Three weeks ago I bought a new boat(for me). I got myself a 16″ alumacraft with a 40hsp evenrude. It was already rigged up as a bass boat, the only thing I had to change was the trolling motor. I had an older trolling motor that I put on, but I am going to get a new one soon. The 43lbs thrust is not going to cut it if the wind picks up. I am thinking of going with a 24 volt, but I don’t have room in back for a third battery. Would I be able to move the starting battery up under the steering console??
I also need to do work the livewell. It only has a small gravity feed with no pumps. I think I can get one of those cooler kits and hook that up in the livewell and it should work fine.
I have been out two times with the boat already. Last week I went to a cooling lake in Pekin Illinois that has a ton of smallies (and big ones). I caught and released two 15″ bass and I lost a huge one. It jumped 3 times, the first two were okay but on the third it almost jumped into the boat and she came unhooked in mid air 
. This fish was bigger then he 20.5″ 4.9lbs smallie I caught last spring. But I did not get skunked the first time out in my new boat.
Yesterday I headed back down near pekin but went to a shallow lake that has had ice out for two weeks. People have been cathing bass from 5-7pounds. I got down there and the wind was blowing 10-20mph and it was all I could do to move my boat with the trolling motor set on 5. I fished slow and in 4 feet of water,the lake is only is only 6 foot deep at max. I moved into a stump field in 2 foot of water and caught one on the 3rd cast, two cast later I caught another followed by another 2 cast after that. All three fish were caught on a sunfish swimjig. But as soon as I thought I had a pattern going they shut off. The water was 48-50deg. Again it was great to be out fishing and not get skunked.
Jeremy
