Tennessee Boy

It always makes me nervous when people start talking about alligators within 500 miles of my location.

Maybe we should all switch to gold. It's slightly heavier and it's cheaper. 😆

You need to work harder at spreading the word. Everybody in the country is trying to move to Nashville, when they find out there's no room for them they move to my county. ☹️

The lake has plenty of bass but they are not very big. Big bass for the 4 day tournament will probably be 5 maybe 6 pounds. There should be plenty of limits caught.

I agree. They also want you to sell you FFS rods, FFS reels, FFS shirts, FFS shoes, etc.

Some context on who the angler was and in what context he said what he said would be helpful. For example, was it a MLF angler talking about how he handles FFS periods differently than non FFS periods. That said, I think @RHuff is correct. He's probably talking about the specific technique of targeting suspended bass with a jighead minnow. You can still use FFS to provide valuable information when you are not fishing this technique but this is the technique most people think of when the subject of FFS comes up. When I'm throwing a buzz bait I might use FFS to see what down there but I'm not going to switch to a "FFS buzz bait" if I do.

It's probably too late to qualify if you're not on the BPT or BASS Elites tours. However, as a famous influencer you might have a chance to get selected for the Pro/Am tournament they are holding the day after the tournament. As I understand it they will be pairing the top 15 anglers from the tournament with celebrities for the Pro/AM. It will be held on a different nearby lake. You might be able to talk the pro you are paired with into taking your canoe. 😉

These batteries are pretty simple. They have 4 cells in most cases (assuming it's 12V), a battery management system, wires, and a case. If you've tried charging with a good Lithium battery charger with no results then I would open the case. BE VERY CAREFUL. SHORTING LITHIUM CELL CAN BE DANGEROUS. I'm assuming the problem is the BMS has put the battery to sleep and will not wake up. Once the case is open you can bypass the BMS and charge the cells directly. You want to charge them enough to activate the BMS. Do not do a full charge because there is no BMS to prevent you from over charging. I would use my adjustable DC bench voltage supply instead of a charger because it would give me more control but if you don't have one then use your charger. Leave it on for 30 minutes and see if the voltage is going up. Check the voltage on each cell seperately to make sure you don't have a dead cell. Keep checking the BMS periodically to see if it's awake. KEEP AN EYE ON THE CHARGER. THE BMS IS THERE FOR SAFETY. IF YOU MESS UP IT'S NOT THERE TO KEEP YOU FROM OVERCHARGING. LITHIUM BATTERY FIRES ARE BAD! If you charge the battery up to 14 volts and the BMS is still dead then you have a bad BMS. DID I MENTION THAT YOU NEED TO BE CAREFUL.

I guess I'll have to make the 1 mile drive down to Old Hickory to watch this one. I struggle in the fall on this lake. It'll be fun seeing how the big dogs handle it. A 15 lb to 20 lb bag should win each day.

@RLinNH If you were my next door neighbor I would fix the battery for you. I'd be willing to bet it wouldn't be very hard. Worst case I would return the battery to you working but with the case duct taped together. 🤭

Every BMS and charger can be different so don't give up yet. The BMS has disconnected the battery cells from the terminals because the cell voltages are below a set threshold. Your battery charger doesn't detect a voltage so it doesn't charge. The BMS will allow a charge but may not show voltage until the voltage on every cell rises above the minimum threshold. Just connecting another battery to your battery may not do anything. You have to fool your charger into suppling a charge long enough to bring the cell voltages up above the cut off threshold. Leaving another battery connected in parallel for a few minutes while charging may do the trick.

Is it shutting off as if it is loosing power with all lights going out or just no power to the prop? What does it take to get it going again?

Very sorry to hear this. My thoughts are with you. Sounds like Coco has been a very special dog.

Many good responses on this thread already. I will add this. The first question is, are you the type of person that will take the time to master your electronics? Many, probably most, anglers never use the advanced features of their electronics. They only use their fish finder to tell them the depth and water temperature. I have a friend whose new boat came with a pretty good Humminbird Helix unit. After ten years with side imaging on his boat, he could not tell you what side imaging is. The dude can catch some fish, but he does it old school. If you think this might describe you, then don't waste your money on features you will never use. It might make sense to start with a low-end unit and step up to a better unit if you find yourself wanting more.

I got a new mower yesterday so mowing will be fun now....for a couple of weeks. 😆

Congratulations. I think programs like these are cool.

Thanks for the great write-up.

Your trolling motor needs electrical power, measured in watts. Power equals volts times amps. Wire heating is mainly caused by current flowing through resistance, and it rises with the square of the current. So for the same motor power, a 24-volt system can deliver that power with about half the current of a 12-volt system, which greatly reduces heating and voltage drop in the wiring. Higher voltage does not automatically make the system fire-safe, but it does let you deliver the same power more efficiently through the wires. A 36-volt system would be even better.

If you didn't die with the old trolling motor then you won't die with the new one. 😊 If you're like me and I'm sure most other folks, you don't spend much time with the trolling motor on its highest speed. I have an 80 lb Minn Kota and I've checked the current it draws. On 10 it actually pulls 41 amps, on 7.5 speed it pulls 20 amps. I would say 90% of the time the trolling motor is down it's on 3 or less. On 3 it draws 2.5 amps. So by having less than ideal wiring you are giving up a little performance at top speed. How important is that to you? If you just can't live without the extra 2% performance then go with 4 or 2 awg.

I used to live in North Alabama and have fished Guntersville a lot. My advice is just keep fishing and learning and enjoying your time on the water. Guntersville is a great place to fish but in my experience but it makes you earn it. In my mind there's a difference between a great place to fish and an easy place to fish. I've had some of my best days on Guntersville and caught my PB there but I've been skunked there a lot. Don't compare yourself to a guide unless you can spend several days a week on the same body of water. You are not alone in your struggles with electronics, just look at how many of the great old timers on the pro tours are struggling to adapt to the new technology. It's not always easy and there are no simple answers but it's always fun if you don't let your frustrations get the best of you.

I added a lithium house battery to my boat. My on board charger couldn't handle another battery so I bought a lithium compatable charger. I wired a plug to the lithium battery so I can quickly plug in the charger for it. I use one of these on the end of my extension cord and plug the onboard charger into one outlet and the lithium charger (which is not installed on the boat) in the other.

The truck monkey visited me a few weeks ago. He drops by about every 10 years. He's very caring and gets worried when I'm driving a truck with over 200,000 miles on it. It's nice to have monkeys that care about you. 😊

Don't waste your money but you are not a plastic worm dufus. You don't need a new rod you need time on the water. The next three months are prime time to learn to fish a Texas Rig. Fish docks, fish the bank and just keep casting till you figure it out.

The other day I was at Walmart and palmed Shakespeare's new Barbie reel. It's small size and smooth finish make it the most comfortable reel I have ever palmed. If palming comfort was a priority for me this is the reel I would choose.