OperationEagle

The boat control features on the iPilot Link are really such a huge advancement. They did a nice job with the improved spot lock radius, jog feature, circling, follow the contour...its crazy what the unit can do. Mine is with a 2016 motor and its loud as it adjusts or as you direct it left or right. Having it as quiet as the cable steers would be nice. In terms of new capability maybe a better way to label waypoints where it automatically assigns the lake name followed by a date stamp. I guess this would be in conjunction with the humminbird F finder. Speaking of...the autochart live is awesome as well. Last week I got into a mess of largies in a spot. "AC lived" the area to figure out why they were there and found a gap in vegetation due to bottom hardness. Will be a spot I go back to next time I'm on the lake.

Metro lake on Saturday morn. Wind made it tougher but bass still slammed them. 6-9 fow. Weighted senko. 15 fish total. A 20, multiple between 17 and 16. Again, bass were not up shallow or in the pads. No topwater bites either.

Was out Saturday morn on a west metro lake. Caught around 20. 1 at 19, 3-5 at 18' several 16-17. Bass were aggressive. They were no longer up shallow. 7-11 feet of water. Near drop offs and weeds. Senkos did the trick for me. Tried buzzbaits to no avail. Water temp 73.

I have received two warranty rods back due to defective rod tips. Gen 1 Vendettas. I just had had to send copies of my receipts and pics of the rod, serial number, and where the rod broke. I had to cover each at $10-$12 and they sent new gen 2 rods back. new rods were what I wanted anyway but there were no other warranty options available to my knowledge. No no questions as to how they broke.

Re: shimmy pics Ridiculous

That is awesome Shimmy...thanks for sharing!

I used liquid plastic sealer that I found at Home Depot. You brush it on and it tries as a layer that seals the area. Worked like a charm. Found it on an end cap near the electrical area.

Shimmy that's good perspective. In your situation what did the pattern change to?

Post spawn Another BR'r in another thread (Punch) suggested that they are much tighter to cover. So fishing holes in the weeds might be a productive tactic which I agree with. I think this advice is similar to the shade advice. As for going deeper, I did go a bit deeper but still couldn't find them. The conditions on I was faces with was mostly sunny partly cloudy. Thanks for all of the suggestions. Keep em coming.

In Minnesota the bass are still up in the shallows. The morning bite has been especially good for me the past few weeks. after around 11 or so, however, things start to slow down where I can't seem to buy a bite. what tactics should I use to increase my odds? Where do the bass go? Close to cover? Deeeper? Looking for something new to try.

West metro yesterday. 20 between the two of us. Largest at 19 and around 5 between 16-18. 80% came before 930am. All hit senkos and swimbaits. A question I have is 11-1pm it was dead. Do bass just lose interest and not hit anything? And or where do they go? Couldnt find anything during that time. It took clouds and a cooldown for the bite to pick up. Just would like some ideas of things to try after the morning bite.

Frydog glad you are back up and at em. Not too much time lost from fishing. Thats a nice smallie...what did it hit?

Welcome to Minnesota! Please do not tell others how nice it is up here. Just tell them lakes are still frozen over. You wont be too far from leech lake. It is a good multi species lake. Problem might be where your buds might want to be to catch walleye there likely will be limited bass. Call a a local resort up there in the area for some ideas then narrow down. So many bodies of water to choose from. I am a hoosier transplant with no intention of returning...fishing is too good up here. ?

Placed this in the Rods and Reels area but this price is still available on Abu Premiers at $149.99 and free shipping. http://www.presleysoutdoors.com/abu-garcia-revo-premier-baitcast-reel-rh-rvo3-prm/?gclid=CjwKEAjwsLTJBRCvibaW9bGLtUESJAC4wKw1PKXMVPeBQLikaZNyFTtdftZ_3oAs1dHKPAJosyWecxoChjbw_wcB

Ok...I thought this was a decent deal at 150. Am I a sucker at this price level?

Got out tonight. 15 between two of us. A few 19's. But more 16, 17, 18s. Mostly caught on senkos. Light colored ones got all the fish. Zero on my black and blue. Just the opposite from opener. Still up shallow hugging the reed edges. Water temp 59.

For those of you who missed out on Abu Garcia's Summer Sale markdown on the Premiers for $115.99, Presley Outdoors has them for the next lowest price I have seen. They have them on sale for $149.99. Although not the steal at $115, this is still a great price for a reel of this quality. Here is the link. Just got mine today. Shipping was super fast. Good luck. http://www.presleysoutdoors.com/abu-garcia-revo-premier-baitcast-reel-rh-rvo3-prm/?gclid=CjwKEAjwgZrJBRDS38GH1Kv_vGYSJAD8j4DfQsP2HAVGhGgRjl-D79dycn2HEi7VBZ8ZZwfZr-oeSxoCNCbw_wcB

Oh dang...shimmy is in the house. Epic pics always seem to follow.

Anyone head out this past weekend? Interested to hear how it was.

Only mistake I made was not buying a second abu premier. Not gonna lie...out of the box, I was disappointed that I could hear the bearings turn as it didn't seem to be smooth or free spool that well. Must have been the way they packed the grease into the bearings. During my first outing with it, there was a point where it seemed a bit noisier...then soon after something clicked and it has become buttery smooth ever since. Probably my favorite so far in terms of cast control. Several 18-20 in bass landed so far...so might start to be my lucky reel as well...ha!

Was out on Saturday on a south metro lake and it was epic. Fish were shallow. Threw senkos all day. Between the the two of us, we caught 25. Of these 5 were greater than 19 inches. 2 were 20 inches. Most fish were had from 6 am to noon. Probably my best opener yet. It was great to be out on the water for another season. We are blessed, my friends, to live in a state with such a great fishery. Hope to never take it for granted.

Bass opener comin' up... looking within the cities...how about others? Our Minnesota landscape is such a gift to us fishermen. So many choices. We are blessed! Wherever you go, stay safe! This year I'm going to try to wear my pfd when my bass boat is in motion.

Will be honest. Right out of the box I felt the same way about the lack of free spool. Also you can hear the bearings a bit. I lubed and spooled it up. Just threw some plugs in the yard. ummm....yeah, this one's a keeper. Super easy to cast with tons of control. And casts plenty far....and I won't say a country mile as I have no idea how long that is. Real test will will be on the water...and hooking into a hawg. Looking forward to that.

Premier arrived and looking forward to spooling it. Smooth feeling reel for sure. Thanks guys who have experience with the premiers for your perspectives. I thought for $115 it's worth a try.

Yep...they had the Premier for $114.99 before bumping it up to $160. I am now wondering how the Premier will compare with the STX which was even cheaper. I have a few Lew's Tournament Pro's (that I love) which I was thinking the STX would be too similar to...as I was gunning for something different. We will see!