J.D.

I logged on to start a post, but I'll piggy back yours... Fished West of the bay from 6:00 to 9:30 Friday morning, 60 to 150 fow, lots of boats out. Temp. was 65 degrees on top, 48 degrees down 65 ft. Pulled 2 kings (16 and 13 lbs) off the 65 rigger both on stingray NBK and a 30" Atlantic, same depth on a flasher / Apex combo, also green and silver. Speed was 2.0 / 2.5 mph. on the Depth Raider. Lots of bait in the area. Have a safe weekend.. Jim S

You need to give it a rest dude. Over 1300 looks at this post as of 4 PM Friday. That's a lot of damage to your potential charter business and reputation in a very short amount of time. I'm sure many experienced fishermen myself included, (29 years on the lake) will no longer respond to your posts. Look at your quotes above. Why would any member of this forum subject themselves to that ?

I've been trolling with my 1996 90 hp. Merc 2 stroke since new.... never had a problem. Alternator keeps everything charged up.. not sure why you need the kicker.. Looks like it will be a pain in the a$$ with a good fish at the back of the boat..

No need for a swivel or bead. the or16 holds the diver where you set it. rig the diver just like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6XgPas3TaY

Make sure you can turn the motor while on the trailer.... you may need a stronger bracket and pole if not.. I used my setup on a 90 hp. Merc 2 stroke.. ( 303 lbs. for my motor )... steel bracket and pole.

Never being able to leave well enough alone, I have retrofitted my Chinook Divers with Sam's Pro releases..... Same setup Anglers Avenue video shows for inline boards ( which I use on my Church boards) Any lead length I want, no diver drag fighting fish. Running Big Game 30 lb. mono ahead of the wire.. The releases are loose enough to pivot as diver angle changes. OR-16's in the back.

Before my auto pilot days when fishing alone, I came up with a solution that worked well for me. On the front of my Mercury outboard just below the cowl, there are 2 threaded holes in the motor frame. I assume they are used to bolt on some type of bracket to lift the motor onto the transom during installation. I made and bolted a bracket to the front of the outboard with a hole in it, and used a 3 foot piece of pipe slid into the bracket to make the outboard "tiller steer" while I was setting lines and fighting fish. The whole thing looked very much like the bracket and pole you would put on the front of your house to display the flag. Once set up, pull the "tiller handle" out and drive normally. The bracket was small enough,no problem with motor tilt or normal operation. Maybe you can come up with something like this on your rig..

Johnny Ray swivel mounts https://johnnyraysports.com/product-category/swivel-mount/

As of Monday afternoon, Genny was good to go.

I've owned a FCV-620 for the last 6 years, paired up with an Airmar P66 transducer. It's a great unit. There's a lot of newer units out there, but I'll keep running the Furuno. There is also an Airmar P66 transducer for sale on this board as of 5/11. 6 years ago, my setup coat $800.... Someone is going to get a great deal.. NOTE: I do not know, nor have I ever met the seller , only sharing my experience with this unit. Jim S.

I remember not so many years ago, you were fishing out of a bass boat, and how proud you were when the first "Yankee Troller" hit the lake. Your results show what happens when you put in the time and do the work. Congrats on the win! Jim S.

Here's a better look . Starboard side, rear track.

Jeff. When I mounted my tracks, I installed a 3 foot section, left an 8 inch space, then a 2 foot section forward of that. It allows me to load items from the middle rather than just the ends of one long track.

I sold everything in July 2017 for $60. ( there goes my retirement)