Lape0019

Congrats, IMO, you just picked up one of the most user friendly units to navigate throught the screens. It you bought the gold, you will need to go into the system to turn on the chart you need (same as plugging any chip in any finder other than that gold card has three different maps on it) Also, if you want to get any useful information on how to use the unit, go on the lowrance site and download the user manual. The brochure that comes with it is pretty much only good to start a fire.

If you are considering an x4, go to west marine and take a look at the elite 5 dsi gold. I have the unit (less the gold part which I bought my own maps later) and love it. It took some getting used to to find fish but once you get the hang of it, it is great. It is great for reading structure right of the box. Mine does cut out around 30mph though so if you are going faster than that, try Something different if you care. The reason I suggest this model by the way is that at west marine they had a Promo for the elite 5 dsi gold for $399.99. That is almost $300 off from when I bought mine. The elite 7 is driving the price down and for what that unit is going for, I am tempted to sell mine and upgrade. Adam

I use it on one rod only. The rod is my spinnerbaits/buzzbait rod. I prefer the stretch of it for both Techniques. I use mostly braid but I am trying a mainline floro for a crankbait/jerkbait rod this year.

Another vote for but game!!!! I have tried suffix as well and it was way too stretchy so I missed a few hook sets. Went back to bug game and all is good. It is cheap compared to other products, but if it works, I am not changing.

Well that sucks, I don't think there is anything you can do. He "cleaned" It to his standards and disposed of the rest. I wouldn't consider it poaching at all as it isn't out of season and he did eat and keep some of it. My suggestion would be to point him to the YouTube videos that show how easy it is to get 5 nice filets off of a pike without having to deal with the bones or if you know how, show him how easy it is. This of course is just my point if view. I have never kept a pike because I can't be bothered to clean them. I am considering keeping one this year to try this technique out because the guy ends up fileting the fish in under 5 minutes and gets a good amount of meet off of it. Adam

Well from what I am reading, it sounds like you have the HFE. It stands for something like High fuel efficiency. If you have the 3.6 with 8 speed and it came with a tri food to each as well as active grille shutters, you have the HFE model. It also talks about a stop start system whatever that is.

That's actually really good to know. That 8 speed must be doing wonders and must be geared pretty well because no one seems to be too happy with the 3.8 in the jeep. Everyone is crying for the 4.0 litre to return... And because if the gearing/tranny, fuel mileage is horrible.

Oh I absolutely agree a 55 would be too small but it will get the job done in most circumstances. Heavy chop though and it will be useless. He just didn't ask if he should upgrade the size and so I didn't comment. For what he wants to do, the w55 sounds like it will do it and will be fine at it about 90% o the time so I really didn't think of saying anything.

In all honesty, I love the looks of these trucks but hate the product... I don't know why either because I am considering a jeep for my next tow vehicle (4 door to get an alright towing capacity). Your posts definitely have me thinking though. No boat I will ever own will be heavier than the max towing capacity of that thing and if you are getting fuel numbers like that, they must have done something right!!! I am getting roughly 18mpg out of my old f150 so the gas savings alone would be enough for the payment of that thing!!!! Out if curiosity, is your ram the HFE model? That is supposed to be their most fuel efficient.

Just bought a boomerang clip tonight!!! That thing works great!!

This is true. The pedal on the terrova is waterproof while the pedal on the power drive is not so it tends to short out more often. My dad has a power drive and the motor itself is fine but the stow deploy mechanism absolutely sucks compared to the terrova.

That is true. I use a dobyns champion 702SF for dropshotting. The rod is recomended to be used for Dartheads, Shaking Worms, Shaky Heads, Tubes & Gitzits. It is a medium light rod with a fast tip and works just fine. I used this rod as well on the long weekend for Perch and it worked fine. I have had some people tell me that the 701SF which is recomended for dropshotting is too light of a rod for the purpose. Personal preference when it comes to fishing is Key. Like JBailey said, you don't have to buy a specific rod for that technique, but if you wanted to the recomendations for that rod really help pick the right one.

Thats funny, I have taken a different approach to the 5 day forecast. As soon as the 5 day is up for a day of the week I want to fish, I look for the worst day out there and pick it to go fishing. By the time the day comes around, they are usually forecasting sunny and little wind. Seems to work for me. Although if I have figured this out, I don't know why they can't. I figure they just say rain all the time and if they are wrong, we are still happy. If they said it was going to be nice all of the time and it rained, no one would be too happy happy with them!!!!

My go to is definitley Spinnerbait fishing for Bass. I don't know why but it just seems to be my confidence lure. I love watching Bass smoke a Buzzbait or Frog though. That never gets old.

If it is, there is no tension adjustment on that motor. Cable drives are definitely faster for turning but once you get used to the electric drive, it is manageable. I hated the fact that mine had a continuous on setting for trolling but as soon as you took you foot off the pedal it will turn on a dime. I have no reason to think the w55 will do the job but that pro series I had left a sour taste in my mouth. I will never go back to Motorguide unless it is given to me. Since it sounds like you will be going with the w55, it would be nice to here how you like it after a few times out with it. Adam

The easiest way I can describe it is a hook attached to the main line and a tag of whatever length you want with a pencil styled sinker on the bottom. You then attach a plastic of some sort to the hook and fish (for the most part) vertical beside the boat. The finesse name comes into play with how you move the bait. With a tight line you either provide a little movement to the bait by raising and lowering the rod tip very slightly while leaving the sinker on the river bed. You can also move it side to side a little bit to get the bait to dance in one spot. It could also be described as finesse because of the style of baits that are typically used. In bass fishing, this would not be called a power fishing technique ( cranks, jerks, spinnerbaits... I think you get the idea) nor would it be a top water so I don't think it would have anything else to be classified as. Adam

Since I have switched to minnkota, I will never go back. The wireless system should do what you want and seeing as you are used to an electric drive motor, there should be very little learning curve. I would see if they will swap it out for a PD or terrova though. Even the cable drive minnkota's seem to track better as you can usually tighten down the play in the cables. I am assuming you have a pro series Motorguide that the cables cannot be adjusted to tighten them down a bit.

The last few years I just got wet feet from wearing tennis shoes. This year I have gotten sick of being wet and cold and just ordered a bps 100mph rain suit. To compliment the suit, I am planning on buying a set of of Soloman shoes like these that are made with gore tex to be waterproof yet still breathable. http://www.gore-tex.com/product/salomon-exit-2-gtx-shoe/1324239403453/ Hopefully I am done with being wet while fishing in the rain!!!! Adam

I use the spinshots almost exclusively. I like them and haven't missed any fish yet. I don't like the amount of tying involved though. I rigged up two with a sinker for perch a few weeks back and they worked extremely well. Adam

Wire cutters or really sharp scissors works best for me. When you are saying the Berkley product, are you talking about the one that cuts or the one that acts like a soldering gun?

I had an old 343 for two seasons and the only thin I didn't like was the size of the screen as it was just too small. I have used down imaging and it is a great tool that you should enjoy. It looses signal and higher speeds but I don't think that will be an issue for you. The nice thing for you is humminbird has both standard and do on the same unit. It does sound like you don't want to switch screen sizes to a 5" so although it would help you when using di, it isn't a big deal if you are satisfied with the smaller screen. There are a few YouTube videos on this unit already that would probably help you make your decision. Good luck, Adam

Man, I haven't seen any of that stuff for over a month here. I would not have been happy.

The 60 amp model is MKR 19. I think I had to order mine in from my local store but I got it in. It was pretty pricey but I wanted to make sure I ordered all of the right stuff. The terrova isn't exactly a cheap unit and I wanted to ensure I had all of the right stuff. If you follow the guidelines from minnkota, 10 to 20 feet requires 8awg so yeah for around 4 feet I would be happy with 8awg and seeing as he upgraded, he won't have any issues. It's only a matter of time before we will be able to follow contours so at least he has the unit that can do it so when we do get the charts, he will be able to do it.

Yeah, a ten pound of any anchor will do you fine. It is not so much the anchor that holds you in place but more about how much rope you let out. The rope acts like a shock absorber so you need to let out enough rope to let the anchor do the job. The rule of thumb I read in ontario out doors a few years back was if you are in 25 fow, let out 75 feet of rope. The chain acts like a secondary shock because it will lay on the lake bottom and only move up and down if the water is rough and the rope pulls too hard on it. The chain is typically not needed but useful when the time comes. Adam

With 4 feet to run, I wouldn't think you will have a problem with 8awg. The cable comin out of the TM to my plug is 10 awg (normal for the 80 pound) so having a little extra of 10awg won't be a huge issue. I love the terrova and wish I would have switched over sooner. I have a bass tracker 190 tx and the 46 pro series try out on there is diffident if you have it full tilt on a calm day with no waves. Other than that, you are basically sol. I don't know what they were thinking putting that small of a motor on a boat that big. The ipilot itself is an awesome toy. I have last years model which has the ability to save 6 tracks and 6 waypoints. An awesome feature but the new one is even better that can follow edges if hooked up to a humminbird fish finder. My favourite feature is actually spot lock. I use it when fishing for perch or dropshotting for bass. it really helps stay in the spot and keep your presentation vertical. I believe you will love your new toy. Keep us posted as to what you think. Also glad to see it was a simple install for you. It took me almost 2 days because I had to rip the boat apart and get parts here and there. Good luck and happy Fishing!!!! Adam