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Post by tarheelwx on Sept 15, 2014 19:47:57 GMT -5
New member and first post. My Dad and i built a house on SML when I was a kid and I fished alot from Hales Ford Bridge to Indian Creek, mostly out of a leaky aluminum john boat with old as dirt 9.9hp evinrude. I caught fair numbers of crappie, largemouth, smallmouth, and even a few walleye. Unfortunately, my striper fishing efforts were not as fruitful as I would have liked. Nevertheless, I loved pulling gizzard shad on a freeline or on balloons and seeing the action behind the boat. Well, my dad sold his place in the late 90's and I haven't been back since.
Now, I've bought a new 18' Mako center console with 115 Optimax and I'm ready to get back to striper fishing at Smith Mountain. I really like the boat and now is the time to add the trolling motor (iPilot?), depth finder, rod holders, etc. If it were you, what would you put on? I've used driftmaster rod holders in the past and loved them. Maybe there are better options? As for iPilot, how is it for maneuvering around piers whenever I want to bass fish? I've used a foot control motorguide for so long that I can do it with my eyes closed. I'm a little hesitant to get a trolling motor that would ty up my hands vs. still just using my feed.
Thanks for your input.
Tarheelwx
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Post by CorneliaGale on Sept 15, 2014 20:02:41 GMT -5
Take a look at the older posts and look at the rod holders, a lot of different views, mostly what you like and what you have and how much money you want to spend. Trolling motors, you will get different answerers from different people, some like one some like another. Depth finder the best you can afford, If you look back there a a bunch of threads on fishfinders and rod holders and trolling motors. Welcome to the forum and hope you continue to ask questions and join in.
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Post by mwardncsu on Sept 15, 2014 23:16:32 GMT -5
Welcome Tarheelwx - though if you're truely a "Tarheel" fan, I'm not sure how welcoming I can be I moved this post to the intro section since it was not a report - just trying to keep things tidy. CorneliaGale has some good advice. With the MinnKota Terrova or Riptide (saltwater version of the Terrova), or the lower-thrust version (PowerDrive v2) - if you have iPilot you can still get a foot pedal to control - I use mine on rare occasion when artificial casting off the front deck at night. Lots of good options on fish-finders at different price points - the Humminbird or Lowrance products both will do you right - Lowrance's Elite series are good units for the money - just not expandable like the HDS units to add side-scan, etc. Rod holders - personal preference. I use the Cabelas (Scotty) QuickDraw's. They have served me well thogugh I did manage to catch the edge of a high dock last weekend and pop the top part off into the lake in 10' of water - need to go back with my castnet next weekend and see if I can retrieve it.... I like them in that I installed the round flush-mount bases and I can take them off the boat if we are going to be out playing around on the water with the family.
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Post by greenmonster on Sept 16, 2014 6:31:30 GMT -5
Hey and Welcome! Congrats on the new boat, nothing makes fishing more enjoyable than doing it from a boat you like and that is well set up. Lots of great opinions here, but I will add mine to the mix. I was recently in your position, equipping a new-to-me boat. I am pleased with the depthfinder Elite 5 DSI but asward says, it can't be expanded to sides can. I am not blown away by it, but the way I fish, GPS, depth, and structure readings are all I need. If you need more and can afford it, get the advice from the guys here who live by theirs.
I made two mistakes on the trolling motor that are going to cost me. First, I underbought. 55lbs is enough for my boat MOST of the time, but I have learned the hard way to overpower your boat when it comes to trolling motors. BTW, Get the saltwater version if there is ANY chance it will ever even smell salt - I did that right at least but have seen the results of those who didn't after a few seasons. The second mistake was getting the co-pilot vs the I pilot. HUGE mistake. Copilot is GREAT, but I pilot is far far far better. Get it and don't look back. I read one bad review of it ,something about it going nuts and spooking redfish at the most inconvenient moments, and I got cold feet. Later, I got to see one in action and now will be upgrading my motor to an 80# ipilot.
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BentRod
Global Moderator
Posts: 2,252
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Post by BentRod on Sept 16, 2014 8:16:14 GMT -5
I agree with all of the above except that the ipilot is far far better. Copilot/autopilot is just an older simpler version of the ipilot and it can do everything the ipilot can - just takes a little more awareness from the operator. The copilot remote is 10000000x better than the ipilot remote from a usability standpoint. Goes back to value to me - would I get $400-500 more in value from an ipilot - answer to me is nope. If they would make an ipilot remote that you could strap to your wrist, it would greatly improve it's usability in my opinion.
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Post by greenmonster on Sept 16, 2014 8:51:39 GMT -5
Bentrod, my TM is co-pilot only - no auto pilot, so that may make a big difference. I havent compared auto-pilot to ipilot. I suppose a lot has to do with how you plan to use it. One of the biggest aggravations I have found is something as simple as changing flies/and or lures. Re-tying a knot while the wind is blowing the boat into shore is a real pain with the co-pilot, because you are constantly having to stop what you are doing to adjust. I also flyfish, which is a constant two-hand operation, so having spot lock and or a constant heading would have saved me more fish than I care to admit to. How do they ALWAYS know when you arent ready for the bite, anyway?
YMMV, just my experience.
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Post by tarheelwx on Sept 16, 2014 13:48:05 GMT -5
Can someone tell me the difference between auto pilot, co pilot, and iPilot?
Also, how many gizzard shad or alewives can I keep in an 18 gallon livewell? Thanks, TW
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Post by greenmonster on Sept 16, 2014 14:43:01 GMT -5
Co-pilot is a basic remote-operated trolling motor completely dependant on the user's direction. Think of it as "point and shoot" - press the button on the little remote around your neck for direction and speed, on and off, and the trolling motor does what you said, maintaing the rpm/direction regardless of the boats actual speed or direction.
Ipilot is also a remote operated system, but the trolling motor has a gps sytem and can be told to maintain a specific speed and or direction, compensating for wind and current (theoretically!). It also has a feature called "spot lock" that will hold the boat in one place, again, compensating for wind and current.
I honestly dont know much about auto pilot at all, so others may be able to help.
As for your last question, not sure but I believe the formula is one less than the amount of wood a wood chuck would chuck, if a wood chuchuck could chuck wood.
Or was that a serious question?
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Post by tarheelwx on Sept 16, 2014 16:14:48 GMT -5
Actually the question was serious. 18 gallon tank. How many 8" gizzard shad can I reasonably keep alive for 12 hours? Same question for 4" alewives. Thanks TW
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Post by mwardncsu on Sept 16, 2014 16:48:14 GMT -5
Let's move the bait question to either the Striper fishing section or the bait tank section - and the trolling motor discussion to the electronics section - it will get better visibility and be more useful for others in the future to find and read
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