looking for bottomline users!!!

[ryan the poor college kid]

i have a friend who was looking for some information on a "bottomline tournament leader SF3" i think is the name. he just bought a boat with one on it and wanted to know if he should upgrade, or if this finder will work well. it is around 4 years old he thinks.
i sure do appreciate any help you have on this.

[s.f.]

ryan, i'm not familiar with that unit but...

sure , that will work fine. of course, there are many upgrades since then, but if your friend LEARNS how to get optimum performance out of his, it'll work. one common thing with all units like that, is they are best run in manual mode. fish id portion turned off. power 75 percent, chart speed wide open. grayline about 33 percent. set range in manual mode so as the bottem reading is consistently in the middle or right below the middle of the screen. the key is to learn the unit and then run it in a consistent setting. that way you will get used to what you are seeing, which is key when you are catching good fish, therefore able to recognize good fish the next time they appear. good luck!

work hard at school first,upgrade there first...start makin' a bunch of money...then upgrade the fish hunting machine.

keep a tight line....

#49
steve fellegy

[BGunn]

Ryan,
I have a Bottom Line "Tournament Champion 5" depth finder
with the GPS. It is 6 years old, and I started having problems getting a reading to the bottom, and the GPS would chose to cut out at the most opportune time, like when your trying to find your way thru a break wall on Lake Erie at night.
The replacement for the unit costs about $1000.00 +/- ( and you can't get the "5" anymore, I could only find the "3" ), and I really liked it when it worked, so I contacted Bottom Line Co. and asked them if it could be repaired.
They informed me that the life expectancy of a transducer was 3 to 5 years, and that the older GPS was an 8 channel, and the newer ones were 12. I shipped the unit to them, along with a check for $149.95. They replaced all 5 transducers, speed and temp sensors, new GPS module, and it looks like the entire unit itself is new also, but I won't know that until I reinstall it in the boat. They even check all your cables, and splitters, to be sure they work well.
The best part was their turn-around time. I mailed it "return receipt requested". Two days after I got the "Return Receipt", the depth finder was sitting on my front porch! I give Bottom Line Co. 5 Stars in customer Service! Their e-mail address is customerservice@computrol.com if you have any questions for them on your unit.
I fully agree with the post above, keep the settings simple when you first start out, or you will get very confused as to what you are reading. Like I said, I really like the way the unit works, and it's ease of operation with only one button to do all the adjustments with. I wish all units would go with one button operation, heck, I'm so old that I don't buy green bananas any more :( , and they expect me to remember what 12 buttons do on my depth finder each time I go fishing??


*On your tombstone there will be two sets of numbers, one for the day you were born, and the other for the day you die.
What you make of that little dash between them, is all that really matters.*

[Backwater Eddy]

I have and use a BottomLine TL-3200 that is the same basic unit.

Good for some things, not so good for others. The unit works well an lower speeds of operation for side scanning and basic bottom reading functions. It is not as sharp a tool as the units above it in the BottomLine line.

My main use was for side scanning river structures, it worked ok for that job.

Bad points are that the LCD freaks out in very cold wet weather and you also need the transducer set perfectly or it will not read properly at running speeds, it was touchy to keep set properly.

A good unit for structure casting on slow tapering flats in 20' or less. This is where you benefit from the side scanning capability the most. Handy for trolling large flats with boards too.

Backwater Eddy ~ ~ ~><sUMo> ~ ><>

http://home.talkcity.com/ResortRd/backwtr1/index.html

[Chief Sludgeman in PdC]

I've had my 310XT for over ten years. No problems other then having to replace the transducer. Three inch thick ice will do it everytime.
They are a good unit. I fish a lot. Bought it as a demonstrator from Reeds in Walker, MN.