The Baron

Yeah, I thought maybe I’d splurge on a 10” at the console but I looked at a couple different mounts and the prices were shocking. Cheaper to go up another +1 in my Amazon reading glasses and just pretend I got a 10”. 😂

I was going with a 9” because that’s the largest screen I think can be mounted in the dash of our Lowe Stinger 195. Our old Bass Tracker has a 9” Echomap UHD with the GT56 transducer and I was quite happy with it for down/side imaging when idling. I figure that at the stern like we had and then use the built in transducer on the Garmin Force for the bow unit for down/side imagining. 🤷🏼‍♂️ (this is what irks me, it’s not cheap stuff and everything’s so darn complicated/unclear 😒)

I’ve pretty much decided on Garmin, just need to pull the trigger. Thinking a 9” UHD2 in the dash, and a Force trolling motor. Then add a 10” at the bow as soon as our old boat sells. That should all network wirelessly. 😎🤞🏻

Whopper Plopper and a Spook are both great producers for me on smallmouth, especially in September when water temps typically start creeping down into the 60’s.

I like to try different brands. I’m also extremely frugal, so the majority of my gear has been bought used for 1/2 or less than retail. For reels I’ve got mostly Diawa and Shimano, but also a couple Bass Pro Johnny Morris and a Quantum Smoke that I like. I don’t have any reels I don’t like, but my overall preference for both baitcasters and spinning is Diawa. In particular, a cc80 I bought last year quickly became a favorite and I plan to get another. And I’m very impressed with the Diawa Revros LT spinning reels for the money, but the sweet spot of cost/performance for me is the Fuego. Early on in my arsenal build up I bought a couple Shimano Curado DCs. Great reels, but IMHO they’re overpriced. I’ve read before that Shimano is amazing at the top end gear, but for my budget I could buy nothing but Diawa and be very happy. I’ve got a few Lews rods I like a lot, so might give one of their reels a try sometime. Will just keep an eye out on Facebook Marketplace. lol

I'm a fan of the copoly lines, for both price and performance. A big part of "performance" for me is manageability and low memory. I do run some fluoro, having most recently been using FC Sniper and that's been working well for me. I've not tried Seaguar Invizx or Tatsu. For copoly, I've been using Suffix Advance and Berkley Fluoroshield both with good results. I was going to try some YZH when I was looking for heavier line (15# and 20#) for glidebaits, but the fella at the local bass specialty shop suggested Fluoroshield and I've been happy with it.

Nice. I'll look forward to seeing the project come together.😎

With the cold temps and another 2ft. of snow forecast for tomorrow 😠 I'm not getting my hopes up until mid-April. Planning to pickup the new boat that first week of April 1 and take it over to the installer for a Garmin UHD2 and a Garmin Force install. So if the weather cooperates, maybe the maiden voyage will be April 5/6 and with any luck my son and I will both catch our first of 2025. If it's still cold, I'll push all that ahead a week.

Well that’s disappointing. 🙁 We’re still about 5-6 weeks away from any chance to fish, from the looks of our long range forecast.

I’ve thought about this more, and to build on my own opinion… I really think knowledge of where the fish are is the master key. So the biggest cheat code of FFS (yup… I’m going there. lol) is guys with less knowledge can find the biggest fish out in open water, fish that before FFS we wouldn’t have known were there and/or only the old masters would have the hard earned knowledge, confidence and faith to fish for. And the next component of skill to present the bait is also diminished when you can see your bait so steer it right to the fish and see how the fish reacts. Now, guys with FFS still need to have an idea where to look for fish at any given time of year, but they get real time confirmation so the search time can be a lot less and there’s no guessing. Give me and a better fisherman both FFS and I’m still gonna get whooped, but give me a season learning how to use FFS on my local lakes and I’ll bet I can catch bigger fish with a lot more consistency. I’ll learn where they are and how they act, so the knowledge gain would be dramatic. Just my extra .02 cents worth (CDN funds, so nearly worthless. haha).

Boy, lots to chew on here. I feel like catching big bass is about knowing where they live, so knowledge, and of course skill to know how to present the right bait to them at the right time. A little luck never hurt, but I rely mostly on the latter and my results show it. I’m working on the knowledge and skill though. I believe you’re right @Swamp Girl about size in the north. Talking largemouth, anything over 4# here is a very good fish but you can expect a good angler to catch one regularly. Over 5# is a really good one, but likely happens a couple times a year for an experienced angler. Over 6# is a once/season event for a very good fisherman who spends a lot of time on the water but could be a once in a lifetime fish for the average angler. Over 7# is a freak. The blessing for my area is the same weights apply for smallmouth. In fact, 4’s and 5’s are very common on Lake Ontario / the St. Lawrence River, with 6+ not at all uncommon.

Hey, that’s doubles digits. Just say you caught a 12 and leave it at that. 👍🏻

I’m really struggling to decide between Garmin or Humminbird for our brand new 19ft. Lowe boat setup. I want to start with a 9” flush mount in the dash (Echomap UHD2 or an Xplore 9) then will get the compatible trolling motor (Force or probably an Ultrex). No screen at the front for now but saving for a 10-12” there next year, possibly with FFS. I’m really torn which fork in the road to take. We have a local Minn Kota sales/service shop that’s great to deal with, but I’ve got a Garmin UHD on our current boat now and really like it so hesitant to switch to Humminbird. That said, the Humminbird side imaging looks nicer than my Garmin. GPS lock, waypoints and auto pilot routes are big features for me and both seem to have their own very functional versions. Any suggestions one way or the other?

Nice one @Team9nine! 😎 update from Canada: it’s dark and cold 😒

Thanks guys. I’m kinda leaning toward a Garmin Force to sync up with Garmin electronics, but gotta talk to my local guy about it.

Good to know. The boat does have a cutout for the trolling motor foot pedal. Our 165 has a refurbished MK Powerdrive with an add-on GPS/Spotlock kit. No foot pedal, just a remote. It’s been OK and we love Spotlock, but would prefer a foot pedal. So I guess that’s a cable drive version? I’ll be going into my local dealer soon to discuss options. First priority might be pull our Garmin UHD 93sv out of the little Tracker and mount it into the console/dash of the new Lowe. Then a trolling motor with Spotlock. Electronics at the bow might have to wait until our old boat sells.

As the father of two teenagers, I almost understand these comments.

100% the Bass Resource gang gets a say - and I’ll just show my wife the posts to prove I’m only following the great advice. 😊 But yes, my top priority is a trolling motor with Spotlock - I put one on our little 165 and we’ve loved it. For a 24v 80#-ish I’m not sure if that means Terrova or Ultrex or ?? but there’s a local dealer I can work with. Probably at the same time will be a 9”-10” nav/fish finder in the console and a 10”-12” at the bow. Just down/side imaging for now. We’ll see how the bank account is doing after that but I’d like to add a couple of shallow water anchors (likely 10-12ft Talons based on what little research I’ve done so far). For how we like to fish, those upgrades would really make this our dream setup.

Welcome, from Kingston!

Welcome, from eastern Ontario. I just saw online a 10# largemouth was caught in BC - I didn't even know BC had a largemouth fishery!

Well, I did a bunch of research and also found a good unbiased review on YouTube that was very helpful. Also turns out a buddy owns a Lowe Stinger 198 and has been very happy with it. So I made up my mind and bought a boat today - a brand new 2024 Lowe Stinger 195 Bass with a Merc 115 Pro XS at $10k off sticker price on clearance. After shaking on the deal the sales manager told me that with our weak Canadian dollar and threat of tariffs, their purchase costs are going up substantially. He said all prices are going up so I snagged a great deal just in time. The deal was already signed so I don’t think that was a sales pitch. So, we just bought our dream boat. Time to start thinking about add-ons. 😎

I’m still on the hunt for a 19ft-ish aluminum bass boat for the coming season. Does anyone have experience with the Lowe Stinger series? A local dealer has a 2024 Lowe Stinger 195 on clearance, making it an attractive option. I just don’t know much about Lowe boats and internet searching didn’t come up with very much - a few new boat walk through videos, no long term reviews or info on the ride.

Have you tried changing colours? (sorry… colors) 😝

I’m so happy I have no desire to own a $100k boat.

Once Christmas is over and winter really locks in, I pretty much suffer through it. I do a little rabbit hunting for fresh air and fun, go the gym, fight whatever gd cold is going through our house (I’m sick right now) and hopefully just stay busy with work. Watch YouTube videos about fishing, maybe get to the shooting range on a mild day. Thankfully we don’t live in a really cold part of Canada, but winter is usually a damp cold, add some wind and the odd ice storm and it’s miserable. I used to not mind winter when I was young, but now I dream about spending Jan-Feb in Florida (the pre-global warming Florida, not the snowy nonsense that is currently happening). Hopefully I’m able to spend some winter time in the south when I’m retired. 🤞🏻