As you know, we recently had a bass boat upgrade – we purchased a new-to-us ProCraft 200 Super Pro. One of the deciding factors in our purchase was the newer electronics and trolling motor that came with the boat. Although they, themselves are a decade old, they are a decade newer than what we had on our old boat. Our new boat has a Minn Kota Terrova i-Pilot trolling motor and Lowrance HDS7 & HDS8 GPS fish finders. What a difference a decade makes!
Oh, what fun we had this fall with the Structure Scan – learning how to view and use our side and down imaging! When you go from colored blobs and “bananas” on a regular sonar to seeing individual fish in a ball of shad, it is truly a game changer! I see why many tournament bass anglers do so much boat driving during pre-fishing. Its like dragging a video camera around under your boat. I can’t even imagine how clear today’s technology looks on those big HDS12 units. Fishing must be like a video game – find the fish and watch them eat your lure LIVE!
The Minn Kota Terrova i-Pilot trolling motor is THE BOMB! Not having to have a foot on the trolling motor and constantly steering means more time spent casting and fishing. Being able to hold our position or set a speed and direction gives you the freedom to focus on fishing even in windy or choppy conditions. I think this is the BEST bass boat upgrade you can make. If you have a manually operated trolling motor, you will NOT be disappointed in spending the money!
Have these upgrades made us better anglers? Well, not yet… but like I said, we have been learning and playing more than fishing, too. I believe we have already learned a few things which change the way we find our fish. The technology still can’t get the fish into the boat, though. I am looking forward to testing my skills next year with our new toys.
