New member

[mfox062]

Hello everyone, I have been fishing my whole life with my dad and now i'm starting to go out on my own more. I own a 14' aluminum boat basic setup with decent fish-finder, trolling motor and pole holders.I have down riggers installed but have never really used them. Any tips on best bait or shallow trolling locations to help me learn would be much appreciated. Thanks 

[LongLine]

Welcome to the site.  I started in a 14 ft'r.  I remember launching at Irondequoit outlet real early in the morning, & hanging around the outlet.  (like 1/2 mile either way) Always picked up a few Browns.  If the lake got rough then hit the Bay and always picked up Bass & Northerns. 

 

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[Sk8man]

First of all welcome to LOU. A couple questions to start - what kind of pole holders and how sturdy are they? and...what specific downriggers and releases?

Edited March 5, 2014 by Sk8man

[mfox062]

As of now I have homemade pole holders that's just PVC with industrial Velcro to hold the rod in place but I will be upgrading soon. I have cannon manual crank downriggers. I'm not sure the name of the clamps but I have attached a picture

[Sk8man]

Just make sure everything is fastened to the boat real well. When the weight is suspended  or even when up in the air there is a lot of torque at the base from the weight dangling not to mention if the weight should get hung upon bottom. If you plan on using dipsey divers the rod holders will also have to be fastened down real well for the same reason as the downriggers -torque. I'd practice a bit with the downriggers to get used to them  If going out on Lake O you will have to choose your days (wind and waves etc.) and Stay relatively close to shore. In the Spring the browns and other fish will be close to shore so you'll be fine and you might want to start out with a combination of stickbaits and medium sized flutter spoons run 30-60 ft back behind the downriggers and experiment with the distance of the leads (shorter and longer). If you have Yellowbirds or small inline planer boards and relatively stiff action rods the boards can be run right along the shoreline with floating stickbaits (floating to keep from hanging up on bottom and rocks etc.). Sometimes the fish especially browns will be hugging the shore in very shallow water especially in the early morning before things get too bright and when there is a chop on the water. Productive areas include river or stream mouths especially where here is a mud line....fish the edge of it where the color line is. go back and forth in it with your lines. Troll in "s" curves and vary your speed up and down intermittently. Other folks may have additional suggestions or different ways of doing it but this is some basic stuff to start. Good luck with it. Have a great season.

Edited March 5, 2014 by Sk8man

[mfox062]

Thank you very much for the advice I can't wait to get the boat out and give it a shot.

[LongLine]

Get out real early in the morning.  Winds usually don't come up till 9:30 or so.  Remember your boat can troll very slow, so tune your lures to run slow.  Wide spoons wobble & flatfish run best slow.  Slightly bending the eyelet upward on sticks will also help them run better slow.

 

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[mfox062]

Okay thanks for the help. I do have another question. the sides of my boat come to a T. Are there rod holders that clamp to this securely or do I need to install a rail system?

[Sk8man]

The old Downeaster clamp on rod holders used to clamp on my little aluminum boat pretty good in times past but I would recommend that you install some VERY sturdy rod holders with bracing underneath if they wobble at all on the gunwale. The equipment we usenow puts a lot ofstrain on the rodholders and bases and when you combine that with a Chinook salmon your equipment could be "history" if you have flimsy rod holders.

[J.D.]

Welcome to the site,  Keep asking questions... there are a lot of skilled fishermen here who will gladly help a new guy get set up and on a few fish.