Lape0019

Wise decision. The last thing you need to consider is cable driven or electric steer. I have a terrova with the 2nd generation of Ipilot. I love the motor for its capabilities but recently used a fourtex and really enjoyed how much quicker a cable driven TM responds to movements. I am not getting rid of the terrova but I will more than likely to back to a cable driven one on the next boat. The downside is you lose out on all of the cool stuff coming out with GPS capabilities. Adam

What size boat are you running? If it is over 16 feet. I would recomend you look at a 24v system. I had a 45 on my 18.6ft bass tracker ambit would barely move the boat if it wasn't on the highest setting and was useless in waves. You will never say I have too much power in the TM but will regret the purchase constantly if you go too small.

Everything said above is true. A 65lb thrust TM is 24volts. I have 2 group 27 deep cycles for mine. Interstates. Group 31 would be better but I didn't have the funds at the time. The higher the reserve capacity rating, the longer they will last but unless you plan on using the TM at full speed, you shouldn't have any issues running the TM for a full day. I typically drain my batteries down to half after 10 hours on the water. As for the fishfinder, hook it to your cranking battery. If you are using the US2 transducer in the TM (assuming this is what you mean and you have one) there may be a little interference. If you hook it to one of the Deep cycles, you will be draining one battery more than the other which is t good as well as you will get more interference making the fishfinder useless. Minnkota makes ferrule rings that will reduce the interference from using the US2 but they won't help if you hook it to the deep cycles. At least not enough to make it usable. Adam.

I do not have any personal experience with this vehicle. I can say that my uncle has purchased 2 of these (he puts a lot of k's on his vehicles) and absolutely loves them. Great fuel economy and good towing capaicty. I think you found a winner. Adam

Nitro is part of the tracker marine group. So it tahoe and mako. The issues being spoken of are with tracker aluminum hulls. I have a PT 190tx and have not had any issues with this hull. I will say I have read many horror stories regarding the boat your friend is looking at. Apparently, aluminum is not the best material to form into that shape of a hull and there have been numerous complaints if cracked hulls and I beleive even one sinking on this very board. The merc is more than likely an older version if an optimax. If it is the 98-99 that someone else has mentioned, that motor was plagued with problems as well. Most of the. Have been corrected so it all depends in the type if maintenance and how many hoes are on that motor. It also never hurts to have a leak down and compression test done before buying anything just to be sure

Then seriously check out the Curado I! The tournament pro is a great reel but the curado is even smoother and to me, easier to configure than the lew's. I have not used a Tatula but have been told it is a great reel for the price (both the regular and type r) depending on what you plan to use it for. The curado seems to be better than the Tatula for lighter lures. And as stated above, I have all three of shimano's new offerings. I sold of a lew's team gold, a Abu Revo S, and dedicated a Pflueger patriarch XT all to the sidelines because the new Shimano's are that good.

Which chronarch? 200/50E or CI4+? And my short answer for the two is If you are talking about the 200e for compatibles, I would look at the lew's tournament pro or a Daiwa Tatula if you can get past how wide it is. Even the new Curado I is cheaper than the chronarch E and the curado is better IMO. CI4+ is hard to beat IMO. Shimano upped their game with the new reels. I now have the new Curado I, Chronarch CI4+ and Metanium. They are all awesome.

Which chronarch? 200/50E or CI4+?

I am a member of BBC as well but have never bought anything off there. Just make sure the guy you buy it off of has a lot if posts. Try aren't going to spend time building up posts and respect just to screw a guy out of a few hundred bucks. Another site you could check out is Bigfatbass.com. Seems to be from the Toronto area mostly but you have to create an account to log into the classifieds. There is usually good stuff in there though.

The Dobyns 702SF spinning reel is not just a bass reel, it is a medium light bass reel which made this extremely challending. I would get this monster to the side of the boat and it would take off again. There was no horsing it in at all! It was all about playing the fishing and waiting. I was extremely surprised at how well that 2 power worked but I wouldn't want to do that too many time. It isn't good for the fish and it isn't good for my rod! Hopefully next time I tangle with one, it will be on my 5 series rods which have a little more backdone. Adam

Thanks Jimmer, Glad to see I am not over estimating the weight of that beast.

It was an awesome experience and it was released as quickly as possible. It did take a bit to revive though. All in all, I probably still won't jump into musky fishing but may specifically target them once in a while. I will just have to go out with someone who is set up for it. Adam

Oops

Yeah, the Stradic will need a new drag washer next year.

Lol, You have no idea! I have a buddy who has specifically stopped bass fishing this stretch of water because of the amount of musky he has caught there. It's nice and close to my place so I still fish it but this is only the second one I have ever caught. He catches a lot of them off of jigs with trailers. Again, he is bass fishing.

Let me start by saying that I do not fish for musky so this is only the second one I have caught. This will be a pb for a very long time as I don't think a lot of people trying to catch these wonderful fish have caught fish like this one. Decided to hit the Rideau with River Monster this morning for some bass. With the cold front and rain we received yesterday, I figured a slow presentation would be key. Decided to use my Dobyns Champion 702sf to throw some wacky rigs. I tied on a 1/16oz weighted wacky hook and attached a. Powerteam lures sick stick in white on there. I wasn't having any luck until this guy hit! And for those who think I am Bull'ing, I am not. At 44" I don't know if I will break this one anytime soon. I don't fish for musky but that fight made me want to a whole lot more! Any idea how much this would weigh? My guess would be in the 20 pound range but I have no idea. At the tail, I couldn't hold it because it was too big. River Monster had to revive her for me. Adam.

Agreed. While I can see why he appologized now, if any of his story was fact, why not just try to explain that to the two guys who confronted him in the first place? They actually started quite diplomatic. It only started getting a little confrontational a bit later. Because he is full of it, thats why...

There are a few things wrong with this. Depending on his license (if he even has one) if he has a conservation license, you wouldn't even be able to keep a musky. 2, he killed a fish under the slot size. 3, he intentionally threw it back in the water which is wasting fish and is also a chargeable offence. I do not target musky but if it was over the slot size and he kept the fish, I would have no issue with him killing it. But because he is a dirtbag and purposely killed a fish and let it float away, I think he deserves to lose his fishing priveledges as well as receive some hefty fines. I hope we hear what the end result of this is. Does anyone know what body of water this was on?

I have a bass tracker (Tracker marine. Same as Nitro) and am surprised you only received 1 key. I have two ignition keys and 4 or 5 compartment keys. As stated above, any merc dealer will be able to get you the key you need. A spare is always a good idea and the duct tape trick is also a good one.

Just because it is running does not mean that it should be run. Although you may have told the mechanic not to take it apart, how else would he have knwon what parts are needed? When there is damage present to the lower unit, you could have easily bent the shaft or messed up a gear inside and I think this mechanic had your best interest in mind when he pulled the lower unit. He cannot check these items without doing so. This is even more of a concern if you were running a stainless prop. Did the mechanic let you know if everything within the Lower unit was good? If so, I wouldn't worry but if he hasn't specified, I would not run until I got a better picture of what is going on. Just my thougths, Adam

I guess it is in the eye of the beholder. I average 13.5 with my 13 sierra with the same motor and 3.42 rear end. It is still way better than my Old f150 was. And Brian, if you don't think you need her permission, she is doing a better job than you think...

Hold up!! The wife SAYS you need a new truck? That is half of the battle my friend. If you aren't ready to step up to that, keep in your back pocket for future use! Adam

I never introduced myself either! Some know me from other forums but my name is Adam Lapensee. I fish mainly for bass in the ottawa area. I joined this forum when Fish-hawk.net went down but had lurked for quite some time. I try to post when I have any knowledge regarding any issues or problems guys have on here which doesn't happen very often. OFC has made its way into my daily rituals and I check in here at least once a day like many others here. Adam

Just remember that you will also be accessing everyone elses information as well which could cut down on the time you have to spend. As for the information. people do surveys of the water all of the time. Some is more accurate than others but for the most part, someone has had the job of charting the waters. They seem to be pretty good with the navigable waters but I have been on one lake where the data was way off. I am talking about the map stating 90FOW and me being able to see bottom 2 feet below the boat. This was an inland lake that was no more than 5 miles long.

Navionics + is the newest of the charts listed. It is actually a blank card that you download the maps that you want/need onto. From what I understand, you can download maps for up to 1 year after purchasing and you can only get the amount of maps that will fit on the card. If you need more maps, you have to buy another chip (Not likely). Navionics gold covers navigable water. It will have any woterbodies that have channels marked in them. Hotmaps is for inland lakes that are not classified as navigable (with Channels marked). Egsample, The great lakes will be on the gold where as while a local lake near your (for me mississipi lake) will only be on hotmaps. You can view which lakes/rivers are on the chips on the navionecs site but I am of the impression Navionics + is your best option.