What's the worst a Rookie (like me) could do??

[10thMTNDAVE]

For those of you who may not know me, I am deployed to Iraq and have just bought an aluminum Deep-V that is waiting for me at Clayton Marina when I redeploy from the desert (Home by Memorial Day!!).

I've kept up on my reading of the posts here, and I have read Keating's book. I am not totally unfamiliar with boats or fishing in general. I have caught Steelhead in the spring trolling with Rapalas, but have never used downriggers or gone after Salmon.

I need some of the more experienced crowd to think back to their days just beginning (Or anybody else for that matter) and tell me about all the newbie mistakes and bone-headed maneuvers you may have committed. Besides a good story to laugh about over beer, I hope to glean some valuable lessons...One's I can learn from reading about before I go and actually commit them myself!!!

If you want to avoid any embarrassing moments you could always say "I had this friend once who did the damndest thing..."

[ray koziatek]

tnth dave,pm STAN or FISHERMEN every trip out they seen to pull off some bonehead mistake ...gese maybe we all could use a refresher as to what not to do if they just post reports of there last couple years of bumbling er opps i mean fishing... But im shure there will be many open invites for you or any other members of our armed services when you .....COME HOME......you know where to find us... RIGHT HERE THE LOU CREW......ill lert ya every thing i know and buy the beer for your crew .....course well be using the military superbowl guide lines of 2 beers per person ,unless you bring your own..

[Legacy]

10thMTNDAVE,

How about yelling "FISH ON", grabbing the rod, and setting the hook only to realize that your downrigger is 40' down and your in 35' of water.

[dieselhp]

I had this friend who forgot to put the plug in the boat before he put the boat in the water.

[Erbyjoe]

Dave the best thing you could do is take a charter for the day you will cut off years of learning and see it first hand what to do and ask as many question you can think of.There are a lot of great charters captains on this site that would be Happy to take you out and have some fun.You just got to pick which one you like from the area you want to port out of. Good luck and be Safe out there

[Just Fishin']

I ran 2 Dipsey rods out with spoons and flashers and had 8lb test on....expensive 3 minutes of fishing as I watched both rods straighten right after setting them. Scarred me for life as I always err on the side of heavier test now in every situation, in direct opposition to the recommendation of every good fisherman I know.

[chinook]

Dave, the best piece of advice I will give, is what I tell everyone just starting out. Think safety first. To many at times, take these bodies of water for granted. They can be very fun filled, but they can also turn awful ugly rather quickly. Absolutely all the fish in the lake is not worth someone losing their life over. I cut my teeth on both lakes Erie and Ontario in a 16' open bow over 30 years ago. Back when I was both younger and dumber. But I will say that learning experience garnered me the utmost respect for these large bodies of water. So the worst mistake any of us can make is to not use our simple common sense at times. As many have said, thank you for your service to our country. You are welcome on my boat anytime-Duane

[stan]

If you ever come out this way your welcome on my boat any time. California lake fishing. Chinook gave out some great and solid information there. The sea is unforgiving

no matter how big the body of water is.

Like so many before me have said Thanks for your service to our country

[raider44]

Dave- The best advice I can give is to ask many questions, take note of the answers. It may be a good idea to take notes after each fish caught- time, location, fow, set-up, direction of troll, etc. And do not get frustrated. Do not plan to have a catch of a lifetime, or a great fishing trip your very first time out- things will go wrong, but that is part of the journey!

[FX]

First of all, THANK YOU for your commitment and service to our country. I know a guy... that wasn't paying attention to his depth finder while spring fishing for Browns with 3 lines out on the starboard planer line. All of a sudden all 3 lines released with HUGE fish on until I (i mean this guy) realized the depth of the boat was 4' and the lines were shallower - oops! Another time this guy... was deploying a dipsy diver that was set opposite to the side of deployment. Rigger lines were already set with a long set back and when the dipsy crossed the rigger lines, it was tangled so badly it wouldn't trip - that was fun! Hiring a reputable Charter will definitely shorten the learning curve, but everyone makes bonehead moves and has something to look back on and laugh. Just remember that the first time is a mistake and the second time you're a dummy! Good luck and make it home safely! As others have said, you won't have a hard time finding someone to go out with as there are many great guys on this site. You're always welcome on my boat.

Shawn

[momay4000]

Last year we were in the process of landing a triple and after I landed the first fish I set the retrieve on the rigger to bring up the ball (and Subtroll probe). As I moved and focused on the next fish, I start to hear my brother who was driving yell, "dude, huge fish at the surface, 15 feet ,30 feet, 60 feet......now it's on the bottom.......!" Certainly it wasn't a fish at all, but my probe and ball which snapped off when it hit the top of the boom and nobody was paying attention.....

Moral of the story is watch it when you retrieve your DR's (or at least have ones with a reliable shut off when they hit the surface.)

- Chris

[L&M]

Stan: Pay close attention to Chris's post above. Just bustin on ya west coaster well kinda.

[FISHINMAN]

Dave, the best piece of advice I will give, is what I tell everyone just starting out. Think safety first. To many at times, take these bodies of water for granted. They can be very fun filled, but they can also turn awful ugly rather quickly. Absolutely all the fish in the lake is not worth someone losing their life over. I cut my teeth on both lakes Erie and Ontario in a 16' open bow over 30 years ago. Back when I was both younger and dumber. But I will say that learning experience garnered me the utmost respect for these large bodies of water. So the worst mistake any of us can make is to not use our simple common sense at times. As many have said, thank you for your service to our country. You are welcome on my boat anytime-Duane

I agree with this as I have a deep V aluminum boat to and it can get hairy real fast .

A charter is a great idea but there is a lot of guys on here that would be willing to take somebody out for a little gas or nothing at all . It's always nice just to be able to get another "2 rods" in the water

Another thing to consider is getting with someone that has a boat similar to yours so that you can see how he or she (in Ray K's case) has it set up and does in the big lake.

Always check things out on the boat before heading out and heading back in (dang probe )

Some sort of GPS device is great to have for both fishing and mapping

[jeb1340]

Before I bought my boat I was fishing with a friend on his, we were both new to downriggers and had read about using them but neither of us had even been on a boat with them before. We decided to move to a new spot and Chris had left the ball on the down rigger and set it on the side of the boat. We take off get to where we are going and realize that there is no ball and what were did all of the wire go. About a month later we were back out on the lake and took of with 50 feet of cable out. Luckily we both realized it before we lost it all. Still to this day I check the riggers twice before taking off.

[Gray Fox]

Probably the worst rookie story I watched happen and then heard the story at the dock, was the two planer boards on one side trick. One early morning in April when the water was very cold, and had about a two foot chop I watched the boat slipped next to us double up and all three guys run to the back to land the fish. Key to this story is that no one was driving the boat. Anyhow the boat got turned in a wave, planer board line wound multiple times around the prop, you know the nightmare nobody wants to have, especially in 8 fow. Luckily, they got everything taken care of and never hit shore. The boat between us and them quick pulled there lines and slid in and was ready to tow them to deeper water if need be. All and all carelessness could lead to a very bad day. As said above safety should always be the #1 concern.

[chowder]

Make your first day out on the water with the new boat a week day so you don't have to worry about how much time you take getting the boat in the water and getting ready. Keep it really simple the first day. I would not try trolling untill you have been out a couple times and know the boat, the sonar/ gps and the radio. With that under your belt keep your first attempt simple and your crew to a minimum ( they take up space and you will need that space) a pair of riggers will be plenty or a pair of inline boards if you get back early enough. You are probably going to have enough new to you stuff to figure out that fish are really the last thing you will have time to worry about on day one of actual trolling, but you are starting a great adventure! Enjoy every part of it!

[LongLine]

Don’t get over anxious or be in a super hurry to get out there. That’s when stupid things happen. Things like not screwing the riggers on, forgetting to put in the plug, forgetting the thermos (or the beer), trying to launch the boat without taking the rear trailer strap off. (Not that I’m speaking from my own experience…)

Remember one thing after you’re safely out there on the water in a well running boat…DON’T put the engine in reverse with planner boards out. (Right Stan?) or Dipseys or riggers out either.

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[GAMBLER]

If you are running Plainer boards and you see a sailboat (no matter how close), turn the opposite direction it is heading and stay away from it. It will find you and run over you plainerboard in a hurry. Don't ask how I know.

[traveling man]

OK the first time i ran downriggers i was cruising up the lake and i saw a pod of baitfish on my sounder. i turned the boat around and put the riggers to the depth of the baitfish. i went over the school and caught a fish within 60 second. ITS NOT THAT EZ.

don't put the boat in reverse while your riggers are down. thats ugly.

[Yankee Clipper]

if you go with a rigger with S&T probe ... make sure you coil on the cable in the correct direction. Mine went down reall easy but sicne I put it on in the wrong direction it would not come up as it was binding against the housing. I could have let all of it out and then tried using the unit to recoil it and pull it up ... but I thought that if I was that much of an idiot to make the first mistake -- How could I trust my S&T at the bottom in that I had it solidly attached to the reel ....... sooooo ...... I put on my gloves and man hauled everything up from 90 feet ... then uncoiled it all then put it back on in the correct direction ... stupid - stupid - stupid ...

[ncallahan03]

One time on my buddies boat we were fishing with the penn manual downriggers, we set the rigger and started to walk back to sit down when all of a sudden the downrigger fell off the boat. The skipper of the boat forget to screw the rigger into the base when we set out that morning... atleast he got new big jon electrics out of it

[SinDale]

I'm still a novice fishing out of my smaller boat for 5 years on Ontario and T.I., and have grown up around the lake and boats my whole life. I have about a half hour to kill, so I'll throw out a few things that come to mind. If they don't help anyone, at least they'll remind me to be safe and humble

I've learned the following:

When putting in, make sure the tie down straps are off; the motor will start in the driveway and at the launch; wait and take the wench off once your boat is 50% in the water until you're comfortable your boat wont slip off the trailer; and like it was said above to put the drain plug in. I've witnessed (and performed one, i wont say which) and they're a bad way to start the day.

When at the beach or even parked fishing, more anchor line the better, and the use of 2 anchors if possible to stay where you want. I was anchored at Marge's near Irondequoit bay when the lake picked up. Luckily the wind was coming in instead of out, because the waves bent my anchor and pulled it loose, and I found my boat beached 4 doors down!

Don't try to troll with Little Cleo style spoons! Also spend the extra dollar on good swivels, deploying them at every connection. Line wrap is expensive, frustrating, and time consuming.

Without getting too close, if you see a grouping of boats out there, most of the time they know whats up. It can at least give you a good starting point if you're unsure of where the fish are.

Avoid going out alone, and always make sure there are people who know your location and expected time of return. Dialing *24 on a Cell phone will get you directly to the coast guard, and regularly checking your VHF by saying "can I get a mic check" is always returned.

Have a back up plan for everything. If you're out at night, have a back-up set of battery powered navigation lights. A reserve tank of gas is always smart. Keep a few bottles of water incase the sun or waves get to you. If you're trolling down the coast, keep in mind the next harbor in case the weather/lake acts up unexpectedly.

Info is your best tool. Maps, depth charts, gps, fish finder, etc. are key to a good trip on the water, and fish in the well.

LOU is the #1 spot online to learn about Lake Ontario region fishing and boating!!!! NO question is left unanswered, so ask often. I have and these guys have taught me "boat loads"

[Irish Buoy]

I believe beginners should keep the Coast Guard slogan in mind when deciding to go out in bad weather, high wind and waves and the size of their boat. "You have to go out, but you don't have to come back".

[StormFront]

i have one of those bars that go between the outboard and the trailer to hold the outboard up while towing. i launched my boat and forgot to take it off. well, the boat sliding off the trailer takes care of that!! funny thing is, when i got back from fishing and its time to take the boat out, there is that stupid bar laying on the bottom of the launch ramp. even funnier is that i've done that 4 times now. i guess whoever said to not be in a hurry, especially early in the morning knows what they are talking about. and to all you guys who launch at wrights landing in oswego: if you ever see that thing laying on the bottom of the launch, leave it right there. i'll get it on my way in !

[TAGMAN]

How about fishing out of a 16 ft deep V catching the bottom with the downrigger and almost capsizing the boat, or have a storm roll in fishing the big O, or the worst ever have the fog roll in and you here a loud fog horn getting closer and closer, the all you can see is an oil tanker comming right for you, That was just a a few things that happened to me in my early years, Now i have a 22 '' cabin cruzer, good radio, gps and i never drag the bottom or even think of going out in anything over 2-4 footers

GOOD LUCK