MY2SONS

I guess no one ever said that salmon fishing was an inexpensive hobby......adding a planer arsenal to a boat setup is not cheap. Does anyone know where to buy a relatively inexpensive set of rod trees?

I have one tree that I'm selling. It's a Berts 4 rod tree. I'm switching out my port side tree with a swivel base Berts to make it easier to dock. I'm asking $120.00 for the tree. Paid $170.00 last year.

http://www.greatlakesfisherman.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=4532&c=3]

Looking to sell a port-side Bert's rod tree (four rod holders). Switching to swivel base tree on my boat so it's easier to get in the slip. Asking $120.00. Tree is one year old. Does not come with track. Paid $170.00 new last year.

No I trailer mine. My buddy has a baha with shore power on the starboard side. I guess that would make sense about where you want to put the breaker panel. He docks on the port also but the cord reaches.

You trailer your Baha? I tried that a few times, but it's too hard on my truck. It would be a heck of a lot cheaper than slipping it like I do though.

Its all worth it. Especially when you can take kids along.

Soon you will get to have these kind of moments.

My boys are 3 and 5 years old. I want them to stay little, but the other side of me says I can't wait to experience days like your pictures. That's awesome. Makes you proud to be a dad doesn't it?

So Guys,

As you know this will be my first season out in the new boat. Being that the boat has never had a name and I never had a name for my old boat I've been trying to come up with a fitting name for the boat, but it hasn't been going so well. My grandpa suggested Ben's Hooker which I like but it has been vetoed by my Mom because possible connotations of it could offend some family friends So, I have yet to find a name that I really like and I thought I'd see what you guys could come up with. (Extra consideration will be given to name that incorporate some part of my name)

Thanks for your suggestions,

Ben Lubbers

Reel Lubber, Land Lubber, Lake Lubber, etc.

I would look at 12s if your riggers and boat can handle them.

You heard the joke about the wife selling a guys stuff for what he told her he paid for it right?

Just buy it and sneak it into the boat like i do. When she came on to the boat she looked and said i dont remeber all those rods. I replied i have always had all those...

Actually my wife knows and just shakes her head now and doen't complain to much most of the time.

That's exactly what I do. :lol:My wife hasn't been out fishing with me so I've dodged the bullet for some time. The last time she went with me I had 10 rods, I've slowly, and methodically been adding rods over the last couple years. I now have 24 rods on my boat. If she ever goes out with me I'll either have to leave a few home, or have some "splaining" to do. Deep down I know she knows though.

i bought my boat new in 05 i have done all the lubricant changes myself and have only used mercury quick silver products...is this smart or am i wasting money..i will only use the high output gear lube in the lower unit but i can cut oil change and filter(oil and water seperating fuel)prices in half with sierra filters and oil i can get at the auto parts store.

The way I look at it is oil is the life blood of my engine. I only use oil recommended by Mercruiser. There's some things you can probably skimp on, but oil is not one of them. Not to sound cliche, but take care of your motor, and your motor will take care of you.

I've had it being cooped up in the house. :mad:There's so much stuff I have to do to get the boat ready, but it's shrinkwrapped in the yard. I've been itching to take it off, but it's a little early yet. This week they're forecasting 50-55 degrees beginning Tuesday through Thursday. Maybe then I can start some of my projects. I saw a few guys trailering there boats around Holland this weekend which is a good sign of Spring. Come on warm weather!

I got all shimano rods and love them. $12 for a diawa rod sure is cheap, I've bought flashers that cost more than that. Looks like the tdr's are about $22

Do you have shore power on your boat? If so, where did you mount the plug, and breaker panel? I moor on the port side so I'm thinking about putting the plug below the port side window, and mounting the breaker panel in the head below the helm compartment.

I got all shimano rods and love them. $12 for a diawa rod sure is cheap, I've bought flashers that cost more than that. Looks like the tdr's are about $22

I have all Shimano's on my boat too. I've had Heartland rods early on with my first boat, and had good luck with them. The only drawback I found with Heartlands is they seem to loose there rigidity over time.

Cannons for sure. I have two digi-troll IV's on my rig, and I just added a new Mag 10 for this year. They're pretty tough, and I like the telescoping booms. The ability to program the digi-trolls is a sweet feature. The auto stop on the Mag 10 is pretty nice too.

I thought fishing in general was an expensive gig, but big water fishing takes things to a whole new level:eek:

I hada $50 gift card to Gander Mountain, so the family went this morning to do some shopping. Here is a pic of what I bought. How did I do?

I bought:

8"SD white crush glow

8" dreamweaver paddle mtn dew/crush glow on white

8" dreamweaver paddle blue bubble/crush glow on white

dreamweaver action fly blue bubble

dreamweaver action fly blue dolphin

gander mountain brand blue dolphin spoon

gander mountain brand caramel dolphin spoon

10 pack of bechhold #6 snap swivels with piggybacks

and the girls had to have some jerky and gummy bears:D

I still need to buy some walker deeper diver dipsies, but gander only had luhr jenson dipsy divers, mono for dipsy reel backing, 30-40 lb braid for dipsy, 40 lb mono for leaders. After that I should be ready to atleast hit the water.

Below is what I have bought since December to get started:

*2 Walker Lake Ranger manual downriggers (came with 2 free walker downrigger rods) $200

*2 8 lb downrigger balls $40

* 2 penn 309 reels used $50

*2 17" betrs tracks $90

*2 berts ratcheting rod holders $90

*2 okuma 30d convector reel/rod combos $170

* used flashers,spoons,flies, and plugs(steal of a deal) $40

*2 traxstech downrigger swivels for tracks $110

* stuff bought today minus jerky and gummies $55

I probably have another $100 for the things I need.

I just hope I get out enough to make it all worth while. I can't wait to see a diver rod pop and start screaming:ps-020:

I don't think you could be out there enough to truly justify the expense of big lake fishing once you add up the cost of gear, boat expenses, and fuel so I just try to take it in stride. It's my passion, my addiction, and even though there's always something you "need" every year you can't beat the experience.

Thanks for the input. Wire divers it is.

I have curtain also and Its nice on the cool days or when its raining, but my vote would be wire divers, if your avatar is your boat you can get out of most cold and rain, 50 bucks will buy you a Mr. Heater to warm hands up.

Yes, my avatar is a pic of my boat. I was leaning towards the divers. Thanks for the input.

Guys, I'm in need of some help. I'm looking at adding some wire dipsey setups to my arsenal, but I've never ran wire before. Any advice on how to set them up? Any advice is helpful. Also, I was thinking about adding a drop curtain to my boat to enclose the cabin for those cold Spring/Fall mornings, but I can only afford to either get a set of wire dipses, or get the drop curtain. What would you guys do? I know a drop curtain doesn't put fish in the boat, but it does make it more comfortable so you don't freeze your rocks off. Thanks in advance.

I ran chute riggers higher than the others once..... Took a fairly sharp turn by accident, and well.... I'll only do it that one time.

Sorry, don't mean to laugh, but that's funny. I'm putting one down the chute this year so I'll learn from everyone's mistakes on what to do, and what not to do.

Need some opinions on the e-chips, do you guys who use them notice any catch difference vs. regular tackle??? I have yet to purchase any, but I have a buddy who did really well on them last year, but not really enough to convince me yet. so, are they worth it?

Personally I believe the whole e-chip thing is another gimmick used to set one manufacturer's product apart from the rest. I've used both with good success. I agree with the others color, and action determine the best results.

I have two Cannon Digitroll IV's, and a Cannon Mag 10 on my rig, and love 'em. Had Cannons in the past with no issues. Hopefully these work as well. Was going to go Big Jon, but didn't care for the motor being exposed although it's sealed, and heard about problems with booms breaking in the past, but I'm sure it's been resolved by now. Lot's of guys run them. Again, personal preference.

Well that didn't take long. I ended up putting it on the Flint Craigslist and sold it to a guy who has a slip in Augre. Made him a deal he couldn't refuse.

I knew it would go fast. They're typically in high demand since new ones are $$$$$.

I run 13# balls, and never had a problem with excessive blowback. If your seeing excessive blowback with yours are you leaving a wake when you troll?

I bet if ou put it on Craigslist for $250.00 it would go fast! Especially if it's in good condition. Good used dock boxes are hard to find. I know I've been looking for one for some time. Couldn't find one so I bought new $$$$. The one I bought was a 6 footer though. The 5 footer was $500.00.

I just bought one. Brand new they're around $500.00 for that size.

Thanks Nailer, aka Ken, I run all Shimano on my boat so I definitely would go Shimano for these rods as well. I just had sticker shock when I saw how much roller rods were. Why is Blood Run wire better than others, or is it just personal preference? I want whatever is going to be the best quality if I'm going to spend that much on rods and reels.

I saw this on a diff forum. Seems like a pretty cool idea.

http://www.anglers-experience.com/

I notice they have "replacement parts" for these divers. I'm assuming they've maybe had problems with failures in the field. The parts the have replacements for are key parts so I'm a little skeptical. Not sure if I buy into these yet, but keeping an open mind if I hear otherwise from those who are willing to try them. I'll stick to my planers for now.

Do you have electricity near your boat? I've never had much luck with solar lights working for very long, and they don't seem very bright. I know it's not the "green way" of doing things, but I'd wire an electric motion light if you can. Reliable, bright, and IMO last longer. Just a thought, make sure your sensitivity is set right or the light will come on every time the wind blows a branch or whatever.