Panoptix PS31, GT52, Minn Kota Terrova 80, I-Pilot

[TrackerPro16]

I spent most of Sunday on the lake with the new stuff. First part was getting the heading sensor set up, playing with the I-Pilot settings and getting used to the controls. The first thing I realized there is the remote that comes with it is great. i had purchased the 'mini' remote also as I was sure I would not like the larger one but I should have tried the bigger one first. It is not all that much bigger than the small one and is not much heavier.
I clipped it on my belt with the included lanyard and it was easy to use and the information on the screen was useful. I am not sure I would want either around my neck all day though.
The Terrova is awesome! I like all of the various features but think the spot lock' and 'heading hold' will get used the most. The 80 ft lb 24 volt is plenty big for my 16' boat but I used up two brand new size 34 Interstate deep cycle batteries in about 8 hours in slight wind trolling around at 1.5 to 2.2 mph. It was running pretty much non stop with a few bursts at full power. It would pull me at about 3.5 mph on 10 heading into a slight wind.
The Garmin worked great and I got to play with the settings more but mostly wanted to see how far out I could see fish and the direction they were going. I would cruise along scanning with the Panoptix, when I saw a fish I would hit spot lock, then see which direction it was going, then try and intercept it. I ended up catching two cutthroat using that method. The 3D Forward does not seem real useful at this point...
One thing I noticed (this will be a 'duh' moment...) was using just the electric motor fish would just cruise by 10' under the boat and there were a couple that actually looked like they came closer to the boat to check it out. At one point I fired up the small outboard to assist and save on battery but right away I could see that the fish would dive or scoot off to the side about 30-50 feet out to avoid me.
I played with some of the various views using the GT52 SideVu as well but will probably play with harder next time out to look for panfish schooling. I would see something on the GT52 then move to Traditional, DownVu and Panoptix to see what it looked like using those.
I will say at this point the Panoptix mixed with the Terrova look to be most useful tools to me. I would say I am happy with my purchase over all.

[hewesfisher]

What's the reserve capacity for one of your batteries? Knowing this can help you manage your run time.

[Larry3215]

How tight did the Spot Lock seem to be on the terrova? Is it close to the 3-4 ft circle they advertise? Thats the main thing Im after when I up-grade my Powerdrive V2. The V2 is more like 30-40 ft circle at best.

Im pissed at Garmin, but the Panoptix is still the most amazing fishing tech on the market right now.

What you describe was one of the most interesting things I found after we got ours. Its amazing how many fish do move away from the boat when you get close - even with the electric motor. It was shocking to realize how many fish we were NOT seeing with the other types of sonar.

[TrackerPro16]

Funny you asked that about the Terrova as I was going to test it on a post but got to playing and forgot. Hard to really tell on open water. I will test it next time I get out and write something.