Raycaster

Surprised no geeks have replied. cons: Parts approx: $200. pros: Universal ipilot for ANY TROLLING MOTOR with a foot pedal!

Was at Bass Pro today and I guess I have been out of the loop as I just noticed Minn Kota updated the Terrova with Bluetooth and Android/IOS apps. Of course I bought mine last year and the bluetooth upgrade looks like Minn Kota offers no way to upgrade. I got to thinking that it might be possible just to hard wire into the foot petal and let a raspberry pi with GPS and bluetooth addon unit control it. And then perhaps custom Android apps could database more than 5 spotlocks etc. and make for a nice GUI for easier control. My Python is pretty rusty but there is a ton of canned code available... hmmm. just a thought, maybe could even poll quicker gps for a tighter spotlock. JUST THINKING OUT LOUD.

Thanks guys you are great. I'm on the hunt now locally before asking for favors...

Finishing up some brackets for the boat using 1.5" square tubing etc. Thought some plastic end caps would be nice but can't seem to find locally in Hamilton. I have struck out so far with the usual big box stores in the area. Easy to find online but hoping just to pick some up. Any hints would be appreciated.

Tom, I think your on to something with the gold chains. They seem to be Grade 70 Transport Chain.

Thank you for the replies guys, yes of course I'll go heavier for the safer option. My trailer is a used tandem axle that has been modified for pontoon use with any specs long gone or simply not applicable any more due to the mods. I will look into the "4 x the individual tire weight rating" for sure. Again thx for the help.

Not sure about gold colored chains but most chains are high strength steel with their diameter dictating their towing safety specs. Although most new chains will be 100% better than my old ones I'm just wondering how heavy duty I need to go.

Finished installing the fold away coupler for the trailer but still have to put a new chain on. Again, not really sure on my trailer or boat specs so the chart suggestions are kinda ballpark still. I have a 22' tandem axle pontoon trailer with a small 16' pontoon. The old chain had unsafe links, was rusty and now I have to extend from behind the coupling so its new chain time. Can i pick up the chain and bolts at PA? Suggestions on chain size and also what type "shiny, hot dipped etc" Thx ahead.

Thanks IronMaker, it would be nice to know the approx specs for ant future upgrades etc.

Sounds good too me too Dara. Its the bolt on version so pretty easy to install.

Got a great deal on a Fulton Fold Away 3"X4" coupler for my trailer. It looks like an easy install but wondering about: Gross Trailer Weight Max Tongue Load These measurements basically work out the Max Pivot length for the coupling. The unit comes with a chart but my 22" tandem axle trailer was converted to a pontoon trailer and impossible to track down the exact into. My boat is a old 16' pontoon with a 30hp and I always assumed purchasing the used tandem trailer for conversion was overkill for safety etc. For a 36" pivot the chart shows a 6000lbs Gross Trailer Weight and 600lbs. Max Tongue Load spec. Really want to get the boat in the garage this year...

Thx guys. Phoning today

Here is the minn kota mount.

Took a few years but I saved up for the Terrova 80 as mentioned. Here is a pic of the mount and pic of the transducer mount. The transducer in in a 1/2" PVC pipe I believe (perfect to bend if caught on rock etc.) Still haven't designed a better front gate setup but soon... If you have a bimini or face heavy winds you'll want 80lb minimum.

Got an idea I'd like to keep the boat in the garage this winter but looks like a Fulton Fold Away Coupler may be needed to make space. I see PA has the 3X3 but does anyone sell the 3X4 in the Hamilton area? I see them online but with shipping costs etc. would be cheaper local I hope. thx.

I just happen to have a 16' pontoon and just installed a 80 Terrova iPilot US2 on the front. I've used it one weekend solid and it worked great. Its quieter than I thought and the 2 batteries (27) lasted 3 long days without a recharge (although should be charged daily). 3 problems (no fault of Minn Kota) The mk-23 Minn Kota quick release plate. The concept is great but the holes are tough to line up with the floor carpet making it .0001% unflat. Had to modify my front pontoon gate and have to figure out a water guard when the gates open. The top speed is slightly slow for trolling for musky. BTW, the Terrova I purchased also has the Universal Sonar so that would take care of your transducer install.

I'm embarrassed... Friend bought one for me and I thought it was a screwed up crank bait or something! Had no action and just sat on the top like a dead fish waiting for seagulls to grab it, useless.. LOL! signed... newbie

This chased me off Balsam last year.

About 6 weeks ago I posted in the forum asking about bimini repair shops. Members were great and followed up with the names of reputable shops etc. I contacted a few but quickly found out that it is their busiest time so my job would be put in que accordingly. I 100% understand shops putting $1000 jobs ahead of mine so I thought I'd have to wait for the slow time (next winter). Anyways, I got a reply back from Freshtrax that his wife may have time for the job. He stated that she wasn't professional but would give it her best shot. I dropped it off and a few days later was told to come pick it up as it was done! Got around to installing it today and just have to say "WOW"! After looking at the bimini I felt bad as it wasn't as easy as I explained and probably took alot of time. Another big bonus was actually meeting Freshtrax and talking fish with him. Couldn't meet a nicer guy and one of the reasons this forum is invaluable to me.

We hit Big Gull Lake once a year and have no problem with the walleye numbers. We are far from "pro level" and still have pretty good success. Most of the vets on the lake troll the narrows while we just rip the weeds hoping for a combo of pike/walleye. As mentioned, there seems to be a lot more baby pike in the past few years so I can see the ratio tipping in the future.

The best feature of having navionics on your phone is when fishing in the dark on unfamiliar lakes. Even on lakes like Big Gull Lake its pretty easy to mix up what narrow to go through and get lost.

No chance for hotspot, no data on lake. I've been an owner of the navionics app since the first android US & Canada maps came out. As I've posted a few times before, I love mobile Navionics but it has had some serious problems. Still remember buying the Android HD version and having 1/3 of the map viewing blocked out by other Navionic Ads for addons to purchase! Had all my maps erased after not updating the first year. Even with the problems I'm still a huge fan of their apps. I also have Vexilar Sonar setup (part of the beta) so I really enjoy the app but sometimes it seems like more options are more important than just basic operations. Pushing the user for wireless data integration kinda defeats it original best feature. I feel the data login etc. is more geared for piracy protection than actually improving the product (like many PC games now a days).

Cell reception was hit and miss with half the txts being sent didn't get through. I'm going to contact navionics support to see if its possible to download Ontario as I have a 128G Ipad! I swear I never had these problems with the original US & Canada lakes $14 for my phone. It used a big chunk of memory up on my phone (around 5-7 Gig I think) but the phone had 16G and even with a few apps and music I still had space. I never used data and after the initial wifi download at home I had access to all maps every time. In truth the depths were not really needed as I know the lake pretty well and have 3 fish finders on board... But at $75 for an app its easy for an old guy like me to grumble...

Thanks for info guys, will be making calls tomorrow. Sinker, we stayed at Big Gull Cottages and basically stayed in the Chimney Island area just jumping weedbed to weedbed in 8-12 ft. Landed a 37" pike but the rest were small and we probably tossed 15 "snot rockets" over the weekend. Steady walleye action just casting and ripping minnow lures in the weeds. Trolled awhile by the narrows but not productive... Nicely only found 1 OOS bass...

Had a great weekend on Big Gull Lake, sorry no pictures as it was just too hot to fart around with a camera or gopro. The Good: Lots of Walleye, Sunny days, New Minn Kota Terrova, Great friends. The Bad: Navionics (Ipad) let me down again, thought map was downloaded but no and of course no internet service up there. I swear the old Canada Lakes Android version was 10X better with never needing to update your maps (you just download them all one time). I know it's more efficient to just download what you need but the new tablets and phones have a ton of memory on them so who cares? Pay $75 for the latest Ipad version and get no depth maps the whole weekend... A little unhappy but what can you do? A ton of baby pike everywhere, I swear in 5 years the lake will be a big pike factory. The Ugly: Boat prop took some punishment (Totally my fault). I have an old 30hp Yamaha with a 9 7/8 X 11 1/4 F prop that got one of the blades torn up. Tried hammering a bit but it was weak and the piece just snapped off. Not sure if it is repairable? Never bought a prop before and have no idea on the cost of repairs or a new one. I'm in the Hamilton area if anyone knows of a local prop repair shop just pm me, I'd appreciate it.