GPS screens Space-saving case design with adjustable tilt, quick-mount/release convenience