Scott F

There is a lake in Wisconsin I only fish in the spring for pre-spawn smallmouth. More often than not, those bass show a definite preference for Pointer 65’s. Fish the lake with larger jerkbaits, and you will not do well on smallies.

Rock bass are usually plentiful and very good to eat. When my buddies and I want a fish dinner, we usually catch enough rockies by accident while smallie fishing to provide an excellent meal.

If I’d only caught 3 fish in 3 dozen trips, I’d have quit myself. My suggestion is to find other people to fish with. Join a fishing club (not necessarily a tournament club). A lot of times, fishing by yourself, you keep repeating the same mistakes over and over without realizing you are doing something wrong. Watching how and where others present their baits will give you insights you can’t always get from reading or watching YouTube videos. Downsizing your baits is also a good idea. I have a friend who was struggling to catch bass while everyone else was doing well. He was copying the guys he saw on TV and throwing big baits going for big fish which isn’t a bad thing but he was coming up empty and not happy about it. Once he switched to what the rest of us were using, he started catching and wound up with some big fish to boot.

Hey Kev... Nice to see you here.

I know lots of them but I don't want to give them out on an open forum. PM me and I'll tell you anything you want to know.

Salt Creek probably has the lowest density of smallmouth of any river in the Northern half of Illinois. If you really want to catch some river smallies, drive a few more miles west and hit the DuPage or Fox Rivers.

Considering that one of the most respected pro anglers, KVD, still promotes FC lines as being low stretch, when it has been proven that it isn’t, I put very little stock in anything a Pro has to say about gear.

If you are talking about tablet computers like an iPad, I don’t use mine in the boat. First, I can’t read the screen in bright sunlight. Second, it isn’t waterproof. Third, many of the remote areas I fish have poor to no cell coverage. And fourth, my Garmin depthfinders provide great mapping, screens that I can see in bright sun, and are waterproof.

Too many variables to come up with an answer. You might find a complete used boat for $1,000 or $10,000 for a new one.

I wouldn’t be too concerned as long as you aren’t several hundred pound over. As far the motor and gear weight, you’d be surprised how fast that adds up. A 4 stroke 40hp motor weighs 200. Starting battery and one trolling motor and battery adds another 150 pounds, include a tank of gas, and you are at 400 lbs. Bring a cooler of ice, drinks, an anchor, a live well full of water and a couple of tackle boxes and you are over 500.

In the last 30 years, I’ve broken a total of 4. The first one broke when the lid on my rod box closed before the rod was all the way in. 2 broke while I was transporting them in the back of my truck. Only one broke while fishing when I set the hook rather violently while fishing a frog. I was only 40 minutes from the St. Croix store at the time, so I took it back and they handed me a new one.

This is not what I expected when I saw the title of the post. ?

Because people are buying them. If they didn’t sell when they first came out, they’d be gone by now. They’ve shown to be popular so that’s what all the companies are putting out.

IPilot and iPilot link both have wireless remotes. There is even an Android or IOS app for your phone that lets your phone become a remote for Bluetooth equipped Terrova’s and Ulterra’s.

Co-Pilot is a wireless remote that controls speed and direction on Minn Kota Power Drive trolling motors. iPilot adds GPS to trolling motors that provides spot lock and auto pilot along with speed and steering controls. iPilot Link links the trolling motor to Humminbird depth finders to let the motor follow depth contours and control your trolling motor from the depth finder.

Spot lock and routes are part of the built in GPS on the Terrova, no depthfinder needed. I use the built in transducer to connect my Garmin. You can record routes on the Terrova and it will run those routes again, without being connected to a depthfinder. If your Terrova has the optional iPilot Link, you can connect it to a Humminbird and the motor will follow contours and find waypoints on the depthfinder but it isn't needed for spot lock.

Obviously, a 3 bank charger would be best. On my boat, the two trolling motor batteries are in the center of the boat and the starting battery is in the back. Wiring would have been a challenge so I used one two bank charger and a separate single charger for the starting battery.

Yes, that is right. It's the same tail that's on the 110

If you are giving advice to the original poster, he probably won’t see it as the last time he was online here was 9 years ago today.

I’m not sure who defines what colors are “popular”. It must be the cool guys who hang around the bait shop. While not specifically a color, I’ve never caught fish on lures with realistic paint jobs. It makes sense to me that bait fish coloration helps them blend in to their surroundings. Those that stick out from the background would be easier for predators to find and be eaten first. I want my bait to be visible and look like an easy meal.

Seriously, 92 octane only has more anti-knock compounds than 87 and is only needed in high compression engines. It doesn't provide any power advantages, it just costs a lot more. I know that sometimes, the only ethanol free fuel available is 92 octane so you don't have another choice, but since all modern engines are designed to run on E10 I wondered if there was a reason you would choose the more expensive fuel.

Why use 92 octane gas? Doesn't Mercury say to use 87? Does your motor knock with 87 octane?

How it’s done depends a lot on specifically which truck and bed you have. Crew cab, extended cab, bed length, cap or no cap.

I don’t know what kind of plug you have. It sounds like it’s a 12 volt but to be sure, you should use a meter to test it. Batteries wired in parallel should have the positive wire from one battery connected to the positive of the other and then a wire from the negative post of the first battery to the second. Then, the positive and negative wires run to the plug.

How many batteries did the boat come with? Check the battery compartment if there are only 2, it’s a 12 volt. If there are 3, see how they are wired. If two are wired in series, it’s a 24 volt motor.