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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

Another thing you might consider given your motors age is getting all of your fuel supply lines changed over to ethanol tolerant lines.

Yeah, fishing is for fun but it can get very dangerous for us great lakes fishers.. 4-8 foot waves in a 16 footer can be dangerous

This ^^^^ I've been running my 2006 4 stroke on ethanol 87 octane from the get go, no issues. And yes, install a water/fuel separator.

Blame the corn farmer lobby..

I'll be tending to my trail cams tomorrow morning up in the foot hills of the Rockies so hopefully I have some pics worth sharing with you all, I am expecting some good ones, but one never knows.

Thanks Smitty.

motion is by the motor .. you can float.. or drift.. just not by momentum from the motor