Dirtyeggroll

Just about any rod brand will be a better value than Favorite. St. Croix is one of the most reputable rod brands you can buy. Dobyns rods are good and highly regarded on this forum. Nothing wrong with Lews either.

If you drain everything you shouldn’t have an issue. Just make sure to trim the motor all the way up and down a few times leaving it in max position for a few minutes on each up or down. Also, you can pull the plug on the lower unit to check for water (frank water or a milky color is bad, it should just look like gear oil, amber or really dark). Just make sure to be quick about it so it doesn’t all drain out. If you are really worried then you can splash some RV antifreeze in the live wells. Id be more concerned about pulling a trailer if there is ice.

Ultrex is good for deep powerpoles are good for shallow. Some overlap but not much. If I had to choose one I’d pick the Ultrex, but that’s probably due to my style of fishing. I don’t do a lot of stationary fishing when shallow.

Let us know when you have the Spring Classic details :))

Without being able to network you almost need the second map card. If you could network the waypoints, I would say you can just use your waypoints to judge where you are. Also, consider that humminbird units come with at least 2 preloaded maps for MOST lakes and 3 for some. These aren't in near the detail of the map card, but are a good place to start. In fact, some of the base maps cover lakes that map cards do not.

What is the exact model of the other unit? Helix 7 Chirp Mega G3? If so, you will not be able to network the units. You cannot share maps between units. Between “N” units, G2N and G3N, you can however share waypoints and transducer data.

you could put the transducer on the trolling motor and probably get comprehensible returns. If you had it on the transom and we’re pulling the boat parallel to the beam, I’m not sure the result would be satisfactory.

^^^ this and it also applies to the length. It’ll probably cost you more than $8K to add a foot and 35 HP to the boat if you think that’s what you’ll eventually want. It’s a lot easier to incrementally add electronics and they will also not hold their value like a foot and 35 hp will. If you are planning to fish rain or shine in most wind conditions the bigger the boat the better. The 188 will handle many conditions but the 195 will handle more. Rarely on the water will you probably think “only if I had the 195.” Even more rarely and approaching never on the water will you think, “only if I had the 188” (maybe when trying to get in behind/between docks).

A kayak is probably a better option for toting around.

I wouldn’t deal with fishingcarepackage if they were giving away guided trips. That place is a scam if there ever was one. You’ve been warned!

Still a good deal either way!

One for probably $50 in a couple weeks at the Spring Classic sale.

Routine. Make it the first AND last thing you check. Put the master switch somewhere painfully obvious so it’s harder to miss.

For 12k you are not going to get much of a new boat. I would suggest a 2000+ Ranger 185VS or 518 Comanche. There are lots of them in excellent shape, just got to have a little patience. Also, if you plan to keep it indefinitely then I would get the nicest and biggest hull that you can (of course there will be some limits with the Tacoma). I strongly suggest against letting electronics and trolling motors be a part of the equation. You can easily add those things for much less of a cost than upgrading a boat if it doesn’t meet your needs. ***edit*** if you plan on doing lots of river fishing an aluminum boat might serve you better than glass. However plenty of people fish rivers in glass.

Rest in Peace

Line size can certainly effect the action of a bait... if that matters

It depends on so many factors, rod power/action, line type/diameter/weight, lure weight, length of/type of desired cast and most variable individual casting mechanics. Its something one just learns to get a feel for and is not the same for everyone. You could calculate the physics of the ideal amount per gear and desired cast, but it would still be an imperfect calculation because of the difference in casting mechanics per person.

Bass Pro Shops Neoprene Fishing gloves. Keep outside water off of my hands and protect from the wind. I do have to take them off every couple hours to dry my hands from sweating. https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/bass-pro-shops-neoprene-fishing-gloves?hvarAID=shopping_googleproductextensions&affcode_c=&gclid=Cj0KCQiAyKrxBRDHARIsAKCzn8zWyxJnzTwBQueAEnVYvqXgPRvjOyjwGrS0-HZee665-oCP2s0VUyUaAhEUEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Yep. Lots of people doing that. Humminbird makes a bracket for it as well https://humminbird.johnsonoutdoors.com/accessories/mounts-hardware/ad-mtm-mega-trolling-motor-transducer-hardware-kit

Nope it can work well. Yes the image can get distorted if you are moving the TM around a lot, but if you’re slowly moving along it can give you a better sense of your position in relation to cover/structure.

The MSI transducer also does DI. I have both and planned to use the SI but got a 360 which makes the SI obsolete for what I would use it.

Please give warm (maybe not) welcome to Patrick Masnowmes!

Queen Frost and King Groot on their throne.

Nvm

Just run them from the switch/power supply for the accessory or nav lights.