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Well I made the jump into LiFEP04 batteries after smothering myself with information. I think I have a learned a few things I can pass along to the average fisherman who is in the market for new batteries for their trolling motor or house battery setup. First off - Yes I know Dakota Lithium seem to be the standard in fishing... there is also Battleborn, Relion, and Millertech which are all high end batteries all over $1000 CDN. I would assume there is a reason these batteries are 3X the price of some reputable budget brands, but for me those aren't really options. Probably has something to do with cell grade (which is a whole other can of worms). There is also middle of the road companies such as Amped, or Ionic who also get great reviews but are in the $6-700 range I narrowed down my list to 3 brands who all get good reviews across several fishing and off-grid forums as well as Youtube which are all approximately in the same price range - $400ish AOLithium Power Queen Li time These brands seem to keep rising to the top of budget category. My first choice was AOlithium with built in Bluetooth connectivity but they are currently sold out and I am impulsive. So I went with the Power Queen 12V 100ah on sale at the time for $319 a piece. Bluetooth connectivity to monitor battery capacity was important for me though as when a Lithium battery dies it dies and not being able to re-deploy an Ulterra trolling motor is an issue. So I bought a device made by a company called Victron call a smart shunt. The devices monitors your battery system and its health. Whether its 12, 24, or 36 volts. You have all sort of historical data such as number of cycles, average charging amperage, average ah draw, etc. Not necessary in all scenrio's but more info the better imo. Another option the Power Queen batteries do not have but others do (Li Time Trolling motor edition) is low temp charging cut off. These batteries do not like being charged when its below 0C and it can ruin the battery. So if your boat is outside all fishing season, this is something to consider. LiFEP04 batteries are more like mini computers then a conventional battery. Inside they have a BMS (Battery management system) which is essentially a brain that will protect the battery from over charging, over current, shorting (no more welding wrenches), high temp, and low temp by shutting the battery off if it senses any of these issues. So with that in mind... they can also be a bit more finicky than a standard Lead Acid or AGM battery. They also make 24 and 36 volt single batteries instead of wiring multiple batteries in series. Lots of pro's and con's there to read about. My setup is a 24 volt system for the Ulterra and then a house battery for all of the electronics. I decided to go with 2 100ah group size 31 in series for the trolling motor and then a mini 100ah house battery as I have a compartment size constraint. My 4th battery will stay a standard AGM starting battery for the motor. They do make LifeP04 starting batteries but they are expensive and there are not many companies that make them at this time. Out - 2 group size 31 Nautilus XD AGM's - 103ah - 71lbs each 1 Group size 24 Nautilus XD AGM - 79ah - 60lbs In - 2 group size 31 LiFEP04's - 100ah - 25lbs each 1 Group size 24(ish) LiFEP04 - 100ah - 19lbs Current price to purchase - AGM batteries - $1701 plus tax LiFEP04 - $1157 plus tax My AGM's lasted 8 years and still have life left so I was able to sell them. I have no complaints about those batteries... made heavy duty.... but that is a 133lb weight savings, 15ah gain, and over $500 cost savings. Will they Power Queens last 8 years? Jury is out on that as there are no long term reviews on these types of batteries. They claim they will, but we will see. Lastly are chargers - Multi bank chargers with the a Lithium setting work great. I opted to go with a 24 volt onboard charger as cell balancing may be better across both batteries when in series. Again this is something I will monitor. Below are a couple of pictures.. wiring will be cleaned up a bit but wanted to make sure everything is in working order. Trolling motor setup with charger and smart shunt House battery compartment Smart Shunt app main page Hope this helps Cheers BM

Its also funny because all the brands LIFeP04 battery cells and materials used to make them are coming from China..... all of them. Then they are put together where ever after that with BMS's and sensors... but the "cheap Chinese" battery argument doesn't really fly right now.

It really depends on what part of the country and type of lake I’m fishing on simcoe meegs and vibratos fished near the bottom with a loony bin bug or blood worm 3 ft above it for whitefish. But up north small jigs with white plastic or small spoon 5 to 15 ft above the bottom. If there is a major hatch going on very small bugs and inch plastics work and for Tulibee /cisco / herring it really depends on how high in the water column they are swimming. But small baits always for them

Dakota is a absolute waste of $$$. All that extra for what? They could charge those prices because they were one of the first in the game. People are finally waking up to realize their batteries are just like all the rest.

Both boxes in perfect working order, no broken hinges or clasps. Flambeau Bass Box Plano Guide Series holds 4 plano 3700 trays

It is 40hp 4 stroke, but it is good for a bigger motor go to Antigravity website to get a specific info. This battery also have an extra reserved power to always start your motor.

Thank you so much for this write up. I have started reading a lot, because when this set of batteries goes (im on year 3) its going to be time to finally make the swap. At the time, I was on the fence simply due to pricing, but everything I am reading now is certainly pointing me back to lithium for my next battery purchase. The collapse in pricing is astonishing, but not surprising as the tech became readily available. To date I have not heard of one person speak negatively about switching the lithium, and holy cow a 100lbs weight savings is astronomical when it comes to boats, if your running anything under 20 feet long, it almost seems like a total no brainer. Jesus, anyone running a 14 foot tinner would have to be high to not go lithium. The gas alone would probably pay the difference in a year. I am by far the most intrigued by getting one of those giant 36v's to run my trolling motor. I started my boat out with 3 trolling motor batteries and one starting electronics battery, but with the 3 10 inch screens and livescope, a few low voltage warnings after long days pre-fishing had me sketched right out about running out of juice on my starter. Ive now swapped one of my TM's AGM's to an electronics only battery, and downgraded the trolling motor to 24volts. I do not notice too huge of a difference between 36 and 24, however I will say the 36 notably has more tourque when you need it and I do miss it the odd time. After fishing with a club member this summer that has a tinner rigged for walleye fishing up north, he put me on to a neat little invention called an Automatic Charge Relay. I personally call it the poor man's powerpole charge. It allows your boats alternator/rectifyer to send juice to another battery once it determines that your starting battery is back up fully charged after starting. This is ideal, now when im making my runs around the lake, some of that juice can be fired back to my electronics batteries to help me get through some of those 12+ hour days at the lake. Anyways, enough about me and hijacking your thread, I actually have a question that I have not been able to decipher through my reading thus far about lithium batteries. You allude to it in your post, but perhaps you read into this further, It is my understanding that Lithium batteries do not like being charged when cold, but also many batteries available in the market are temperature protected or maybe even heated? Now for the good ol boys down south, none of this is applicable at all, but for us folks in the great white north that fish in the fall, how does one get around these "low temp cut offs" Correct me if I am wrong, but I have heard that some will shut down as soon as they reach 5 degrees C? (i may be making that number up? but from memory?) So honest question to you Bassman, what are do we need to look for in our Lithium batteries up here in canada? Im sure there is some way to pay for some feature that will have us canadians not worried about going fishing during the months of September through June lol. I couldnt imagine parking the boat at the dock at night on a clear september night only to find that my batteries arent charged when I wake up in the morning to go fishing.

My grandkid's slingshot often provides a little morning entertainment...

Paintball gun works wonders just kidding lol