@reelChris

Is that it, or are they just the "economy" rig? Every tracker model I've ever seen has bargain basement equipment in it that looks like it was installed on a Friday afternoon 5 minutes before quitting time.

You need this: https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Transducer_Shield_and_Saver_Spring_Back_Bracket_Combo/descpage-TRNDU.html It's a transducer mount on a spring hinge so that the transducer stays deployed until you hit something and then it folds 90 degrees. It snaps back into place once you're done dragging the transducer over whatever you hit.

The answer to my own question, is yes, that is the livewell timer. It's official ranger part name is TIMER,LVWL,12 AMP(SOLID STATE).

You've got to love when a fishing tournament and a sailboat race are scheduled for the same lake at the same time. As soon as you find a nice spot away from the race course, the markers all suddenly change and now they're trying to run you over.

Can anyone confirm if the black box in themiddle of the picture is the livewell timer in a 2019 Ranger RT188p? Two of the wires from the livewell switch run into it. If not, any clue on where it is or what it looks like?

I can't tell you what the right prop for your motor is, but I can tell you that Soderbloom's does great prop repair work through the mail. Call them to get an idea of how long it might take, but for your size prop, with shipping, you're looking at about $65 with shipping to fix an aluminum prop to a condition that looks basically new: https://www.soderbloom.com/proprepair.html

Maybe for the best? Any site that misspells the name of the company as "Diawa" in both the URL and on the actual website is a little suspicious.

Reaction tackle wacky O rings 125 in black, orange, green or red $6.49 125 in watermelon or June bug $5.99 125 of each color (750 rings total) $18.99: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01MT04AH5?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title&th=1

Another simple solution is dollar store chem lights placed near the gunnels to prevent stepping off into the wetness.

A few days ago I was working a large field of pads in about 1-1.5' FOW during fairly steady drizzle. At first I was using a toad over the top with no luck. Then I moved on to skipping a wacky senko to the holes between the pads . It was catching fish here and there (the bite overall was lousy) but getting snagged a lot. So, I switched to a texas rigged super fluke. That skipped well but I've never caught anything on a fluke so Imoved on after a few casts without a bite. I thought about pitching a texas rigged worm, which I have plenty of confidence in, but some of the best spots between the pads were really far away and it was much easier to skip. I got the idea that a Fat Ika texas rigged "backwards" (skirt up) would skip well, have decent action on the fall and wouldn't get hung up. I was right, but I still got no hits. Was there a better plastic I should have used for this application?

I use straight inflatables unless the weather is bad, then foam to prevent accidental inflation. I've been curious about switching to Mustang's foam/inflatable hybrid vest the Khimera: https://mustangsurvival.com/products/khimera-dual-flotation-pfd-md7183 which looks like the best of both worlds.

Did you buy them to make a little money off some old guy's generosity?? I'd ignore the impulse to sell them and focus on the impulse to fish them.

Magnum shaky head

I've tried this, and it works well for making space for a nail weight, but the problem I always run into is that, eventually, the weight goes flying out after a few casts. I've tried gluing the weights in with crazy glue, but that just delays the inevitable.

Lately, I've been picking lipless baits on which ones will stand up to being smashed into the trolling motor mid cast. I can tell you from several experiences that red eyed shads and warpigs cannot.