Wayne P.

Your shaft probably doesn't have the groove for the cable-some newer models do. You are pretty much relegated to the floppy-cable-around-the-mount deal if you choose a TM mounted transducer.

Some do somewhat like you want but clamp the motor to the right or left side of the seating position so no handle extender is needed. You just need a 1" X 4" X 6"-8" board for a spacer inside the hull to give some ridigity to the mount location. If I was to do what you plan, I would add a Big Foot switch to the negative power wire to turn the motor on and off to maximize fishing time and lessen boat operation time. Additionally that was just discussed down below: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/102692-diy-bow-mount-trolling-motor-bracket/

The guy that started the Alabama rig craze when he won the Guntersville tournament last fall recommends 80# -100# braid. There are a few things that make that a requirement: First is shock strength if you happen to get a backlash during the cast--you don't want your expensive heavy rig breaking off if it comes to a quick halt during the cast. Next is it you get hung up, you may get most of the rig back by breaking off the one or two baits that are hung up. Next is the potential of multiple hookups with large fish, that requires strong hooks and strong line. You can do it half -axxed but you may pay the price of a lost rig or fish.

You have to test them to see how they run, and make adjustments to the line tie as needed. Each lure is not individually tank tested like Rapala baits are. Some are not tuneable due to mfg flaws.--those you exhange at the purchase source. That process goes for any crankbait. I've exhanged Bandit and Bomber cranks a lot to get rid of deffective ones. KVD did a tuning demo on the NBCsports channel today with one of the medium divers.

Just make a small deck at the bow to mount the trolling motor on. I used aluminum on my last jon boat. The previous ones had plywood decks. It will give you a place to mount electronics also. A bow mounted motor pulling the boat will give you more control than a transom mounted motor pushing the boat. Extending the motor power wires to the battery at the transom will give you somewhat of an offset weight distribution. I used the hull ridges for that path also.

When the fish are not on the bottom or not shallow, the newest hot tactic is the Alabama Rig.

http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Universal-Trolling-Motor-Bracket/product/58551/127874 http://www.basspro.com/Jon-Boat-Trolling-Motor-Bracket-for-Bow-or-Stern/product/37359/111468

The three Humminbird units you listed have GPS-- the ( i ) indicates Internal GPS antenna and the whole model name has the word "Combo" which means it is a sonar/GPS COMBO. A sonar-only unit with the same specs in gray scale display would be the Humminbird 570. Models with ( c ) after the model number indicate Color display-that is what the 587ci Combo is--color display, internal GPS antenna and has dual frequency sonar and GPS. The two 500 series Humminbird units have the highest screen resolution in the industry--640 vertical pixels and can read Navionics mapping software.

BPS does not have a trolling motor. They are made by either Motor Guide or Minnkota depending on which one will make them for the best profit margin. Parts are available at most trolling motor repair shops. Motor Guide recommends a 50 A and Minnkota recommends their 60 A. This is all you need for your motor: http://www.cabelas.com/product/Boating/Electric-Trolling-Motors/Electric-Trolling-Motor-Accessories%7C/pc/104794380/c/104716980/sc/104312880/Manual-Reset-Circuit-Breaker/738260.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fboating-electric-trolling-motors-electric-trolling-motor-accessories%2F_%2FN-1100550%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104312880%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253Bcat104794380%253Bcat104716980&WTz_l=SBC%3Bcat104794380%3Bcat104716980%3Bcat104312880 It is not to protect the motor, it is to protect your wiring/boat. You can't get a "power surge" unless you have a charger hooked up and that fails.

You are correct. The material that the superbraids are made of is basically plastic. Silica particles embedded in the line is what does the damage.

It makes no difference with that kind of sonar unit. If you were to mount it on the boat, then you would want the most pointed end facing forward.

A suggestion, when at unfamiliar waters, position your boat on a contour line shown on the map and see if the depth shown matches. If you have a Humminbird unit, and the depth is less than the contour line, use the Shaded Depth setting to create a new colored shoreline so you will know ahead of time if you are approaching shallow areas. Lowrance may have that feature also with Navionics software.

Sam's Club gets a shipment of Natural Gear occasionally that has similar qualities of the Columbia shirts. The material is a little thicker though, but they have the SPF label. I like the magnetic pocket closure and the extra zipper pocket they have better than the Columbia Velcro pockets. For the upper 90's to 100+ degrees, I prefer the Columbia.

You will get 0.6V drop using 10 guage wires over that distance. Your trolling motor power cord is probably 10 guage. Bascially you will be OK Longer runs should have larger conductors to minimize voltage drop.

BEST units for bass fishing are the Humminbird 1198c SI and the Lowrance HDS-10 Gen2 with a LSS-2. Anything less is a compromise. I use the Humminbird

May 23 at daylight I'll have this scene in a cove on Lake Fork except most of the stumps will be under the surface (I took this picture last year). It's only a 17 hour drive:

Those shirts help you catch big bass too:

Columbia has the shirt and the hat. I wear the SPF 30 long sleeve shirts and have most of the colors. I also wear either the full brim hat or the bill hat with neck flap.

Even the most basic sonar unit will show creek channels. They are deeper than the rest of the bottom and are the deepest part of the bottom in a particular area. If you cross one perpendicular it will show as a V or U shape on a LCR like this:

Have you read the discussion about the same thing below? http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/98889-alabama-rig-reel/

I fish waters with timber a lot. I don't fish those any different and any body of water that has none. Target the bottom features like points, humps, steep drops, road beds, creek channels, etc. Trees are not remarkable to a fish that lives in a timber filled lake, they still relate to structure breaks.

I fished there yesterday and today. The water is too dingy to see any beds, but I did see some on beds with my elecronics. Caught a bunch of them too. One bass I caught yesterday was a spawned out female 22" in length and only weighted 5# 1 oz.

PM sent

I only keep general size class records. 19 bass 4# - 6# and three over 6#. The rest are under 4# dinks.

It is close to my 2009 count for the end of April where I had one less bass and two less trips.