Fishing Electronics/rigging

[Reel Doc]

I'm in the process of buying a 2002 Wellcraft 24' Walkaround with a 200 HP Evinrude motor. It has no electronics beyond a VHF radio. We plan to use it for fishing the Fingerlakes; Cayuga lake will be its home, with occasional trips to Lake Ontario. What electronics would you recommend. Also, downrigger/rod reel combos. I've been a shore/jon boat fisherman for years in smaller ponds and Long Island sound, so boat fishing the deep lakes is a new twist. I expect there may be a steep learning curve that hopefully you all can assist with. Thanks for your input

Greg

[rustyrat]

How much do you want to spend rigging it? Makes a big difference. big Jon, Cannon and Scotty riggers are all good.

Linecounter reels and 7 ft rods. Many brands to choose from in all price ranges.

You are going to need 30lb test line at this point because of the fleas, use a small barrel swivel to attach a 10lb leader to the 30lb.

Search the archives, lots of great info.

RR

[Reel Doc]

Thanks for the starting points. What is the deal with the fleas? Will copper line combat them better?

[TrophySeeker]

gaj,

I have a 1999 version of that same boat. It has taken me a while to get it rigged the way I want, but I think I am there. Shoot me a message or give me a call at 585-739-7608. If you want to come take a look I'd be happy to show you what I have.

[rustyrat]

The larger diameter of the line, the less fleas attach. Copper is ok, but you're not going to run copper off a rigger.

[chowder]

Don't worry about copper and lead core yet. You want to concentrate on a pair of rigger rod combos and a pair of wire dipsy diver combos. To support this hardware you are gonna need a pair of downriggers and weights (10#+) and pair of heavy duty rod holders for the dipsy rigs, preferably on a track system. You will probably want a combo gps plotter/sonar unit (preferably w/ dual frequency) and a down speed moniter (depth raider is the best buy). It will help a great deal if you can get out and see/ fish w/ somebody who has all ready risked divorce and has all this stuff, that way you get the picture which is worth a 1000 words thus flattening the learning curve. I have gone some part of the way down this road and would be happy to have you on board out on Cayuga some time, pm me if you want.