Flambeau bag works great for me https://a.co/d/6DFBGaf

The max discharge current on the LiTime TM battery is different from their heated battery. They call that out specifically in the TM description but I can’t say I know how important it is.

There was a question about charging during storage. You’re not supposed to. They don’t discharge nearly as quickly as lead acid batteries, and the recommendations I’ve read say to just store them at 50-75% and forget about them until spring. Not sure about storing in sub-freezing temps.

You can add Bluetooth monitoring to any battery for $40, which I have enjoyed having. Link to Amazon: https://a.co/d/43uYpDh

The battery heaters are just small 12v silicone heating mats. Search them on Amazon. You can install them on a switch with or without a thermostat. I convinced myself this would be the solution if I needed it, but I haven’t needed it. I’m also pretty sure I could run my batteries for 2-3 full days before they’d go dead (36v system). They have sooo much more juice than my old Optima Blue Tops.

You don’t need a heated battery to use it in sub-freezing temps, only to charge it in sub-freezing temps. If you charge your batteries in a garage you’re probably good most of the time, and if you’re not you just need to warm the battery up. Just get one with low temp cut off so it won’t accept a charge when too cold. I have the LiTime TM model batteries (12v, 100ah) and they’ve been great so far. Not sure about the 24v models but can’t see why they wouldn’t also be good. Also, the batteries you get for your boat are not the same type of batteries that started fires in cell phones. The risk of fire is a non-issue.

I have the ultrex quest. Not a lot of time with it yet, but literally every feature is improved so far as I can tell. Better build, quieter, faster turning, more powerful, less battery drain, better ipilot. All of that has been true for me. Put lithium batteries on it (I went with LiTime 100ah TM batteries because of the price point) and you will be a very happy camper.

Bearcat89 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Ripjiggen wrote:</div>
Pretty sure you are keeping up just fine from the post I have seen BC.
Different strokes for different folks.

Yeah I do OK, I’m glad I don’t feel the need for a boat of that spectrum otherwise I’d have one. I prefer my boat to be ugly and under the radar. As long as it floats and moves, I’ll be happy. My money is invested elsewhere. One day I want to buy a newer boat. But everything I ask my self why I need a newer boat, I can’t come up with a reasonable explanation. I also hate loans, and prefer to own out right. I couldn’t write that check. When I wrote the check for my house, it hurt.

Bearcat, unless I’m mistaken you have one hell of a pension via the laborers union. That’s not generational wealth, but it means you will be able to retire and do well possibly before you are 60 years old. Not too shabby!

I hate to say it, because the bombas merino socks are my most comfortable daily merinos, but they don’t last. The heel will be bear within a year or so, and the forefoot won’t be far behind. I have bought replacements because they are seriously the most comfortable socks I have to wear with regular shoes (not boots).

The sturgeon issue is at the federal level. There’s nothing the state can do about it, and MN Fish only lobbies at the state level.

The Wisconsin article is about a member of Congress introducing a bill at the federal level.

The 2024 deadline on the sturgeon issue is for the USFWS to issue their determination. I don’t know anything about that process, but it’s clear that the matter is currently in the USFWS’s hands. Here’s the relevant court decision from 2021 (which relates to the advocacy group’s 2018 filing) that sets the 6/30/24 deadline: https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/lake-sturgeon.pdf

It would be terrible if sturgeon were listed as an endangered species in MN or WI at least. I 100% oppose it. If there’s an organized effort to oppose it out there, I’d donate to it. MN Fish ain’t it probably for a lot of reasons.

The ongoing issues with using this site seem to be limited to a select group. I’m wondering where I can put in a request to add certain people to that list? I’d definitely pay for that opportunity.

Many of you use this site just like a facebook group. This is your social media. Facebook is a viable alternative for those of you who want that.

Also, I can’t stop laughing when I see people threaten to leave this free-to-them website for not getting better service. LOL

I have Livescope (LVS34) and Mega Live on my boat. Garmin is better in my opinion.

If you choose Garmin, get the LVS34 transducer for sure. You can run it on any compatible Garmin screen and it will work great. Some will say that you should buy the biggest screen you can afford, but I’ll offer that if you’re using it exclusively for livescope the Echomap 10″ is ideal from a cost vs. benefit perspective. That said, the GPSmap 86XX series is Garmin’s premiere display. I run mine on an 8610 for non-livescope reasons. It’s exceptional, but costs substantially more than the Echomap.

Here are our pics. The 26” was definitely on its way out. Check out those crazy bulging eyeballs. We caught quite a few 17-18” fish. Between that and all the bait I have to believe the river is in great shape right now!

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http://www.scribd.com/doc/279788855/Minn-Kota-Repair-Manual

There is a whole section on Genesis beginning at page 47 of 113. It looks like the reset procedure is on page 67 of 113.

Yep, I’ll be there with Joe! Looking forward to it. Thanks, Mike and Jon for organizing!

I replaced the carpet in the cockpit of my ranger with aquatraction. Best thing I ever did for that boat. 100% durable without question. If you think you’ll like it, you will love it.

Does anyone use fluid film on their boat trailers? Would that make sense at all?

BrianF wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>MX1825 wrote:</div>
My understanding is NOT to use a lithium battery for a starting battery. Don’t know if that is true.

I replaced all of my wet cell batteries this spring and although was warned against using lithiums to start my 250 sho, I made the leap anyway when the manufacturer assured me that lots of guys were using them without issue. Since then, I’ve been battling with my motor shutting off instantaneously when at or near wide-open throttle and having 100% charge on the starting battery. Not good! Especially not good – and downright dangerous – during a tournament blast off. This is a premium 125AH lithium and probably an over-voltage issue with the motor when generating high output. I have yet to find a solution other than make sure my starting battery isn’t fully topped off, which alleviates problem. That’s not the right answer in the long run though.

BrianF what battery are you using as your starter? Is it specified as a starting battery?

I’ll add that sometimes there’s merit in avoiding polarizing issues to instead build a big tent for supporters of your broader agenda, and this can be especially true for a group that is structured like MN Fish seems to be. Grassroots efforts like yours (thank you!!) can come in big time on more controversial stuff in these situations. I’m super disappointed to hear that they might have actively opposed the two line bill at the legislature (is that the case?) instead of just standing to the side

Darren, I agree with everything you said. It’s the takedown of a group that supports fishing that seems wrong to me. They could do better in my eyes for sure and I wish they would.

I’ guessing part of the challenge is that it would take a lot more resources (i.e., full time staff) to run things the way you suggest. I would happily pay more to support that.

Gimrius, I think you’re running cheaper batteries longer than I am. I really like my blue top optima 31 batteries and am on my second set. They are $400 each. I got about 5 years out of first set of blue tops (except my starting/house battery which somehow is on year 7 right now). Lithiums cost a little less than double if you buy them in a bundle and should last a little more than double.

I listened to the podcast and thought most of what those guys said was nuts. They sounded like a bunch of know it all old men sitting around and stroking their egos. Happens every day.

I’m a big fan of two lines in MN, and thank you Brian for your work on that.

I support MN fish because they support fishing in Minnesota. It’s news to me that they didn’t or wouldn’t support the two line bill, and I wish they had. They are far from perfect no doubt, but I don’t see a reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

I can’t see how taking MN Fish down even a notch helps our community out. Are they hurting Minnesota fishermen? If I’m missing that, please let me know.

P. S. I think I love the idea of guides not being able to keep fish for their clients.

Can you share the amped discount?

You can also get a good deal on remanufactured ionic brand lithiums on eBay but they only have a 30 day warranty. That warranty makes me a little nervous of course.

When the most popular song in the country right now is about blue collar workers struggling financially, it’s easy to understand why unions are more popular and their proposals in bargaining are steep right now. I don’t mean that their proposals are right or good or whatever, but it’s easy to understand why they’re making them. Every business hopes it can pass along higher labor costs but it doesn’t always work out that way.

I’m researching options right now for a new boat. I need a starter/dual purpose and three deep cycles. I’m going to bite the bullet on the price because of the longevity of the batteries themselves in addition to the performance and weight. Math checks out for me over the 10+ year lifecycle for lithium vs AGM.

I’m not an expert but here’s what I’ve got in my brain right now from reading about them and discussing with a couple of lithium dealers:

There are lithium starting/dual purpose batteries available that work with basically any engine from what I can tell, though I’ve seen what seem like legit questions about the smaller motors. You can get starters with 800+ cranking amps and 100+ ah which should, in addition to starting a big merc four stroke, power some serious electronics all day long. If you decide you need more ah for electronics, you can run two of them in parallel if needed. But I have to say that 200+ ah is a lot of juice and seems excessive assuming you can charge at the end of the day. The alternative is to have a starting battery and a house battery. I like the convenience an efficiency of one battery but haven’t made a final decision on this.

I’ve got myself convinced that I don’t need heated batteries even though I fish the river all winter. As mentioned, lithiums will deliver power until their core temp is in the low single digits so there’s no issue using them in the cold. But I’m told by the dealer that they generate some heat while in use and while charging. So the heater just gets you over that hump to start the charging process. And it would be rare to have them get below freezing in a boat unless you have it sitting outside unused for a time before you want to charge them. If they’re enclosed on your boat and you put them on a charger within a reasonable time period after using them it’s highly unlikely that the core will be below freezing. You just need to make sure the battery’s BMS won’t accept a charge when the temps are below freezing. If you don’t have that and you try to charge them when they are below 32’ you can damage the battery, but assuming it has a BMS that prevents this and you have a good warranty (most seem to be 10 years), again, it sounds like the heater is probably unnecessary. I should mention that I have a heated garage which helps me feel better about this, but in any case I can’t see letting them sit outside unused for an extended period in the cold before I’d charge them in any case. Even if I need to charge them outdoors in the cold, I’d plug them in right away once off the water.

The heated batteries are popular for RV’s where they sit basically unenclosed and may not get used constantly. In a boat, even though you’re fishing in sub-freezing temps and possibly storing them outside, you are unlikely to need the heater unless, again, you want to charge them after they’ve been stored outside for a while. Both dealers I talked to sell heated batteries, both understand that I fish in the winter on the river, and both said it was highly unlikely to ever be an issue. I’m someone who never wants to worry about this and am willing to pay more … but they basically said it’s a waste of $ in a boat. I could be convinced otherwise if anyone here has had an issue charging their lithiums! Winter river fishing is a unique enough situation that I don’t 100% trust that I’d never ever hav an issue. But my starting battery is in a small compartment and I could throw a heater pack in there if necessary. The trolling motor batteries in my boat aren’t as enclosed and would be hard to warm up, but I can’t see running them dead (3x100ah) in a day either if it came down to it.

Finally, I’ve read the same thing about storing them at 50% charge or so. The discharge rate on a lifpo4 battery is very low, so the recommendation from the dealer is to leave them sit without a charger when in storage, even if that’s months on end. Note that this is not the case with the NMC lithium batteries (like the 32ah 14v ones you see) which have a higher discharge rate when sitting. The NMC batteries are great for ice shuttles and such because they are more compact, but you want a lifepo4 battery with a good BMS if you’re going to keep them in your boat full time.

I wanted to buy Norsk but they seem to be mostly unavailable. Ionic seems to be a good alternative at a little better price than Dakota.

No brainer if you’re interested in the trades – do it. Just about anyone who enters the union trades now and works for 25-30 years will have a million dollars++ worth of retirement no problem. Total packages for trades today are in the $65-$70/hour range including benefits, which is health and retirement 100% paid for. Take home is pushing $40/hr for most, and as mentioned there is a ton of opportunity to make more. If you want to work for yourself eventually, learn the trade first then go for it.

Here’s a link that shows earnings info for carpenters but the same logic applies to most trades: https://www.swacca.org/wage-comparison/

Thank you Darren and others that worked on this! It’s a great thing!

I have Wusthof classics and they’re awesome. I also have a few Misen brand knives and they’re a close second for a much better price. I also have the Misen steak knives and they’re fantastic. Misen.com

Lots of people in the cities think the rural areas are full of dumb hicks with guns, and they’re afraid of the rural areas. Lots of people in the rural areas think the cities are full of gang bangers with guns, and they’re afraid of the cities. Blah, blah, blah … both areas have plenty of problems and both stereotypes are flat out wrong. As importantly, either area would fail without the other. Some of you guys need to google “confirmation bias.”

Looks great! By coincidence, I made friend rice last night for the first time ever. I used pre-cooked rice I bought at Costco and it worked great in case you don’t have time to cook and cool it yourself.

I was down there with my son. He had a heck of a good time chasing those things around. The number of flies on the trees and bushes was incredible!

mike e wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Reef Whooligan wrote:</div>
flies, on the other hand, are driving me crazy. I’m going to try this. I assume the cup has to be blue for some reason?

The general consensus is that blue is best, but black works too. Tanglefoot Tangle Trap adhesive works best. Get the can with the brush cap, not the aerosol.

Never heard of this. It’s as simple as applying the tanglefoot to the cup and that’s it?