PECo

After you hook your boat up to the winch and tighten it, you could back the trailer a little bit before cinching everything up.

My intention was humor, not harshness. I’m sorry about that.

That's preference. I prefer the wider, much lower Ultera/Terrova pedal. I don't care for the "Pirate stance" required for most cable steer trolling motors. That’s what the pedal tray on the front deck is for. And the Terrova/Ulterra pedal won’t fit in most of those. You seem awfully defensive about your choice of trolling motor. Nobody’s attacking your choice. We agree that “to each his own”.

The Terrova mount is much shorter in length than the Fortrex/Ultrex mount. For that reason alone, I’d choose the Ultrex. The larger mount is waaay more robust. However, there are other reasons to choose the Ultrex over the Terrova. The Ultrex cable steer pedal is much more responsive than the pedal on the Terrova and, if you’re already used to a cable steer motor, it’s a no brainer. Plus, it has a smaller footprint than the Terrova’s German pancake of a pedal. I learned to use a trolling motor on a cable steer Maxxum. When I had a Terrova, I hated the pedal so much that I only used the handheld remote. Now that I have an Ultrex, I use the pedal and never use the handheld remote. The Ultrex truly is the best of both worlds; cable steer with electric steer capabilities.

Sweet! Now, put her back and let her do her business!

Cabela’s has its AGM batteries on sale, right now. The Group 27s are $175.99: https://www.cabelas.com/product/CABELAS-ADVANCED-ANGLER-AGM-BATTERIES/1679063.uts If you have a Cabela’s near you, a trick to avoid having to exchange a core or pay a core charge is to order your batteries online for Store Pickup. It’s like shipping them to your house, but without the charge for it.

Well, they’re supposed to be, anyway. Good luck!

Better too long than too short. If you ever feel the urge to fish in swells, you'll appreciate the longer shaft. Nice boat. I still haven't gotten my wife to go out on mine.

The Helix 9 and 10 units are the same size. The 9 just has a bigger bezel around the screen.

I use Thule Load Straps. If you double them over the load, they don’t slip. https://www.thule.com/en-us/us/cargo-carrier/roof-basket-accessories/thule-load-straps-523-_-1031

Hopefully, the fickle finger of fate wasn’t one of your doctor’s. . . .

Yes, I have a buddy who did that. I’ve considered doing it, too, because I use only spinning gear and the 10 tubes in my rod locker can handle only six max or four comfortably. I’ll probably modify the tubes, though.

I had a Cabela’s brand Pro Series Charger on my previous boat and never had any problems with it. The distributed-on-demand capability appeared to work fine. My current Minn Kota Precision Charger is finicky in comparison. Here’s the current version on the Cabela’s brand three-bank 20 amp charger, which happens to be on sale: https://www.cabelas.com/product/CABELAS-PRO-SERIES-ON-BOARD-CHARGER/2416312.uts?slotId=0

A definite YES on having one charger bank per battery. Your motor’s alternator alone will NOT charge your cranking battery sufficiently to run your electronics, and livewell and bilge pumps. Regarding Minn Kota Precision Chargers, I’ve read that they’re particularly sensitive to low line voltages and, unfortunately, I’ve experienced it myself with my MK 345 PC. I’d give a different brand a try, first.

Is there still ice on the northern end of Lake Champlain?

Flint is a kind of chert, but really isn’t found in Arizona.

The Bureau of Land Management defines artifacts as, “objects made or used by humans.” Artifacts cannot be removed from public lands. I stopped by the Payson Ranger Station, today, to see whether I had to put the rock I found back where I found it. Although it might be an artifact, I found it in the middle of a forest that has been torn up by loggers and not near any archaeological sites, so the Ranger said I could keep it. I think it’s a small knife or an arrowhead, but whether it’s an artifact or not, it’s a colorful chunk of chert.

To answer the OP’s question, I believe that Simrad, Raymarine and Lowrance have the displays with the best viewing angles, right now. They all offer IPS displays, but other manufacturers are sure to follow. In addition to the Lowrance Carbon units, you should take a look at the Raymarine Axiom units.

I’m not sure. I thought it was just a nice piece of chert, but a buddy says it looks worked to him, which means it’s an artifact that mustn’t be removed from the site, because it’s on public land. I’ll ask about it at the ranger station, tomorrow.

Thanks, guys. I was thinking it might be from an old muzzle loader, because there aren’t any rifling marks on it, but I also think it’s copper jacketed. I found the bullet next to an interesting rock: I’ll stop the the ranger station in Payson to see whether I need to put it back where I found it.

You should take a look at the Raymarine Dragonfly series, too. GPS is important for mapping. If you go with a Humminbird, Humminbird’s Lakemaster map chip is excellent, at least, here in Connecticut. If you like to fish deep structure, you NEED good maps.

I recently had this discussion with Jig Man: That discussion led me to buy a Mustang Elite 28K: I’ve used it over my winter fishing gear and really like it: The kid who’s my partner for our bass fishing club tourneys now wears my old Onyx A-33 Insight, which he says is way more comfortable than the Cabela’s brand auto inflatable PFD I used to make him wear:

I found this bullet in the Tonto National Forest, today. Would someone please identify it for me?

I actually had Stanley Steemer clean my boat’s carpet in my driveway before I sold the boat. The guy to whom I sold it told me he’s afraid to let me see the carpet, because it’s filthy, now.

I saw a line strength test in a fishing magazine and all of the cheap braid failed miserably. But I’m old enough to remember when cheap Japanese-made products were all thought to be of low quality, so that might have changed.