Pepe

I think that is right. I know it is over 100 - the biggest they had up in Springfield when they installed it.

3 year old Minn Kota Fortrex 36volt Bowmount Trolling Motor. $600 picked up in Shell Knob. It has worked flawlessly for me. Am selling only because I bought a fancy TM with Anchor and other high-tech modes. Description below; The Minn Kota Fortrex Bow Mount Trolling Motor was designed to be the toughest, most trouble-free trolling motor ever made. Fortrex's innovative Mono-Arm Design features an extruded, anodized aluminum structural beam that operates with no metal-to-metal contact and 75% less torsion. A single hinge point and rear pivot bearing with 20% more surface area deliver less wear, longer life, and quieter operation than traditional motor mounts. Counter-Tension Stabilizer (CTS) uses an integrated spring that applies force whether the motor's stowed or deployed. On the water, that translates to a motor with no play, no give, reduced steering torque, and silent operation. Fortrex's patented Lift-Assist design cuts the weight of stow and deploy in half, making it as easy as lifting your SUV tailgate. It features a stainless steel, nitrogen-charged gas spring to get you in and out of the water with ease. Lifting the motor and bowguard off of the mount is now even easier on Fortrex. Just remove a single cap screw. The patented Removable Bowguard 360 also features a dual bearing system that eliminates noise and allows for improved breakaways from any angle. A newly designed foot petal is ultra-responsive, with more room for your foot and more exact speed control. The Digital Maximizer controls and optimizes power to extend battery life and reduce damaging heat. You'll stay on the water up to five times longer on a single charge. The new indestructible composite shaft is, pound-for-pound, stronger than steel. It flexes on impact and won't break, kink or corrode. It is the only trolling motor shaft that's guaranteed for life. Nothing runs cooler or more quietly than a Minn Kota. The extra large windings and commutators dissipate heat, resulting in cooler operation, extended battery power, and longer motor life. And the unique bearing system reduces friction to cut fish-spooking noise. So quiet, they'll never hear you coming.

Nice! 8+ lbs?

Congratulations, but I wouldn't call that a bad day. We are head that way in the morning and hope to have better luck then last week.

Here are some pics. You can see the foot pedal has been placed on a shaped metal "shelf" that sits inside the troll- well. The pedal is wireless and apt to fly away if not screwed down. It requires batteries so the screws need to be readily removable. You our can also see how the release mechanism (I can't see how it can be accurately called a foot release) is blocked by the shaft and cord. And is placed VERY close to the unstable front tip of the boat. Therefore I am useing a stick until a better idea comes along. The handle is a Cannondale Mountain bike left hand stem 1.38" ID. It is hollow, very secure, lightweight and strong. Bike shops also sell only the clamps, so you could insert whatever piece of pipe, wood, etc as a handle. This is now mounted between the temporary blue rope and the shaft stop collar.

We are looking for a place to have a small private fishing event and retreat for special needs child and caretakers. I came across the Flying M Ranch in Inola but don't see much in the way of reviews. It is important that the children are able to catch fish and the adults can get some much needed stress relief. Any information is welcome and PRivate Message is fine. Thank you.

Follow up report. We have been out in this wind and I am super impressed with the performance of this MG, but something had to be done about the deploy & stow problem. I attached a "handle" a few inches below the head and added a rope between the head and the handle. A mountain bike stem works perfectly as the handle. I will replace the temporary rope with a traditional pull cable. I still need to keep on the front deck a stick to depress the poorly placed gray release lever. I am using an adjustable cane and hope to find a way to make a modification to eliminate this need. The foot control is in the same well my old pedal was in, but since it has less height an aluminum "shelf" is needed to raise it flush with the deck. It takes some practice to get used to but I'm getting better at it. The heading & anchor lock mode are the prime features and they work well.

I am happy it works for you. The WAY he ties the knot makes it much easier. Here is the video

I removed (and am keeping for now) a perfectly good MK Fortex and installed a MG Xi5 strictly for the "Anchor" feature that does not require any new graphs. I have Lowrance Gen 1 and some of the fancy features from the new MG won't jive with them, but I don't care. The motor is a mix of brilliant and stupid. PROS: 1) The anchor feature works very well. 2) The handheld fob is convenient and easy to get used to. The foot pedal is almost irrelevant. 3)You can "jog" 5 feet any direction with a push of a button. Want to move 20 feet? Push 4 times. 4)Transducer is in the motor head. CONS: 1) The deploy and recovery of the motor is very poorly designed. The worst I have ever seen. The release and recovery spring is activated by a pedal which is blocked by the shaft and curly cord, leaving you bent over at the very tip of the boat wrestling with a motor that has no recovery rope. When released to deploy, it drops like a concrete block, swinging rapidly and forcefully forward and down. 2) Fob cord got caught on the motor head darn near yanking me out of the boat. 3) No way to add sidescan transducer. 4) In anchor mode, the motor occasionally goes manic trying to stay precisely on the spot - this usually in light and variable wind. 5) Not as much power as the 36v Fortex. PLANS 1)I have added a rope and intend to add a grab handle to the top of the shaft. 2)I will wear my life jacket while fishing, because this thing will put me in the lake one of these days. 3) I will be fishing slower, since staying in one place is easy. 4) If the modifications make this motor livable I will keep it, otherwise the Fortex goes back on.

Those of us involved in sports in our younger days and in competitive business most of our lives probably have it worse than others, but partaking in an activity with a scorecard activates some part of my lizard brain and saps some of the joy & purpose of fishing. When I compete, I expect to perform well and am disappointed in myself when I do not. No way around it and no way to always perform well. I do not wish to associate fishing with disappointment and find I am not resilient (or willing?) enough to do both consistently. I admire those that are confident enough to share good information, especially those who make their living on this lake. we will also be at the C4K tourney, but only because it's a great cause and the boat drawing.

I think your setup is good, but you may have to try some different colors. I met Steve (OP) yesterday and gave home some of the baits I made, most in shades of GP with slight variations. Most are beaver size. My wife, Lily, out fished me by a lot using a skirted PBJ football jig with a homemade 4 inch PBJ Craw. She worked it sort of like one would work a wobble head, but mostly swimming it near the bottom. she had a lot of quick strike misses and the best LM was just a pressure bite. I worked a wart & SB.

Wow! I expect to be at the lake, but with 300 extra boats it might be a good time to get some chores done and fish during the week. Im blessed to have that option sometimes. It would be great if we could embrace the technology that would allow release-in-place like MLF and reduce relocating so many big fish so close to spawn.

It could happen on any cast. Last summer I was on a point a little earlier than the sun, throwing a topwater that I couldn't see when Sir Walter grabbed it. We knew it was too big a fish to swing into the boat but could not see it. Lily leaned over to lip it and pulled her hand back in the nick of time. Never heard of a walleye hitting topwater. 7lbs 5 ounces and back in the water. Got to let those big ones live and have babies even if they are delicious.

Thanks for the report. We are hustling to get our work done so we can get back to the lake. Do you mind telling us what plastic you are putting on the wobble head?

Congratulations! Thanks for the report.

What are the bushes/brushy trees with the small purple buds on them now? I remember when I was a kid, someone told me there is a color progression that is the same every year in the Ozarks. Anyone know?

Started the day with a treble hook in the hand. I love the way good hooks hold fish but they bite anything they get near too. We got on the lake at 10 and made our first stop up the White from Pt. 22. Water temp was 51 and we knew the KR was warmer so we ran all the way up to Deer Bluff where I caught a big White on a Swimbait. The wind was strong but not unmanageable. We only picked up 7 or 8 bass with spinnerbaits and crankbaits but about 4:30 several big Whites hit our crankbaits near the boat. We tied on spoons and had a ball for the next hour & a half. They were all big and healthy. We released them all called it a day. Great day overall.

Wow, thanks for the solid reviews, gentlemen. As it turns out one of the three new batteries was bad and as an incompetent electrician my lack of understanding had me doing the gorilla head scratch. Here I was thinking if 2 of 3 are good there should be 2/3 power. Not the way it works, apparently. I really like my Fortrex but that anchor lock feature on the MG sounds great.

We had a plan, put on our rain suits, opened the hand warmer packets, got out the stocking caps and took off up the Kings River. Started dodging floaters but did not get very far before finding what looked like an Oregon logging chute. Whoa, Nelly. I already have a Skeggard on from the last thing I hit. I guess we will fish from here down-river. Nope Trolling motor refused to function. The rain stopped, it got a bit warmer; we hated to give up but we couldn't fix it on the water. Spent the day chasing amps and volts but think it might just be time for a new one. MG new Xi5 is looking pretty good. Anyone have a review?

Lily and I started near Pt 21 and ended up between 20 & 19. It was a gorgeous day, overcast to start and then bright and sunny. Crankbaits and SB were working, as described in recent reports here, before the sun came out and then not so much. We did get into a mess of Smallies on a bluff end. They were tight to the trees and wanted a SB slooooow rolled and bumping the tree. The wind died and that ended the bite. WT between 53 & 56. Fun day.

Thanks, Champ. I just wondered if they had been effectively displaced by improved baits like McSticks and I should trash them. Mama says some of this old stuff has to go.

Cleaning out the basement I found about a dozen clown colored Smithwick Rogue from the 90's. I recall that we wrapped lead wire around the hook shanks. Are these still useful on TR?

I wholeheartedly endorse Ulrich. Great work and they get it done quickly. My boat is in Shell Knob so I have used a local dealer for routine maintenance & repairs. Nothing major but every Spring they "tune it up", change impeller, LU grease etc.. Performance was steadily lagging though. Before taking the boat on a road trip I had Ulrich Check it out this time. The motor runs like new and gets much better gas mileage. I like that they put date stickers in place to track when things were done.

Ah, I do know where that is. There is a marked power line crossing the river there.