Turfwrench

Have Direct too, too bad it wasn't carried on their channel line up as I would enjoy watching it. Have done a lot of fishing in Traverse City, good fishing and a beautiful area. My avatar pic is from Elmwood Marina west bay Traverse.

Yes the side cabin windows are done with the automotive film. I dismantled the windows out of their frames and applied it. The front cabin window was made from smoked acrylic glass. It sure helps keep it cooler inside the cabin.

I am looking to build an arch with forward extension so I can add a vinyl removable top. I plan to add a drop from the extension to somewhere near the front windshield not only for support but to add the reels there. This will give me easy access to the reels from the helm. Remember though, the further forward you run the riggers the more prone they can be to be swayed under the boat and into the prop either by large waves or currents. Best bet to keep them back.

First off great price on the Chieftain. I too have a 72 24' Chieftain that I completely restored. It took me 2 years to complete and was finished in August this past year but well worth the wait. Before and after pics: I have her outfitted with 4 downriggers mounted to the boat on a board via Eagle Feet. The manuals have since been replaced with electrics. I run a dual planer mast off the bow. I deploy the boards through the front hatch although it is a tight fit. I plan on mounting the reels toward the windshield to alleviate that. I have 2 sets of rod holders mounted on the gunwales for the planer rods. I am sure you will love the boat as she has a lot of room and can handle some water. Good luck with her and lets see some pics. A brief version of my rebuild can be found here: http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat-repair-and-restoration/completed-boat-projects/8996487-1972-starcraft-chieftain-restoration

It is the flex. Plenty stiff enough to go through bones and scales yet flexible enough to get the ribs out.

Have had this one for 2 seasons of fishing now and I have to say it is a pretty good knife. I have used it for salmon, steel, lakers, and walleye and have yet to have to sharpen it other than hitting it with a steel every use. The handle, yea it is great, no slip and the finger grip is nice.

Agree 100%. Got behind one last year @ Frankfort, he had them on all the way from the harbor and just out in front of the pier head. It was blinding and a call out on the radio was just ignored.

Usually run the deep diver on a 2 - 3' lead and the spoon 6 - 8'. Tangles have not been an issue. I always allow some tension in the line while deploying so the body bait is diving thus keeping the lures separated. Yes it will work on riggers too but you must lower slowly so the diver can dig while being lowered by the ball. Be sure your diver bait runs true otherwise it will spin and tangle.

Cuddys are great especially with children. It gives them a place to go play or nap, etc. if they are young and a place for older ones to get out of the sun or rain. It also provides a dry and out of the way area to store items without tripping over things ie coolers, backpacks, or toys. It would be best to take both boats out (if running) and see how they feel with your family included. As far as inland lakes......well I can't say I have heard anyone complain that their 24' pontoon is too big for the lake. Unless you are talking about some real small lakes I don't see the problem. I hear bigger is better but I have seen some smaller boats handle waters better than bigger ones.

Hotdog now owns the plate but thanks for the interest.

I have one of the plates you are looking for. PM sent.

My to do list is to complete my project boat for spring. New floor and transom installed, new cabin bulkheads, cabin carpet and vinyl almost complete, upgrading to hydraulic steering with auto pilot in the future. Got the outdrive transom assy in last weekend and will be installing the engine this weekend. Still have to remove downriggers and transducer from my Thompson and get them ready to install. I keep hearing spring is coming but so is christmas. From the old the new is reborn.

Big Jon band busters and rubber bands. Simple and reliable.

Let me date myself a little......remember the Rebel Fastrac minnows. I always had great success running them off the boards fishing the scum lines out of Frankfort and had pretty good success running them on downriggers too. The old color selector colors of red, orange, or purple were my favorites. The C.C Shads were also killer for coho up high. I still run them in Saginaw bay for walleye and on Lk Huron for silver.

Hey Brandon, as you know we fish out of the same port most of the time. My program usually consist of 4 riggers starting out set 35, 45, 55,& 65 down with free sliders. I then deploy a wire diver off each side one usually at 140 out and the other at 170 out. Then I will send out highlines running deep diving body baits and spoons on a 3 way swivel. Although we don't have a lot of salmon around we do get a few and usually I get them 50-85 down. The Atlantics I have caught came from the top 35 fow along with the majority of steelhead. Some days you will note a lot of fish marking 15-30 down and I have found these to mostly be walleye suspended over the deep water. So basically I have deeper sets for the salmon and higher sets for walleye, steel, and Atlantics. I rarely drag close to the bottom for lakers as they usually will hit the deeper rigger or wire lines.