SUPERTRAMP

20# Ande for all my mono rods. 40#Fluorocarbon leaders for flies. 30# 7strand wire for wire dipsy presentations and 40#Power Pro for the Power Pro dipsy presentations. I run wired dipsys low and power pro high. When the Seafleas start I have 6 reels spooled up with flea flicker and the go on as soon as the fleas start. Takes 10 minutes to change reels.

Welcome aboard. Glad to see GLF spreading to Lake O.

Makes me wish that the Ice would hurry up and break up on Lake Michigan. Nice Hump back.

For a family boat, bigger is always better. The 18.5 would be a really economical boat to run but for a family of more than 4 really crowded, the 22 SeaRay would be an awesome boat to start with. Comfy and can be set up like Ben said, and still be used for family outings.

The Hydra Sport is an awesome hull design and very capable of anything you throw at it. As long as you are going to go for it I would take that one. 459 hours is nearly nothing, and getting the kicker makes a no brainer.

Family fun and some tasty,tasty fishies for the fry pan. Nothing better.

I am curious of the rpm idle speed on the Silverton. My 33' CC idles at 700-800 rpms, perfect for slow trolling, and docking. Anything 1100 or over is running too rich imho, and the carbs. should be adjusted. I have 36" sea anchors that work pretty well this way. Higher idling also wears on the trannys faster too.

My 31' Chris Craft Commander idles around 900, and I have no trouble getting to 2.5 mph, but she is really touchy on the throttle, thinking about a couple of 48" sea anchors to let us keep the rpm up. Never tried it before but I know a lot of people that swear by it. Thinking it is time to give it a shot. I found a really good bag with trip lines for about $70.00 on ebay. Just for info when trolling I put the trim tabs all the way down, helps us slow down.

Nice fish porn Ed. How far up river were you?

Terry:

Can't fish it but where do I send a donation?

I normally only sharpen hooks about 3 to 4 times then replace. I use a regular bastard file and just hit each side of the point 1 time and it seems to work. If the hooks looks like the point is too close to the barb I replace it. It only takes a minute and I keep several boxes of new hooks on the boat all of the time. I like the Gamakatsu extra wide gap for body baits. and the eagle claw blood red trebles for spoons. Both are extra sharp and are cheap medicine for dull hooks.

Install my new autopilot that shows out for delivery as i type this

You will never regret getting it.

New Bottom Paint, install new VHF radio and antenna. Clean, Clean, Clean. ReSpool all of the Rigger reels, check all the leadcore and copper rigs and replace leaders. Re tie the wire connections on the wire dipsys and replace the Power Pro line on the Power pro dipsys. New hooks or sharpen hooks? Depends on condition. I have been working on this all winter. Get all the tackle sorted again and ready to kick of the spring season.

Some of my best fishing when I was younger was post blow with big rollers. But at 68 years young I usually stay in the slip if they are over 3' and choppy. If all we have is rollers, the Drift socks are a real plus. You can throttle up a little, and you will find your boat is a lot more stable. My boat is 12' wide and will handle big water but when it blows I get out the drift socks. I got mine from Cabelas, I use the smaller socks 1 off each side of the boat, I have found too that my auto pilot works a lot better with the socks out.

If you have a 4 man crew split everything fuel. and Entry you are not really as expensive as you think.

I spend about $200.per day for fuel, that's $400 for a 2 day tournament, add $525 for amateur entry and big fish divide by 4 and your totals are not as bad as you believe. For my boat, it comes out to less than $250 per man for the tournament. Split any winnings and you might even make a little if you cash both ways. My boat is a 31' Chris Craft Commander Sport fisherman, she uses fuel. But that's what u get when you want to be comfortable when fishing. I did fish a couple of tournaments with my son on his Islander. Fuel was almost $100 for 2 days. We split it and the entry fee 4 ways. Biggest issue and the reason I don't fish tournaments is because in 2008 at the S.Haven tournament we had a blow day on Saturday, Sunday morning they sent us out in 20 knot winds, and called the tournament at 11:00. No refunds once you put your money in. If we had been in my boat we could have fished Sunday and Saturday.

Thanks Mike! Can't wait for spring

PM Me if you want to go for early coho and browns. But for sure If you don't want the Grizzly Plug save it for me. It will out fish a lot of other plugs. I haven't used JPlugs for a long time Silver Horde is my preference.

Hey Kevin:

You might want to hang on to the Black Grizzly plug on the third photo it has a wire solid hook connection and resembles a Yeck but is way more productive.

BTW I now own the Silverking and you and your dad are welcome to come down to St. Joe and fish with us.

I am a firm believer that you can't have too many automatic bilge pumps on any boat. I have 3 on mine, its cheap insurance against problems during weather or while you boat is in the water for an extended period. The pumps are really not expensive, I found a 2000gph pump on ebay for $52.00 at a buy it now price. Includes pump and float switch. The flexible hose and thru hull fitting would be an additional 15 to 20 bucks. Cheap insurance against lost rivets or other issues.

Lost a couple of Paddles with flies, 2 boards, and several spoons. Biggest loss was the Anchor and 50' of 1/2" line. North of Jean Klok park in St Joe, 30 FOW. 1 12# ball. Had a bass fisherman snag my rigger line in the slip and he loosened the drag on the rigger then pulled his bait out. Lost 200' of cable to kinks and back lash. So wish people would stay out of the slip basin when they are casting bass rigs. I have also had one cut my transducer cable to retrieve a bait.

Big Jon band busters and rubber bands. Simple and reliable.

Second that one!

There are 2 methods, the twist method and the wrap and cinch. I use the 1 wraparound 2 fingers pass the band thru and back thru itself never slip and never leaves behind any band pieces. Try it.

I started with Walker in the 1970's switched to Rubber bands in 1980 and have never gone back. I never have problems with shakers and after some experimenting I never have false releases. I start early with #16 bands and until we start fishing deep they work well. when we get to fishing 50'or more of cable out we go to #33 rubberbands. 1 thing I do when using 11" Paddles I double the bands, and they still release on a strike.

I get one just about every spring, Early coho are feisty and I have taken several body baithooks thru the hand or finger. I have been able to push it thru, cut it off and back the rest out everytime. But Mulitple hook baits and live fish are usually a bad recipe.

I forgot to ask, the boat baha has very low hours < 500. What do you think it would be worth?

It has no trailer, it is decent shape, all the current electronics are dated so I estimate their value at $2000.

I'm just looking for a ball park. I have used NADA but i'm not sure how good this really is for estimating a large boats value.

Justin

You don't need to get rid of the radar, I still use an old CRT radar and it works fine. Actually is easier to read than the newer flat screen models. It looks like a clean rig, and the fact it doesn't have a trailer is no big deal, you would have to get a permit to tow it anywhere and that can be a pain.

Welcome to GLF. Down Riggers are a personal thing, all of them do the job. The Big Jon Senior is an awesome rigger and they aren't as bulky as the Canon's. I current am running Walker Tournament Pro's on my 31' Chris Craft Commander, and they do the trick. If I were fishing 15# plus balls a lot I would probably go to the Canon's. Can't beat the Big Jon towers for your rod holders. I don't use the Big boards at all, I use inline's because we fish primarily Salmon. Good luck with your new rig and tight lines.

Interesting info posted, especially for this newbie, thanks all.

Just wondering how all this would work on Superior, I fish from Duluth to Grand Marais and hoping to hit Isle Royal this year.

I'm assuming Superior has currents like Michigan, so maybe something like a Sea Hawk might be a good investment?

I guess what I'm asking is will a lot of the tips and techniques that work on Michigan work on Superior?

TIA

al

The short answer is yes. Find the active fish with the Fishawk and your Depth sounder. Find current by checking SOG against the Fishawk, then determine troll direction and best speed at the ball. Learn your body of water and you can usually come up with possible current directions. We find in Southern Lake Michigan that wind direction does effect currents to a great extent. You are always better trolling into the current, as fish position themselves to face into the current.