grizzly1654

Thanks MN fisher! Those are some great pics. In that first pic of the crappie, is that a camper on the ice? How thick is the ice there?

Me and a friend are tossing up the idea of taking an ice fishing trip this year. I would like to target walleye or perch but not dead set on just those 2 species of fish. I am open to pike, trout or anything else not real common to the south. Most likely will have the wives with us but not fishing so would need shopping close by. I'm thinking Michigan or Wisconsin area but I don't know anything about ice fishing. Lake Okeechobee was always a bucket list lake for me bass fishing, what is the Okeechobee lake of ice fishing?

Thanks for the very detailed reply. Lots of helpful info there.

I take a trip to the gulf coast once or twice a year with the family. I fish every morning and evening from the beach or Kayak from the beach (if I rent one). I have a Penn 5000 spinning reel on a 9' rod for the surf for live bait or shrimp. and I usually take one of my bass spinning rigs for playing around on the beach. I'm looking to expand my horizons and pick up a 200-400 series bait caster for surf /jetty fishing with lures. The Penn SQL400LP is what I have in mind for reels (mostly because it looks awesome with the big knobs lol). I'm not sure if the 400 is overkill for the Florida gulf coast or not, I'm open to suggestions. My main concern is the rod. I would like to find something I could also use bass fishing. I would like something around 8'ish for casting distance and up to 3oz lures. I don't have a large swim bait rod and i think this rod could double as both? The Powell endurance 7'11" cranking rod and the Dobyns Fury Casting Rod 8' Heavy Flippin' 805 are the rods I think may work out for what I want. I don't know much at all about inshore/surf fishing with lures. Are the rods/reels I have listed good for that? Does anyone have another suggestions?

Thanks for that info.

I fish a small 300 acre lake that isn't supported by any of the map cards that I'm aware of. I am wanting to use the auto chart feature on my helix units (12 g4n at console and 9 g4n at the bow) to map the lake. I have been reading up on the auto chart and PC software and now I'm more confused. Can I just buy the zero lines card and map the entire lake with my Helix 12 G4N or do I need to buy the PC software to create the maps on the card to be able to view it on the Helix unit? I don't need any of the overlay, sharing or other custom features. I just want to be able to map the entire 300 acre lake and view it on my units. Humminbird states that my units can hold 8 hours of data. How does that compute to lake size?

I like what I'm hearing about the ultrex. When my all terrain does decide to quit I will most likely be going with the ultrex.

Boat size and brand is my screen name. Bass tracker grizzly edition 16' length 54" bottom. I like a little overkill in the power department. I may not need a new one after all though. I got the old one running again. My battery connections were a dull gray color. I shined it up with a wire brush and hooked it back up. Now it works. Ill try and load test it later this week and see what happens.

Me 13 year old minn Kota all terrain 40lb trolling motor quit on me. So I'm looking to upgrade. I am looking at the ultrex and fortrex 24v 80lb. The deciding factor for me will be how well the ultrex can handle the close quarters heavy cover situations such as a cypress swamp. Is the foot petal responsive enough to maneuver around easily?

Yea I'm ready for a new classic location. I guess there aren't many locations with arena's close by that can handle the crowd that the classic brings in?

6.71 is a nice bass! I was there Tuesday and caught several small ones on lipless cranks. Thanks for the info, i was curious if i was the only one catching the dinks lol.

What was the hot lure and winning weight?

The best lure i have found that attracts bowfin is a brand spanking new pretty one. The are like candy. Once you've caught a couple and worn the pretty off your new bait its time to tie on another new one. They will do a number on your lures but they sure are fun to catch.

I ordered 2 of them a week or 2 ago. I've got a few hours in throwing traps on one of them so far. It feels and casts like the original. The PQ was due for a weight loss and it is a nice improvement. I am very happy with mine, I have no complaints.

It is mounted directly centered between 2 strakes in the flat area. It is hard to see in the picture. The first time out I started with it level. Like it is now was the position that gave the least fuzzy line. Ok thats good I was worried I was going to have to drill more holes in my boat lol. I was thinking with the line on the left side that I would be getting bad readings. Thanks for the help guys.