The Reel Greg

Seems I also had no idea with lead acid they say to never discharge more then 50% of the battery. So let me get this right, if I have 2 lead acid batteries running my TM it's not recommended that I let them drop below 50% power? 1) how am I supposed to know when I'm at 50% when I'm out on the water? 2) this just seems ridiculous, you buy something to only be able to use half of it, is that not crazy? Now I know lithium isn't free of this either but from what I've read atleast they can handle 80% discharge. Which is much much better IMO but I'm still shocked!

I'm in Canada but Costco up here has an Energizer 31 AMG with 100ah for $259.99. Says it has a 2yr limited warranty. Is this the ball park I should be looking? Is Energizer good? They also have the Optima AGM D34Mfir $339.99

Hey y'all, So my dad and I purchased a used aluminum boat this past summer. It came with a trolling motor and 2 batteries to run it. Well on our very last putting the other day the TM died on me super fast and I knew we had one or two bad batteries. Sure enough after we got it back home and tested one of the batteries is shot. So now we're looking at replacing them. I've done a quick Google but I'm definitely not good with electrical and although it doesn't seem to difficult I just wondered if anyone had some first hand advice or tips for me helping choose our replacements. We only fish for fun and the stories so we're not tournament guys or anything serious but that being said we like to make the right choices and not just go for the quick and cheap. At first we were thinking lithium, but that's not going to really be an option due to price mainly. I think the ones I currently have are nappa auto parts marine batteries, and honestly I've never really felt great about how long and well the TM worked. I feel like after the 4hr mark at about 40-50% power the TM wouldn't last much longer nor output full power. I'm looking now for replacements that will provide me with ample power and security in knowing if I'm out for a day fishing I don't need to worry about the TM dying before I'm done. Anyone have any tips, suggestions and or recommendations for me? Thanks so much

Thats great information that I never knew! My dad and I got this boat this past August, it's our first "bass" boat, he's had a tin'er and a bigger boat growing up with his parent and we until this year have already rented cheap crap boats to go fishing. Everything is new and a learning experience for us now! First thing we realized is how expensive boats are lol. That was a but off topic but I just wanted to shed some light on my knowledge of things and experience level. So thank you very much for this info, in honesty we probably would have just replaced the one battery! We just got this boat used this past summer so I have no idea how old/how many seasons my batteries have on them. I think I'm just dreaming when I speak of upgrading to lithium cause it's a 30yr old boat which I'm use is going to need replacements a plenty so for us weekend warriors I must agree with you that seems like a great lifespan you got from your battery. Which brand/type is it if I may ask?

I just now lost one of my batteries (have 2) for my TM. So now I'm trying to decide what to do, just replace it or upgrade to lithium. The price just seems so steep.

First off just wanna thank the people who have taken the time to read my posts and offer there options and suggestions to help me ultimately make my own choices. I just recently posted about some help I needed with the fish finder that came with the boat I just got. Well now I'm thinking this unit I have is maybe too old. Anyways the boat came with the Lowrance Elite 7HDI unit. I know basically nothing about this part of the bass fishing spectrum. So I'd really like to up my game in this area. When we got the boat I thought this was a good unit, but now I have come to learn its fairly old and outdated. So my question now is do I try to make this work for me or should I invest my time and money into something newer and more current. From the searching I have done for me to get a mapping chip for the area of southern Ontario Canada I'm from its going to run me $270 for what looks to be a used chip. So what's my best options here? It seems no more update or anything are made for this unit but I'm also just a beginner who really has no idea how to read or properly use a fish finder anyways. Should I just buy the mapping chip and use this until I've learned enough and reached a point where I would actually benefit from an upgrade? Or since I'm going to have to spend almost $300 on this already I might as well put that towards a newer better unit so then I don't waste money or learning time on an old unit that I'll have to relearn myself on a newer unit in the near future. I'm just a recreational bass angler, me and my dad usually go out for a day here and there ( since I got a boat now I'm hoping to increase my fishing times) but we do it for fun and relaxation rather then serious, tournament angling. My head is spinning with all the variety of units on the market today and I really don't have a big budget so I want to make the right decision for us and and heading into the future. My dad's eyes have got pretty bad and seem to get worse so I'd like to get a decent sized screen so he can see easier, but I also know that's going to cost more money. I could care less about which brand we get as long as it's quality and suits our needs. If an upgrade seems to be the best option does anyone have any recommendations? I'd say my budget is $500-$1000 Thanks yall

I did find one, it's $270. I feel like that's going to to be way less expensive then a new unit, no?

I went on the Lowrance site and it says under mapping options "Navtronics Hotmaps, premium and Gold". That would mean I can use these chips correct? Anyone ever used either of these chips, I'm in southern Ontario and looking for a good map for my local lakes.

Thanks I will definitely try these recommendations. Do I also need to install some kind of map file so it understands the body of water im on?

Hey all, So I just got my first boat and it came with the Lowrance Elite 7 HDI electronics. I took it out yesterday for the first time and to me only one of the three screens it offers worked. The side imaging or down imaging can't remember what it said it had didn't really show much on the screen except the bottom and the top, the rest was just solid black. More importantly when I went to the map it was just an orange screen with an arrow. There was no map! I'm in Ontario Canada and all I did was plug the unit in and run it, I didn't load anything or update anything. Can anyone help me out with what I need to do to get this working on the lakes I fish. Also found it very hard to determine when or if it ever picked up a fish. I caught a bunch so I know they were there but I just couldn't tell looking at the screen. Thanks a bunch

Well to anyone who cares I ended up going with an SLX XT. Found one locally. Only 2 months till I can use it now! Come on June!!

Thanks y'all, well especially to anyone who actually spoke to my original point. I'm leaning towards the SLX XT, it appears to have a better casting distance? So I found via YouTube videos.

I've heard and seen alot about Lew's, I wouldn't mind trying one but I cant seem to find one locally here in Canada.

My budget is in CAD dollars. I've not seen a Curado go for under that.

Hey All, Looking for comments, tips and or suggestions as I search for a reel for my chatterbait setup this season. First time chatterbaiter here, so I got myself a rod, the baits now I'm just trying to find the reel. My current plan is to run full braid on this if that makes a difference. And the rod is a megabass Levante series. I'm thinking I'd like to go with a 7:2:1 speed. I'm just a weekend warrior so I will be using other baits on this but I'm hoping to focus on the chatterbait this summer. Also I am in Canada and want to buy local, shipping and exchange rates are brutal right now. My current thoughts are a Shimano slx XT, diawa Fuego CT that's it really. I'm looking to keep the reel under $250. Anyone got any other suggestions? Also reason the slx MGL is one to look at? Anyways to those who read this and offer any help, thank you so much!

Well I had to decide and I went with the DSR, the others have all been sold. So let's see how she goes!

So what would you do? I haven't picked up the rod yet so I can still grab the braillist instead. Even with a more stout rod would you go fluro or braid? My heart wants to use fluro but I honestly feel like braid would be "safer". I wouldn't care so much if these chatterbaits weren't over $20 a pop

Thanks for all the help guys. And for all those who are offering advice on rods other then what I listed in my original post I appreciate it but again my local shop doesn't have any other options. Specifically in the MB line. So I'm sure there great and probably better then what I'm looking at but I simply can't get one. I decided on the DSR but the more videos I watch on YouTube about throwing a chatterbait in the summer in the weeds the more I notice guys use slightly beefier rods which is why I'm second guessing myself again. As I have said a few times my home lake is very weedy so although I know the DSR is the right one for chatterbaits in general I wonder if for my lake I need a bit stronger to get it threw everything. Which leads me to should I even bother using fluro? I'm now thinking straight braid like 20-30lb braid????

My home lake is very very weedy, the DSR isn't too soft for that kinda work is it?

I did receive 1/2 oz jackhammers, and I went with the Yamamoto 4" zako for the trailer. Unfortunately my local shop doesn't have any of the rods you've listed. They basically only have the ones I listed plus the perfect pitch rod. As most people know it's been tough to get inventory and they don't know when they will ever get more at this point.

Y'all are probably sick of this types of questions but I need help so I'm gonna ask anyways. This is my first "high" end rod and I put it in quotes because I know it's not really highend but for me it's probably not gonna get much better then these. Some background information, I have my frog rod, and two other MH rods I'm using for swim baits / jigs / t rigs. I also have two spinning rods for the finese side of things. This rod is primarily gonna be for my new chatterbait and swim jigs and then I guess some small swim baits. Last year I did very well using small swim baits and picked up some swim jigs towards the end of the season but I never really used them a ton, especially since some ******* Pike's stole a few of em. For Christmas I was gifted a couple jackhammers so I'm really excited to try my first bladed jig. So my local tackle shop is having a sale right now and I have 3 different rods on hold until today. I'm only buying one but these guys were nice enough to hold all three till I decided. So they are holding a 7'5 MH Zodias, a megabass Levante Diablo and a megabass Levante braillist. Now the megabass line is roughly $50 cheaper so I'm finding myself gravitating towards these rods. The description on the tackle shops website about the megabass line specifically for the Diablo says it excells for swim jigs, swim baits and bladed jigs which is almost exactly what I'm looking for. But it's only medium power with a fairly soft tip. My home lake is extremely weeded so I'm wondering if that's too soft? The braillist description says it's best for bottom contact and deep water which basically is the opposite of what I want but it's a MH power with a soft tip so I'm wondering if that might be a better choice to rip the chatterbait threw the weeds? But the zodias I'm not sure it is bait specific as there's no description for it. What do y'all reckon? I've never owned anything megabass, my frog rod is an intenza and I love it, my current swim bait combo is an SLX it's nice but not amazing. It doesn't cast super well. If I'm missing any information please let me know or if you have any suggestions I'm all ears. But I need to decide today so please help!! Thanks y'all! Greg