Jig Man

I had a 225 Merc Optimax that would over heat at idle in just a few minutes. I spent a lot of money on it and never got it fixed. So I just made sure to not idle very long. It was still going strong after 14 years when I traded it off.

If you prep at home you can heat a wire or drill bit and burn a hole in Elaztech. That is what I do for screw locks.

The Johnson 710 was my reel for small creek floating in my 12’ styrofoam canoe before I could afford anything else.

Since you haven’t had any response I’m guessing not many have. I’ve been running 2 for a long time, if I were going to do anything it would be add a third.

The first thing I noticed in your post is the setup. You should not have anything else hooked to the trolling motor battery. You should have a strong enough cranking battery to start your engine, run your pumps and electronics unless you have some seriously powerful electronics. If that is the case then you might need a house battery. It sounds like you have a 12 volt trolling motor so a good strong battery is a must. If you switch to lithiums you may also have to buy a new charger.

No. I would love to have a drone that could cover areas after first light and find me some surfacing fish but it seems right now that would be very pricey.

Any time I drill or saw in fiberglass I cover the area with duct tape and begin the work with the drill in reverse.

A friend took me winter bass fishing on his local river. We stripped and used a seine to catch the bait (minnows). I would get a bite,set the hook and come up with nothing. His advice was when you get a bite wait the bass will take the minnow in its mouth, kill it, spit it out then suck it back in. That’s when you set the hook. I don’t know if his theory was correct or not but the practice was spot on.

They do that at Bass Pro.

I am running 3 Humminbird Solix units on one 100 ah lithium with no issues.

I would be there at the crack of dawn and start with top waters.

I had a 360 with a special mount on my Ulterra. The motor housing came apart. When I took it to be fixed my electronics tech guy said “I told you that 360 would not work. Take it off, sell it and I will fix your Ulterra”. $250 later I was back on the water.

I think you have the right idea about a house battery for the electronics. I experimented with several configurations of them and the most satisfactory is a 100 ah lithium for electronics only.

I would add a spinning rod 7’ mlf because it is super versatile. It is one of my favorite setups. I use it a lot more than my 7’ mf.

Good luck. Speedy recovery

The Pitzen is one step less than the SDJ and just as strong.

You are correct. It can’t handle the extra weight. I found that out the hard way.

I’ve been using fluorocarbon for years as has one of my fishing buddies. He uses the Alberto to join lines and the Palomar on the bait while I join with the FG and tie on with the Pitzen. Neither one of us has knot problems.

I have an Ulterra. I wouldn’t have anything else. Mine is 3 or 4 years old. Mine is ipilot link. It is Ethernet connected to the one boat network. It has 2d sonar as well as down scan. I can control it with my remote, the foot pedal or any one of my Solix units. It has spot lock, spot lock jog, auto pilot, cruise control, go to waypoint features and follow the contour as well as the ability to go to and follow tracks. Going shallow after hung baits I can raise it straight up to keep it out of the rocks without having to touch it. The main feature for me is it has kept me fishing because I ruptured a lung and broke 3 ribs which didn’t heal properly so I could no longer pull a trolling motor out of the water.

A friend of mine has a Tracker that never gets the bow strap on until in the parking lot.

Tighten your spool tension knob.

Mostly I match them.

Do you find it necessary to latch the boat before you leave the ramp? It’s been years since mine was hooked back up before it was back in the parking lot.

Do you have Humminbirds? If so did you try to run it from them?

You should be able to use 24 volts and be fine. I ran a 20’ 6” Champion with a 24 volt Motorguide TE 82 for 14 years in all kinds of weather. It would hold in the wind until water would start to come over the bow. It’s not the trolling motor but the batteries that will keep you on the water. You might need another battery.