KeepinItReel

I am new to the DFW area. I live several minutes away from Joe Pool Lake. I have fished it several times already and have heard it is a tough lake and not the most ideal lake to bass fish in the area. Looking for lake suggestions in this area. I am aware that Lake Fork is probably the best option, but it is 2 hours away. Looking for some lakes that are closer to fish more often.

@Short Fish - Thanks for suggestion. I will contact him when I am looking for a Lake Fork guide. Anyone know any other guides closer to my area of DFW? I contacted the only local guide I could find (Ben Robertson). He will only use his boat. I may do this but he uses Hummingbird and I was really hoping to learn how to read my graphs specifically while learning everything else.

I went through the same thing you are about a year ago. I got several Daiwa reels and rods and have been extremely happy. If you get only one, I would suggest the following. A Daiwa Tatula SV reel and a Daiwa Tatula bass rod 7'1 (TTU711MHXB) or 7'3 (TTU731MHFB).

I am new the DFW area and am just getting serious about bass fishing. I have fished off on and over the past twenty years but not much. I am looking for a guide who is willing to go out in my own boat and teach me the lakes, techniques, and also show me how to better take advantage of my graphs (HDS Live units with 3 in 1 transducer and Navionics Maps). I would also entertain a recreational co angler who is willing to share their knowledge. I own a 2015 Ranger RT 178 with a 75hp Mercury 4 stroke outboard. live in Mansfield, TX near Joe Pool Lake. I reached out to one local guide and am waiting to hear back. I want to learn Joe Pool Lake as it's in my back yard, but I also want to learn all of the better lakes in the area such as Ray Roberts, Lake Fork, Hubbard, etc. Does anyone have any guide suggestions in the DFW area?

Thanks for the information. I have been swamped with work and have not gotten around to contacting them. I plan on doing that early next week. Do you know if there is a time period the warranty is good for?

I had the boat out this past week. We only went tubing but I put the Ghost motor down and calibrated it again. I noticed the blue arrow does not even point the direction of the motor when looking in the water. It's off by at least an inch. The blue arrow jumps quickly when moving motor left and right, not smooth at all. At some points it seems to get stuck for a split second and then jumps left or right faster. Hard to explain. It came this way and I am now thinking the top blue arrow mechanism is defective. I watched some videos and it seems to move smoothly when turning on those videos. Does your blue arrow jump around? I will be calling Lowrance sometime this week or early next week. I will keep this post updated. Let me know what you find out in case I have anymore issues.

Thanks for the tip. I updated the Ghost software the other day as well as both HDS units. They are linked and all of that seems to work fine. I also have the controller and it works fine as well.

I recently had a Lowrance Ghost trolling motor installed by a local shop. When I am using it the arrows seems to jump around quite a bit, it is not smooth. It does not seem like the motor itself is doing this, just the arrow. I was wondering if anyone else owns a Lowrance Ghost and can give me their opinion. Based on the videos I have seen it seems like there is something wrong with mine. This is also my first large Lowrance purchase along with a couple HDS Live units. I did not purchase them from the installer. Will Lowrance support help in resolving the issue seeing as I just purchased it a few months ago and got it installed a few weeks ago? I will try to get a video soon and upload (or a link) if able to on this forum.

I pulled the trigger and got 3 of the NAPA group 31 marine batteries and saved 20% ($32 each) for purchasing 3 of them. Should be more than enough CCA for my small outboard. When I get a newer boat I will just get a separate cranking/dual purpose battery.

I think I figured it out. The outboard I have now doesn't take much CCA to start, the 650 these NAPA group 31s provide is more than enough. I plan to go 36V on the Ghost when I upgrade my boat, so I will purchase a separate dual purpose/starting battery at that time for the bigger outboard and use these 3 group 31 NAPA batteries for the trolling motor. Thanks again for all the advice and suggestions!

Does one batteries need to be a dual purpose battery? I have heard conflicting views about this. Also, if so, does it need to be dual purpose or can it be a starter/cranking battery without the dual deep cycle capability? I will be running the ghost on 2x group 31 deep cycle batteries and everything else on the 3rd battery. I need to figure out the 3rd battery. The brands I was considering don't seem to have a dual purpose battery in group 31 size,in fact they only have them in size 27 max, am I just not finding them? Is there another name for them? I ruled out the Everstart Maxx and was looking to pickup NAPA or Excite batteries today. Would be nice to find NAPA dual purpose in group 31 as I'd get the 20% off 3 batteries deal. Here are the links. Group 31 Deep Cycle https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NBP8231 https://www.homedepot.com/p/Nautilus-31-Deep-Cycle-Marine-Battery-31MDC/205309650 Group 27 Dual Purpose (can't find bigger) https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NBP8270 https://www.homedepot.com/p/Nautilus-27-Dual-Purpose-Marine-Battery-27MDP/205309649

Awesome. Thanks for the information, that clears that up. I did some research on which 3 Bank charger to get and am going to get a dual pro 15amp 3 bank charger. I am going to go cheap on the batteries. I was debating between the everstart maxx and NAPA marine batteries. NAPA has a deal right now if I get 3 I save $30 each, they run $150 for group 31. The NAPA only come in group 27 or 31, but the NAPA group 31 weighs the same as the everstart group 29 does. The everstart maxx cost $99 each. I'd be paying $60 more with the discount for the NAPA 31s. I have heard that NAPA marine batteries are pretty good for lead acid style, I'm leaning that way at the moment.

I have been looking to upgrade my 16 ft tracker boat but have been unable to find what I am looking for just yet. I have decided to make some modifications to my current boat in the interim. I purchased a new HDS Carbon 12 and a Lowrance Ghost trolling motor. I have 2 old group 27 batteries in my boat now, and am going to be upgrading those to 3 new group 29 batteries. Any suggestions on the type or brand of battery I should get? My understanding is that I need to put the graph, outboard, and all other accessories on one of the batteries and then run the trolling motor on the other two batteries linked together in a series. What I am unsure about is how I am going to keep these charged. Am I able to use a single 3 bank charging system and hook this up to all 3 batteries even though the multi purpose battery will be wired independently of the 2 trolling motor batteries? Is there a better way to do this? If someone could please provide some clarity for me on how I should go about this setup and some advise on what 3 new batteries to get I would really appreciate it.

You know, they probably are as they are non essential. It is not nice enough outside yet here to golf, will be soon though, maybe by then they will open back up.

Hey guys. I created a fun fishing GIF. I figured I'd share. Isn't that the truth though, thank God for fishing. Especially right now. Golf isn't half bad either. https://media.giphy.com/media/Lo0wBUudh5uB93evHG/giphy.gif

How early are you all fishing in this area? Is there still ice on the mentioned lakes? Do you ever go out when its above freezing during the day and still freezing at night?

This is great information, thanks!

Hey guys. I just started fishing in this area last October. Looking for some opinions and tips from other guys that fish this area or somewhere nearby with similar weather/spawn patterns. When is pre-spawn, spawn, and post-spawn typically in this area? Prior to pre-spawn, how early do you all get out and do late winter fishing? Are you already out bass fishing on these lakes? If so, what types of areas do you look for prior to pre-spawn (how deep?) and during pre-spawn? I specifically will be fishing Otisco, Cayuga, and Oneida most of the time.

I am looking at a boat with Lowrance Elite Ti2 Units on the console and the bow. It is not my first choice in electronics, but given the price I may go ahead and get this boat and use these for several years. I just need to know a few things before pulling the trigger. I am confused as to exactly what is able to be shared and what is not. I have read conflicting things on different forum posts and websites. I read some places that they are only able to connect wirelessly and will not be able to share si/di. I have read other places that they have NMEA connector ports on the back and can use a NMEA 2000 network to share si/di, GPS positions, SmartSteer trolling motor control, and engine information. Which is true, or are neither statements completely true? If these units are only able to connect wirelessly and are unable to share si/di from 1x 3 in 1 transducer, can I put another 3 in 1 transducer on the trolling motor (or use a Lowrance ghost with a 3 in 1 cone head) to get si/di on the other unit? If I did this, would I still be able to share sonar, waypoints, and map cards between the two units while using the 3 in 1 transducer on the stern for si/di on the bow unit and the 3 in 1 transducer on the trolling motor for si/di on the bow unit? Would I be able to use the sonar from either transducer on either unit?

Thanks everyone. I got there and it was 3, they were very easy to access so I did not have to deal with the lower cowling. The compression test also was successful, all at 90. I ended up passing on the boat though. It was in way worse shape than it looked in the photos online.

Haha. Nice "catch". Any advise on the motor?

I am going to look at a bass boat tomorrow with a 2009 Mercury 115hp OptiMax on it. I am wanting to do a compression test while I am there and planned to swap the spark plugs out while I was at it (assuming the test passes and I purchase). I am having a hard time finding any solid documentation on the spark plug type and how many spark plugs it uses. Does anyone know? I think it uses IZFR5J model plugs and I think it neds 6 of them, but I wanted to make sure before I purchased. Also, I was reading about the bottom 2 spark plugs on the OptiMax motors being hard to reach due to the lower cowling (without removing it). Does anyone know if this is the case with the 115hp model or only on the 150hp+?

Does anyone have real world experience with both? I am trying to figure out the big difference between the two models. I know that solix gen1 cannot use mega imaging+ si/di and is only capable of using the mega imaging. I also know that select solix gen2 are sold with dual spectrum transducers, although these transducers can be used with solix gen1 also. I can't figure out if solix gen1 is compatible with one-boat network features such as auto chart using i-pilot link. Does anyone knows if this is only compatible with solix gen2 units? Other than what I've already mentioned, are there any other big differences between the two models? Are the newer models faster? Is the screen resolution better?

Unfortunately I cannot stretch 15-25k more into my budget at the moment. Maybe in a few years I will upgrade to a Lund ProV bass or Crestliner Bass Hawk, they look extremely nice. Thanks for the advise on other aluminum models to look at. Do you think I need anything more than a Z-7? I have looked at a few of them and considered it. Which lakes in the area do you fish more often than others? Have you ever wished you were able to get out and fish and been unable to due to running a Z-7? It seems to me like the north end of Cayuga and the west end of Oneida are the places to be. If I launch there and am not running the whole lake is it still a big issue dealing with the rough water? Do either of you use spot lock trolling motors? Does it make a huge difference when it is rough/windy out?

It's a "Control Post Seat" by Springfield. I also saw one on the Rangerware site SKU: R11A-9937