Goose52

Sure - put the battery where it balances/trims best...

OP - we're drifting off your topic but this is probably stuff you're interested in anyway... Yes, I use an anchor - a 5lb dumbbell ! Heavy enough to hold relatively well (in high winds it won't hold however), cheap enough to replace if I foul on the bottom and have to cut-off. I use a Scotty Anchor-Lock to control the anchor line. You can see the Scotty and the dumbbell on the port side, aft (just behind the seat), in the below photo. As far as getting laughed off the dock - rig the boat the way you want it and "just fish"...

Battery forward is the way to go if you're fishing solo. As you did, I ran extension cables forward through the gray conduit that you can see in this photo:

Not as long as a well-designed motor mount, that properly distributes the load to the hull, is used...

There are at least two board members who have TMs on 14/15 ft. Old Towns, they should be along sometime soon to chime in... Is a TM on a canoe recommended? It all depends on YOU and what you want to do with the boat. Canoe purists insist that a canoe should ONLY be used as a paddling vessel. On the other hand, some anglers are just looking for a "mobile fishing platform" and outfit the boat to fit their needs. A powered canoe gives you a combination of having a smaller watercraft that doesn't require a boat ramp, has enough room for a considerable amount of gear, is powered so you can fish instead of paddle, lets you use the motor to better handle wind conditions, all in a smaller form-factor that is easier to store than a jon boat or other larger watercraft. So, you have to give some thought as to whether motoring a canoe is something that works for you. For me, I motor probably around 98% of the time. The only time I paddle is on a couple lakes where in the summer months the curly-leafed pondweed gets so thick in many areas that I have to raise the TM out of the water (and bring up my sonar transducer as well) in order to get though the slop...

The rods with the dropped reel seat area are mostly "antiques" nowadays. I am not aware of any manufacturer still making them and don't believe they have been made for at least the past 30 or so years. That reel seat design is very heavy and not conducive to transmitting vibrations from the "blank to the hand" so to speak. There are some folks that still use them. I fished a late 60s/early 70s vintage Garcia Conolon rod just the other day but it's certainly not in my first-line arsenal...

Yep - it's a nice reel indeed. Mine has been in the boat just about every trip since I bought it...

For sure - this system would take some work to keep up to date in high-yield, fertile fisheries! It's an easy system to maintain in my home waters: low yield, infertile fisheries. As an example, it is a very RARE event when every two-man boat in a bass tournament manages to catch a total of 5 bass 10" or longer over a 6 or 7 hour tournament. Usually, the bass club only manages to have about 2/3 of the boats in a tournament catch five or more LMB. A 3 pound LMB will usually get big bass. These kinds of fisheries make the record keeping much easier...

I keep an Excel spreadsheet that contains all my fishing data (catches, tackle, etc.). As far as keeping track of fish caught from my boat, I add bass silhouettes to the hull - each silhouette represents 100 bass caught. Here's an older photo from last year:

Man - that boat is so 'purdy' that the fish will probably want to just jump on board and go for a ride...

Usually red shad for me in both 7.5" and 10" lengths. Usually a 3/0 or 4/0 EWG with 3/16 to 3/8 oz weight.

I was in the boat 3 times during this designated week. PFD was worn every minute I was on the water (and is worn every minute of every trip, of every week of the year). All required safety gear appropriate for my vessel (<16 ft) on board as well. Howzabout everyone else ? Have you checked recently to make sure you have all the required gear and that it is still serviceable ? Current on all the boating regulations for your area? It's nice to have a week designated for recognition of this important topic ... but it's really an every week kinda thing, right.

Nice 'gills indeed ! There was a recent article in "In-Fisherman" magazine about the scarcity of larger bluegills, redears, etc. It seems they're getting fished-out in many places nationwide. I know in my local lakes, any "brim" over 10" is a rare fish...

OK - go get 'em !

Yep - a nice reel......but it needs to be "slimed-up" a bit...

Lookin' Good ! ! ! A most excellent vessel - here's to MANY productive and enjoyable expeditions ...

Open water, light drag setting = no worries mate

An inline spinner (Roostertail) - 7 3/4 lb LMB.

I was surprised when I saw a thread about MirrOlures. Then I saw that the OP was in Daytona so that made sense. You're on the coast in Florida as well, so you would be up on MirrOlures. I still have some MirrOlures that I've had since the 1960s...and the reason I had them is that I used to live in Dade County FL and they always had plenty of rack space in the tackle shops...

The one to use depends on where you think the fish are in the water column: Obviously, a floating bait, well, floats; so, that's a topwater bait. The sinking bait can be "counted-down" to a certain depth and then start a retrieve; however, if you include pauses in the retrieve, the bait will sink somewhat more on the pause and you have to consider that in your retrieve cadence. The advantage of the sinking bait is that you can run it at the depth that you think the fish are holding in. A suspending bait will run at a certain depth and, on the pause, will suspend at that depth (and often will get bit on that pause). All three types of baits have their purpose and selection depends on knowledge of where the fish should be holding based on general experience, applying seasonal patterns, indications from a sonar, etc. If you are not getting bit with the sinking bait, either you're running it at the wrong depth, or you're fishing where the fish aren't, or that particular bait just isn't floating the bass's boat that day !

I guess I'm late to this party ! How do you plan on using your canoe? Solo or more than one person? (to determine the length of the canoe - for two anglers you want at least 14', 15' would be better) Do you want to stand and fish? (to determine how much stability you will need - you can get stability with factors like hull design, beam, weight, and length; you can add stability with outriggers) How much gear do you want to take with you? (another factor in length of canoe) John mentioned weight. Weight can go both ways. A heavier canoe may tend to be more stable, but that brings with it penalties on ease of transportation and potential portaging. Light weight canoes are easier to transport and manhandle...but may not be as stable. Something to think about. How will you transport it? Car-top, truck bed, back of SUV/van, trailer? (affects how heavy a canoe you can handle) Do you plan to ONLY paddle the canoe, or are you thinking about motoring it? (If you are only paddling, ease of paddling is a major factor. AND, some of the factors that give you stability for standing might negatively affect ease of paddling [like a wide beam]) Those are a few things to thing about. For me, I selected a heavily accessorized canoe for bass fishing after considering all small watercraft from float tubes up to bass boats. Factors that influenced my decision was that I would be fishing solo, with a maximum trip length of about 10 hours, didn't need to take a lot of gear (usually 3-5 rods, 5 or 6 plano boxes, lunch, tote box with misc stuff in it), wanted to motor it nearly exclusively, wanted to stand all day, and wanted very light weight for ease of transport. I ended up with an 11'6" boat with a bare hull weight of 34 pounds, outriggers for stability, and a trolling motor for power. I car-top it without any problems. Others on this board have most excellent bass fishing canoes at the other end of the spectrum that suit their needs: hull weights up to 100 pounds, stable without outriggers, lengths of 15' or so to accommodate two anglers, lots of room for gear, etc. Finally, the stability of the boat can't be overemphasized - fishing from a canoe is different from just paddling around in one. Trying to stand and fish, or just sitting and doing a "mongo hookset", leaning over the gunwale to land fish, etc. are all activities that can lead to rolling the boat. AND, buy a PFD and wear it ALL the time you are on the water. I do. Good luck on your search !

When comparing the various Pflueger models, are you comparing the same sizes? The Pflueger website shows a "25" size President LE at 6.7 oz, the "25" size Supreme at 6.6 oz. Regarding the Supreme XT, I'm not sure it's worth the extra $50 (list price) over a Supreme. I do not have the current Supreme XT but do have two "30" size XTs from an earlier generation. Nice reels, but I don't feel they warrant a 50% price premium (at list price) over a Supreme. I bought them on closeout for $75 each so it was too good a deal to pass up! On the gear ratio - the "25" size Pfluegers are indeed painfully slow - only about 22 IPT. This is about the only thing I don't like about these models. The Okuma shows a nice 29 IPT which is great but I have no personal experience with their reels. The Okuma does have a "carbon" frame, sideplate, and rotor compared to the magnesium components on the Supreme if that makes any difference to you. I see you just posted that you might consider a "30" size. I have "30s" in the President, President XT, Supreme, and Supreme XT series. They are generally about an ounce (give or take) heavier than the 25s but DO offer a substantially higher IPT that is nice to have.

I have used two Pflueger Supreme "25" size reels, with line ranging from 6 lb mono & copoly, and 15 & 20 braid, as part of the primary spinning battery for the past 7 seasons. Combined, they are just about at 3,700 bass reeled in. The only downside so far is that they've eaten a few bail springs... They are a small, light reel...but have no problem bringing in some size: