Bassman37

Agree...the ponds around me might as well be frozen over.

I can't speak to rivers but the small lakes and ponds that I have been fishing around here have slowed down immensely as of late. I'm almost tempted to put the boat and gear away for the year.

I have the transducer on my Garmin Echomap 73SV mounted about five inches below the surface which clears the hull on my Portabote.

Congratulations...originally from Western New York so I know how you feel to be going back.

Fabulous bass...it must have been exciting to catch and land. Congrats!!!

Getting itchy...it's been a long winter!

Good to finally see most of the snow leave...now to get the water soft!

I went with the Assassin first and came back for the Stealth. I love them both for their own applications. The Assassin is my one and only choice for a frogging reel. You definitely can't go wrong with either for the price.

I should also note that I use mine on my 10 foot Portabote which weighs 80 pounds empty so a heavier boat should get less hours run time I would assume. I just grew tired of lifting a 65 pound deep cycle battery in and out...age certainly has its effect!

I use a similar one on my MotorGuide 45 (Wilderness Tarpon UB12350) also available at Amazon at a similar price. It runs fine for about three hours trolling speed.

Hi there Can't Catch Bass. I as well have been fishing Shabbona and Silver lake at Blackwell and both have not been kind to me this year but this year has not been as good as past years anywhere I have been.

This sounds like a great way to try them out and see just how comfortable you find them after a few hours.

Are you downgrading the outboard because of weight? If so you may want to look at the Suzuki 2.5 hp. I just bought one for my 10 foot Porta-Bote as it weighs only 29 pounds. I also use my 45# trolling motor on non gas engine lakes. Good luck on your maiden voyage! Kevin

I got the 73 SV last year and I will admit that I am still learning the ins and outs of it. I am now finding brush piles and submerged stumps that I probably would not have found as quickly without the benefit of side imaging but the interpretation does take some getting used to. Good luck with your decision.

As Scott F said, the $449 EchoMap sv is the non-chirp model but is also a great value for the money. I compared the chirp and non-chirp models and paid $499 at BPS a year ago for my older non-chirp 73 sv model and I am more than happy with my decision. Go for it!

Nicely done!

Agree...I was looking at the Striker but elected to go with the Echomap 73sv for all of the reasons that you mentioned. Very happy with the Echomap that I picked up last year at BPS for around the same price as the Striker 7 even though it is the non-chirp model.

I went to the show on Thursday and I got tired of Ikes yelling as well. I guess he appeals to the young kids and I'm just showing my age.

Purely out of boredom I went to the All Canada Show Thursday afternoon at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles. Nothing really interested me but it was good to get out and talk fishing with a few folks on a 30 degree day.

Wow...was this from a Warrenville pond? Welcome!

I have a Porta-bote that utilizes a copolymer plastic material hull so I first cleaned the area well with denatured alcohol. I then followed up with a wallpaper seam roller to work out any bubbles and make sure all of the edges of the numbers were fully adhered to the hull. The numbers have stayed on well for the past two years. Good luck!

Welcome from Aurora !

Work your frog near the shore and on top of and on the edges of weed lines. I leave it sit motionless for at least ten seconds before I start the retrieve.

There is an excellent recent thread here regarding fishing the lake at White Eagle Golf Course. It seems that some good size (4 & 5#) bass reside there but you couldn't prove it by me but the smaller ones are fun as well. Just stay off the smaller ponds inside the course and fish the lake that borders Route 59 near Montgomery Road. I have been there a few times over the past few weeks but the hot weather has slowed it down a bit.

Well done!