I just replaced a 2 and a half year old battery for a similar issue. Battery was purchased 6 months before I got the boat but my depth finder kept turning off if my rpms weren’t up. Started watching the volt gauge and the volts were dropping below 12 if I wasn’t going at least 5 mph. Read where humminbirds need at least 12 volts.
Was shocked with the battery being less than 3 years old, but I got a new battery and problem solved.
I would start with trying a different battery.
How are the activation and deactivation fees?
Very sketchy for me with Verizon around wolf packs/fox island. I scouted islands around the namakan narrows last year and didn’t have coverage.
The main issue is I take a trip with just kids and no other adults. That concerns her. I have looked at inreach but the kids probably couldn’t get it to work in an actual situation.
Run utility trailers at work and put over 10,000 miles a year on a few of them. We have one go out every few years on the sealed ones so we starting switching to bearing buddies like we all have on our boats. I’ve never had an issue with a trailer with bearing buddies. Had my last boat for 12 years and just regularly greased it, never replaced.
Pileated woodpecker.
Did it once myself. Dumped the boat in and parked. Came back and was getting the trolling motor organized. Wife asks if there is supposed to be water coming through the carpet.
Was on Kabetogama a few years ago. Double launch and the guy on the other side left a little bit after me. Had his family with. I was going slow still waiting for my maps to load and I hear a bunch of yelling about we’re going to sink. Guy panicked, threw it in high gear(smaller boat,probably a 25hp), cut in front me so close I could have reached out and touched him. Luckily I was paying attention and stopped. After they passed my kids were like wtf just happened. They were so close my dog could jumped into their boat. And the guy didn’t say anything.
I’m interested in painting lures. Can I use vinyl paint on a crankbait and put a clear coat over it? I would want to start with just using a paint brush before spending a bunch of money.
Have an almost 20 year old Kelty 2 man that has held up awesome with a ton of use. Recently I’ve just been using Coleman and have been pretty impressed. For 4 or 5 night trips twice a year they work great. Have the Coleman 8 man Red Canyon and Coleman 6 man Evanston. I’ve read good things about the Coleman 4 man Sundome. For reference my 8 man Red Canyon weighs about 25 pounds.
Nevermind. I figured it out. Button must be bad.
Nevermind. I figured it out. Button must be bad.
Thanks for the info. Big help. I know I’m a little psycho, but this would be for a 2025 trip. I always do my trip planning a year and a half in advance because I need to book Voyageurs sites November 15th and I don’t have time for proper trip planning once it gets warm.
I’m all setup for Voyageurs(onboard alternator) but this would be a little different in that Voyageurs has longer runs. Doesn’t look like a ton of room to get full throttle and get juice from the onboard alternator. Do guys normally bring a generator for batteries? Campground seems like kind of a hybrid between Voyageurs camping and state park campgrounds.
Good info. Thanks. Knew about the corridor but forgot about the kicker. How hard is it to get the day use motor permits? We would tentatively being fishing some of the lakes off the gunflint and a few days in Sag. But likely wouldn’t know until we were there and saw the weather.
Do any of the campsites have docks at Trails End? Or is there a community dock? Something where we wouldn’t have to launch the boat since we are usually on the water before light to catch the topwater bite.
Nice. Those are some pigs. I fish the Ely area every year but not that far north. Definitely interested.
I’m more just thinking if I’m going to drive all the way to the end of the gunflint and then drive 5 miles into Saganaga, I would rather not compete with a bunch of other fisherman like a normal lake. I fish Voyageurs once to twice a year. Sounds like it would be no more pressure than that so I’m good.
I like trying out new lakes and new areas and like to camp. Campground camping isn’t normally my thing but it looks like a nice area that would be worth making an exception.
Thanks! Just looking for something different and it seems like a neat area.
I’ve never stayed on Vermillion but it has lots of resorts, a casino that I believe has its own ramp, and a state park with camper cabins. Tons of varied options for Vermillion. Rainy is a national park. Not much development relative to most MN lakes.
Closer to you would be Lake Havasu. Check into it. Other than that I would suggest Mill Lacs in MN or most any Lake in northern MN, WI, or MI. I also hear that have big ones that do not get a ton of pressure on Devils Lake, SD. But beware, some of these lake are big and can get pretty choppy. Devils Lake is a great example and it is always windy up there. What about Lake Erie? Are you all bringing your own boats or looking for guide service or rental boats.
I’m weird but I place extra weight on the natural beauty. If I was going on a once in a lifetime smallmouth trip I wouldn’t go to Devils Lake when I could go to Rainy or Vermillion and get the full experience.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>smallie83 wrote:</div>
This trip would probably be sometime between July 20th and August 10th. Topwater would be the goal.
I would say Namakan then. There is so much reef, shore and island rocks to hit you could spend a full year there. Late July/August alot of folks are heading from Kab into Nam to fish, and both the east and west end get busier. If you are focusing on topwater, I think you won’t feel too crowded, alot of the folks are fishing deeper water for eyes.
I’ll be up there camping the whole last full week of July (Mica Island) and again for 5 days from Aug 9-13th (Sheen Point). Mainly eye fish during the day, but most evenings we spend a couple/three hours casting for smallies and pike. If you end up on West Nam let me know, and I’ll let you know how we are doing/did.
Sorry. I wasn’t clear. This would be a 2024 trip. I’m already planning 2024 trips. Booked for 2023.
When are you planning the trip for??
I have fished west Namakan a lot (west of pike island) but have also spent time on eastern Namakan down to Rainbow island area.
I have not fished Sand Point.
My biggest Smallies each year, seem to be late July to August, when I’m rigging leeches in deeper water. For numbers, earlier in the season, casting shorelines, Islands, and shallow rocks produces the most numbers.
This trip would probably be sometime between July 20th and August 10th. Topwater would be the goal.
This is great!! Thanks guys Learning a lot just reading these posts. Keep em coming if ya have anything to offer because like I said, I know ZERO.
Nothing wrong with the Mille Lacs or Leech area but something about the Ely and Voyageurs area that is just different. So cool up there. It’s much of an experience for me.
If you’re worried about rocks then you will want to skip Vermillion and Rainy. I personally wouldn’t though. You just have to get used to them and can’t run a bass boat wide open without have a route saved or knowing the area.
Vermillion would be my choice. Rainy is huge and although Vermillion is big, not as daunting. Vermillion also has a ton of smaller lakes in the area if the weather was super windy. Be careful though, smallies in the Northwoods can be addicting. Hard to leave.
