Asking for in person help :-)

I will be coming over from Indiana the weekend of May 6th with my fiancee. Looking to fish both Saturday afternoon into the evening and Sunday until 1ish I would like extend an invitation out there to someone that knows the lake and is willing to "guide" us to where we need to go based on the conditions. For now I would say one seat is available but that could work into two once we get the cob webs worked out. The boat is a 20' Grady-White so three adults is easy. I have pretty much all the gear but you are welcomed to bring your favorites. I have big boards, down riggers and iLink steering on the trolling motor so we have everything covered. I prefer to troll over jigging or drifting but am open to learning new techniques.

Rules of the boat are simple; be courteous and respectful. Trump, Hillary, or Bernie jokes are allowed. Smoking is only allowed down wind. Bring your own lunch and drink. Other than that we take turns reeling in fish :-) So if you are the right person with some fishing knowledge looking for a "free" ride send me a PM message and we talk.

Thanks!

Tracy

I can't help as a guide, but I'm interested in your trolling motor setup on your Grady. I might have the same boat and am considering at TM for mine. I sent you a PM.

I have the Tarpoon which turned into the Tournament... it is the "bow rider" style but still the front is pretty high. I bought the Minn Kota Terranova 85lb (24 volt) 60 inch shaft iLink with a Hummingbird 859 fish finder chart combo unit. It took me a while to figure out how to use the "auto pilot" and "cruise control" Those are the basics. then you learn how to set waypoints and "iTracks" and map out your own path. Then there is follow the contour! I fish a lot by myself or with either my 80 year old father or my fiancee in the boat so having the boat drive its self is awesome.

My complete setup is I have a big motor (115 Merc) and a 9.9 Merc ProKicker. I prefer trolling with the 9.9 as it can slow way down. I disconnect the steering rod between the motors and lock the ProKicker straight so it wont turn. I trim the big motor out of the water so it doesn't act like a rutter. Then I "program" the iLink.... as easily with a point the Minn Kota and set on autopilot or more advanced to follow an existing iTrack or contour through the Hummingbird. I set the throttle on the 9.9 to push the boat about 1.0 mph, then I set the Minn Kota to cruise control at my desire trolling speed, normally 1.8 or 2 mph. The Minn Kota prop normally spins around 4.

Fishing like this is ideal if the lake is less than 2 ft waves and the wind is less than 10 mph. When the waves pick up then my nose will bounce more. The 60 inch shaft gives me 14-16 inches of depth so the electric motor start to break out of the water. I kinda wished I had bought the 72" shaft but normally when I start getting bounced around that much I am looking for a calmer place to fish anyway. The other thing is normally with waves comes the wind. Once in a while the wind will grab the boat and really push it off course This happens in the 20 mph gusty situations. I have fished in 16 mph sustained winds with 2+ waves... it is more work keeping the speed constant and direction straight but doable.

Fishing like this, the 24 volt charge will go about 10 - 12 hrs. I will probably install a system to charge the 24v system from my big motor (38 amp alternator) someday.

Yes there is a learning curve here and honestly I was a little frustrated at first. But now that I have it down I love it and would do it again in a heart beat.

Feel free to ask your specific questions now :-)

PM sent. I will be on the lake that weekend any help I can provide let me know.