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Can you sell your other starting battery and use the opti for your starting battery? Then put deep cycle batteries where you need them.

I saved some money and bought an older (1999 Cobra) bass boat that was meticulously taken care of. As the second owner I have put more money into electronics and upgrades than I paid for the boat. That is the benefit to buying an older boat for less money. You can pay cash and put the extra money into the upgrades that YOU want on the boat. I'm very satisfied with how it turned out for me.

If you want to use butt connectors, you can double up the smaller wires to fit in one end. Strip back double what you need, then double it over and twist it then put it in the butt connector and crimp. Then just crimp the other end like normal then shrink wrap it.

Just got my new Lakemaster Great Lakes ver. 1.0 map chip in today. Wow! This is impressive! I love the features. You can highlight depth ranges into three sections that you decide the depths, offset lake levels, adjust the colors and change lakes from a list in the menu. Most impressive of all is the map detail. Their hd lakes are unbelievable. This makes my Navionics chip look like an etch-a-sketch. One thing I'm a little disappointed in is a couple of my favorite haunts are not mapped yet.

Without fail, every engine that I've ran in the last 20 years runs better, cleaner, and produces more power on premium fuel. And that's about all I gotta say bout that...

I don't get it.To me open water refers to the boundaries containing the water or anything portruding above the water. To me it has no reference to depth. Pandora has been loosed.

I agree with one exception. If you primarily fish in super shallow lakes then I would want it at the bow.

I've always ran premium in my outboard. I've been fortunate to not have any issues with my motor so far. (I'm trying to word this properly so as to not jinx myself!) My mechanic has made comments to me about how clean the inside of my motor is when he scopes the cylinders every fall. I put in all my small engines. Nothing gums up and gets hard to start. I'm pretty sure they call it premium gas because its better.

Brian, the other thing I've noticed is that sometimes you might need to leave to another spot nearby for awhile and give that spot time to "reload". Not that all the fish have necessarily left the spot, but you've just came into their lair and caused a bunch of commotion. Maybe a better term would be "settle down". The big girls don't get to be big girls by being dumb. This I've seen only with largemouth. Smallies don't seem to mind as much for some reason. When you return, you might try a slight change in the bait too. Give them a fresh look.

Throw out the minnow net and catch some bait, put one on a hook, then you will know the species of the predator fish. I'd be hoping it was stripers! That's a blast!

You got it Brian. That's where the big girls live. And on windy days that windiest of honey holes will be all yours because of that iPilot. Spot Lock Baby!

I've been eyeing these Hobies for awhile now. I mainly would use one for a few of the lakes I've vowed to never take my bass boat back to. The last one I went to is a great little fishing lake but it has no pier near the launch and I will NOT put any more chips in the bottom of my boat because of it. That little fact puts Hobie in the picture... Watching this thread with interest.

Things that make deep structure fishing much easier are: good electronics, a good map card, marker buoys, and iPilot. I don't know how you are going about finding this structure, but you could be thinking you are casting to the same spot but in fact missing it a few feet. Deep structure is more difficult and can be very deceiving because of the lack of good reference points. I'm not sure I could do it without a marker buoy. Every fish I catch I make a mental note where in reference to the nearest buoy it was. Sometimes a foot or two makes all the difference in the world.

Well, if you are 6'10" that fish is a solid ten pounder. If you are five foot nothing, it's a three pounder.

This post says everything I would tell you about Costas. I have a pair and this is exactly what I did and in hindsight, it was exactly the right thing to do.

Yuuup.Open water, to me, is water away from shore with nothing visible above the surface like stumps, weeds, etc.

I hope I never find out what my boat's (or my) limits are. These limits are not like speed limits. You never know what they are until you have exceeded them. That usually means a bad day.

That look on your face says it all!

Uh, yeah, TMI. I'm scarred by that mental picture.And freeballin is just a matter of heat and cooling. No drawers from May through October.

Yup. An illusion based on another illusion, the Penrose triangle. You can also google Mc Escher and look at his stuff. Really makes you think.

We can do it like the Masters does it, passing off the green jacket. I like it!Oh, BTW..... AYE! I'm already planning how to make the next one! I can't wait for Glenn's announcement on the location!

I'm really excited! I just ordered my Humminbird 360 today. I can't wait to get it and start the installation. I'll get out on the water and get some screenshots to post for you all to see... Stay tuned...

More reports! Post more reports! Simp, it sounds like this is your kind of fishing. FROGGIN!

Well I should be arriving at Pickwick about now... If I were coming, that is. Instead, here I lay in bed typing on this iPad as my wife is making eyes at me. Suddenly I'm not so sad anymore. Gotta go!

You're KILLING ME Smalls!!