Wayne P.

Nice slot fish. With the water level about 4 1/2' low it should be easy to spot those conditions. The birds will show you where too. I'll be picking on the Fork bass next week.

If the body of water you fish gets a thermocline in hot weather, the thermocline level will be in the 70 degree range and below the thermocline it will be in the 50's. Very easy and productive pattern to use in hot weather. The thermocline is at about the 20' level in this image: Some systems have multipule thermociines that different species relate to.

Two more questions: Which one of the three 798 SI units do you have and what software version does it have?

Did you install the XP 9 20 and if you did, did you do the complete installation procedure including pretesting, cleaning , sanding, and proper epoxy? Are you using the Switchfire Clear setting?

The HDS-7 is stand alone 2D unit. What model are you considering for the other HDS ? All the HDS models can have Structure Scan and Down Scan when connected to a LSS-2 accessory. You can connect two of them to the LSS-2 accessory and both will have DS and SS. All you need is the extra cable. The LSS-2 accessory is required to get those two functions. Only the Touch models have the built-in LSS electronics but don't come standard with the scan transducer.

What transducer are you getting the depth reading from? What depth do you usually fish?

A select speed motor will not run as long as a variable speed motor at the same # thrust size. That is the whole point of using a variable speed motor other than more speed settings--more run time. From the Minnkota web site: Digital Maximizer (select models) Digital Maximizer™ controls and optimizes power to extend battery life and reduce damaging heat. You’ll stay on the water up to five times longer on a single charge. Available on select models.

I got a call around noon from someone at Briery and the upper end is real dingy and the midlake area has some visibility. Water level is up about 1'. Temp was 64 degrees. Typically neither lake gets very muddy since the feeder creeks are so small and the watershed is mostly forrest and undisturbed farm land.

Re: steering cable for foot controlled motors. The less expensive and lower power motors have a single cable push/pull rack and pinion type operation. Those are the ones most likely to break under stress. Their failures are usually due to non-use as the cable flops around when stowed for navigation or trailering and it breaks at the head connection. The motors with two cables pull/pull are the best and if kept in good condition shouldn't have any issues. I only know of one instance where that type broke and it was a Minnkota: in that case it was more user ignorance than material failure. I personally have only had one motor brand in 40+ years that would break a steering cable and that was the OMC which was the single cable steer.

The type of fishing you do and the time you spend on the water should determine what motor type and technology you want. The variable speed motors of any type are more battery friendly. They use an electronic circuit to control the motor rpms. The most inefficient motors are the selectable speed models as Dougherty suggested and are less expensive. Typically an electric steer motor is used for trolling with less input from the operator needed. In doing so, the steering motor adds more battery usage and lessens the run time. A cable steer motor is usually preferred by those that want to concentrate on fishing and steer the motor by feel. The cable steering allows for the feel without constantly watching were the motor is pointed. Modern electric steer motors function faster than older versions and can have additional benefits when operated wirelessly or connected to marine electronics. The Minnkota iPilot link is a new system that lets a sonar/GPS unit "talk" to the motor and do the steering automatically by following mapping contours. Some will also hold the boat's position sort of like a ropeless anchor and some will move the boat in a selected straight line of travel with no steering input from the operator. There is another bow version that some like, a hand steer model. That takes the most effort to control. I have fished with all three types and I prefer the cable steer models since I bass fish and want to watch where I am casting and watch my presentation as I control the boat. I have a couple of Motor Guide Tour Edition models.

X2

I use the Uni-knot for all applications except a drop shot hook--the tag end gets the weight attached to it. With the Uni-knot I have no line tag with any type line. My knots don't slip so there is no need to allow for it with a tag end.

I don't have that setup any more, that was about 2009. I have a single Side Imaging transducer on the trolling motor now and it is the HDSI of which there is no puck version. I have it attached with a Transducer Shield and Saver mount which is way better than the Humminbird trolling motor adaptor.. I'll describe one of the best ways to run the cable. Run it up the shaft on the prop side of the shaft to lessen the chance of being crushed if you bump into stuff.The picture shows that routing sort of. Leave enough slack at the pivot point so the motor will turn all the way around in both directions. Once you get to the shaft clamp on the mount, run the cable along the mount to the deck. That is to keep it away from the power cord as much as possible to prevent RFI. The excess cable is run under the deck, coiled into a choke (RFI prevention) and back out from under the deck to the display. The choke deal is to make about an 8" coil with the slack, twist it to form a figure 8, fold that in half to form a 4" loop and tie it up so it stays that way. The attachment to the shaft has to be done so whatever you use will not pinch or crush the cable. I use plastic wire ties and put the lock where the cable is so I cannot crush the cable when tightening them (been there done that) Tape works good too. Since I fish in stumps and trees a lot, cable damage can occur where it leaves the transducer and goes around the motor to the shaft (been there done that too). I made this cable protector to prevent that and submitted it to Transducer Shield and Saver to add to their inventory. (hasn't happened yet that I know of). This is my current installation.

Tracks are not written to the memory chips either. That is GPS data also that is in the unit's memory. GPS data is Waypoints, Routes and Tracks. None of those are mapping data. When you put any card in a unit with GPS data on it, that data has to be installed in the unit's memory to use it. GPS data is not read directly from any cards, only map data is. It makes no difference where the GPS data is created (including Navplanner), it still has to be installed in the unit's memory to use/view it. Map data is an overlay on the Plotter screen. Units that do that are called Chart Plotters. GPS units that record tracks, show waypoints and routes and don't have a mapping feature are called Track Plotters. There are GPS units that are not Track Plotters or Chart Plotters and just display digital data.

You can create waypoints at any position world-wide, on land, water, HD or no HD mapping. GPS units, whether they are stand-alone or in combination with a sonar unit, store GPS data in the unit's memory. That data does not get transferred to a memory chip unless it it done manually for storage elsewhere, or to be copied to another unit. The Navionics HD surveyed waters are in a couple of forms. The older HD may have very few details other than 1' contour lines. The newest re-surveyed waters have a lot more details and Navionics is constantly adding more details with the Freshest Data program that you get with the updates. The Platinum and Premium versions have the same map data if both are kept up to date. The non-HD waters are usually scanned paper maps or obtained from "other sources". They may or may not be accurate in location or details. Basically better than nothing. Another thing you may not know is mapping is not part of GPS. GPS works the same with or without background mapping. They work together but are completely separate. You can have location waypoints, tracks and routes with no mapping. I have about 75 waypoints for a particular body of water that has no digital mapping or even a fishing structure map--a fairly new lake. That location on Navionics is shown as land. I created an outline of that body of water using Google Earth, and converted the outline to Tracks, so I would have a reference point for all my waypoints there. It looks like this:

False. A trolling motor puck does not have attachment points for a transom mount. They have slots for a hose clamp. It has always been that way. Some adapt a transom mount transducer for trolling motor use. Both of these are trolling motor pucks. one is a dual frequency 2D and the larger one is a Side Imaging puck. The Lowrance/Eagle puck is like the 2D but about 1/2 the size--same mount system though.

Lowrance mapping products don't work in Humminbird units.

Kick'nBass Garlic scent is the best, all the others are tied for last place along with WD-40, gasoline, insect repellant. sunscreen or any other substance you want to try.

One more thing you can check with Navionics,. Go to their web site and click on the Web App. Select your area and zoom in to a body of water you are interested in and you will see the detail on the map cards if you update it when you get it. A new purchase includes a year of updates. That way you don't have to guess what the map looks like, you can see it.

You would be getting about the same thing as the background mapping (ContourXD) that comes with the unit. Some locations will have more contour lines and you will get more bodies of water for the region you purchase. Review the list of waters covered on the Navionics web site for the region you are wanting, to see if what you want is included. No, nobody's "hot spots" are included. Its "worth" is for you to decide. Take a look at the coverage that Lakemaster has for your area, you may prefer that product. Most do if both companies have the same coverage. It has more adjustabity. But you don't get updates.

When I am on the water, I prefer going catching, over just going fishing.

I bass fish because I want to.

The best rigging is the Horny Toad hook and don't put the hook point through the body. Just put the hook bend between the legs and skin hook the point in the back of the toad. That way the toad is not captured in the hook bend when set. It just swings out of the way held on by the spring-no "sliding down" is involved.

Agree Once you get corrosion on that small wire, you have lost some of its current carrying capacity. The contact pins are gold plated and don't rust, green corrosion is copper rust. If your unit is less than 10 years old, the power cord is either the PC-10 or PC-11.

I bought a kit with them over 20 years ago, not only are they weedless, they are fishless too.