rigging help

[sherman51]

i have alittle rigging problem. i just bought a 28 ft boat last fall. and i have to rig it. i have 2 sportsman big jon riggers 2 ft booms. i have 2 big jon pro tournament with 3 or 4 ft booms. heres my problems. if i use the long arm out the side, im afraid the 4 ft will get into my diver lines if i use the short ones off the back i worry about the outdrives and swim platform. it will go past it but barely. but the platform would keep the cable from my outdrives. if i go with the longer booms off the back they will clear ok. but then my short booms wouldnt be very far out to the side. i do have a 10 ft beam and could move the riggers in a couple of ft from each side. but that would limit the back of the boat for putting out divers and landing fish. this is my first big boat with twin outdrives and 4 riggers. i caught alot of nice eyes off the 2 riggers i had last year. and look forward to useing 4 this year. my thinking is to go ahead and try the 4 fters out the side then go to 3 ft if i need to. put the short booms out the back. do i really have to worry about the cable getting in the outdrives?? should i just remove the swim platform alltogether?? i,ve kinda thought about trying to put my fish box on it. any and all suggestions or ideas very welcome. im sure that some of you have dealt with this problem or knows somebody who has. thanks in advance.

....sherman....

[Just Hook'n]

Sherman,

Please take what I give you with a grain of salt, as I have a single screw with a 8'6" beam. However, I have been on a lot of other twin screw boats. Also, please keep in mind that it DEPENDS on what and where you are fishing.

Lakers up north (if you are in a northern port) I would use all the downriggers I could.

Fishing down here (Muskegon and south, maybe even ludington and south) I would fish 3 downriggers.

One long arm "down the pipe". In other words, down the middle of the boat between the screws. Most guys fish this one DEEP.

Two short arms out the sides. You can get them away from the screws if you realy want to by running weigths with fins and angling them out.

The three rigger setup is my idea. Quite honestly we catch more fish on dipseys, coppers, cores, and others.

If you are going to run 4, I would not be too concerned with the drives. You'll be moving forward when you drop lines and pull them, so the cables will run behind the boat.

I'd worry more about tangling down rigger cables with too many riggers off the back.

BUT, guys out there run 4+ with no problems, so I am sure you will get a lot of good advice and differing opinions.

MAN, I envy you.

Setting up a boat from scratch is a TON of fun.

[KJ pluggin]

As long as you can clear your swim platform with the 2' booms you should be ok, just make sure the weights are not swinging to bad when you put them down. Once the weights are in the water the blowback should pull them back out of the way of the oudrives. As for the dipsies, you should not have a problem with the 4' booms on the out downs. Paying attention to the current and troll direction can save you a lot of headaches as well. At times when we are fishing deep in a stiff current we will drop down to two riggers to stay away from tangles.

Have fun setting up the new boat!

[anthonyyost]

Hey, how bout some pictures of the new boat?

[sherman51]

Hey, how bout some pictures of the new boat?

its at the marina right now getting new belts and just getting everything checked out. i plan on getting some pictures on here as soon as i get her back home. thanks and have a great season.

....sherman....

[adrenalin]

Sell one rigger and run 3, problem solved. Corners are open to net fish and 3 riggers catch more than 4 anyways.

[Nailer]

Sherman, take a moment and finish filling out you profile. It helps to have your location on there. Go to "UserCP" on the top left of this page to fill it out.

[mattmishler]

Sell one rigger and run 3, problem solved. Corners are open to net fish and 3 riggers catch more than 4 anyways.

Yea that we run that on the charter and the 21fter. So it works with a 8ft and 12 beam

[Nailer]

I would just put the 2 short arms out the back corners add a track for 4 diver holders, and a three rod tree. Keep the back open for netting fish, and the fish cooler.

Muncie is a long way from a port. What port do you fish?

[sherman51]

Sherman, take a moment and finish filling out you profile. It helps to have your location on there. Go to "UserCP" on the top left of this page to fill it out.

thank you. this is the first time i,ve been on a forum. and im just alittle of a computor illiterate. just bare with me im really enjoying all your help. im not sure i got it right but i gave it a shot. i couldnt have done it without your help. later on when i get my boat back from the marina im going to ask for some help posting pictures. have a great season.

....sherman....

[sherman51]

I would just put the 2 short arms out the back corners add a track for 4 diver holders, and a three rod tree. Keep the back open for netting fish, and the fish cooler.

Muncie is a long way from a port. What port do you fish?

geneva state park marina in geneva ohio. when i fished the western basin i used a little place called coolie canal i think was the name. i usely dont start fishing geneva untill july. so i may end up fishing the western basin in june.

i,ve never tried fishing 4 divers before. but i do have a cannon track with 3 holders tho. i know the boards are a great way to catch fish. but i just dont like to run them unless i just need to put more lines in the water. but i may give the 4 divers a try with this bigger boat. i do like useing the lite bite slide divers very much. untill last year i hadnt ever used electric riggers. caught some nice fish. so i really look forward to useing 4. we had some problems with small fish. i bought all new chamberlain releases. i hope they help with the small fish. have a great season.

....sherman....

[Nailer]

Sherman, are you doing the Steelhead/Walleye fishing in the deep water, or just Walleye fishing?

2 divers per side are fairly easy to run, and do help to spread the lines out. I would think if your fishing Lake Erie, the planer lines would produce better than riggers?

[sherman51]

Sherman, are you doing the Steelhead/Walleye fishing in the deep water, or just Walleye fishing?

2 divers per side are fairly easy to run, and do help to spread the lines out. I would think if your fishing Lake Erie, the planer lines would produce better than riggers?

youre probably right about the boards, but i just dont like useing them that much. i dont really know why. i have a great set of custom boards that works great. i dont like wire or copper for eyes. but i have always liked useing riggers. just something about that FISH ON!. i do run one long line on each side. i use a 16 ft surf rod i use as a outrigger, then i use 15 lb ripcord and the small dipsy, put it back 3 to 400 ft. i catch some nice fish on it, alot of steelhead. when i get set up like i want i can run 6 lite bites and 4 riggers and 2 longlines. thats 12 rods. and i,ll try running 4 divers on each side when i need the extra lines. that will take care of 7 people without putting the boards out. with this boat and my kids and grandkids i could end up with 8 to 10 people but not very often. most of the time i,ll have 6 or less. my old boat i would only take 6 max. then i would run the boards with the 15 lb braid and small divers, 2 on each side 2 riggers and 6 divers. do you fish erie?? or even better what is your port?? i do have a 335 mile drive to mine. but to me its worth it. gods been very good to me on all the trips i,ve made, manistee is 460. i fished manistee lake for years. i did the jig fishing the snagging untill it stopped trolling. started snagging in 76 my first year home fron the marine corps. 77 started trolling with borrowed riggers. then went homemade. so for yrs i fished new buffalo at ice out in mar. or apr. the may to south haven, then aug and sept manistee. i could go on all night i hadnt even started walleye. then we fished both for awhile. i promise if you ask another question. i will not i will not do this monster mail on you. if i knew how to put dome on paper how to catch a fish. i would be rich.great fishing to you all.

....sherman....i just almost canceled this post. its just to much

[Indybleck]

Lived in Muncie for 15 years before I had a chance to move back to Michigan. It's quite a distance to get to any big water fishing that's for sure. When I lived there I fished Port Clinton and then in June I would leave my boat in Bay City so I could fish the bay. Good luck on rigging the boat.

Tom

[sherman51]

Lived in Muncie for 15 years before I had a chance to move back to Michigan. It's quite a distance to get to any big water fishing that's for sure. When I lived there I fished Port Clinton and then in June I would leave my boat in Bay City so I could fish the bay. Good luck on rigging the boat.

Tom

muncie is a great place to live, but its a long way to anywhere. i fish the central basin now. its 335 miles to where i fish in geneva ohio. so we try to stay for a few days when we go. im going to check this one place on my first trip about storing my old motorhome and my boat. at who knows what for gas and about 8 mpg i need to do something. thats for sure. we plan on trying a couple of trips in july, then my oldest son takes the first 2 weeks of aug vacation. so we,ll be there the whole 2 weeks. if i get my boat all rigged and everything by june we may make a trip to the western basin. ofcourse i,ll call up to geneva and ask on here and if there getting fish good at geneva we,ll go there. i just like the kind of fishing we do over there in the deep water. downriggers and lite bite slide divers. we usely fish 72 to 74 ft of water 55 to 65 ft down. we also get some nice steelhead. they are really fun. and i love to watch the others catch them. i just watch on the steelhead. have a great season.

....sherman....