bobby b.

I have 10 inch Helix G2ns front (DI) and rear (SI) all networked to an Ulterra (not to be confused with the Ultrex). All really works well and you can control the troller with either locator. The images are very sharp and Humminbird has a Max Mode feature button that shows all the data without filtering or interpreting anything. If you can find the G2 stuff it is allot cheaper and for inland lake stuff there is really no difference with the new G3 stuff as the only thing is an additional frequency for ocean type depths. I've had no trouble with any Humminbird unit and have had them back to the 700 and 900 series. I would have liked to try the Lowrance units but they are not 100% compatible with MinnKota. I also find the Helix easy to use but again I've gotten use to them. I do note that they seem to offer frequent software upgrades that I rarely do as they are for the most part not necessary.

Yep, go drop shotting for bass with night crawlers on the gravel points and after catching a few bass, the gills show up and you can get all you want .

Randy, Thanks for taking me walleye fishing and teaching me how to troll with metered line. Enjoyed our conversations that day. Bobby

walmart

Saw one fishing a point deep across from the Belle and then again up Clevenger (not bed fishing)

They have been running in the evenings in the darn area. Caught about 20 good size ones in an hour about 4 days about and 6-10 ever evening since.

I have been thinking about the Reata 212. Does anyone have one of these and if so how is the ride in rough water, rough like down at the darn in a mid summer weekend? Also Trition makes a similar rig, anyone have one of these?

Where is the closest free public ramp near the Landing - I use to put in down there before the Landing was built but now there is a sign in the parking south of Bass Pro indicating no public access?

Yes but there are multiple issues with my plan of totally replacing the outboard with the shallow water drive for both hunting and fishing. If I used the shallow water drive in the marshes I typical hunt areas where there are no wake allowed because of swamping other guys in layout boats so I would never plane off which is no problem for either the long tail motor or the shallow water drive motors. However, since the shallow water drives are much heavier than my existing outboard and that they extend further back off the transom, when I try try to plane off as in a fishing trip on the lake using the shallow water drive the front end of the boat will not come down because the boat is so light and because of the weight distribution. If there was a guy sitting in the front of the boat it might be OK. When the dealer told me this, it got me thinking that sometimes in a strong headwind the front end of the boat gets a little squirrel even now even with the outboard. I even considered replacing the boat with an all welded heavier boat which are built to handle shallow water drive outboard but I am just finishing several weeks of rework and welding of the boat blind on the existing boat and am not interested in a do-over on a new boat. Plus the heavier all welded boat requires even a bigger shallow water drive with a pivoting 180 degree prop because the normal gear reverse will not get a heavy boat unstuck off a mud flat in the marsh. It just like fishing or anything, it's hard to find a single boat or whatever that will meet every need 100%. My other boat is a fish/ski and I find it lacking at times in fishing or water sports. I've attached a link a shallow water drive video that some find find interesting. Thanks for your idea. Bobby

Really, the funny thing is all I wanted was help to determine which motor to buy ( for those that didn't remember the question😁😁) and I did get it ☺️but yesterday when I called a dealer to see about the purchase he told me that it won't work on my short transom boat or at least not safely ☹️ so now I'm back to the long tail which will work. Bobby

OK guys thanks for all the input including the funny stuff and the ones I did not understand. I believe I will sell my outboard and buy the Surface Drive Unit particularly since it's sooo cool and so I don't have to exchange motors every fall and spring and then store the other. My toys are starting to clutter the garage. Thanks again for your views on this. Bobby

Darn, I was counting on an answer from you. Bobby

I use a 1648 flat bottom Jon to fish up the rivers, over to Bull, etc. rather than pull my other boat from the slip down near the darn or drive on the water long distances. I am in the market for a mud motor to use on this Jon boat for duck hunting as I am getting too old for my small layout boat. Regarding the Mud Motor, I have two choices 1) get a long tail mud motor and exchange it seasonally with the outboard on the Jon or 2) trade the outboard in for a permanently installed shallow water drive Mud Motor. As I get older, option No.1 will get harder due to the weight of these motors (even with a hoist in my garage). In case you are not familiar with these mud motors, I’ve attached a pic of each. The long tails are direct drive and thus have no reverse and would be useless for fishing while the shallow water drive does have reverse and could possibly work for fishing yet not really as good as a traditional outboard. These are 25 hp air cooled motors producing noise similar to a lawn tractor. The Question - So if I opt for No.2, how much do you think my fishing would be affected by the engine noise or might it even be better as there is no exhaust thru the lower unit? Thanks for your thoughts on this. Bobby

I talked to a Suddenlink Tech that was doing some survey work on our street last week. He told be that Suddenlink has budgeted and already purchased equipment to do complete upgrades to their equipment in the Branson West area as they recognize their service is terrible. He claimed this will result in Gigbit speed. Interestingly enough, my bill went up again this month by $2.50 for something called "Network Enhancement". Hope it's true. Bobby

Mike, Thanks Bobby