Re: Rough and ready '74 Starcraft Chieftan 18' rebuild
One thing for sure you have a hull that can handle some waves and not disrupt the trolling. It is hard to complain when you are out on the lake enjoying the fishing even when the fish aren't in the mood. I am not a go fast boater opting to spend a nice long day on the water trolling. Boat looks good in trolling mode Chem!
Yah man, looks like fun even without the fish
Great day to be on the water...especially in that sweet rig!
its only a matter of time until they strap-on their fall feedbags :hungry:
Thanks for the info Chem. It does look like you have a perfect day on the water. I like to tell myself sometimes that sometimes it's better not to catch fish...all that hard work bringing them in and all!
Any day with good weather out on the boat is good, whether or not the fish are biting... I hope the weather holds out for you to get out there some more this season!
Yeah, a day on the water is always great, even without the lake creatures taking my bait. The Admiral and I are down to one vehicle right now (the rust cancer took my old Mazda), but a recent promotion will make a truck--and way more fishing days--a possibility real soon.
Willy, I'm not much for speed, either. My wife doesn't really understand how I enjoy sitting in the boat going 1.5 mph for hours, but I love it.
As for my season, the locals here are out until the ramps ice over, and even then they'll sometimes bust it up with a plow to get boats in and out. There are plenty of calm, sunny days even when the water is in the 30s. I should have a good amount of days left to figure this stuff out.
That looks like an excellent Wall-ice chop to me, maybe you should consider targeting them instead of the over rated salmonoids... they must think they're too cool to bite with their shiny silver skins and the black spots and pink hues, they are the snobs of the fish world.
Are you marking any bait balls or suspended fish on the sonar... are you fishing where the fish are???
Boat still looks super sweet!
I've had similar thoughts, and I'll probably rig up at least one rod with either leadcore or weighted braid for pulling walleye plugs. A lot of my struggles have everything to do with cold water fishing and my lack of experience. Deep water fishing and casting/jigging are completely different animals. Walleye trolling might be kind of a good middle ground to start with.
I am marking fish, and there were about 12 trolling boats out where I was yesterday, so I'm in the right spot. I'm just not nuanced enough at this point to know exactly what I'm not doing right. I do need to build up my arsenal of lures, 'cause the salmonids are, like you say, picky from day to day, even hour to hour.
The part that concerns me is not knowing how fast your moving when trolling,..
The proper speed and consistency is a bog part of trolling success,...
Here is one of the best deals going on a gps/fishfinder combo,..
Lowrance? Elite-5 DSI Sonar with GPS : Cabela's
I bought on just have on hand as a backup on the next boat,..
A friend bought one and is using it, He likes it and I have used it on his boat and agree it is very good for the money,..
The dsi can be used at the same time as your conventional sonar as they are on different frequencies,..
I was literally just looking at those last night! That's a nice unit for a great price. I may wait to see if there are any black friday deals for those. Right now I'm using Navionics on an ipad, which is a nice chartplotter, and I have speed in 1/10s of a mph. But, the ipad can't get wet, and is hard to see in sunlight. My sonar is an old technology HB, really basic and more of a depth finder than fish finder. I'd likely keep it mounted for back up and to run the Lowrance GPS in full screen when under way. So, yeah, that unit is definitely on my list.
Thanks for all the input, guys. I appreciate it. Fishing is a learned skill, not an inherent talent, so persistence is key. I'll get it. I'm also lucky enough to have an excellent online community on a local LC forum. Really active and friendly, welcoming to beginners, and not shy about details. They're also very active in Lake management issues, like Lamprey and Cormorant control, which is pretty cool.
EDIT: Teamster, I have a question about the Lowrance unit. I know that it comes pre-loaded with base maps, but do you have to get the sd card for detailed contours?
Another edit: Budget minded inflatable PFD, anybody have one they're happy with?
