Bucks Bass and Bourbon

Very helpful, thank you. What boat is your battery powering? My previous boat is a much lighter aluminum so the only times I went above 10 or 15% on the trolling motor was either moving quickly to a nearby spot and didn’t want to use the outboard or when I was moving against strong wind or current. Even at that I almost never went to much less above 50%. Except the time I forgot to raise my raptors and couldn’t figure out why my motor was having such a hard time getting anywhere 🙄

I guess the draw from graphs is more consistent than what you figure from a trolling motor since they’re generally always on unless you put them in sleep mode whereas a trolling motor the draw can vary minute to minute based on the weather and current.

Hey guys, Thinking about switching from one dedicated lithium battery for each unit to one larger capacity battery to power all three units. I run two Garmin 126 Ultras and one 106 Ultra and my normal day on the water is usually 8 hours at the most. I do like the ability to go two full days in a row without having to charge but that isn’t a deal breaker. Livescope will remain on a separate dedicated battery so that isn’t a factor. I’m sure some of you guys are running a single battery like that so if you have experience with what works or what you tried and didn’t work please share. Thanks!

I’m actually thinking about going to a single high ah 12v for my electronics and accessories as well. Right now I have one dedicated battery for each of two of my graphs and one dedicated 48ah NMC from Amped to power my livescope and graph combo. No complaints on any of that as the worst case scenario is I would have to charge them overnight after a very long day. Plus the batteries are still relatively new and have a lot of life left in them so it doesn’t make much sense to get a new one just for that reason. As for the trolling motor battery, I’m going to see how it plays out. I do fish some rivers up here but nothing in too strong of current so I might just put in a full day with it and see how it does. From the responses and talking with some more guys it seems like the 24 will do but it might be borderline in some situations. It’s a 50ah so in a day of windy conditions or current I might find I need more battery life. If I do have to switch I would just go up to a 36v and be done with it. Thanks for the insight.

Thanks everyone. I’ll give it a good test in various conditions to see how it holds up and if the 24 isn’t quite doing it I’ll switch. My main concern was the 24 would definitely not be enough but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Much appreciated!

Happy Memorial Day everyone! Question for you guys about TM batteries on a 19 footer. This Memorial Day instead of a barbecue I bought a Ranger Z519. Logical trade off right? I will be moving my graphs, electronics and raptors over from my current boat along with my Garmin trolling motor. Right now I have a 50 amp hour Dakota Lithium 24v that powers that thing for days but of course it's a 16 foot aluminum. Definitely not an apples to apples comparison. Should I start looking at a 36v or will the 24 work out? I don't necessarily need it go multiple days on end without charging but I need it to at least make a full day (8 hours) on the water without having to worry about it. The way I fish on the water I fish I usually don't push it hard at all and almost never even use 50% power unless I'm moving to another spot close enough that I don't bother using the outboard. Mostly slowly cruising the back or spot locking on open water. Anyone with experience please share your thoughts. Thanks!

Keep them coming (the stories, not the bird nests). This is a really entertaining thread to read.

These are some great examples hahahaha

In honor of me absolutely destroying a brand new spool of FC sniper on the first cast yesterday I figured it might be funny to hear the worst birds nests some of you have had. After spooling up a brand new reel I stopped at the local pond to try out a new rod and made a cast that immediately blew up the reel beyond saving. Tried for an hour to work it out but it was hopeless. Still not sure how or why I did it but upon inspection I had the brakes at 0 and the spool tension was backed way off. Don’t even remember doing it. The sound off the reel when I made the cast sounded like a car with a flat tire followed by the worst raspy sound I’ve ever heard. I smashed my thumb down immediately but it was already too late. What makes it worse is it happened on the most backlash-proof reel I own… a Zillion. So you know I screwed that up in every possible way. Anyone else??

Thanks again for all the responses!

Thanks for all the great responses. I think I’ll give the Surflon a try and if nothing else just swing away with a 20 or 30 pound fluoro leader. There’s no guarantee so I maybe I’ll give some cheaper swim baits a try before I toss the brand new Bacca Burrito that just got delivered out there. Thanks again guys!

Thanks! Can that be tied to 65 pound braid with an FG knot?

Hello everyone I just got a dedicated high quality umbrella rig rod and since it’s rated for heavier lures I figured I’d finally add some larger swimbaits to the rotation. I’m in Michigan where you can definitely find 5 and 6 pound largemouths if you’re willing to work for them, but you find a lot more pike and there are musky in my local lakes and rivers too. I have intentionally avoided large baits for fear of losing them to those teeth until now. I figure my best bet is to throw them at isolated offshore cover where the larger bass will hangout and are less likely to also hold many pike but I assume that’s just hope. Anyone have a recommendation that doesn’t involve saving up money to replace the lures? Steel leaders are about the only thing I know of. Thanks!

I have two zillions - a 6.3 for shallow and medium cranks and a 7.1 for spinnerbaits - and I just added a tatula sv70. Hard to argue against a zillion so if the price difference doesn’t push you away get it. They’re so smooth and fun to cast. I will say this though - I just got the tatula (my first one) and took it out the other day just to make sure I have it set up properly. I was extremely impressed and just wanted to keep casting it. I don’t have much time on it yet but I really look forward to putting it to use. Now enjoy the zillion you’re about to buy haha!

*Sorry the blank quote guys. I started to post and my screen froze up. Anyway, thanks for all the input. Interesting responses. To the above, yes initially I’m was asking what’s the style and performance type reel you always kids wanted or would get. Not a Lamborghini or a Ferrari, not the responses were great and fun to see what you guys came up with.

Really fun following these answers.

Here I go looking up all these reels…

That is gorgeous. I absolutely love my zillions. I had one on a topwater last year but felt like it was not living up to that reels abilities. It’s on my spinnerbait rod now which should be great. That thing is a joy to cast. I’d like to give a Bantam a try since that seems to be right in line with the Zillion. Maybe my answer would be an Antares or a Steez.

I re-allocated a couple reels this winter and after adding a spinnerbait-specific rod and moving a reel over to that I am in need of a topwater reel. I’ve been considering which reel to pick up and I’ve been looking at a lot of different options. In doing so started to notice the higher end options, which led me to the question. What’s your “Cadillac” reel? The one that when you can afford it you get that one. I have a couple Daiwa Zillions and they really are nice but looking at the high end options I wonder how much nicer they really are. Anyway, just curious. Interested to hear your s sweee and why.

My buddy and I went out for a day trip this last summer. I have a pretty good routine and I’m paranoid about forgetting to screw the plug in but I’m almost always alone so nothing usually to distract me. Well on this day of course we’re talking as we load the gear into the boat and as I’m backing down and the trailer tires are getting close I stop and stick my head out to ask if he can check the plug. Good thing I did. The thing I DID forget to do was remove the transom saver once. Me and the poor guy trying to help me couldn’t figure out what it was hanging up on haha. He’ll have a funny story to tell people for a while.

Two units for me at the bow. I run a 106 ultra on top of a 126 up front and a 93sv at the console. The 126 is for LS when I’m running it otherwise I will run one screen with maps (usually the 106) and the other with side and down imaging. I have a smaller light boat and I cruise around quite a bit with my trolling motor so I can do a lot of offshore graphing from the bow and having both those units working is great.

Great post, thank you. Your comments are really in line with where I’m coming from. I don’t fish tournaments either, and while I can tolerate some pretty miserable conditions I don’t enjoy fighting those white caps or pushing the limits of what is safe within my abilities and comfort level. The vast majority of my fishing is the one to two hour drives to inland lakes but as mentioned above if I’m going to get a bass boat I want to give myself the opportunity to get out in places like Green Bay, Grand Traverse, LSC and LBDN if the conditions allow it. Thanks again! I will most likely be going with a 19 when the time comes.

Hmm. Really glad I posted this now. Got a lot of interesting feedback.

Good replies fellas, thanks and I’m taking them all into consideration. I did sit behind the wheel of both a 2023 z18 and 19. The 18 was doable but the 19 definitely was more comfortable. I’m not locked into a 2023 by any means but I am very careful about watching the hours and maintenance on used ones. I also love the idea of the Phoenix boats but the biggest issue is getting to see them in person. Nitros and Rangers are the two abundantly available makes in my area and as much as I love Rangers and acknowledge their quality they’re just a bit out of my price range for a first bass boat. Maybe I can find a good used Phoenix somewhere within a reasonable drive to check one out tho. As for length, I think 19 is my best bet. While yes I do mostly fish lakes where my 16 aluminum is just fine (most days) I am within easy striking distance to St Clair and even Saginaw Bay, Grand Traverse Bay, and Little Bay de Noc if I have a few days to make it worth the trip. The smallmouth bug bit me hard late this year… Sincere thanks again everyone! I’ll keep you posted on what I end up going with. Might have to wait another year or two now since the divorce is getting sorted out lol. Hopefully the judge likes to fish! *One last thing is I am good on electronics. I literally gave up an entire hobby (long range shooting) and put it toward bass fishing electronics. 126 ultras, a 106 and a 93 with the LV34 and Force. Anything I buy that comes with graphs I’ll just sell and one of the dealers even offered to try to get them shipped in the box on a boat I order from the factory so I can do that easier.

Thanks for the replies fellas. I’ll probably holdout for the 19 the more I think about it. LSC type trips would be the exception not the rule but seems like that’s the way to go.