Rigging Suggestions

[alexalyn]

Hello, my husband and I recently purchased a 17V Tracker boat. We have hopes of taking it out on Lake Michigan this summer and doing some fishing, as long as the water isnt too choppy. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to rig the boat for fishing. We have looked at different downriggers, manual or electric? Sectional boom? I am a little overwhelmed as to what to buy. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Alexa

Edited April 17, 2011 by Nailer
Added Images

[sjk984]

Welcome to the site.

As far as the down riggers go Electrics will make easier and more enjoyable for the 2 of you. And you can get some of last years cannons mag 5 for 349.00 at gander moutian. I have a track set up on my boats so I can take out whatever holders I plan on using that day.

Good luck Steve

[Nailer]

Alexa, Welcome to the site.

This video shows how to upload and post pictures.

A nice set up is to have riggers on both back corners, Diver rod holders forward of them, then some type of planer rod holder forward more yet.

It's nice to keep the back of the boat open for netting fish.

[mattmishler]

If your only going to fish5-10 trips a year then manuals maybe what your looking for. They work, little cheaper. If your looking to do more fishing then i would go electrics. Brands go theres a ton, i am a big jon fan. I like the product, like the people and i support a michigan made co. If your looking for rod holders its the same way they make low end aluminum tite lok that are 40$ which work great if your not going to be putting a ton of use on them. Then they go way up to a big jon HDs that run 109 for one.

[Adam Bomb]

I agree with Ken and if you can put tracks on it makes for a nice clean look to your boat and you can remove the holders and riggers if you wish. Plus your not making swiss cheese outta the gunnel....Id go with some used electric riggers if your only going to fish a little compared manuals. They work, but are a royal pain in the butt in my opinion. If your gonna be serious, then id go with new. Good luck to you.

[alexalyn]

Thanks for all of the input. We are definitely getting at least one electric downrigger, and are considering some clamp on rod holders. Any thoughts on those vs. the ones that are drilled?

Here are some pics of the boat.

http://www.greatlakesfisherman.com/gallery/files/3/3/4/8/picture_of_pro_guide_v_17_sc_003.jpg' alt='picture_of_pro_guide_v_17_sc_003.jpg'>

[BlueCollarOutdoors]

I would also recomend the tracks, looking back I wish thats waht I would have done. On the other hand, unless your fishing constantly I dont see the need for electric riggers. You can get manuals much cheaper and spend all that extra money on tackle and rods. Its not that big of a deal to crank them up in my opinion. Riggers off the corners or just up the outside edge, divers about 2 feet ahead of them, then something to hold some leadcore rods for boards up towards the middle of the boat.

You might want to try the clamp on style rod holders just to get a feel for where you want things, but you will not want to run with something so unstable for long. Before you drill any holes, hold a rod in place and try all your compartments doors and get all other rods in place to make sure nothing is blocking each other. Rod placement correctly the first time can savce you alot of headaches right off the bat and make for more enjoyable trips over the years. I have a board held by 2 screws that holds my riggers. I can either remove the board, which is simple. or leave the board, pull a pin and take the riggers out in seconds if im jigging or chasing a new species.

Good luck, welcome to the ball game.

[sherman51]

i say go with electric. i used manuals for years just because i didnt want to spend the money. sure you can get by with manuals. but if you want to enjoy fishing and you can spend the money. you,ll be alot happier with electric. i suggest you get the rod holders that ratchet and have the tracks. you mount the tracks to your boat. then you can put the rod holders in to troll and take them out the rest of the time. berts custom tackle makes them and cannon makes them. the cannons run alittle more money. i dont know if they are any better tho. the cannons make 2 models that ratchet. a single axis and a double axis. im fine with the single and there cheaper. if your useing divers the ratchet ones are great. you set them out the side to fish, then when a fish hits you can just grab the rod and ratchet them to the straight up position and then just lift the rod out. just to get an idea go to amazon.com and ebay.com and just type in what you want to look at. and see what everything looks like. you can also get some great buys on used riggers on ebay.com.

the best advice i can give you is to get a couple of friends and invest in a charter trip or two. that will be the best money you ever spent. its cheap school for trolling. they will just about all teach you as much as time allows. you,ll see first hand how to use downriggers and divers. you,ll also want to invest in atleast a couple of line counter reels. for your money i suggest okuma convector line counters. i have a set of the 20,s but i knew when i bought them they were big enough for what i do. you might want to go with the 30,s there more versetal in case later on you want to run copper or wire. you can also check these out on ebay another great reel is the daiwa sg47lca but are alittle higher priced. one more piece of advice if your going to use divers go with lite bite slide divers and braided line. slidediver.com check them out. good luck. have a great season. sorry about the long post. i just get carried away. another suggestion, watch for guys looking for someone to go out with them. you,ll learn alot by going out with others. just be ready to chip in alittle for gas.

....sherman....

[Priority1]

Alexa, A warm welcome to the GLF site. I concur on the track set up. It makes it easy to change things up without drilling a lot of holes.

[1 old guy]

Alexa, Welcome. If you let us know what port you will be fishing out of you and your husband may have more help than you think? This is a great site for information and help.

[OldCool]

I have a 16.5' myself and because I don't have the time or money to do it over, I want to do it right and have been looking at this issue for almost a year. I first looked at the location & type of motor and would I ever need to install a kicker. All of these can determine the number of downriggers and where you place them. Because I took out all but two of the seats in my boat, I have a lot of real estate to fish but I still have to factor in the beam of my boat. Because I have an outboard I'm going with two; had I had an inboard I might have gone with three downriggers; one down the middle. I have read recommendations that "if you have less than an eight foot beam you should rig your boat with two downriggers. These two downriggers can be placed as either boom downriggers or corner downriggers depending on your boats layout."

The number of diver rod holders you will want to rig your boat with is based on the number of divers you like to or feel comfortable running. I'm going to rig mine with two at first but will eventually rig it with four diver rod holders. I think the extra rod holders will come in handy when I get comfortable running more divers and the extra holders will come in handy as an extra holder to move rods around when you get a fish on.

By far the most difficult decision I have to make is determining the position of my planer board rod holders. There are so many on the market. Things would be a little easier if I had a hard top because I could mount my rod holders on a rocket launcher directly on my hard top. Because I have no top at all, I'm leaning towards a rod holder tree (port and starboard) so I can hold four rods at a time and still have room on the gunwale to add two diver rod holders later (as I said in paragraph #2, I eventually want to be at four diver rod holders). You can always install tracks and install them on the gunwales which gives you some advantages as far as moving them towards bow or stern or remove them all together.

I think it goes without saying that get some quality gear as it will cost you less in the long run. It does not have to be new, you can always find folks selling some good pre-owned stuff here (GLF).

[Paulywood]

Welcome to the site Alexa! Congrats on the new boat. Rigging a new boat is always fun, although it can be a little nerve racking when you think about drilling holes in a brand new boat. I have to agree with the other guys who suggested a track system. Installing the longest piece of track that you can along each side will reduce the number of holes you have to drill and will make the boat more practical and versatile. As far as riiggers go, electrics are great but they are quite a bit more money. If you only plan on a few trips a year I would think about manuals or even going without them at first. You can catch a lot of fish on dipsey's, leadcore and copper. I would only trust the clamp on holders for planer board rods, a dipsey could easily spin the holder and cause the rod to fall overboard. One of the nice things about the track system is you can add as many or few rod holders as you like. For dipsey's I like the Bert's ratcheting holders. You can get them for under $50 from Northwoods in Pinconning. For planer boards I prefer the rods trees. Any company makes them so they are able to slide into the tracks. You could put 2 dipsey rod holders and a 3 rod tree on each side and be able to run 10 rods off your boat, all for less than a pair of electric riggers would cost. I am sure other people will have more suggestions to help out. Good luck!

[KJ pluggin]

Welcome to GLF Alexa!

[mj6131]

I used to have pretty much that same boat. My suggestion is tracks. If you have that long deck at the back of the boat, keep the riggers far enough forward that you can set them without having to be on your knees at the back. I would go electric if money allows. Do you need a cover for it? I still have the cover from mine.

[alexalyn]

Mike, sounds like we should go with the tracks. Some good points have been made and I am convinced that is the way to go. That is a good idea about setting the riggers far enough forward. I was wondering how well that was going to work out. Did you run downriggers on your boat? If so, how did you set them up and did it work well for you? Fortunately the boat came with a cover.

Thanks,

Alexa

[sherman51]

hey alexa

there is a thread on here. lets see your rig. thought you might want to check it out. a few good pictures, maby you can get some ideas from them. have a great season.

....sherman....

[mj6131]

Mike, sounds like we should go with the tracks. Some good points have been made and I am convinced that is the way to go. That is a good idea about setting the riggers far enough forward. I was wondering how well that was going to work out. Did you run downriggers on your boat? If so, how did you set them up and did it work well for you? Fortunately the boat came with a cover.

Thanks,

Alexa

I was lucky enough to get a pair of used Big Jon electrics real reasonable. When I set up the 17sc, I didn't want a board in the way, (needed to keep things open for perch fishing, that's what the wife likes to do.)so I made some plates, and actually set the riggers on the gusset on the very back corner. That's how I know it's really a PITA to have to crawl on your knees to the back of the boat to set riggers. I have a Targa 18 now, and I moved the riggers to just ahead of the back deck. That had it's own challenge, as the rail isn't flat, it's crowned slightly. I made some stainless plates, mounted them, mounted a quick connect plate and swivel plate from BJ. Still have to lean a little because of rod lockers, but still way better. Ahead of that I have 2' pieces of track with three holders each side. Wish I would have put longer track. It's nice to have more holders than rods, so you can set a rod out of the way for a minute if needed.