stk44

I did. It’s super outdated and there’s not a ton close to me. Lock 3 tackle which is the closest has been out of business for like 3 + years now. Called another place twice and no one called me back. I guess no one needs work these days lol.

@Susky River Rat it’s usually when we go to Lebanon or Hershey, so I think that would be near Harrisburg.

That’s an awesome setup. I get jealous every time I cross the Susquehanna. I’ve never fished it to date, but it’s on my bucket list for sure.

They are what I use and I rarely bring back a twisted mess after fighting a fish. It happens on occasion but very rare for me. I use the VMC spin shot #2 hook most often.

Good point and noted I will let the service team know they are approved to purchase whatever supplies are needed. Agreed. I definitely want to make sure they have enough time to do it correctly. I’m a little concerned that they tell me they are down to 1 technician at BPS as well. Overall I am pretty satisfied with the service I have received there previously, so I will probably go there if my other reputable lead does not call me back.

@A-Jay Thanks! I’m kind of bummed because BPS can’t do the install until end of July and I’ll be at Chautauqua Lake for 4 days in mid July. That lake is dock fishing 101, so they would have been awesome to have. I’m checking with another place to see if they can do the install if I buy all the parts myself. I’ll be sure to post some new install pics!

I’m planning on getting power poles in the next few weeks. Bass pro is charging 12 hours of labor ($1,908) to install dual power pole blades (one pump). I do not have a jack plate so they need to install the side plate adapters and the dual braced kit. I will also have them install hydrilla gear tilt brackets. Does this seem reasonable? I understand inflation and the install is a little more complicated because I do not have a jack plate, but just want to make sure I’m not getting overcharged. Thanks for any info you can provide.

That remote looks like the advanced gps remotes so it may havr the link features. There should be an Ethernet cable that goes from your trolling motor to your fish finder. If it has that, it will give you the link features. The white puck is the directional sensor. It is not a GPS. The puck shows your helix where your bow is pointing. Your helix has built in GPS. Your trolling motor has GPS as well. It’s a lot, but you will get it. I just found out this year that bass pro never wired in my puck, so that goes to show you how often I use some of these features lol.

If I were you I would watch a video on it. I have an ultrex ipilot link and I really don’t use the features often, so I don’t want to speak for what you may or may not want/need and I’m not familiar with the terrova. I’m not sure if terrova still has a link model. Ultrex discontinued the ipilot link but they retained the same features in their new advanced GPS units. You might want to verify first that it does not have those “link” features.

How you use them depends on how you fish and how many fish finders you have. Your terrova has MDI- mega down imaging. Your transducer at the back of the boat has MDI and MSI. If you only have one fish finder at the console, then you will likely only use the transducer at the transom. If you have two humminbird fishfinders, you generally use the built-in 2d and DI at the bow fishfinder and then use the transducer at the back for sonar at the console. If you troll, you could use the 2d and DI on the trolling motor at the console.

Exactly. Mercury will send you a letter every 6 months or so asking to upgrade to platinum. I never did, but it’s not super expensive. I just don’t believe in most warranty’s.

Looks like you both had an awesome time and quite a few fish caught as well. Hopefully you guys can get back out there soon.

That’s awesome! Congrats! let us know how you like it once you get some time with it.

The best ones that I’ve found at the 6th sense ones. I think they are called peg x. Something like that. But after hearing all this chatter about a lifetime supply, you might want to try that route first. I only went with the peg x because they hold a 3/8 and lower bullet weight without much slippage.

@ATA did you buy the boat then? I might have missed some portions of this thread or another.

It was so much fun. I look forward to that tournament every year. Getting to go out on the lake both tournament days was a treat for sure and I learned a lot.

One thing I have learned is that if you overdo it on the hookset, you will get a lot of bass skin hooked in the roof of the mouth.

I catch more fish on wacky and neko rigs with a circle hook than I do with a neko hook. If I need weedless, I go to a vmc neko hook. I have also been experimenting with the vmc wacky circle hook with metal weed guard. I will always fish an exposed hook when I can get away with it.

I felt like I was on the water a few hours after being off the water each day. Every stabilizer muscle was put to the test.

Thanks @A-Jay Do you edit your footage from a computer or phone? It seems a bit cumbersome to download the entire video then edit in the quik app. I feel like doing it on the phone is the biggest drawback for me. I completely agree though, these shortcuts have already cost me from recording the hookset portion of the biggest fish on the trip.

Fished Lake Erie for a few days and caught a descent one.

My annual Lake Erie tournament out of PIB was this past weekend. Friday practice had a small craft advisory with rain and 3-5 foot waves with occasional 6’s. I did a lot of graphing in the bay to try to find some backup spots in case I could not get out onto the lake on Saturday/Sunday. I was able to manage 2-3 SM and several LM in practice. I tried my best to video and get pictures, but on tournament day, it is a struggle staying efficient while operating a camera, so I did the best I could. This was my first time attempting to use my GoPro voice activated features with hindsight mode. I feel like my plan needs some tailoring because the voice commands as you will see in the video, do not work in the wind unless I’m yelling “GoPro start recording”. To complicate matters further, I can’t use loop mode with the ultra wide lens mod, so I am forced to use hindsight, which records continually up to 30 seconds prior to voice/button activation. Needless to say, that forgetting to press the record button within 30 seconds of a hookset on windy lake during a tournament is a struggle. I’m not sure what the solution is because I don’t want to edit full length videos on my phone, but I want to capture a full video from hookset to landing the fish. To be continued… This was the best video I could pull off where the catch was actually recorded and/or I did not land the fish at the console or at the back of the boat where it was out of frame. I’ll do better next time. Saturday and Sunday was actually really good tournament weather. This is a combined 2 day tournament with a 3- 15” fish limit per day. Overall is was pretty tough fishing, but Lake Erie smallmouth are so much fun and I look forward to this trip every year. Saturday was sunny with 10-15 mph SW winds. The “2 foot or less waves” had white caps in the afternoon, which made boat control challenging at times, but it was manageable. I started in the bay to pickup 1 keeper smallmouth in the 16-17” range. I went out the main lake around 10 am to fish a flat mixed with weeds and rock. I caught another keeper in the 18” range. I worked out to about 17 fow and I started catching some smaller fish, so I went back in to the 7-8 foot range and caught my lunker for the tournament. The key was light enough weight to keep the bait out the weeds, without hopping it too much so the sheephead stay away. No largemouth can ever give me the same excitement that these smallmouth do. Sunday had a thunderstorm in the early morning but actually turned into a really pleasant overcast day until weigh-in. It was windy with 1-3 foot waves forecast, but it was actually lighter winds and waves than Saturday. I immediately went out to the main lake because thunderstorms were supposed to hit by 10 am. I caught a 17” keeper off an offshore rock pile on a drop shot right off the bat. I was marking more fish on 2d but could not buy another bite for the next 20 minutes. I went back to the flat and caught a 15” fish on a tube. I caught a bunch of “dink” 14 - 3/4 smallmouth on a Ned rig, so after about 40 minutes of that, I laid the ned rod to rest in the rod locker. I moved to a new spot and hooked into what appeared to be a 4 lb smallmouth. Fought it for a few seconds and it darted straight under the bow of the boat, wrapped around the trolling motor and broke off. It then taunted me by jumping multiple times a few minutes apart. At one point I threw my bait back in thinking maybe he would bite again but no luck. Ofcourse the GoPro caught that disaster in its entirety. That one hurt. Around 11 am I was able to pick up my 3rd keeper. It was maybe 17”. I ended up culling once more in the bay before heading back in to weigh-in. Overall it was an awesome trip. It’s been 3 years since I’ve been able to fish the lake since it’s usually off limits with a small craft advisory. It definitely did not disappoint . I wish I could get back there one more time this year. I ended up in 3rd place for both days (8 lbs 11 oz day 1; 8 lbs 15 oz day 2) and missed big bass payout by 4 oz.

That’s great. I think you will find out pretty quick if you like how the boat performs on not. Test driving is a luxury that most places do not offer.

Are you able to test drive it? I can’t tell if that is what you meant in your second post, but that would be extremely helpful for you to make the decision.

Couldn’t agree more with this. I went with the highest hp motor my hull was designed for and I have no regrets. It gets on plane super quick and gets me where I want to go in a hurry. I know that’s easier said than done becase motors are not cheap. I know guys that get by with much smaller motors than their boat is rated, but I think the decision is more situational based on a number of the limited HP lakes in PA. @ATA I’m not the first person to talk to about boat ownership. I have owned one and only one powered boat in my life but I did considerable research to get exactly what I needed for my situation. If I were to guess, that boat is going to be there for a little while longer, so you likely have plenty of time to do a little more research if you want to. And it could still be yours by the end of summer which is still prime time. One last thought/question that might be important. Where was the boat stored for the past 3 seasons?