Bobbys Toy

Boat is gone, thanks for looking. Happydaysboating.com now has the boat.

Yes, I am looking for the rear section for the 4 foot arms. My captain packs came with a two piece arm that screwed together to create a 4 foot arm. I think I gave mine to someone at my fish club. I am looking for 2 butt sections to extend my two 2 foot arms out to 4 feet. If this is want you have and would like to sell them please let me know.

Thank You,

Bob Jones

I am looking for 2 butt sections for Walker electric downriggers. I need to extend two of my riggers to 4 feet and cannot find my original arms.

Thanks

Bob Jones

I am selling my boat, Bobby’s Toy, a 1987 Crestliner Sabre 225. I am the original owner, took delivery on it in May of 1987. The boat has been a work in process since I have owned it and features many extras and has been completely refurbished over the last 4 years. The boat was repowered in 2006 with a 4.3L Mercruiser V6 engine with 205 HP. The engine had 80 hours on it when installed and now has around 750 hours. This was a professional install done by Michigan Marine Gear in St Clare Shores. The boat was completed stripped to bare metal and repainted in 2007 by D&R Marine in Caseville MI. The boat features an Atlantic Towers Soft Top with full canvass enclosure. The following equipment goes with the boat:

Raymarine DS500X Digital fishfinder

Raymarine 320 Chart plotter

Raymarine Sport pilot Plus Autopilot

Icom ICM-422 marine radio

840 fish Hawk

Hydraulic Beaver Troll

Bennet Trim Tabs

Dual batteries with Perko switch

Compass

Porta Potty

4 Walker Tournament II electric downriggers

6 Bert adjustable rod holders mounted in Bert’s tracks

3 Tight Loc rod holders across back

4 place tournament rod holders on engine cover

Custom interior with a ton of tackle storage options, new floor covered in vinyl in 2005.

Anchor

Spare Prop

Fire distinguisher

42 Gallon Fuel Tank

Heavy Duty Easy Loader tandem axle trailer with spare, new tires 2011, electric winch with trailer mounted battery, led lights and newer brake system.

This boat is economical to run, burns approx one gallon per hour trolling. The engine has been professionally serviced since install. Boat is always stored indoors during the winter and under a tarp during the summer months. Looks and runs like new.

This is a true fish catching machine. I am selling my boat as I am planning on moving up to a larger boat.

I have purchased a new boat and this one will be traded in. The dealer has offered me $10,500.00 plus I keep my riggers and rod holders with tracks. I am willing to sell it to anyone at this site for the same deal. If you want the riggers and rod holders with tracks I will need $12,000.00.

Bob Jones

[email protected]

734-751-1767

I bought a new for me boat that has an Lowrance hds5 combo unit and I am considering adding a 3g radar unit. Does anyone have any experience with this unit?

I just purchased a 2009 252 Express Sportcraft that I need to rig for salmon. I will be using 4 Walker downrigger, 6 Bert's rod holders, 3 per side mounted in Bert's Tracks from my existing boat. I would like to add bird trees and am looking for recommendations on what to buy. Anyone that might have pictures of an 252 Sportcraft with a similar setup would be appreciated. The new boat has a swim platform that I did not have before. I have 2 five foot arms and 2 two foot arms for my riggers. I think I will need to add an extension to my 2 footers to clear the swim platform. Any assistance you can offer is appreciated. Also, will a Fishhawk still work ok with the probe being two foot further out from the transom?

Bob

Ken,

I use 44 degrees as a starting point for kings. I set the probe down until i hit 44 degrees and set up 20 feet each side of that depth as a starting point and adjust from there. My experince and records show that most of my fish come in 46 to 42 degree water this time of year. Latter in the year mean temp moves to 46 degrees with most fish caught in 48 to 44 degree water. This not to say you will not get them in warmer water as my records show fish caught in 50 degree water and as high as 65 degrees when they start to stage for the run.

It is much easier to write a fishing report when things go well and conditions are ideal, but the story must be told whether good or bad. Do not get me wrong, it was not bad fishing, it just was not the kind of catching that we had hoped for.

We left the dock Friday morning around 5:30 AM with a steady rain falling. Sea conditions were calm with rain being in the forecast the entire day with the possibility of a thunderstorm in the afternoon. We were told that fish were being caught straight out of port in 85 to 165 foot of water. We motored out to 65 foot on a west to south-west heading and set lines. I set the autopilot for on a west heading hunting for kings.

Downrigger number one went off at 7:00 AM as we hit 125 FOW. The rigger was set 88 down with a reguluar-sized snowman Silver Streak. The Fish Hawk showed 44-degree water 70 feet down so all four riggers were set up using this as the mean. One side of the boat was set up with regular size spoons, the other with mags. Dipseys were pulling flasher and fly combo set 155 and 135 back with a mag double orange crush Silver Streak spoon while boards with a half core and full core were deployed on each side for a 8 rod spread. The first fish; a king, was on the small side at 5 pounds. Five minuets latter the number four rigger went off with a mag sized double white crush Finlander spoon set 40 foot down produced another 5-pound king. The Dipsey with the mag DOC spoon went at the same time producing another king in the five-pound class.

Around 7:15, the half core went off while over 138 FOW. This fish was running out some line so we were hopeful that we were getting into bigger fish. Todd the rod man fought this fish for 10 minuets or so before getting it to the back of the boat where the net man (name excluded) proceeded to beat the fish off the hook. This fish was the largest of the day so far but never got in the boat. The fish was estimated to be around 10 pounds. The fish had hit a glow back Blue Dolphin Silver Streak. When the clock hit half past seven downrigger 1 went off again with another 5 pound king.

When we hit 150 FOW the temperature dropped to 43 degrees at the ball so a swung the boat around and set the autopilot on an east heading which did not produce a fish. We trolled back into a 125 foot and set the boat on a west heading again. As soon as the turn was completed the number 4 rigger went again producing a 2 pound king which as released. I had noticed that we were experiencing a lot of current on these trolls and that the water had warmed for 44 degrees in 125 FOW to 46.5 degrees an hour or so latter.

The next fish came at 8:50 when we reached 138 FOW showing 46-degree water the same 70 foot down. This time it was the full core loaded with a super screw mag Silver Streak producing a 6-pound king. 8:55 the starboard Dipsey went again with a big hit but was gone after a minuet. We trolled another 45 minuets until the half core went again in 230 FOW producing a nice 4-pound steelhead. This prompted me to put out a 2-color core rod with a double orange crush spoon. This rig went twice producing small steelies until we pulled lines at 1:30 and headed for port. The rain subsided around 1:00 PM. Final toll was seven fish kept for twelve fish on. Three throwbacks and two lost.

Saturday was day one of our two-day tournament where we awoke to thick fog. We had the captains meeting at 5:00 AM with everyone dispersing to their boats at 5:15. My crew had Bobby’s Toy warmed up and ready to roll when I reached the dock. We shoved off and headed down the river to the pier heads. I followed my track for the day before on the GPS, as visibility was less than a couple hundred feet in the river. Fog conditions were not much better at the lake. We headed back to the spot we hit the fish on Friday but decided to set up in 100 FOW of water instead of 65. Getting out to the 100-foot mark was a challenge for me as I became disorientated in the fog and kept getting off course and turned around in circles twice. I finally got the boat pointed on a west course and set the autopilot. Due to the slow commute, I decided to stop in 85 FOW and set lines around 6:15.

The ideal 44-degree water had moved again. It was now 42.9 degrees at 70 foot down. We set up lines just as we did on Saturday and continued on the West Troll until we hit 125 FOW; I then set the boat on a South course working in and out from 100 to 125 foot.

The first fish did not come until 7:30 in 110 FOW on rigger three sporting a mag lemon ice Silver Streak 60 down with a 2.1 ball speed. All fish on Friday were caught running 2.0 to 2.2 at the ball. The good news was the fish were running slightly larger than the kings we caught on Friday. Our second fish came 5 minutes latter on a double white crush spoon set 135 back on a braided mag Dipsey in 112 FOW producing another 7-pound king. The full core went about 20 minuets latter giving us a small 4-pound king on a Moonshine flounder pounder spoon.

All went quiet until 12:25 when a laker hit rigger one set 100 down in 130 FOW about 3 miles north of the fish we caught earlier. The next half hour produced two more kings; one 7 pounder and one 4 pounder both caught is a 152 FOW on mag spoons. We were next to my good friend Captain Mark Williams and the Silver Addiction crew when the tournament was called. The fog conditions were improving but still offered poor visibility, so Mark offered to lead the way with his radar going and Bobby’s Toy trailing behind in his wake. This proved to be a big help and allowed us to get back to port in enough time, as we were almost seven miles out.

When it was all said and done, we were setting in fifth place after day one. The top five spots were anybodies game as spot two thru four were within a half a point of one another.

Sunday gave us clear skies, calm seas and less fish. The fish were scattered all over in small pockets of water. You were either on the fish on not. We fished the same area as the previous two days and had less than desirable results. The first fish caught was a 12 + pound king, which was our largest fish for the three days that we fished. We ended up going 4 for 6 with one of the 4 being to small to weigh. We could not buy another fish past 10:20 AM.

The standings changed dramatically at Sundays weigh in. As the first place fell out of contention, we fell down to ninth place and a couple of boats that did poorly on Saturday came back in a big way on Sunday. Miss Dipsey and crew pulled out 12 fish to weigh and took first place by a considerable margin while the second and third place boats came in with impressive catches as well. The rest of us struggled.

The largest fish caught on Saturday was a 16.5 pounder caught be Sloppy Joe and Sunday’s largest fish was a 15.45 pound king caught by E Fish N Sea. Sloppy Joe was the overall ‘333’ winner for the two days.

However, this year Grand Haven tournament had its challenges; everyone made it through safely and seemed to enjoy themselves. This will be quiet until June 26 when the Detroit Area Steelheaders arrive in Pentwater for their 4th tournament of the year.

Joe Man,

Check out the Detroit Area Steelheaders site at:http://www.detroitsteelheaders.org/tournaments.html. Go to St Joe Tournament hand out and download info. It will give you maps and nav info for the river.

Read the fishing reports on this site for up to date info as well.

Good luck!

Jimmy,

we will be fishing Grand Haven that weekend for our first 2 day tournament. Good luck in Holland.

Thanks all for the kind words. My crew and I enjoyed our day, we were just tired by the time the picture was taken. (Knowing we had to clean all those fish!)

Here is the catch...

This past weekend was the second of our nine-tournament schedule with the Detroit Area Steelheaders and what a weekend it was. Checking the weather reports Wednesday night gave conflicting information as one forecast called for 4 - 6 foot waves while another said 2-3 subsiding to 1-2 then to 1 foot or less. I opted to believe the latter and we were rewarded in doing so. As predicted, it was a bit on the rough side Friday morning with a steady flow of 2-3 footers coming out of the South with a steady 15 to 20 knot wind.

Silver Addiction and Bobby’s Toy were the only club boats in the marina on Friday morning so we discussed our options. Mark decided he would head for the 65-foot range a few miles south while I worked the shallower water closer to port. The Silver Addiction was well rewarded for their efforts as they came in with 12 nice spring kings weighing 10 to 15 pounds. Bobby’s Toy did not fare as well as we only came up with four dinks for our 8-hour troll. We found no takers in the shallows so we moved out to 65-foot of water around 9:00 AM and were rewarded with our first 2 pound Coho at 9:15 AM which hit a regular Silver Streak black screwball set 18 down with a 100 foot stretch. We worked the 65-foot water for another hour without any action so moved out to 100 foot and started seeing action again. Over the course of the next couple of hours we boxed three more fish while losing twice that many on short strikes. All fish came on spoons in the regular size Silver Streaks with Blue Dolphin and Michael Jackson getting hit anywhere from 38 to 80 down over 100 to 110 foot of water. A couple of fish hit free floating sliders with matching spoons with one fish hitting a red dodger in OO size with a bloody nose Stinger spoon. At the end of our troll, we were approx 8 miles south of port. Our ride back was much easier as we had a following sea of 1 to 3 footers.

Saturday, tournament day, conditions improved with 1 to 2 footers coming out of the south. I decided to fish in close for the first hour as visibility was low and the chop was steady. At 6:20, a 7-pound lake trout hit a Super Slim double oranges crush set 45 down over 68 foot of water. I called Mark on the phone at 6:30 to see how things were going in his area and told me to get down here and join in the fun. We pulled lines and made the 8 mile run at 10 miles per hour. We set up in the 02’s in 80 FOW and kept it on a south troll. At 8:00 AM, we had a 15-pound plus king coming to the boat on the full core rig with a SS Mike Jackson spoon, regular size, set on an in-line board off to starboard. From then on it was all catching as we worked the area of the 02’s to the 00’s. We ran four downriggers and two full cores off boards, one on each side and proceeded to keep catching fish. All on spoons, riggers set 45 to 65 down with stretches of 50 to 70 feet. We ended up going 16 for 24 with Michael Jackson being the best bait followed by the Blue Dolphin, then Double Orange Crush and Double White Crush. We had a Dipsey out for a while but it proved to get in the way and did not produce a fish so we pulled after running it for an hour or so.

We were very excited about our catch and thanked my good pal Captain Mark Williams for putting us on the fish. Without his input, it is doubtful that I would have made that grueling ride south. I think Mark was as excited as we were with our results. We pulled lines at 2:00 PM still fighting our last fish. Once the fish was in, we made the 9 mile run back to port in calm seas and the sun shinning.

Our cooler was a chore to get off the boat, even using the low dock by the marina entrance was a chore. At the weigh in Almost Paradise had their catch lying on the ground waiting for the weigh master. We thought we might have trouble beating him, as he seemed to a have a couple of more larger fish than we did. We had six fish over 10 pounds with the rest in the 4 to 8 pound range. We ended up with 14 Kings, 1 Laker, and 1 Coho for a second place finish, losing by less than 5 pounds. However, we did manage biggest fish with a 15.20-pound King beating out Almost Paradise’s 15.15-pound King.

Therefore, we took our $40.00, kept our heads high, and talked about all the things we did right with no regrets on our second place finish.

Saturday night and Sunday morning brought storms and heavy rain so we slept in Sunday morning. We decided that we would tear the boat down, put her on the trailer, and go for breakfast before heading home. I started the boat, letting her idle for a few minuets to warm up before casting of the dock lines when all the sudden the engine sputtered and dies. Yep, out of gas. The fish gods did indeed smile upon us Saturday by allowing us to get back to our slip in time for the weigh in. I know we were close on fuel but I did think we had a few gallons left. First time in twenty-three seasons in this boat that I ever ran it out of gas. One gas can purchase and two gallons of gas latter we were on our way to the boat ramp.

The DAS had their first tournament of the year at Lexington this weekend. The fishing was great, catching not so much. We pre-fished Friday, just two of us on board, we set up north of the harbor in 15 FOW and trolled north starting around 7:00 AM. We trolled for five hours without a hit. I zig zagged from 15 to 45 FOW until we reached Port Sanilac. We were in 45 FOW just north of the PS port entrance when a rigger set 25 down with a 100 foot stretch went off with a double orange crush Super Slim spoon at 12:07 PM. We landed a nice Laker that weighed 6 pounds on my digital hand held scale. Shortly after landing that fish another rigger went off with a green spoon dolphin Super Slim that was set 17 down with a 100 + foot stretch in 35 FOW on a NW troll at 12:20 PM, we netted a little bit bigger Laker that weighed in at 8.2 pounds. In 25 FOW on the same NW troll a board took off with a perch color jointed J-11 on a two color core rod. This fish weighed in at 8.8 pounds, again another Laker. All three fish were released unharmed. We decided at that point we had our Laker spot for the tournament and pulled the four riggers and two boards to make the ten mile ride back to Lexington. Seas were relatively calm at one foot or less.

Saturday we awoke to temps in the mid forties which was a welcome change from the mid-thirties of the morning before. Our game plan was then to fish in front of Lexington to see what we could make happen and then make the run to Sanilac latter. As we broke the pier head I received a call from a fellow club member, Vicki’s Seacret, that he was experiencing motor problems and needed a tow. I asked him to put an anchor out that we would come over to get him once the sun came up. I did not want to make a tow in the dark. We fished for about 45 minuets without so much as a knock off so we trolled over to a club boat in distress and hooked him up for the tow. We had about a 1.5 mile trip back to port where we got the disabled boat into the boat launch dock and headed back out for our tournament.

We decided to run to Sanilac and set up there. At the 9:00 AM fish call two boats reported one fish each, Hard Top & Tails and Almost Paradise, the remainder of the fleet reported no fish in the box.

I received a phone call from a pal that had been fishing the week before and he suggested we put down a trash can dodger and metallic green spin & glow. We did just that, 2 foot off the bottom with a 114 ft stretch, it was down less that 2 minuets when it went off with a nice 8 pound Laker. Our one and only fish for the day.

All boats pulled lines at 2 and were in the weigh in line by 3:00 PM. 4 boats weighed fish, the first place boat, Bad Dog (Puppy) had 4 Lakers caught in 76 FOW banging bottom with a dodger and spin & glow, the second place. Almost Paradise, boat had one Laker and a small Coho, the third place boat, Bobby’s Toy and fourth place boat, Hard Top & Tails, had one fish, ours was a half pound bigger, thus giving us a third place finish. The remainder of the boats had no fish.

Next week we are off to St Joe where hopes are high for better catching than what we experienced at Lexington.

2 blue, 1 white

I created my version of a fishing log last year using Excel. Using Excel gives you more options for sorting data and calculating. Send me a pm with your email and I would be happy to send it to you.

I use the 4oz dive bomb on a 5 color and figure I am getting the depth of a 8 color. I put the dive bomb in the center of the core. Just remember to make sure all the core is in the water or at the very least out of the rod tip. Core left in the tip will not be for long. Learned that one the hard way:mad:

Super copper is the way to go, you will not look back...

I have been using both lead core and copper and feel both have their place. I am fairly new to the copper set ups, I have used the pre rigged Opti copper rigs and have managed to destroy them within a few uses. A friend told me about super copper so I gave it a try. I took my 345 Penn to Captain Chucks in Ludington and them strip the double core off and put on full core of 45lb super copper, what deference in the way it handles on the reel. The super copper has a tin coat on it that gives it a coating that makes it behave more like lead core. I caught my three largest fish of 2009 on this rig. I use the copper when I want to get deeper than 70 foot. I kept my cores for everything above that. I also added a couple of sets of Dive Bombers that gives me extra depth on my cores. I use a 4oz DB on a half core to get me down to the 8 color core depth with out the length. They work great and give you that extra adjustability, again just another tool, albeit a cheap tool.

Thanks for the kind word all. The boat will run in the low 30's with 4 large fishermen, full fuel and all equipment. But it is rare day that it is calm enough to open the throttle all the way. Crestliners are not wave breakers, ride a bit rough but very stable when trolling which is what we do most of the time anyways. I must admit those 25 Carolina Classics with the 24 degree deadrise hulls are looking better all the time as I get older...

Yes, we start South and work our way North. This year we start on the Huron side at Lexington the last weekend in April then head to St Joe on the Lake Michigan side the first weekend in May. Couple of weeks later we go to Grand Haven for a two day event. Here is the schedule:

Lexington 4/24/2010

St Joseph 5/1/2010

Grand Haven 5/22/2010

Grand Haven 5/23/2010

Pentwater 6/26/2010

Manistee 7/10/2010

Ludington Ladies Day 8/7/2010

Ludington II 8/14/2010

Team Doubles 8/15/2010

Manistee 8/28/2010

Onekama 9/11/2010

If you would like more info on our tournaments check out the DAS website:http://www.detroitsteelheaders.org/

It would be awesome to get some new members with boats to participate in these events. We used to get 20 some odd boats now we are doing well if we get 12 or so. The economy and gas prices had caused some members to keep their boats dry docked. The boat captain needs to be a member which cost $25.00 per year. Tournaments cost $25.00 per or $125.00 annually which is a good deal is you plan to fish more than five events during the year. I do not mean make this sound like a sales pitch, it is just meant to be informational.

Again, thanks for the kind words everyone.

Being new to the site I thought it only appropriate to get my "Toy" on this board. Bobby's Toy is a 1987 Crestliner Saber 225 GL which I purchased new in 1987 at the Flint Steelheaders show. I purchased the boat from the now defunct Empire Marine in Flint. I ordered the Toy with a couple of options, starting with a 165 Mercrusier, carpet (bad choice on my part, carpet has no place on a fish boat) and a heavy duty 5200LB EZ Loader roller trailer. This purchase left little to do anything else with; lucky for me VHF came with the deal. I scraped $400.00 together for a Ray Jeff black&white CRT fish finder. A bud gave me pair of home made riggers for which I made a trolling board with flush mount PVC rod holders. I had a pair of Fish On rod holders for which a made a couple of angle brackets that enabled me to mount the rod holders to the gunnels and use them for dipsey rods or Pink Ladies at that time. Another friend gave me some old rods and reels, some spoons and a hand full of Bomber Long A's, I was ready to go salmon fishing.

As time went on I upgraded to four electric Walkers and a Atlantic Towers top.

A new interior came in 2005. Home built over the winter, new vinyl flooring, storage for all of my tackle, new seats and a new Ray Marine fish finder. 2006 brought a re-power, the 165 went away and was replaced with a slightly used 4.3L 205hp V6 installed by Michigan Marine Gear in St. Clare Shores Michigan. This brought a whole new life to the Toy. I decided to finish this project with a new paint job over the winter of 2007/2008. Paint was done by D&R Marine in Caseville Michigan.

Today Bobby’s Toy is about where I want it to be. Here is a list of equipment I have added, most of it in the last 4 years:

205 hp Mercrusier

Bennet Trim Tabs (This was needed after the engine up grade, had to keep the bow from bouncing)

New Paint

New interior

Ray Marine 500DX fish finder

840 Fish Hawk

320 Ray Marine GPS Chart Plotter

Ray Marine Sport Pilot

Ray Marine 49 VHF

Beaver Troll (added 2009)

Atlantic Towers Top

Custom made enclosure by Canvas Kings in Spring Lake MI

4 Walker Tournament II electric down riggers

6 Bert’s rod holders with 2 24 inch tracks

3 Fold down Tite Loc rod holders between out downs

Electric winch with trailer mounted battery

LED trailer lights

New trailer brake system

And many more things that I can not recall right now.

And here she is running in all her glory last year out of Pentwater.

My diver program has not been very productive the last couple of years so I would like to get it moving again. I think my biggest issue is lead lengths, I use 6 ft leads with 30ld Ande with mostly flasher and flies. What do you do?

Wow, what a warm welcome, thanks you all.

I have a pretty heavy work schedule so most of fishing is geared around the DAS tournaments. So I fish out of many ports, most of which are on Lake Michigan's Eastern shore line. Though we do make it to Lake Huron once or twice a year, but since the salmon crash on Lake Huron we concentrate on the Lk MI ports mostly. My favorite port is Ludington as I have a cabin in the area and plan to retire their in another 15 years or so. I like the variety of ports, something new all the time, but it does get to be a challenge to be competitive. My crew and I usually arrive at the port on Thursday night, Fish all day Friday, fish the tournament on Saturday then we take it easy on Sunday. If the fishing and weather is good we will hit it for the full morning, if not we go to breakfast, load up the boat and head home. Unless of course we are fishing a two day tournament then we are out there before six giving it our all.

I started keeping a very detailed fish log last year and found a wealth of info in it once I started analyzing the data.

I can get a bit winded in my writing. I tend to talk more on these message boards than in person. If they get to long just tell me!

I will get some pics posted of the Toy and some fun catches.

Hello everyone,

I discovered this site through the links section of the new Detroit Area Steelheaders web site. Browsing this I was impressed and decided to join.

I was first introduced to salmon fishing in 1985 from a co worker. My first time out was a rainy and cold Fathers Day weekend out of Onekama. I had the time of my life catching small Coho's with some Lakers and Kings mixed in. I think the biggest fish was about 7 or 8 pounds but for someone who never caught anything bigger than 4 pound small mouth, I was hooked.

A growing family and small boat kept my fishing time to a minimum even after I bought my first and only salmon boat in 1987, I still only made it out 2 or 3 times a year. Speed frame to 2000 I joined the Detroit Area Steelheaders to learn more about salmon fishing. I started fishing a couple of tournaments a year and began to get more confident in my abilities as a salmon fisherman. Now that my boys a grown I have more time to fish. I now have a seasoned crew and we fish all the DAS tournaments for the last 3 years. I still have the same 1987 225 Sabre GL Crestliner that I bought new in 87. I have since up graded everything including new interior, new paint and repowered from a 165 four banger to a 4.3L 205 V6. I think I have the boat the way I want it now and enjoy my time on the water more than ever.

I look forward to learning more from the site, sharing my stories and hope to read many of yours. Good fishing to all this year!