Paulywood

Nope, won't catch any fish. You had better get rid of it. Why don't you send it to me and I'll dispose of it for you:D

There isn't really a spring coho run in Muskegon. Some tend to show up in the fall due to the plants in the Grand River. You might pick up a straggler here or there but it's not like in the southern ports. Browns should be around right now. I've heard of a few being caught out of Muskegon already.

I will probably just pick them up from you Mike. I'm sure I'll see you around in the next few weeks. Thanks.

If I only had $500 I would start with 2 braid dipsey rods. 2 Okuma Convector 30D linecounters and Daiwa Heartland dipsey rods. That's going to be just over $200. As for rod holders, this is where you can buy used equipment with no problems. I wouldn't use PVC for dipsey holders as I had one break on a friends boat, luckily we had the rods tied off. I know someone said that the adjustable Tite-Loks aren't rated for dipseys but I have used them and I know others who have with no problems. They should be fine to get you started and you can find a set of them for $20. Then you add 2 dipseys and your all set. Now, you can go cheaper on reels. I know people use the Daiwa Accudepth reels and have never had a problem. I used Cabela's brand linecounters and tore the clickers out of them when I first started, so be careful going with cheaper reels. Then I would go with 2 leadcore setups. Again, I would go with Okuma Convectors and Daiwa Heartland rods, or Okuma Classic rods, they are both fine and inexpensive. But I know guys who use the Okuma Classic reels for lead and they work. You don't need linecounters for the leadcore. Buy a spool of core and put 5 colors on one rod and 3 colors on the other. You could buy a set of inline boards (recommended) but since you don't have riggers you could actually run the core out the sides. It could get ugly though. You should have a few dollars left after this and a good place to start on lures would be blue dolphin, green dolphin, double orange crush, kevorkian, a couple of super glow spoons, a chrome/red head J-plug, a green scaly glow J-plug, a double crush glow Spin Doctor, a Blue Bubble Spin doctor, a Blue Bubble fly, a white glow fly and a couple bags of high quality snap swivels. I like Sampo's. Don't go cheap here, I've had the cheap ones break on me.

I'd be interested in 2 if you will split them up Mike.

Thanks Mike, I found it!

What software are you guys using to edit your videos? Looking for something to use this year as I plan on taking some videos. Looking for something inexpensive, but preferably free:) And easy to use, I'm not that computer literate.

Here you go: http://fishingrodstuff.com/twili_tip.html

I run Daiwa Heartland's with a Twilli Tip but have heard great things about the JR Rods. I plan on trying one this year.

No, no pictures. When I go up next week I will take some pictures and measurements so I can get everything around to set it up.

On the advice of the surveyor I talked to I didn't get it surveyed. When I first started looking at boats this winter I talked to an accredited surveyor and he told me what to check for when looking at boats. I followed his advice and checked the limber holes, stringers, and transom, the main sources of failure. I talked to the surveyor again after looking at the boat and he didn't think that a survey was necessary. There was no sign of water or moisture in any of the stringers or the transom. He told me that you can usually figure out if you need a survey or not, they are usually only needed if you have any questions on the integrity of the hull. That being said, I agreed on a price for the boat today. I will pick up the title next week and it should be available or me the week of the 15th when some of the larger boats are removed to be slipped. Thanks for the input guys.

I've got a set of Tite-Lok adjustables that I could stand to get rid of. My wife says I hoard things. I'll make you a good deal on them. I've also got some angled ones. Not sure how many, somewhere between 3-5. Also, a pair of Downeast Salty holders that clamp on a rail. Let me know if you are interested in any of these. It will make the wife happy to get rid of some stuff. I'll probably have a few rigger balls to get rid of also. I need to go through some stuff.

Looks great!

A lot of guys who have multi-purpose boats use removable boards. It worked weel for me. On my new boat I plan on using a track systm to accomplish the same thing.

I used to fish out of a bowrider and made brackets that attached where my cleats were in the back of the boat. Then I mounted my rigger board to these brackets. It allowed me to mount riggers and rod holders without drilling holes. I also bought a set of rod trees, extended them 3', and mounted them to the floor of the boat. I'm not as handy as some of these guys but I know people who are.

I use the red, for the leaders on my free sliders. It makes it easy to untangle them. That is the only reason I use it.

Good call Sean. I bought good used equipment when I first started.

As far as equipment I had a few suggestions in another post yesterday on some different rod and reel combos. Other than that, it really depends on your budget. I would get a quality sounder and some sort of GPS. Downriggers depend on your budget, I personally use Big Jon's and love them. Rod holders need to be metal, and as many as you can stick on your boat. You can never have enough rod holders. There are many different setups you can use, again, it depends on your budget. I use Bert's ratcheting holders for my dipsey's and a set of 3 rod trees for my board rods. The layout of your boat will depend a lot on what you can mount and where. When you get a chance post a picture and I'm sure guys will have suggestions on laying it out.

Sounds like you have some good suggestions already. I would suggest 15#-20# mono on your rigger rods. I buy Ande in bulk from Cabela's. 30# braid for divers. Power Pro is what most use, I use Cabela's Ripcord. Daiwa Heartland rods are good all around rods and very reasonable. Penn 209's make good, inexpensive rigger reels. Almost indestructible. Okuma Convector's or Catalina's are good for dipsey's, get linecounters. Daiwa Sealines are very nice too. I really like the Okuma's for leadcore. Large diameter handles and good retrieve rates. If money doesn't matter buy all Shimano Tekota's but they cost almost $200 each. I own exactly 0 Tekota's, LOL. The reels I listed are all solid, economic choices. Good bang for your buck. Cheaper reels tend to fail at inoppurtune times.

I am far from an expert, but have only been fishing for a few years so I went through the same thing as you two recently. I have a few suggestions for you. One would be to take a ride with an experienced fisherman or two. You can really speed up your learning curve that way. I fished with many members of this site when I first started and they helped me a lot. The second would be to keep it simple. There are many, many different aspects to big lake fishing. Buy a few setups to start with that are easy to run and run them until you gain confidence in your ability to fish with these setups. A good place to start would be 2 mono rods for your riggers, 2 braid rods with linecounters for dipseys, and 2 leadcore setups. You will get many different suggestions on leadcore lenghts but when I started it was with a full core and a half core. Thats 10 colors and 5 colors. Two inline boards would also be a good start. Most guys use Church Walleye boards or Offshore boards. These 6 rods can be easily deployed to cover many different depths and will catch plenty of fish. It is also a spread that should limit some major problems like tangles and losing fish. I would also keep your lure selection to a minimum. I started with 20 spoons, 6 flasher/fly combos, and a handful of J-plugs and caught quite a few fish. You can ask guys for their favorite ones on the site or a book like Keating on Kings or his other book, can't remember the name, would be useful. Just Google Dan Keating and it should come up. By the way, once I get my new boat you are both welcome to fish with me anytime. I fish Holland fairly often and mostly fish out of Muskegon. Good luck this season. Nick

Welcome. There are many good people and resources here for you to learn. One suggestion that I can make is to tag along with a few people. I am sure that there are many on this site that would be happy to have you along, myself included when I get my new boat. This is what I did when I first started and really learned a lot. A good place to start is with a list of equipment that you have, would like, or are planning on using. Also, the big lake is nowhere to take chances. Make sure your boat is in good condition and safe to run on the water. Older boats are fine as long as they are mechanically and structurally sound. Good luck this season and feel free to ask any questions you might have. Nick

Good job Frank and Jack!

Welcome Back! Just the other day I was wondering what ever happened to you. Glad to hear your still alive.

Jim might be right but I have way to many inexperienced fishermen on my boat every year to trust a rod like that. 3 dipsey/flasher/fly setups lost was enough to convince me the rod had to go. I don't know why the new tip wouldn't work. Worth a shot.

I used 10 ga for my Pro Tournament riggers but the Brute's draw a lot more amps with the big, high speed motors. I would go with the 4 ga. Did the riggers come with any wire or plugs? If they did I would use that. Or you might be able to get plugs that can be used with any gauge wire.