sherman51

like i said earlier, there is no reason not to live your dream and go to school. the fishing season is mostly in the summer, but some of the best fishing is early spring and fall. but you can still work around those times as long as you just charter out part time or fill in when you get a chance and do some 1st mate work. if you want both bad enough it will work its way out for you. the best of luck to you, and keep us posted the next few years.

sherman

i dont go into canada waters, but i think this whole thing is a boat load of crap. as long as the boats dont go to shore they should be left alone. it is just some power happy idiots on both sides overstepping there powers. just my opinion.

sherman

great info. if i was set up to go coho fishing this year i would be there. but my crew these days consists of my 2 sons and my daughter n law and my grand son. and the one son that is working cant get off work. and the other one doesnt have any money, and i just cant afford a trip up right now.

but i always tell everybody that new buffalo is a good place to fish as soon as you can start getting out. the water is shallower in the south part of the lake and the baitfish and coho will be there early. and you dont need any spiecial gear, or a big boat to fish coho. and it can be a ball to catch these little fighters.

back when i first started fishing them we used a 16 ft boat and run 5 lines. 4 flat lines and 1 down the shute right in the back of the prop wash. then just progressed from there. after i got a couple of riggers i liked to put them down about 5 foot off the bottom with a big broken back rainbo trout about 10 ft behind the ball. we caught many a nice king on these rigs.

sherman

sounds like you have already made up your mind. but just want our opinions. i think you are a person that can go out and get what you want. i mean you already have the hours to get your license.

i see no reason not to have the license. the fishing season wont effect your school time. but whatever you do, go on to school. i started working at the ripe old age of 14, but had done farm work and odd jobs before that. but my step dad went nuts and tried to kill my mom. she had 7 kids including me. so i went to work to help my mom. and just kept working and helping her until i got married. and even then i helped her what i could. but my point is dont quit school.

with the econamy being what it is and the price of gas going up each year the charter business is in trouble. so you really need something to fall back on. but there is no reason that you shouldnt get your license if thats what you want to do. it will just help you get work in the summer while you are going to school in the winter. and when you finish school if you want to go full time charter you will already have your foot in the door. and will have got to know some of the guys thats chartered out with you. this is just an opinion and nothing more. because you are in the position to have both. not many people can say they are living there dream and getting schooled at the same time,LOL.

sherman

If you dont mind me asking, how much coin did that run? Thanks!

i dont remember just what it did cost. but it wasnt bad at all. the shipping costed me almost as much as the work he did.

sherman

i like 65 myself, just because the charter boat i went out on to learn how to use divers used 65. so thats what i bought. i dont think color makes any difference. i,ve used red and green both. as long as i use a good floro leader i could care less what color the main line is.

and you do want to use about 2 or 3 hundred ft of mono backing, ofcourse the size of your reel makes the amount of backing you use. im using sealine sg17lca,s. if your using sealine sg47lca,s then you would want more backing. then just use 150 yrds of braid. but use the same amount on each reel so your counters will match up on your reels. i am using cabelas ripcord on most of my reels, but i had to replace the line on a couple of reels, i used power pro for them.

i bought a bunch of the sealine sg17lca reels the last couple of years off ebay and put braid on them. then when i went fishing i was having all kinds of problems with the drags. i sent them in to tuna toms to have them repaired. he told me the only thing wrong was the line was slipping on the spools. so he put pins in the spools to tie the line to. and then the rest of my reels i just put 200 ft of 17 lb mono backing on them and my problems are solved. so be sure to use a mono backing. or thats my opinion anyway.

sherman

just be sure and go to slidediver.com and watch the video. you can also google slide diver and get alot of useful info.

the slide diver is great for those that want a long lead between the diver and the lure. or if you want to use the lite bite arm on the lite bite slide divers. if you dont want the long leaders and dont need the lite bite arm, then i would reccomend the walker deeper diver. i started out using the dipsy divers, but didnt like the way the rings worked. so i switched to the walker divers and thought they were much better. then i checked out the plane old slide diver, and didnt like it much as i always use short leaders and use my divers as attractors. then came the lite bite, i tried them and fell in love with the lite bite arm. and also something i really like about the lite bite divers, the rings stay on real good so your not fighting them like on the dipsy,s. another thing you can get a kit that comes with a small ring and a large ring. and it also has a 2 oz weight and a 4 oz weight. so if you really want to get deep you can use the large ring and the 4 oz weight and really get down there.

but as for just the divers themselves the walker is just hard to beat. no rings to mess with and they work good. but if you want the longer leads or dont like dragging small fish around then you want the slide diver or the lite bite slide diver. if i was going to use a longer lead i would use a floro leader as long as i wanted then tie it to atleast 30 or 50 lb braid as my main line. the braid just helps trip the diver from the boat.

if you are fishing rough water you have to set the diver alittle tight to keep from getting alot of falce releases. then with mono or floro main line its hard to get the diver to trip. with braid its much eaiser.

sherman

i have to agree with killerbe on this one. i have seen boats with all electronics boxed overhead. it shouldnt hurt anything. but this is just my opinion. if someone know for sure please chime in. i think its a great idea.

sherman

Here is how i rig mine for walleye. For coho i am going to replace the 12lb with 20 lb leader.

yep, this is how i run mine. then just use about an 8 or 9 ft floro leader. the only reason i use these over the deeper divers is the lite bite arm. i think the divers themselves works as attractors so i dont care about having a 40 or 50 ft leader like they were designed to do. but i love the lite bite trigger on these. i mostly walleye fish on erie, and get alot of small trash fish and small eyes. and they just wont trip a standard diver. so your just draging around a small fish and never know it untill you bring it in. with the lite bite arm set as light as it will go, even the small white perch will usely trip the divers.

sherman

i havent got the picture thing figured out myself, so i cant send pictures. but i use the lite bite slide divers. they are just so much better. on them you have 2 adjustments 1 for your rod tension and 1 for the lure tension. you can set the lure tension loose enough that the little shakers will trip the divers. and i think braid is the only way to run a diver. it makes it so much better to trip the divers from the boat. you can get alot of info on these at slidediver.com

i dont even use the slide part of the diver myself. but i do like the lite bite feature. so i just tie my braid to a swivel and hook it to the front arm. then i tie an o ring to my leader and lace it through the back and in the lite bite trigger. and its ready to go. but i think they show you how to use them with the slide on the web site. they have a different set up for braid and mono. but i think you would like the lite bite slide diver much more than the slide diver. let me know what you think after you check out the web site.

sherman

the only time to run anything down the shute is in early spring coho fishing. then i like a crank bait in the back of the prop wash. when fishing kings the back of the boat is for landing fish. and it can still get alittle hairy if one comes in alittle green. just my opinion.

sherman

boy you just barely beat me to them. i guess i thought just alittle to long,LOL. but i would have needed them shipped to me anyway. but i would have paid shipping. you guys have a great day now.

sherman

the answer to your question is yes. it will stop the wheel from turning freely. i have a 15 ft tri hull open bow with a 115 merc inline 6. and i seen these kits on ebay, they had everything in them. a new cable which is what i needed and the helm station. i only paid like 150.00 for the kit. but i get no feed back at all from the motor. they do steer just alittle stiffer than the standard steering, but it is well worth the effort. we do alot of trolling on our local lake. and it works great for us. if youre like me you just couldnt see putting out the money for hyd steering. i think you will be happy with the no feed back steering. if you get it and dont like it, you can blame it on me,LOL just say that darn sherman51 told me to get it,LOL. please let us know how things work out for you.

sherman

i did find one teleflex kit on ebay for 169.00 for everything but the steering wheel. some of the kits even come with a new wheel. but what i did was bought the kit then bought a new wheel, because i had found a nice ss 16" wheel i wanted. but if you want more info on this one thats 169.00 just pm me and i,ll give you the info you need to see it.

sherman

i got the wolf thing right off the bat, now if you hadnt added the graphics i wouldnt have got it. but that wolf chowing down on that fish just says it all for me. and i cant really say i like it better with or without the blood. they both look awesome to me. i just look forward to seeing the boat in all her glory,LOL.

sherman

Oh I would love to jump up another 5 feet, (Albemarle 247 ) but I would have to live in it! appreciate the insight!

i think he was talking to me about a bigger boat, because i posted about my 15 ft tri hull. but i also have a 21 ft cobia and then i have a 28 ft x 10 ft wide sea ray amberjack that im going to sell this spring. right now it has a broken drivers seat and one engine lost spark last fall. as soon as i get those things fixed its going up for sale. and im going to sell her cheap. she has been upgraded with twin 4.3 mpi v6,s and it has a brand new trailer that the dealer cost on the trailer was 4000.00. it has 2 new alternators 1 new starter 1 new raw water pump 2 new belts and a spare belt and 2 new 4 blade 20 p props. and im only going to try and get around 7000.00 for her without my fishing gear. it will be a steal for anyone wanting to get into a big water boat.

sherman

yea, if my big boat didnt have power steering on it i would convert it over to the nfb steering. and i was wrong about what i paid for my kit. it was 249.00 when i bought it off ebay, but it came with a new 12 ft cable and a new nfb helm and a new steering wheel. i bought the teleflex kit, they are just alittle higher now. but im sure there still alot cheaper than buying them at a marina.

and i had never changed out the cables or helms before. but with the instructions it was an easy task. the only real problem i ran into was my hole for the helm station wasnt big enough for the new one. so i had to buy a large hole say at lowes and drill my hole alittle bigger. but my little tri hull is like a 76 model. you might not run into this problem. i just went to ebay and typed in steering cable nfb and found what i wanted. good luck.

sherman

Sherman, Good post. I think we can all relate to making do with what we have.

thank you. im sure alot of us guys started with a tight budjet and just worked our way up over the years. im alittle disgruntled at amazon right now, i just checked on the cannon rod holders at amazon and they are down to 60.00 each. i know i just paid 64.00 for my last 2, but thats still 8.00 i could have used someplace elce. sure wish i was looking to buy some more,LOL. but i already have 6 on each side.

Yea I will defanitly go big Jon I got alot of other things I need so if I can save 5 bucks that's another spoon I can buy so every dollar counts.

hey

i fully understand i have been there many times. when i first started fishing lake mich, i had home made riggers. we took the big pully off some old dryers and used steel pipe for booms and rod holders. then we were out in some pretty rough water in our big 16 ft boat, and broke both booms. and i used manual riggers from 1976 untill 2009. then i bought my first electric riggers, i just never could spend the money for electric ones. i have even had to sell all my gear a few times back some years ago when i would get laid off from work in sept and would be laid off untill about april. i would sell all my gear so we could have christmas for our kids and help pay the bills. then when i would get back to work i would work as much overtime as i could and buy some gear with my overtime money. i always bought used manual riggers. and then just bought cheap rods and reels. over the years and working alot of overtime i managed to upgrade my reels to line counters. but i bought all of them off ebay. and i still just have cheap rods. so as you can see im not just someone making light to your money limits. i have lived with limits all my life, and i still have those limits.

i have been using cabelas quick draw rod holders for about 15 years. i paid like 15.00 each for them, and i have always loved the way they work. but up on erie pulling those divers they were twisting around and kept me worried they were going to brake. so i got alittle money a couple of years ago, and i bought electric riggers and the cannon ratcheting rod holders. and i understand you have to buy what you can. but i did want to let you know about the cannon ratcheting rod holders. they are just a great holder for using divers, because you never have to lean out over the side of the boat to pull your rods out. you just ratchet the holders up and lift the rods up. and even tho 64.00 is still high, its a great price for these holders, when i first started buying mine they were like 99.00 each. i got my first 4 off ebay for 70.00 each. they were the double axis. they cost alittle more than the single axis. so when i found them on sale at amazon for 69.00 for the single axis i bought 4 more. then a few days ago i seen they were 64.00 and bought 2 more. but i had bought extra lengths of trax when i bought them so i could move my holders around.

and like i told you in the pm when i gave you tony,s email address. if you will email him you will get his best price. and big jon does make a great product. i have 4 big jon riggers and i love them. and they do make ratcheting holders, but they are over 100.00 each. and i wish you all the luck in the world on your fishing. i have been fishing the big water since 1976. and i,ve been hooked on some type fishing big water ever since. but most of my efforts go to fishing the central basin of lake erie now.

my first trip to erie we was in a 15 ft open bow tri hull with a 65 hp motor. we got caught in 6 to 7 footers and took us 2 hours to travel the 9 miles back to shore. that was the first and last trip for that boat. then i fished for a few years in a 16 ft deep v. and kept a lot closer watch on the weather. then i got my baby. i found this old cherokee aluminum 18 ft boat parked under some trees down in kentucky. i bought it for 250.00. i put my motor on it and a good friend sandblasted it and another friend painted it. then i put new flooring in it and new steering, and some new seats i bought at a rv surplus store, and walaa i had me a awesome lake erie boat.

sherman

dont want to hurt tony,s business but i would suggest you go with the cannon ratcheting rod holders for your divers. you can set then with one hand, then when you get a fish instead of having to reach out over the side of the boat to get your rod, you just grab it and ratchet it to the upright position and lift it up out of the holder. the single axis holders is all you need, and right now you can get them at amazon.com for 64.00 each. but you do need to buy the tracks for them, which is a good thing. then you can mount the tracks where ever you want them. then just put the holders on when you need them. and if you want you can get the tracks alittle longer than you need. it lets you move the holders around for there sweet spot. it will also let you add more holders at a later date. just my opinion but the ratcheting holders is the only way to use divers.

sherman

i guess i have to agree with most of the others. if price has anything to do with your decision, just get in touch with tony.

sherman

the answer to your question is yes. it will stop the wheel from turning freely. i have a 15 ft tri hull open bow with a 115 merc inline 6. and i seen these kits on ebay, they had everything in them. a new cable which is what i needed and the helm station. i only paid like 150.00 for the kit. but i get no feed back at all from the motor. they do steer just alittle stiffer than the standard steering, but it is well worth the effort. we do alot of trolling on our local lake. and it works great for us. if youre like me you just couldnt see putting out the money for hyd steering. i think you will be happy with the no feed back steering. if you get it and dont like it, you can blame it on me,LOL just say that darn sherman51 told me to get it,LOL. please let us know how things work out for you.

sherman

sounds like you have got some good advice on here. a good time to fish new buffalo is any time you can get on the water from here on out. the fish come in early down there. i usely start by going south to the indiana state line. alot of guys just buy both license for in and mich and keep trolling all the way to michigan city in. but i live in indiana and never had a reason to go past the state line, so i just fished in mich waters. from the time the ice will let you fish at new buffalo we have always caught coho. and usely picked up a nice king or two. and remember to start letting out some cranks before you clear the inlet. we have caught alot of fish before we get out on the lake. but alot of that will depend on boat traffic. good luck to you. keep us posted on your fishing.

sherman

i always like to have a couple of riggers down with a couple of large broken back minnows just in case theres some kings around. but you dont need them for early season coho. i like the rainbow pattern broken backs in any brand on my riggers for the kings. but some large reef runners just flat lined might work just as good.

we just use crank baits. we start out with med runners and some deep runners to find the fish. then we just match what the fish wants. if you already are set up with boards your ready for early season coho,s.

you can run small divers with spoons if you want to run them. i have never run dodgers and flys early in the year, but i guess they are really hot behind divers. but you dont want to get to deep or you will miss most of the fish in the early season.

i,ve seen many limits come on nothing but cranks in the early season. i,ve used everything from hot n tots to rebels and hed good luck with all of them. we have caught alot of fish coming out the mouth of the harbor. and we have caught alot of fish running a crank bait right at the back of the prop wash. good luck, and let us know how your doing.

something elce you might want to think about is fishing new buffalo. they will be there much earlier than st joe and the fishing can be red hot. that where we did most of our early coho fishing. being from indiana we just bought our mich license and fished in michigan, and then just moved north as the water warmed. then we did our fishing in south haven. we just liked new buffalo early and then we liked fishing south haven untill we would move over to lake erie for the eyes the last of may or the first of june. good luch, and just have fun. the coho can really get you jumping around the boat. and if you do happen to hook a nice king it,s a great bonus.

sherman

i personaly think it looks awesome. do you have someone in mind to do the work on your boat?? are you going to have it painted or the stick on type??

i had a boat named outlaw many years back. i had a friend of mine that was an artist draw me a cowboy with a rod and reel in each hand, but i never did follow through with it.

sherman

i been going to ask this for awhile. but i bought a set of big jon pro tournaments with the auto stop. then i put the cannon ball retrievers on them. when i let them down it knocks the bead off the cable crimp. it doesnt seem to be hurting anything, and the auto stops still work. does anybody elce have this problem?? is there anything that can be done?? will it cause the cable to fail??

sherman