It’s gonna be a long two months!

[The Baron]

So, I bought myself a really nice used Bass Tracker 165 and am very excited about it.?  I pickup up the boat a couple days ago and got it safely tucked into a buddy’s heated shop for the winter.  
 

The problem is… it’s only early February.  And I’m in Ontario… it’s -20 today.  We’re at least two months away from being able to launch into Lake Ontario (on a calm day) and try to find some early spring smallmouth in our special catch and release season.  Which is great.  But… 2 months. ?

 

I guess that gives me time to get my GPS/fish finder bought and hooked up, then the motor will be getting a health check/tune up in early April before we hit the water.  It will be a long wait, but my son and I are definitely looking forward to an awesome season of new possibilities!

[Fishlegs]

Congrats on the boat. I'm sure that first trip will make the anticipation worth the wait.

[Susky River Rat]

Head south! It’s always rough buying something new and you can’t enjoy it right away.

[WIGuide]

Congratulations on the new ride! I feel your pain though, I can't stand the wait! Even though I'm not waiting for the first trip in a new rig, I just can't wait to get back out the water. I have laundry list of things I want to do to mine, but it's currently sitting in an unheated storage and it was also in the -20* range here this morning so I can't even get it ready to go until it starts to warm up.

[GaryH]

Congrats ? the wait brings the little kid out in all of us at Christmas time 

[gim]

Anyone who has purchased a new or new-to-them boat knows this feeling.  I bought mine in December 2015 and couldn't use it until the following April.  I thought about it almost every day until it made the maiden voyage.

 

Be grateful you have a nice place to store it like a heated shed right now.

[treble hook]

Oh the excitement... The anticipation... Hang in there friend. 

[Way north bass guy]

Wait till next winter when you can’t use it for 5 months! Trust me, it never gets easier ?. 

[volzfan59]

Congratulations on your new rig!

[GRiver]

Congratulations!!!

we know the feeling, at least your in a heated shop to work on it.

what HP motor, and how about a few pics?

[BigBiscuit]

On 2/3/2023 at 11:30 AM, The Baron said:

So, I bought myself a really nice used Bass Tracker 165 and am very excited about it.?  I pickup up the boat a couple days ago and got it safely tucked into a buddy’s heated shop for the winter.  
 

The problem is… it’s only early February.  And I’m in Ontario… it’s -20 today.  We’re at least two months away from being able to launch into Lake Ontario (on a calm day) and try to find some early spring smallmouth in our special catch and release season.  Which is great.  But… 2 months. ?

 

I guess that gives me time to get my GPS/fish finder bought and hooked up, then the motor will be getting a health check/tune up in early April before we hit the water.  It will be a long wait, but my son and I are definitely looking forward to an awesome season of new possibilities!

I feel your pain. I just picked up a new to me 2009 Pro Team 170 and I can't wait to get out on it. My "want" list is getting longer and more expensive by the day. ? I just need to prioritize. New GPS/fish finders (console and the bow) are high on the list. I would also like to upgrade the 12V Motorguide 46 lb trolling motor to a 24V 70-80 lb wireless with spot lock. Those are the big ticket items. Everything else can sit on the back burner until I have funds.

[The Baron]

Nice setup BigBiscuit!  My list is very similar.  Now thinking a Minn Kota Powerdrive 55# Spotlock trolling motor is more important that a high end fish finder.  But I still want a good GPS/mapping/sonar unit too.  It will probably just come down to whatever I find a good deal on first.

[airshot]

I have a 55# powerdrive and the spotlock is awesome!!  I dont bother with an anchor anymore, to much trouble to get it out and in.  My spotlock holds my heavy aluminum 16' deep V in 20 mph wind and healthy two foot waves.  It runs all day trolling (8 hrs) on two group 31 agm batteries. I find the remote to be a great tool, never have to get out of my seat to alter the course when trolling. 

[BigBiscuit]

10 hours ago, The Baron said:

Nice setup BigBiscuit!  My list is very similar.  Now thinking a Minn Kota Powerdrive 55# Spotlock trolling motor is more important that a high end fish finder.  But I still want a good GPS/mapping/sonar unit too.  It will probably just come down to whatever I find a good deal on first.

What are you looking at for GPS/FF? The Garmin Echomap 93SV is going on sale the end of this week. That's what I'll probably get for my bow unit. I haven't decided on a console unit. I have a couple of Lowrance Hook Reveal 5's in my garage and debating whether to use one of those or not. I also have a Garmin Striker that I used on my canoe. Same deal, I'm undecided. I could always use something that I already have for a while, then upgrade later.

[The Baron]

23 minutes ago, BigBiscuit said:

What are you looking at for GPS/FF? The Garmin Echomap 93SV is going on sale the end of this week. That's what I'll probably get for my bow unit. I haven't decided on a console unit.

Yup, I’m looking at the Garmin Echomap 95sv with the higher definition GT56 transducer.  Start with that at the console, no electronics at the bow this year, I don’t think.  Unless I get a ram mount and can move the unit to the bow when fishing, with a second transducer on the trolling motor.  I still have to learn how that all works.

[BigBiscuit]

3 hours ago, The Baron said:

Yup, I’m looking at the Garmin Echomap 95sv with the higher definition GT56 transducer.  Start with that at the console, no electronics at the bow this year, I don’t think.  Unless I get a ram mount and can move the unit to the bow when fishing, with a second transducer on the trolling motor.  I still have to learn how that all works.

Ideally, when you have the funds, you get another Garmin unit and you network the two units and only need one transducer. Of course if the transducer is mounted on the transom and you're on the bow, you're viewing old data. 

I installed and linked my son-in-law's two Lowrance HDS units. He has a 10" on the console and a 12" on the bow. Initially he had just the one transducer, but we just upgraded to a second transducer on the trolling motor. He can now select which transducer he wants to view.

For my usage, I prefer the bigger, nicer unit on the bow as I spend most of my day on the water there. I don't need anything fancy or complex or even that big at the console. 

[gim]

15 hours ago, The Baron said:

Minn Kota Powerdrive

Something to keep in mind on this particular model is that it is an electric steer, as opposed to a cable steer.  I looked back at the boat photos you posted initially in another thread, and the current bow mount on it is a cable steer model.  I don't know which one you are used to using, but the powerdrive has a flatter pedal and the response time when you try to turn is much slower than a cable steer.  It may ultimately depend on how you primarily fish too.  If you do a lot of casting from the front deck, a cable steer model will be better for that purpose, and provide hands free use.  If you want a longer cord and intend to use a remote, the power drive will work better.

 

Full disclosure, the pedals on the power drives are notorious for failing after a period of time.  I don't know if Minnkota has fixed that problem or not on their new versions.  My Father has about a 20 year old Powerdrive and he's replaced the foot pedal at least 5 times now.  The contact points simply wear out I think.