Further North

This isn't gonna help much...but my favorite river (small rivers up here) is a 9 ft TFO Axiom 8 wt. fly rod with a Rio Outbound Intermediate sink tip on it. It's got a Nautilus CCF No. 8 Reel on it...and it rocks... Followed very closely by a Cabela's L-Tech 8 Wt. with a Airflo streamer floating line on it...it sports a Lamson LiteSpeed reel...it also rocks...it can chuck a little yellow gurgler 60 ft. with ease (if needed) and pick up fish like this all day: There's a Scott S4S in the rotation too....Lamson Guru 3.5 HD with a Scientific Anglers transparent sink tip on it...this is the finesse rod of finesse rods... ...but if I'm limited to spinning/casting gear... Spinning: St. Croix 6' 10" Legend Extreme with a Quantum Exo sporting 28# Gliss this season...with a 6' - 8' ft. leader or Lake Forks Co-Poly 10# as a leader. Casting: St. Croix Rage 7' 1" ML with an Abu Garcia LTX with 30# Suffix 832 in bright green so I can see the line move...same leader set up as above. IMO, on my rivers here, fly rods out produce gear, most days. I could be wrong, but as a dedicated non-purist...that's how I roll here.

I hadn't heard the latest...I got disgusted and quit following it... That the pike population is skyrocketing makes perfect sense...there's no walleye to eat the forage fish... For me, that' not all bad, I'd rather catch decent sized pike than anything else... Maybe I need to schedule a trip up there...

They appear to be...though it used to be better balanced. There are some big smallies in there - I have caught several over 6 lbs. - have never touched a largemouth that size in the lake.

Mostly I wear Keens in the summer, I've added a pair of Tevas to the mix as well...but the New Balance Men's MO70 Minimus Multi-Sport Water Shoe is an interesting critter as well. Crazy light (shipping weight is 1.6 ounces), flexible, comfortable for me. Two things: Go at least a full size larger than normal, or you'll find there's an odd ridge up at the toe that'll irritate you... ...and there are drainage holes in the sole. Great for getting rid of water fast...but weird when you walk on grass..you get poked through the bottom of the shoe. I found mine really cheap on Sierra Trading Post, but they seem to be out of stock. We call that "Keen Foot".

Interesting perspective - in lakes in this area (NW WI) I find that in lakes that have both largemouth and smallmouth that I catch largemouth far more often than smallmouth. Sunday afternoon's outing on a lake known for smallies produced 5 smallies and over 20 largemouth. It could easily be how I'm fishing...even though I tend to target smallies...or maybe it has to do with the more aggressive northern strain LMB?

Best example of this happening currently is the idiocy underway up on Mille Lacs. For years, everyone, their brother and their uncle Stu went out on the lake and took a limit of walleyes. ...toss in a couple poor year classes...and guess what? Not as many walleyes! ...and they're surprised....and they're blaming muskies, pike and...smallmouth bass. ...so the Minnesota DNR has now caved into political and money based pressure from Gomers who don't know conservation from their left rear cheek...and raised the limit on smallies...and now there's party boats going out to do to the smallies exactly what was done to the walleyes. Effect on walleye population? Pretty much nothing...and now they've had to enact special walleye regs to try to save that fishery... Sometimes, as concerned anglers, we have to do what's right rather that what's legal and not take a limit...and we need to help others understand why this is important. I'll get off my soapbox now...

I agree completely. ...but since the OP asked our opinions...mine is to keep the eater sized fish, leave the big ones to improve the gene pool... ...I don't keep fish anymore...I'm allergic...unless someone with me wants to keep some to eat. If we're on my boat, there's never enough room for more than they can eat in one meal. If we're on their boat, or wading...their choice. I know for an absolute fact that one local angler has pretty well fished out a section of a local creek that used to produce a fair number of 16" - 24" brown trout. Used to be plenty until he started keeping his limit every time he could...the population couldn't sustain that kind of pressure for more than a year. These days you're lucky to land a 14" fish...angler gluttony and mismanagement by a DNR that needs to appease people who don't get it caused this...

I've caught two ducks...one hen mallard grabbed a Rapala underwater, came up to the surface and took off making all kinds of noise,,,had to reel her in like a fish that went up instead of down...if was weird...got her unhooked and set free. 2nd time was last summer on Lake of the Woods; I cast across a small bay and a smallish duck flushed from the water perpendicular to my line before it hit the water...and ran into my line...which ran the lure right into its body...it got unhooked by itself but it was a wild couple of minutes. A friend I was fly fishing with caught a bat on his back-cast once. That was a complete PITA as you're potentially dealing with rabies if you get bit. ...I often "fish" for the neighbor's cat when when I'm practicing fly casting out on the lawn. I use a fly that has no hook, so there's no danger to the cat...it's fun to see her stalk the fly through the grass and pounce.

No, I wasn't clear when I wrote it. I do that sometimes...

Actually the last year for the Lund in Canada was about 6 years ago - call it 2010 or there about. Last year on LOTW was $55, this year was $69.

I hit plenty of rocks with my Terrova. Most with no effect. I did manage to bend the motor shaft once though. Turned it into a little water pump that squirted water into the armature until the whole works shorted out. Check the prop to make sure it's not wobbling.

Cabela's sells a pivoting thingy that goes in a rear mounted hitch. It works.

I had a 1991 GT 150 on a Lund Pro-V DLX 1800...it'd top out at 52 - 53 MPH...that's something screwy with that set-up. Great motor, cold blooded, but had a ton of torque and get up and go...you could pull the plug outta the bottom of the lake with that thing and make it back to the dock before the lake drained... GT=Gas Thirsty...understatement of the month there. The last year we took it to Canada, we burned $550 in gas. This June, we burned $69 and change with a Suzuki 4 stroke...

For my leader to braid knots, I use the FG knot. Used to use the Alberto, but the FG is smaller, works better for me, and is easier to tie for me.

Looks like you've also got two mid lake humps to try. Fish those, I'd work outside in.

Braid works fine for Texas Rigs. If you are fishing structure that will beat up your line (rocks, ect.) I'd tie in a leader of abrasive resistant fluorocarbon, co poly or mono.

Paint that volleyball black. Ain't no bright white heads bobbing around on the surface of any lakes I know of.

I swapped a a Terrova for an Ulterra this spring...wouldn't go back. Did spot lock get better? I dunno...both are more than good enough. I think characterizing Spot Lock as needing to be fixed is inaccurate and misleading, IMO. The spot lock on the Terrova was industry leading and exclusive to Minn Kota for several years while the competition struggled and rushed to find a way to copy it...to criticize it compared to more recently released technology feels...like someone with a competitive agenda is trying to find fault.... Invaluable features on the Ulterra: Power trim. When I need to run shallow to get a stuck lure...up she goes, without resetting the collar, or having to hang onto the cord to keep a Fortrex style motor shallower in the water. When I am out deeper, I can sink my 60" shaft deep so that only the TM motor head is sticking up...more room to cast. Auto deploy and stow is great stuff. Way easier when coming into a spot to deploy while shutting down the main motor and grabbing a rod to start fishing. Easier when getting ready to go to hit the button while storing the rod and I'm ready to go by the time I'm done with the rod. Neither of those are make or break features...but both are all about spending less time screwing with the boat and spending more time fishing to me. Had I known the Utlrex was about to be released, or that 2nd generation technology was going to be incompatible with what just bought...might I have waited a year? Yeah, I would have. This is the 1st time I find myself disappointed with Johnson Outdoors in this regard...not sure how it'll effect my future buying decisions. If I find myself out hundreds of dollars to upgrade to features I feel will improve my fishing experience...I'm not going to be happy about it. Those last two comments aside, I am 100% happy with the Ulterra...if an Ulterra meets your needs as it does mine, the upcoming sales prices to clear the pipeline of inventory will be an incredible incentive to buy one, the new tech is going to command premium pricing for at least a year or more. It's not like the Ulterra is bad technology, it just won't be the most up-to-date technology. I dunno about you, but I can live with steep discounts and slightly behind bleeding edge tech that meets my needs. I like to let other folks work out the bugs...and there will be bugs...

In NW WI...we have a gopher problem. Where I live it's 13 stripped gophers...which are prairie versions of chipmunks...and pocket gophers. While pockets are annoying...they push up 2 ft. diameter piles fo dirt in your yard...and chew the root systems of trees and bushes to shreds...there's not a lot you can do about them short of elaborate schemes involving poison, traps that look like something left over form the dark ages, and pumping their tunnels full of propane and adding a spark...all of which is fun...but in the end doesn't do diddly squat... The 13 striped critters are another story. We've had success with a two pronged assault on their universe. European based hunting dogs, given free reign. Specifically German Shorthairs and Brittanys. There's 3 acres of fuzzy sudden death surround our house, most recently in the form of Spike-the Damp* who inherited the mantle of vermin stalker from Halo the GSP. These two clowns will spend hours in highly focused and single minded pursuit of a single rodent. Stalk, wait. move, stalk, wait move...repeat until the hapless critter pops out of a hole in the ground to intersect to intersect the continental version of sudden death from above. BTW...the last stage inevitably happens when I am not home...initiating a phone call that starts with "Your d*mn*d dog..." Part two of this strategy involved the purchase and deployment of a rimfire sniper solution. .22 long rifle will work, as will a .22 magnum...but in between those solutions lies the absurdly tuned and finessed solution of the .17 HMR. The .17 HMR, inside about 100 yards, is like shooting a frozen rope...for the more technologically oriented folks...it's like a laser. At those ranges, there's less than 1/4" drop...you buy a good scope with good magnification...zero in on the critter's eye...and you feed the scavengers...every time. I'm a crappy rifle shooter (I'm a dedicated shotgun guy, a grouse and woodcock hunter since I was in single digits...I shoot fast and I don't aim...and even I can punch a ***-striped ticket 99.9% of the time with the .17 HMR. *Long story short: Spike is a Brittany who can get wet in an 8:00 AM rainstorm and who has such an incredible under coat that he's still damp at 3:00 PM...

Glad it worked out...now get out and go fishing...

Glen, that's a great video. ...I've done everything you suggest, and I still have to turn around...I can't process the the input from the mirrors...I still want to turn the wrong way every time after 40 years... Dunno if it's visual dyslexia...Or that I'm overthinking it at some subconscious level... ...my brother is exactly the same way.

Quick release, every time. Only a little more expensive, and it gives you the best of both worlds.

Look at it this way: Be glad it's not a capybara infestation... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capybara

Good advice...on backing up...I'll never be able to use the mirrors...so I turn around. It is what it is...when I try to use the mirrors the signal to by brain gets crossed up, no matter how much I practice. I've been towing and backing up trailers for almost 40 years...I've I haven't figured it out in that time, I'm not going to worry about it. I do plenty of other things well. The back-up camera is a great idea. On the charger: To reinforce what others have said, if you make consistent long runs, your big motor will charge your battery...if, like me and a lot of other fishermen, the lakes you fish are relatively small...or you hop from spot to spot...you'll never get back what it takes to start the motor, much less what the electronics and other accessories are using. On the lake I fish most often, from one end to the other doesn't take 10 minutes...no way I'm going to ever fully charge the starting battery. Even when I fish a big lake like Lake of the Woods...I spot hop with the longest run typically coming at the end of the day...when my battery is at its weakest... I run 5 batteries: 3 for 36 volt trolling motor batteries. 1 for the big motor. 1 for the electronics and the accessories. I don't have a radio, I don't ever run my live well pumps (converted the live well to storage) I run a Minn Kota 4 bank charger and a separate Minn Kota single bank charger. It's a little redundant...but I'll never have to worry about not having enough juice to crank the motor.

That I don't know. ...Can you download the installation instructions from the website to find out?