GrantG

Sometimes I wounder what it would be like to have a 10" TV screen on my boat. I may never know........ And IF I had all the tools to help me fish better, if in fact it would. Not going to help you fish better. But it will help eliminate dead water and locate structure in new water. Also can tell how fish are relating to cover. It does help when you only fish water that is so stained that you can't see followers at all. If I could just look in the water and see where trees were, or see fish following my bait, I probably wouldn't bother with a sidefinder. It's nice to quickly get a feel for an area that your not familiar with. It's cool to see a picture like image of a spot after you stick a big one off of it. Makes it easier to visualize the spots that the big ones are holding in at that time, and focus you casts in similar spots. You need to be more precise with your casts when the bass can't see your bait from 5' or more away if you don't want to waste a lot of time. In lakes that have tons of very thick cover, like the ones I fish, trying to locate a big fish to try and catch with the graph is next to impossible. I use it primarily for locating the right angle to fish the spot/cover that I'm hitting. If its a spot that I'm familiar with, the graph doesn't get turned on. I'm happy with the graph after a little over a year. Plus it doubles as a decent windshield on my little xpress, ha. Grant

That's a boat that I had never seen before. Looks very well thought out for tge Swimbait fisherman. But I'm not coming cross country to look at it. If I go aluminum, it's going to be a 19'+ bass model or just keep the one I have and get the rod storage added. Thanks.

If you spend the money to get a side imaging unit, a 5" screen is a waste in my opinion. Even with a 10" screen there are times when I can't see some smaller details well. If you just want a down image unit, you can get by with a 5" screen if you don't try and use the gps and graph at the same time. I would go with HB because there seem to be a lot less problems. The lowrance images look nice though. I waited until I found an excellent deal on the 1197 before making a purchase. Got it new for less than the retail on a 998.

I fish out of a 1546 xpress mod v and really like the boat for what I do, but it is impossible to move around in with 5 or 6 Swimbait rods laid out. I can't even walk from the front deck to the console. There is not really anywhere to mount any verticle rod holders where they would not be in the way. Only option would be taking it to a welding and fabrication shop and having them build me a rod box that extends into the front deck. This would probably cost at least $500 to do it right. That's just a guess though I would like a bigger, more stable boat. My question is, what boats out there have plenty of storage for 8' plus rods? Not looking to spend 60 grand, so something used, less than 20k would be ideal. Bottom line though, if I can't store 6+ 8' rods along with several 7'4"-7'6" rods, I wouldn't buy it.

Just upgraded to a riptide st with ipilot. Love it so far. More room on smaller boats without the foot pedal. And more time fishing using the autopilot. It compensates for wind, so it makes it easy to electronically control your position even without using the spot lock feature. I head into to wind, set the auto pilot, then match the motor speed with the wind speed to hold position without anchoring. The only negative I can mention is the long shafts on all the stock ipilot motors. If you can swing the cost, get the terrova or riptide ST. The deploy mechanism is super easy, and much better than the powerdrive and lesser riptides. But you will also have to invest in a stabilizer to support the trolling motor head when running the big motor or trailering. There is nothing to keep it from banging against the railing of the boat. I went with the ram mount stabilizer, and highly recommend it. It's really well designed. I will never go back to standard trollers.

Made a trade with Colby. Bait shipped very fast and good all around guy.

Made a trade deal with Wayne. Good guy to deal with. Fast shipping and communication.