Tennessee Boy

I’ve never been able to remember which color is on the right and which color is on the left. 😆

I think 60ah would work well with that boat. I’m assuming that you are using an outboard to get you to where you want to fish and using the trolling motor only for fishing. I have an 80lb thrust Ultrex which should be similar in power usage to the 80lb thrust Terrova. My TM pulls 41 amps on 10, 8 amps on 5, and 2.5 amps on 3. A 60 ah battery would power my TM for 2.5 hours on 10, 7 hours on 5 and 24 hours on 3. I’m on 3 or less 90% of the time when I’m fishing. Of course there might be days when I’m fishing in current and wind where I’m running between 5 and 10 all day. Those days are rare but it’s good to be prepared for them. You also ask about 24V vs two 12V batteries. I think that’s a personal choice for what works best for your situation and what fits well in your boat. One advantage to two 12Vs is if/when one dies you still have another battery that could be used for something else.

Yes a 60ah will work. The question is how long will it work. That depends on what boat you have, how long you typically stay out on the water, and to some degree how you fish. I have an aluminum Ranger RT188. I’ve taken some measurements on how many amps my trolling motor is pulling. A 60 ah 24 volt would meet my needs for almost every trip I make to the lake. Still I personally would want more than 60ah. It’s comforting to have a more power than you need. If you have a big fiberglass boat, you will want much more than 60ah. You also want to make sure that the maximum draw on the TM you are considering is below the maximum current allowed with the battery. I don’t think that will be an issue but it might be close.

Here’s some good science on engine wear and engine cleanliness (sludge, varnish) using different fuels.

Back in the days before GPS and detailed maps, a Flasher that would work at higher speeds was critical for navigation. Today I have no need for it.

In the 1990’s I taught myself and practiced some in the back yard first. It wasn’t hard. I like working the bait with my dominant hand. I still switch hands so I can crank with my dominant hand with fast retrieve baits like crankbaits.

He went 11 minutes before he started complaining about FFS! Very out of character for him.

I was also thinking you could use a boroscope. I’m about 99% sure this would work great with a 1% chance it might produce an internal electrical arc that would ignite the gas fumes and kill you. I don’t like those odds.

I last used one in the early 1990s.

It appears that one dog likes you and one dog doesn’t. 😆

I just recently started getting my senior discounts so I don’t have a lot to contribute. I’ve really enjoyed reading this thread. There’s a lot of great advice here. 👍

Yes some will be looking for other tours. If am reading it correctly, first place in each tournament will win $130,000. Every one else gets $2000. That’s a big change. If you finish 2nd in every tournament you make the same as someone who finished last in every tournament? Qualifying for the Redcrest guarantees you $5000 with a chance at $300,000. Heavy Hitters gives them another opportunity to make some good money.

First and foremost, they need to make up their mind. It’s becoming a joke. I’m not surprised about the reduced number of competitors. That makes sense from the financial side. I’m okay with going back to all fish count as long as the minimum is 2 pounds or higher.

Same here. I want to be @Woody B’s dog. 😆

I cleaned the carburetor. It didn’t have varnish buildup. It had ethanol goo in it, like in the video I posted. I cleaned a carburetor in a generator for a family member. Same thing. It sat with E10 in the carburetor for months and it was a gooey mess. The manual for my Mercury outboard is another example of why I use pure gas. It says the engine is designed to handle E10 then goes on to list reasons why you should avoid it. It also says using E15 will void the warranty. My Ranger manual does the same thing concerning the gas tank and hoses. It says they are designed to be compatible with E10 but says you should inspect them more often if you use ethanol gas because the corrosion can cause leaks. I know people that use E10 in their boats without problems but I’m willing to spend a little more for peace of mind. Concerning buildup in the engine. That might have been a concern years ago but modern gas burns cleaner and has additives to help. You can also add products like Seafoam to keep the engine clean.

WATCH COLLEGE FOOTBALL!!

I have a pressure washer that has worked well for me for about 15 years. It gets used once or twice a year. I always use pure gas in it. I loaned it to someone who put E10 in it. Months later it would not start when I tried to use it. I took the carburetor off and it was a mess. I cleaned it and unclogged the jets and it started and has been running great for the last few years. I agree with others that I could used E10 in it if I took the proper precautions. I don’t want to fill it up after each use because the fuel would just set there for months getting old. I could drain the tank after each use. I guess I could also take the carburetor off and clean it before each use. Call me lazy but I choose to spend an extra 40 cents per gallon for pure gas so I don’t have to worry about it.

I agree, it’s prime time in Guntersville.

This guy has a lot of good videos on this topic. Including the effectiveness of fuel stabilizers.

Yes. It will take more force to get the rod tip moving when you cast and it will take more force from the bite of a fish to move the tip so you can feel the bite.

The “tip heavyness” you feel is called torque in physics and there is a formula for it. Torque is usually measured in foot pounds but can be any unit of distance multiplied by any unit of force. Let’s use inch ounces for our calculations. To offset the 3/4 ounce weight you measure the distance from the tip to the pivot point. Let’s assume that’s 78 inches. Multiply 78 times the weight of the lure (0.75 ounces) to get 58.5 inch ounces of torque. To balance that you need to add an opposing force to the rod butt. Measure the distance from the pivot point to the rod butt then divide the torque (58.5) by that distance to get the weight you need to add to the butt. If the butt is 9 inches from the pivot point you will need to add 6.9 ounces (58.5 / 9) to the rod butt to counter act the torque added by the 3/4 weight. Note that these calculations are for when the rod is held parallel to the ground and they change constantly as you raise the rod tip. This fact makes the whole exercise pointless from a practical standpoint (assuming you raise the rod tip when fishing). Also adding weight to the rod increases the rod’s moment of inertia which is not good. Learn the physics and you’ll learn why you don’t want to add weight to balance your rod.

Here fishing changes throughout the Fall. It doesn’t peak if you change with it. That’s sometimes easier said than done.

I’ve weighed my socks before. I’ve never weighed a rod and reel. 😆

Can someone tell me the name of a crappie fishery that has been totally devastated by FFS? I want to look into it. 🙂

Have you heard the term “getting the school to fire”. What you’re describing has been happening for years. Take KVDs last win on Chickamauga. He didn’t have live sonar, he did have 360. He found a bunch of fish on a ledge and stayed on them for most of the tournament. He threw different baits to try to get them to bite and he just stayed there until they started biting. He didn’t have other fish to go to so he focused one the fish he had located. Being able to watch them react might have helped but sometimes they don’t react. Finding the fish in the first place was the real skill that he had that most weekends anglers don’t have.