BrianMDTX

Well, my crimpers were up to the task. So was my wife’s hair dryer. They are crimped tight and the heat shrink is tight as well. Ops test on the battery was good to go!

Hope you feel better soon. The fish will always be there. Take care of yourself!

Got my registration numbers in the mail this week. Hope to be on the water and under power next weekend.

Due to Hurricane Beryl and the power outages, I didn’t attempt any battery charging until now. Just hooked up the battery and charger and it’s charging. Never had the opportunity to cut off the old clips and crimp on the copper cable lugs and new heat shrink. I’ll do that on Monday.

I decided to purchase SC10-6 copper cable lugs and red and black heat shrink tubing. I will cut the clips off and crimp the lugs on. I have access to aviation crimpers and a heat gun so I won’t have any issues with accomplishing that. Doing so will ensure good wire with zero corrosion and ensure good continuity.

Moved to the Houston area in July 2019. A month later we were treated to TS Imelda. Tons of rain but not much wind. Beryl is now here. It’s still a Cat 1 hurricane with gusts up to 100 mph. I lived through some decent tropical storms in my many years in Maryland (Agnes in ‘72 for sure), but I think this is our first true hurricane. Glad I got my generator up and running. Bought it for Isabel in 2003. Lights never flickered lol.

Big Yellow Taxi Joni Mitchell’s original is great. But Counting Crows (with Vanessa Carlton) is fantastic.

I have a 2000 and a 2500 Revros. I gotta be honest. There is nothing about these reels that I do not like. Not even factoring in the purchase price. They are great reels.

@Way2slow My usage of “alligator clips” was poor. To me, alligator clips are small and used for checking voltage and current with multimeters making jumpers, etc. The battery manufacturer’s use of the term “alligator clip” made me say alligator clip vs. battery clip or clamp. The diagram below was included with the battery, which is what prompted my original question. Just an FYI.

How are new transom mount trolling motors set up? Do they all have lugs on the end of the wiring, in other words, no more battery clips? All I can remember is every transom mount trolling motor I ever used had clips to attach to the + and - terminals. But they were all lead-acid batteries and that was a long time ago. LiFePO4 batteries were a pipe dream.

@RobiB I used the Ez Cart for the first time today. Wow, what a difference. Very easy to move the boat.

All this goes to show how long it’s been since I operated a trolling motor lol.

Do you recall make/model and where you purchased them?

I actually received my battery much earlier than expected (while I was out fishing lol). It is very lightweight and I can’t wait to charge it and start using it (still waiting on my registration decals for the hull). This battery has small stainless steel bolts that thread into the battery for the positive and negative terminals. The instructions state NOT to hook alligator clamps directly to the bolts. It says to install copper terminals under the bolts and connect the clamps to those. Yeah, my motor is old. Do new transom mount trolling motors still use alligator clips or do they have copper terminals that one installs/removes via those bolts? I have no issue with buying two copper terminals per their instructions and clamping to those, but I’m wondering if would be a better connection by removing the alligator clips and crimping on copper terminals. I’d think it would be another step to take each trip to bolt/unbolt the cables from the motor. Is it perfectly acceptable to just install copper terminals and clip to them? Battery photo and type of terminal (cable lug) photo included.

Try a Neko Macho. It’s got weight, the tail has good action, and can be Texas rigged or Neko rigged.

Sorry, BM, but at this point in time, I’m pretty well covered with rods and reels. Baits? I just re-did my tackle storage and I have enough soft plastics to fill a Rubbermaid tote. I guarantee I’ll buy more. 🤣

Always have the fish monger throw the fish to you over the counter. That way, you’re telling the truth that you caught them! 😂

I have caught 5 lb bass on that rod. It’s a heck of a fight! 😂

I’ve noticed with lighter baits it’s easier to skip with a ML vs a M action.

So, up until now, with an inflatable powered by yours truly, I have either fished local ponds (no ramps, no fees, no license required) or one small reservoir in a state park with a $7.00 daily fee. I have fished there a few times. Now with a bigger inflatable with a motor (just waiting on the battery and my registration letters/number decal), I can fish bigger nearby lakes like Conroe and Livingston. I know Conroe has some ramps with fees and others that are free. I’ll stick with the free ones.

@ol'cricketyI skip a lot of baits with my spinning rigs. Wacky rigs, weightless Texas rigs with Senkos, worms, craws, etc. As others stated, if you have overhanging brush and limbs, skipping baits underneath can target bass hiding out in ambush positions. I’ll skip jigs as well with my baitcaster, just not as well lol. I think you’ll be fine in your canoe. It’s all arm/wrist movement. I get relatively close (10’ or so) so it’s not like I’m swinging for the fences. I’ll skip forward or backhand, depending on the situation. I think I’m better backhand with a spinning rod. It’s a hoot watching a Senko skip a few feet under the brush and get hit just as it stops.

Stopped off at Lowe’s on the way home yesterday and got some stainless steel brushes for my Dremel and some 2000 grit sandpaper. I cleaned the trolling motor well and removed the prop to inspect the shaft (all good). I removed the chipped paint and used the brushes to remove the corrosion from the lower end, and then repainted it. I oiled the sandpaper and polished the shaft, removed the rest of the light rust on the battery clips, lubricated all pivot points and then reinstalled the cleaned prop and torqued the nut to 35 in/lbs. It turned out nicer than I thought. Just waiting on the LiFePO4 battery due next week. Not bad for a motor that’s between 38-40 years old!

If push came to shove, if all I had were bags of #297 and #956 Senkos and Gamakatsu 1/0 circle octopus and 4/0 EWG hooks, I could fish and die happy.

I use them all. If I start with a Craw and get no bites, I’ll switch to a Bug or a Menace. All three are great trailers. I let the bass decide what they want!

I also took an over-30 year break. I got into hunting, particularly bowhunting, and made a decision it was either fall/winter (hunting) or spring/summer (fishing). Other than taking my daughters fishing, I didn’t seriously fish from around 1986 until 2020. Do I regret it? I regret no decisions I’ve ever made. Unless they were deliberately made to cause someone else pain or grief (which isn’t something I can recall doing since maybe a teen). Do I wish I had fished during all that time? Sure. But stewing over that solves nothing. Instead, I’m making up for lost time.