Today, Dec 5, is AMart remembrance day:

Gussy the Gussinator posted this FFS screencap of what to me look like generic blobs – can you tell what they are?

He says they're walleyes. If you hadn't spent 100s of hours using FFS and maybe didn't know that lake, not sure you'd be able to tell...UNLESS:

That's a pic of a "ghost" smallmouth at 30' on the Aqua-Vu cam. Pretty neat eh?

Gussy told me he could only get that smallmouth to come near the cam with a piece of freshly-shot loon tied to it...🤣

👉 Aqua-Vu stuff on TW

- John Cox talkin' a REAL bank-beater's diet! 🤣 Just messin' but it has me wonderin' if there's some mystical connection between Slurpees, MaxScent Generals and shallow water? From a real good Bassmaster post about John where he talks about a near tragedy that got him on his fishing career.

John didn't mention this, but it reminded me of all the times in my life and others' it seemed like something real bad happened (it actually did) but God just used it to get our attention or make us turn left or right to be on the path He wanted us on. Bless you Cox!

Wonder if John's bud Keith Carson likes Slurpees too or if he's more of a Slushie guy...😁

Just summing 'em up because some of you have been interested. The bottom line is that everything makes a difference: charger, batteries, wires, units. In fact, the units themselves make the least difference because they should dictate the rest.

"Makes a difference" means in what you see, what you can see, and how well it all works.

So here's what I've learned so far, some of which was in prior Blasters. Just putting it in one place here. Or maybe I should say it's stuff I think I've learned because some of you will know way more than I do, so pls check me on it.

How do you fish?

This is the biggest deal, such like:

• Do you use your electronics a lot? In what ways?
• Do you use your troller a lot? In what way? (shallow or Spot Lock)
• Do you typically spend a lot of time running on the big motor vs the troller?
• How long is your typical fishing trip? (for ex, 4 vs 8 hours)
• Do you fish for days in a row or only 1 day a week if you're lucky?
• Do you fish tournaments? How often?
• Do you want to have/learn the latest stuff no matter what?

Answers to questions like those will determine what electronics setup you actually need. For example, my current fishing sitch is:

• Mostly troller-only lakes
• Usually only get to fish at most 4 hours at a time, once a week at best
• I need to learn/see some of the latest stuff
• Don't need FFS but have it, and do need 360

So I need a powerful trolling motor setup (36v instead of the 24v I had) that won't die (better batteries – the wiring is good) and a charger that does not need to charge the batteries full overnight (less amps).

I also needed a better charging/cranking battery, but don't need a dedicated electronics one (I don't think so anyhow) because I don't fish long enough (hours) for it to make a difference in terms of electronics and trollers dying. 😢

Batteries, chargers, wiring

1. We don't need lithium batteries

Some pros – who fish a whale load more than the rest of us – don't even run lithiums and others might not run 'em if they didn't get 'em for free. That said, one guy with a big-time electronics setup told me he had all kinds of electronics problems that went away when he replaced every battery in his boat with lithiums.

AGMs are good – better than lead-acid and cheaper than lithiums.

Lithium and AGM battery maintenance (like over the winter) is different than for lead-acid.

2. All lithiums are not the same

Research 'em. Look at what pros are running – which batteries with what electronics. Ask buds, installers and even the electronics manufacturers themselves what lithiums play nice with their stuff and/or which ones to avoid using. The manufacturers will know and should want to help you so they don't get calls saying their units don't work right.

I got X2 lithiums because they place nice with Minn Kota/Bird and I got a heck of a deal on 'em.

3. Get the right charger for your setup

Lead-acid chargers aren't gonna do it for different kinds of batteries.

If you want a faster charge (like overnight), get a charger with more amps. Ask your battery manufacturer(s) what charger they recommend.

I got the 4-bank, 10-amp Minn Kota Precision Digital Charger. If I needed a dedicated electronics battery, I would need the 5-bank since I am running 3 12v batteries for the troller.

Note: Any battery that is more than 12v requires a special charger.

4. Make sure you have the right wiring and wires

Don't just connect your new electronics and troller to your existing wires. The new stuff needs more power and has more powerful computer chips, so the entire power system has to be able to support that. If you have a newer boat, it might be wired okay for everything – but check anyway. If it's not newer, you probably don't have the right wiring.

If you don't have enough full (ish) power supply to your electronics for however long you fish, your graphs will start to not read as well/crisply, and your trolling motor might start to get buggy.

From what I've seen, seems like 6ga and 8ga is the way to go. BUT I am not an expert!

Word is that harnesses like SonarPros and Sea Clear Power are good.

I got my battery-to-battery cables from BatteryCablesUSA. Cheap, fast and good.

5. Get EXPERT help if you can

Find folks who know what they're talking about (from experience) and can help. Shout out to MI electronics legend TimmE who helped me a ton by phone – thanks much man! 💪

Maybe it's a bud, maybe it's an actual shop that does this stuff or a boat dealer, maybe it's someone else. I think the best thing is to take it to a shop that rigs boats – if you have one nearby that you hear good things about and you can afford it.

Second-best is getting someone on the phone to walk you through this stuff. If you're confident and experienced yourself with this stuff, you can probably apply the knowledge you have to this new electronics setup world. If you want to DIY it outta thin air, you have more stones than I do!

Some thoughts on units and trollers in a future Blaster.