Tracks or No Tracks that is the question

[Chas0218]

So to start I do a lot of trolling with a little still fishing. I fish for mainly Walleye with some Salmon and Trout mixed in. I run big boards and small boards and usually place those rods in the rocket launchers or the vertical holders. I owned my previous boat for 8 years without tracks and it worked fine for what I was doing. I usually remove the riggers when not in use I have one of the great lakes rocket launcher system that works well for me. I wanted to see what everyone else thinks of tracks. I have the option to mount tracks but not sure I would utilize them. I'd rather not throw money away that I could use on other gear. I know a lot of guys run tracks but I never have so don't know the benefit(s).I could see adding 4 rod holders so I can finally get my dipsy rods flat but not sure if I would need to mount them in a track. 

[Chas0218]

If I go with tracks I could mount up to 5' track I think, is one brand any better than another? I hear cisco is good. Also are the track accessories all the same no matter the manufacturer? So would big jon accessories mount in cisco tracks and vise versa?

[chowder]

If you do not need to mount riggers and equip them with swivels and you already have places for board lines I can't see why you would need to spend $ and time putting trax on the vessel. It's a no brainer when there is nothing on the boat and it needs mounting capacity but from what you describe  I can't see why you would do it unless you wanted to completely change the setup. 2 Bigjon or other type adjustable fixed in place rod holders / side would get you dipsy rods horizontal for salmon wire applications (for walleye we just put our 2 diver rods/side in the rod trees since they don't have that much tension on them). I'm in the process of switching boats (I have trax on 2 other vessels) and the only reason I'm putting a 12" section of trax on either side of my new to me is because I want to be able to take the rod trees on and off.

[sherman brown]

I would go with tracks for running divers. that way you can adjust your rod holders as needed. I think all the track are all the same. I use cannon tracks which are good and heavy duty. and they are competitively priced. I also love the cannon single axis ratcheting rod holders for running my divers. they adjust up and down with one hand. then when a fish hits or just to bring the rod in grab the rod and lift and the holder ratchets to the upright position with no more leaning over the side of the boat. you can find them for less than 80.00. I found them at hodgesmarine.com for just over 74.00 each. hope this helps.

[FishingFool34]

You don't need to run a full 5' section of track. I run a 6" section for my riggers (I just wanted to be able to remove them easily). Then I run a 24" section further up for my triple trees and a single adjustable for my divers.

[sherman brown]

double post

Edited May 14, 2019 by sherman brown

[sherman brown]

Just now, sherman brown said:

I like the idea of having a longer track. that way you can add or adjust to your needs. I got 24" tracks but wasnt happy because I just didnt have enough room between my rods running 3 divers. so I added another 24" track. now I can use one holder in the front for my net and 3 holders for my divers and a downrigger in the back and still have extra room. I like using tracks so its easy to remove gear if I want to go play in the water. all the holders and rigger just slides right off.

 

if you plan on using a rigger its best to use a backing plate or fender washers and bolt all the way through. I just have mine fastened on with ss screws. I tested them by putting my 250 lbs on the rod holders and bouncing on them. but I usually just run rod holders on them but have used big jon downriggers with 3' booms without anything working loose.

 

[Chas0218]

On 5/14/2019 at 11:07 AM, FishingFool34 said:

You don't need to run a full 5' section of track. I run a 6" section for my riggers (I just wanted to be able to remove them easily). Then I run a 24" section further up for my triple trees and a single adjustable for my divers.

The riggers already have the swivel bases so don't really need to swivel any more. I was thinking about adding the dual axis cannonrod holders.

On 5/14/2019 at 12:50 PM, sherman brown said:

 

Yeah I was thinking longer would be better in a sense.

On 5/14/2019 at 10:34 AM, chowder said:

If you do not need to mount riggers and equip them with swivels and you already have places for board lines I can't see why you would need to spend $ and time putting trax on the vessel. It's a no brainer when there is nothing on the boat and it needs mounting capacity but from what you describe  I can't see why you would do it unless you wanted to completely change the setup. 2 Bigjon or other type adjustable fixed in place rod holders / side would get you dipsy rods horizontal for salmon wire applications (for walleye we just put our 2 diver rods/side in the rod trees since they don't have that much tension on them). I'm in the process of switching boats (I have trax on 2 other vessels) and the only reason I'm putting a 12" section of trax on either side of my new to me is because I want to be able to take the rod trees on and off.

I was thinking that but if I were going to mount tracks I would just get them long enough to mount my riggers and extra rod holders to. Maybe just 18" tracks for the dipsy rod holders. 

 

Now what if I used a gimbal mount system instead of the tracks. I have 4 gimbal style rod holders maybe that would be the best of both worlds.

[mr 580]

Attached are couple pics of the track setup on my Proline.  I have a 12" track and a 24" track on each side and the two factory mount flush mounts.  For Lake Ontario I have a 4 rigger spread with rear riggers on Cannon swivels mounts w/o track then 2 riggers in 12" track on Traxstech swivel.  For Lake Erie the two track mounted riggers come off and more rod holders go on.  To me tracks provide a lot of flexibility.  The standard flush mounts angle isn't quite right for great lakes trolling so I don't use them too much- I tried to angle them differently and it wouldn't work without hacking them up so I left them stock.  I have aluminum backer under the tracks.  Nice thing with tracks you can add as you go a long.  Hope this is helpful.    

[Chas0218]

Attached are couple pics of the track setup on my Proline.  I have a 12" track and a 24" track on each side and the two factory mount flush mounts.  For Lake Ontario I have a 4 rigger spread with rear riggers on Cannon swivels mounts w/o track then 2 riggers in 12" track on Traxstech swivel.  For Lake Erie the two track mounted riggers come off and more rod holders go on.  To me tracks provide a lot of flexibility.  The standard flush mounts angle isn't quite right for great lakes trolling so I don't use them too much- I tried to angle them differently and it wouldn't work without hacking them up so I left them stock.  I have aluminum backer under the tracks.  Nice thing with tracks you can add as you go a long.  Hope this is helpful.    

Thanks definitely helps.

You guys changed my mind, now I'm going to have to sit down and figure out what i need and want to do.

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