10 rods out of an 18 footer?

[chromelander]

Does anyone out there fish out of an 18 foot boat? I was wondering how many rods you can run? I would like to run 10, 2 riggers,2 divers, and 2 planners, but now am second gueesing myself. I have yet to get the boat on the water. I want to get all set up first. Any Ideas?

[tgafish]

I think 4 guys in a 18' boat is more difficult than 10 rods IMHO. If yu want to though I'd run 2 riggers, 4 divers, and 4 planers. I did 9 rods off my 17 pretty regularly

[1mainiac]

On my 18ft Starcraft Holiday I ran 4 riggers 2 divers and 6 inline boards with very few problems. As far as the lines went if you could keep the boat running straight 12 lines was doable however 4 big guys in the boat made it wallow like a pig and anything beyond 1 to 2 ft waves made you pray and consider whether or not you were sane and sober being out there. The biggest issue is can your hull safely carry all the weight of people and gear we used to have to pack everything we could in the bow to keep the self bailer above the water line which is not the safest way to boat on Lake MI.

[Sea-Mac]

I fish 10 rods out of my 17-1/2 footer. When I can.

Like Tom said.

2 riggers

4 dipsey's

and 2 planers per side

or...

2 riggers

2 dipsey's

and 3 planers per side.

[Nailer]

I've done the 10 rod spread many times with 18/19' Crestliner. 4 riggers, 4 divers, 2 inline boards. You need a calm day when the fish aren't biting.

[Paulywood]

As the other guys said, it is certainly doable, but I would think you would be more productive and comfortable fishing 3 guys with 9 rods. You could switch setups between riggers, dipsey's and planer rods. I fished with Jason (Satisfaction Guaranteed) last year and we fished 4 off his 17' (I think) Lund but one guy sat up front on a cooler. It was fine in calm conditions but could be hairy in 3+ footers. If your spread is setup properly you should be able to limit your tangle problems, just spread your holders as far apart as possible. Run your planer holders as far forward on the gunnels as you can. If you post some pictures there are plenty of guys who fish similar boats that would be able to help you with your setup. I plan on fishing 12 rods off my 22 ft Sportcraft.

[salmonquest]

I fish out of 17.5 grady white. THere isn't much room in back. Three guys are tight four and you need to put one out of the way. Preferrably on the front cooler but sometimes in the drink if a double springs I usually run 4 on the riggers (2 riggers with stackers) four dipseys and a planer board. THat seems to be about as much as my limited crew can handle, but I can see running more boards if you're set up right just watch the currents.

[fishsniffer]

im gonna have to agree with 9 rod 3 guys...2 dipseys,2 riggers with sliders,rod holders towards the front of the boat...2 on each side for boards...and maybe one down the chute....or depending on depth you could stack 2 rods each on riggers