SeaCatMich

I use circle hooks with very good success using them bait fishing off piers. The idea with them is that as the fish moves off with the bait/hook the line will go into the corner of the mouth and then the hook imbeds in the jaw at that point. You shouldn't set the hook with a circle hook as it will pull out of the mouth and not hook the fish. For that reason they are not intended for use on "lures" where the fish strikes and the force of the strike sets the hook. Not the right hook style for spoons or plugs.

I appreciate your dilemma but I think I'd go with the Hydrasport. Better made boat overall but pretty sure the Sea Pro is wood free. The Suzuki 4 strokes are great engines and I really like that 4 strokes are nice and quiet. The Yamaha OX66 is a great 2 stroke too and with a kicker you will only be running the main engine on runs in & out. Hardtops are much better than a bimini and it is always nice to have the capability of a rocket launcher rod holders for storage on the hardtop. I'm pretty sure that the Hydrasport transom is going to be fully closed with a gill bracket for the OBs -- I'm not a big fan of splash wells.

After spending another 2 hours blowing the latest 6" of snow off the driveway I decided that I need to go talk fishing for a day. Called Dan and signed up for Saturday in Rockford. Says there are a good number of spots still available but if Stephensville is any indication these last couple of days will fill it up quick. I have been in the past and it is always a good time. Not much I can do yet with the boat so going to do the next best thing and go talk fishing.

Nice! :)

Wellcraft are good boats. Verify that the Evinrude is a 4 stroke. Probably is but 200 hp seem awfully big for a 4 stroke in '02. That is also very close to the years when the Ficht engines were out and the early models had problems. Fixed after Bombardier bought out OMC's outboard business and then the name changed from Ficht to eTec. No issues I know of with the 4 strokes.

So you're the one responsible for the fresh 6" of snow last night I thought I might have been the cause since I had actually gone out and climbed in mine over the weekend. Looks like a nice rig though. I'd put some tracks on there and then start experimenting with what fits/works in the best locations. Oh and I almost forgot.... GO TIGERS!!!!

I would think a thru hull would be a good fit for that setup. The dual I/O can't leave you a lot of good spots for a transom transducer without significant turbulence when going faster than trolling speeds. By having it forward as a thru hull should get you more consistent readings especially when on plane. The only thing you would loose is surface speed and temp... neither of which should be a big deal with a FishHawk and GPS. I do like having a surface temp graph when searching for summer Steelhead offshore but could live without it. I would talk to owners of some of the bigger fishing boats in your area to find out who is best qualified to do the installation. Since different hull designs/types will have specific nuances that will determine where the best spot is to mount the transducer, having a knowledgeable installer will get better overall results.

What are you running for a boat and power?

Thank you Tim for getting this all put together again this year. The number of buyers seemed to be down from past years -- weather may have been too nice . Still managed to sell stuff and actually sold more than I bought, so from a seller perspective it was very successful!

Bob, I know it doesn't help much now, but you should have come over to the Hudsonville swap meet earlier today... I saw at least 5 of the plate you're looking for on the tables.

I will have a table at the Swap Meet in Hudsonville this Saturday (3/8). It is being held at the Chapel Pointe Church, 3350 Baldwin Street Hudsonville, MI 49426 Free entry from 9 am to noon; Early bird entry at 8 am for $5 Here is what I'm selling: 3 Vector downriggers each with dual rod holders and Traxstech swivel track bases -- $375 ea w/ bases; $300 ea w/out bases... $1000 for all 3 w/bases; $800 for all 3 w/out bases 2 Pursuit/Traxstech downrigger track mount swivel bases $70 ea 8 Cannon dual axis track mount rod hoders $170/pair 1 Big Jon manual planer board mast w/ new line $150 2 Big Jon Otter Boat planer boards $125 for the pair 2 Brand new Wise seat pedistals, 15" tall w/ swivel spider $50 ea 2 Todd helm chairs -- drop bottom w/ slider bases $100/pair 2 Daiwa Accudepth 8.5' M action downrigger rods (brand new w/ tags) $22 ea 2 Daiwa SG27LCA line counter reels $70 ea 2 Daiwa SG47LCA line counter reels $75 ea 1 Peen 875LC digital LCD line counter reel w/ boogie wheel programmer attachment $70 2 Tica SeaSpirit SS348RC line counter reels, brand new $75 ea 2 Tica SeaSpirit SS548RC line counter reels w/ fullcore 27# & 150y 40# backing $75 ea 1 Frabill replacement net (for 23"x26" frame 42" deep) new in package $10 1 Gimbal fighting belt new in package $15 2 Wille Bait File tackle boxes 4 slice & 5 slice $15 ea 12+ Silver Horde Ace High and Tomic plugs $3 ea 12+ Dreamweaver "DW" super gklow plugs - brand new $4 ea Various dodgers & flashers $1, $2, $3 each Misc other lures such as Flatfish, Kwikfish, spoons... 2 walleye/pike size landing nets All prices are OBO -- especially in hour 3

In addition to using the electronics to narrow down all of the variables, trolling an S pattern along a general line will help too. It really does three things: 1) allows you to see if currents are going a different direction than what you are trolling (watch your rigger wires and diver rods); 2) narrow down speed as lures on inside rods on the turn will slow down and outside rods will be going faster than when trolling straight; and 3) if you get hits on rigger rods in a S turn, it could be the direction you are going at the time rather than the speed change since the closer a rod is to the center of the boat transom (the turn's pivot poiont), the less its speed is affected by the turn.

Reid, that is a very cool stereo! Didn't expect to see something outside the typical rectangle DIN format. It doesn't have a CD player but if you have your music on a USB stick or MP3 player who cares. My boat has a Clarion unit with a CD player and it never skips but USB/MP3 would be better. Mine is great but due to the size, it had to be mounted in a location that isn't real convenient to use. I now wish it had a wireless remote to control it. Only real downsize I see is that if it ever dies will you be able to get a replacement unit that will fit the 3" round format hole? A typical DIN format radio could be replaced by any other radio with the same standard mounting format.

Another couple I remembered... Change oil in outboards Change lower unit fluid in outboards Replace drags on a pair of 600LC wire diver reels

Call Mother Nature's customer service line to find out when 60* temps will be off back order (I know it's only March, but last time I called it was not expected until May. Apparently I aggravated someone though, because the temps went back to below zero last week) Install new helm/passenger seats Buy a 300' spool of 32# copper and put on reel Buy a 1,000' spool of 30# wire and put on reel Respool some downrigger reels Figure out issue with battery charging on boat (gizmo to let either outboard charge all batteries isn't working) Find a net handle extension for my big Frabill (not needed by spring though) Look at rewiring using new light up when blown fuse panel Open bilge pumps and make sure they are clear/clean Replace seals and O rings on deck and splashwell access ports (maybe install new ports) Buy a gallon or two of Simple Green & Magic Erasers and clean boat Install new boat decals on hull Install new Scotty outlets and wiring for downriggers Redo brake lines on trailer Evaluate, clean and organize tackle -- did rods/reels/equipment, but was hoping to get to all of the lures this week prior to the Hudsonville swap meet and thin the herd, but didn't through all of them Try to condense lures to be able to take some stuff off the boat

That is one heck of a pump. Can't say that I have ever seen a 6" outlet on any boat, let alone a 22'. 30 gpm would certainly evacuate a swamped bilge/hull much better than a "regular" pump. Could even leave the drain plug out. Better have some good batteries though!

Sounds like you need to find someone with a plow truck who would like to go fishing on open water. Or who would plow for smoked salmon! My main driveway goes right to my pole barn with the boat inside so just a few extra minutes have kept it open all winter. I have climbed up in the boat a couple of times but heating a 40x40 area with 15' ceilings isn't really an option so the cold has really limited my activities out there. I'm really looking forward to 50*+ to pull it outside -- working on the boat in the sunshine is much more fun.

I drove to Texas to get mine... but it was a brand new hull the dealer was closing out, 21' cats didn't fit the dealer's clientele anymore. You will find a lot more hulls equipped with outboards for main power on the coast too. Seems to be around 10 I/O to 1 OB on the Great Lakes. It isn't the hulls that get affected by saltwater but the engines and electrical. Find an outboard on a trailer where the owner has flushed it clean after trips and they can be good boats. The northeast can be good too because they also have a limited use season compared to down south. Be careful though because of the recent storms. Messed up a lot of boats out there that could be being passed off as not having any issues.

April 14 and we are going to need a lot of rain in late March for that

You're going to love having an AP. It is hard to go fishing without it once you have one. I bought some stuff from Hodges a few years back and they had good prices and got it quick.

Probably would. Might have to go to a high thrust prop if it is available for the brand/model you have.

Is the seller getting the asking price? Depending on how good the boat is might be worth saying you would be interested still -- if he is entertaining offers, maybe yours would be better. How much are you looking to spend? Maybe someone on the board will know of a candidate boat for you. Might as well use your GLF network of fishing nuts to help!

In the mid '90s ProLine went to a completely wood free hull. Lots of the bad reviews are for boats prior to then. Quality wise they are not a top line brand but seem to be good boats at around the same level as Trophy. A friend had a 24' ProLine which is a little smaller but similar design. I have been on boats that did a better job cutting through a 2-3' chop but have been on much worse too. For a 25' hull the 250 hp is probably as low as I'd want to go -- you will need to add a kicker for trolling but that's not a bad way to go to keep hours off the big motor and get good fuel use.

When I first started using Chamberlains I was looking for something that would work on coated Depth Raider cable. I contacted Chamberlain and they sent me a prototype of the stacker model. Tried it but the cable was too thick for it to properly lock on. Worked fine on regular cable but I didn't really need it for that application. Gave them the feedback and from what I understand it has been improved to work well.