. My boat is named "Cooler By The Lake" because that's our usual summer forecast in Marquette,
being on Lake Superior. My boat is a 1988, 22' Sea Nymph with an aluminum hull and cuddy cabin.
Power Train
. The power train is a 3 Liter (130 hp) Mercruiser with an Alpha One outdrive.
That's a small engine for the boat but it sure is economical to run. Cruising speed is only around 21 mph. I put an oil reservoir on the I/O to monitor the oil and that is something I'd recommend to anyone with an I/O.
I rebuilt the engine in 2001 which worked wonders for its performance.
Trolling Motor
. My
new auxiliary motor in 2006 is a 1989 Yamaha High Thrust 9.9 hp.
The fuel line is connected to the main tank and its
charging system is connected to the main batteries. My 1985 Honda
10 hp had 5,831 hours on it when it just wore out. Up to the end, in never used
oil and never failed to start. It averaged around 4.5 hours of trolling on a
gallon of gas. I had the original plugs in for nearly 9 years and put only $25
in parts in it over all those years. Well, that doesn't count the 3 impellers.
Steering
. In 1983 I devised an electric steering system for my trolling motor. It was made from a car electric window opener and worked fantastic wired to a toggle switch I could use from anywhere on the boat. However, in 1998 I made the plunge and got a Nautamatic® autopilot steering system. It now automatically holds whatever course I set, even into gusty wind and waves over 3 feet. It is so wonderful to be able to walk about the boat, catch fish,
fish by myself, and do other things (including BS) without the required 100% concentration on steering. It
also saves my guests from sharing the steering burden. In 2003, I upgraded to
the TR-1, a model more advanced that will hold course within a few degrees, do
circles, zig zag, and other things. Love it.
Electronics
:
Radios
. In 2006 I replaced my Apelco® marine radio with a Uniden
Oceanus. Like everything else, radios have gotten complicated and this one has a
menu. I set it to scan several channels, including channel 78 which is my main
channel. One downside to the radio is the short microphone cord that won't
stretch when it's cold.
What were they thinking? Channel bleed-over is
a problem too. Of course I always
monitor channel 16 which I feel is very important should someone else need
assistance. I miss the days when most boaters using marine radios knew radio
protocol and never said such things as "Breaker, breaker!" or "Do you have your
ears on?"
Navigation
. I use my Lowrance®
Color H2O iFinder , which has mapping
capability. In addition, I have a Navionics chip showing lake depths. As I catch fish, I usually mark the spot on the GPS plotter with an icon to see the pattern of where the fish are so I can go back if I wish. I upload and download my coordinates from my GPS directly into my home computer. I leave the icons there and if I fish the next day, I use a different set of icons. I occasionally use an icon to identify where we marked significant amounts of fish (there may be only
a couple if it's a slow day).
Radar
. Furuno® 1621 LCD radar. It's a modest radar with a 16-mile range. However, all I want to know is whether there is someone
nearby in the fog. Some years are nearly fog free and others have considerable
fog. However, it gives me great peace of mind knowing it's there when I need it.
Graph
. I retired my Bottom Line Tournament Master for a Furuno
FCV582L color graph in 2005. I just love it with the dual frequency transducers. I
didn't get the speed indicator as they are notoriously inaccurate and my GPS
does just fine. The Bottom Line has worked out fairly well but just didn't
do the job like I was hoping. We mostly use our graph to watch the bottom going up and down in order to adjust the downriggers accordingly
but now I see more below, and in color.
Gear
:
Two BigJon® electric downriggers I've had since 1983. They've been fantastic
with almost no maintenance. I
made the swivel bases that year on a metal lathe and welded them. They were
still working fine but I put new motors on them both in 2007 as the brushes were
getting worn and the new motors are a little faster.
9' graphite downrigger rod and Shimano® reel is my workhorse. For years
I used Roemer® releases, one of the best for consistency and flexibility as you can stack with it easily too.
However, several years ago I switched to Black® or Dubro® releases because of their low water
resistance, simplicity, they work very well, and they're less expensive.
Pumper or Johnson Rod. I usually run a steel line straight out the back of the boat with a 1 1/2-pound weight on it. It's tricky to get out once the downriggers are down but we seldom have problems. It's really fun when fighting a fish on a steel line, which has no give whatsoever and it's just you and the fish. It's a lot harder than monofilament, which is very forgiving with all its stretch.
I occasionally call it a pumper rod as we used to pump the rod to vary the lure to entice the
fish to hit. However, our standing name is the Johnson Rod, which we named
from the old days when we fished Johnson spoons and we jokingly referred to that as
pumping our Johnson.
Techniques
I rarely use dodgers and flies anymore but instead use just spoons. I'm a treble hook fan and keep them very sharp. Whether to use single or treble hooks is a "fishing philosophy" and most fishermen have strong feelings about which is best.
The release is placed around 2' above an 8# downrigger weight. The lure is usually run around 12' back of the release, the same length back as the stacker line described below. I believe keeping several lures in a "group" somewhat represents a school of fish to Lakers. Also, 12' doesn't cramp the action of the lure as well as minimizes the likelihood of getting the lure in the motor when setting up. Shortening the line changes the action of the lure and if you choose to run dodgers, will increase the tendency to roll instead of flop.
I usually stack a second lure on the same line, about 6' - 20' above the bottom lure. Both lures are of course, on releases. I choose to fix it at that height, rather than let it free float to the belly of the monofilament.
I usually catch 2 fish on one line about 10 times a year, which gets a little exciting. I probably average about 15% of the fish I catch on the upper stacker line (average 10' from bottom).
There is really no great secret to catching Lake Trout. Usually, all you have to do is stay as close to the bottom as you practically can. Sometimes, fishing them suspended, especially in the Fall, is very productive. Speed is truly a variable in that I usually start around 2.0 mph but will go up or down from there depending on action, direction, and currents. I believe more in my instincts here and such things as watching downrigger line angle vs. depth, rather than solely electronics. However, my tachometer on my auxiliary motor helps me to get back to the speed when I am catching fish.
Whenever I catch a fish, I make a mental note of the direction and engine RPM so
I can duplicate it.
Safety
Safety I mention last but always considered first. We always keep in mind that Murphy of "Murphy's Law" works overtime on boats, including weekends. We stress safety from the time we connect the trailer for the entire trip. You have to watch everything or the littlest thing can turn into a major problem. Don't be afraid to say to your fishing buddies - let's make this a safe trip. That same principle applies to not hesitating to stay home (and saying so) if the weather forecast sounds threatening and you're not comfortable. Gut feelings have saved my bacon on more than one occasion.
I've worn a SosPenders® automatic inflating life floatation device for
several years, instead of a standard life jacket. However, due to my own error, I had a problem with it and wrote the Company for resolution. They never responded so I
switched to a Stearns® inflatable which seemed OK, but did not seem to be of
the same quality. I've since switched back to the SosPenders. It's comfortable to wear and provides a lot more floatation (35 pounds)
than a conventional life preserver (average 14# floatation) if you go into the water. There are several other brands that probably have the same qualities. To my knowledge,
only some of the automatic types are Coast Guard approved but more of the the manual release
models are. Go figure. I sometimes joke that no one returns defective life jackets to the manufacturer. I have regular life jackets readily available for guests and encourage them to wear one (most don't). I encourage them to bring their own if they have them, to ensure a better fit.