Paulywood

You can run the standard walleye boards on the shorter lines. Last year I ran 300' copper on the TX-44'a and full cores outside of them on walleye boards with no issues.

Done!

In the spring or for walleyes they work good for running Jet Divers.

This is what I do, mags set on 1 for low divers, regulars set on 3 for high divers. Some guys like running 4 wire rods but I still like having braid rods. During mid day I have had good luck pulling the wire and running braid with long leads for negative kings.

I have to work all of those weekends so I'm out.

I have tried almost every wire setup there is and like my current ones the best. Shimano Tekota 600 lc reels and Shimano Talora 7' roller rods. I also didn't mind the Daiwa Sealines after I upgraded to the power handles. Twilli Tips are alright but I liked the Torpedo Tips better. I run the 19 strand Torpedo wire and haven't had any issues but I didn't with the 7 strand either.

Care to share your go-to setups Josh?

Sorry guys, there just aren't enough people to cover the costs. I wanted to let everyone know far enough in advance so they can make other plans. Thanks for everyone who showed interest. Nick

I am going to have to cancel this, I just can't afford to lose that much money. Hope you guys understand. I just wanted to make sure everyone had enough notice to change plans. Thanks, Nick

Personally I would start looking through the gallery here at other people's boats to get ideas. I know every time I fish with someone else I usually learn something or see something that I would change or upgrade on my boat. Nothing major, just some tweaking. I also think it's a good idea to look at boats that are completely different than yours. You might see something that you wouldn't expect to work. After that it's just figuring out what you have, what you would like to add, and what you can afford to do. I always like to add 1 new setup, technique or presentation every year. One thing I like about big lake fishing is that it always seems to be evolving and there is always something to learn. Feel better soon.

To be honest with the number of people that have signed up now I would have to double the price in order to just cover the costs. I was really hoping that this would work out but there just doesn't seem to be enough interest. I will still leave it open until friday and we will see what happens by then. I was really looking forward to it myself. Nick

I'm going to leave this up until friday but right now there aren't enough people signed up to cover costs. If I don't have enough by friday I will let everyone know that it is cancelled.

Welcome Darl!

I used the green Ande for riggers off and on and have never noticed a difference.

I got a pair of the Shimano Charter Specials from Santa. I really like these for riggers. The Convectors are fine too. I've been using them for a few years. Last I knew Calumet Marine had the Charter Specials on sale. That's where Santa got mine:)

Frank, If you don't find anyone to car pool with you can ride down with me. Saves you half the drive.

Alright, looking good guys. I found out today that there will be food and drinks available to buy. My niece's dance class will be selling hot dogs, chili, chips, pop and maybe some desserts to raise money for a trip. Posting if you are coming & the number will help the girls figure out how much food to make. I have about 15 people who plan on coming too.

The fishing ban is just on campus. I know plenty of guys who have fished it without getting in trouble.

Thanks for the post & pics. Hope you recover fast & we'll see you at the seminar.

I'll bring you one Jon, but none of that fancy stuff Ken drinks:)

Tell him kittens work best, they thrash around a lot:)

Here are the details for the seminar day: Great Lakes Fisherman Seminar Day www.greatlakesfisherman.com 12 noon to 5pm at Eagle Park Hall in Eagle, MI January 19th, 2013 http://eagleparkmichigan.org/ Speaker Lineup: Captain Mike Harvey- Salmon Wagon Sport Fishing Charters out of Grand Haven, MI Fishing for Lakers www.salmonwagon.com/wp Captain Jason Coslow- KC-1 Sport Fishing out of Muskegon, MI Fishing in the Mudline http://www.kc1sportfishing.com/ Matt Mishler- Site Member and 1st Mate on Killing Time Charters out of Manistee, MI Fishing with Cut Bait Captain Mike Keith- Site Member and Owner of Just In Time Charters out of Whitehall, MI Tactics for Fishing “Weigh 5 Fish” Tournaments www.justintimefishingcharters.com Captain Mike Veine- Site Member and Owner of Trophy Specialist Charters out of Au Gres, MI Fishing Saginaw Bay Walleye www.trophyspecialists.com If you are thinking of coming please reply to this thread so I can get an idea of how many people to expect. And thanks to all of the people who offered to do the seminar! The cost is $10 per person, and kids 14 and under get in free.

Ok, you should be able to find a nice boat with what you are looking for. I will throw out another recommendation. One of my friends bought a 20' Sea Swirl with a 150 hp Johnson on it. The boat jumps right up on plane and moves along 30-35 mph real easy. The part that might interest you is that it has reel high sides on it for when your wife and daughter are along. The sides are quite a bit higher than on my boat. I think his boat is a 1999 and he paid around 12K. The Pursuits and Islanders you have been talking about are going to be harder to find with an outboard. And if you want a 4 stroke it will be very hard to find any of these boats in your price range. Since it will be just you sleeping on it the smaller cabin on the 20-25' boats shouldn't be an issue. If you do plan on fishing solo I do recommend an autopilot if you can afford it. And wear some kind of tether or cut out for the engine in case you fall overboard. You might want to expand your search out to other brands of boats and really see what's out there unless you have a specific boat in mind. If I get a chance I'll take a look around and see if I can find anything that would suit you.

We had a horrible experience with Parker this past week and I thought I would let everyone else know so that they didn't have to go through the same thing. Thursday while Parker was at his babysitter's he got into some medication. It was put up where no one thought he could get to it but somehow he did. He is fine now with no long-term issues but it was a very scary couple of days. What we are doing now and what I suggest everyone do is get a locking box to put your medication in. I mean lock and key. Don't think that they can't get it, because they will find a way. I don't want anyone to go through what we did. Ok, back to fishing!

Welcome to the site Jamey! Seems like you have gotten some really good help already but thought I'd throw in my $.02. I have a 22' Sportcraft WA with a 225hp 4.3 L V6. I bought this particular boat for a few reasons. I wanted a boat large enough for my wife to be comfortable on and at the time any future children. I also wanted a ride that was good in any waves that were small enough for me to fish (5' or less for me, under 3' for the wife). I live in the exact center of the lower peninsula so trailerability was a huge factor for me. I narrowed it down to 20-25' fiberglass due to these factors. I've ridden on Islanders, smaller aluminum boats, smaller fiberglass boats and even large cabin cruisers up to 38'. The 22' ended up being a great size for me. If I wasn't going to trailer I would definitely go up in size and add a 2nd engine. I wider beam would be better to as it would improve the ride. The problem is that when you add the 2nd engine and go wider the price goes up substantially. Also the upkeep goes way up. It sounds like ride quality is your most important factor so to me that would eliminate any aluminum boat, sorry Islander guys. Now it comes down to the walkaround question. I chose a WA because the layout gives you more room in the back to fish. The cabin is usually smaller but it is pushed farther forward than conventional boats. The cabin is narrower though, so that might be an issue if you plan on sleeping on it. To be honest a boat like Mike's that 1maniac linked would be a pretty good setup for you. The cabin is bigger for sleeping, it's wider and longer so the ride would be better, and it has twin 4.3's instead of 350's so the gas mileage should be better. Or a larger Grady with twin OB's could be good too. If you find a newer one it should get decent gpm and have room. Plus I think that Grady makes boats up to 27' that are only 8'6" wide if you did want to trailer. Overall, it really comes down to what is most important to you and what your budget is. If you want something that would really move and be comfortable you could get something like Boltman's cruiser. But then you are talking a whole different financial range. The best thing would be to go look at different boats and if possible get them out on the water before you buy. See how much gas they use, how the ride is and how big the cabin is. If you come up with some options feel free to post them here and the guys will give you the pro's and con's of each one. Good luck and have fun, it should be an enjoyable experience. And like was already said, get a survey. Best money you will ever spend.