HBs " Small boat tactics " program

[HB2]

Being board and seeing the need , I'm going to share my Small boat tactics program I post  about  . Fishing these LO fish since the beginning owning a few boats , I have learned a thing or two . I have had my success and my failures . 

I currently am fortunate enough to own 2 boats  , a 21 ft hardtop and a 16 ft side console . I consider a small boat 17 ft or less . 

Big boats have a lot of advantages over small . A stable safe platform to run multiple rods efficiently and cover a,lot of water to name a few.  

But weather permitting , during peak times small boats have a few distinct advantages over big  boats . 

First and foremost is maneuverability .Being able to turn and go back over schools of bait and fish fast .While big boats run long lines with coppers and dipsys , it's like turning around the Titanic to go back over spots . Turn  to  fast and this stuff sinks to the bottom . 

I have 2 manual riggers on my small boat and I use these,almost exclusively when I troll water deeper than 15 ft . 

Last early  may to mid June I targeted kings from 60 to 120 ft , fishing down 40 to 9o ft . And did well almost every time out . I ran mostly flasher setups or  Sometimes 1 spoon , 1 flasher . Just two rods no cheaters . My game plan was to see fish on my finder and adjust the depth to the fish and stay on top of them . I use leads of 25 to 35 ft mostly running both back the same .  And keep them vertically at least 10 ft apart and as much as 40 . By doing this I can make a 150 ft complete circle without tangles . My flashers are doing a lot of crazy stuff down there I think ,which triggers strikes. I always troll in s  curves . I have no down or up speed . Sometimes I use my handheld GPS for SOG . 

 

When it's slow , against my better judgement , I will put a Dispsey out . This,changes my whole dynamic of my trolling path which become straighter  because of the long line,. And the effectiveness of my riggers goes down . 

 

The second advantage is small boats  do not  create the footprint bigger boats do .Fish sometimes feel the bigger boat,above them and it spooks them to the side , which is why coppers and dipsys shine for them  IMO.  Not so much spooking  for smaller boats . Which us why I like my riggers .

For fall stagers , which I love ,  I run 2  J plugs only almost exclusively .  Starting in 10 to 12 ft back 75 , with the ball just under the surface . I work my way out and shorten leads to no less,than 40 ft . I set one 8 ft off bottom and one half way down . This fall was great for me doing this, a,lot of  matures . 

 

IMO , downriggers are the heart of a small boat trolling program in water more than 15 ft  ,for reasons I explained , use and are proven for me . You want a lure at 50 ft , put it there , no guess,work .

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Small boats aren't big boats so don't try to be one.  Less is more in a lot of situations  . Use those advantages . 

 

Yup , I have slow days , but not many   . 

This I what works for me . 

 

 

Just watch the weather and safety first. 

 

 

 

[HB2]

Oh yeah , and I forgot this part . Important . 

I fish alone most of the time small boat. 

On the strike , if it's a good fish , and fall it all ways is , I leave the rod in the holder , pop  the other rod and reel it in as fast as I can ,put the boat in neutral and play the fish out  not being dragged by the boat . Usually  around 5 min to land . 

 

After I land the fish and get organized I point the bow into the wind or current and head straight back to my weigh point . I can't tell you how many times I have had a hit before I got the second rod set . 

 

When I fish my big boat , sometimes it takes me a half hour to get back to my weigh point . 

[chowder]

You make some interesting points. I myself have a 25' and a 16 1/2'. If the fish are hot the 2 rigger deal in a small boat isn't a bad way to go for sure. Problem is: You don't know that when you start. Personally when I'm fishing alone in my lil boat I like to run a rigger with a fixed or sliding cheater, a dipsy, and a junk line off the big boards right off the bat and vary depth as much as possible. This way I can get a read on fish mood and attempt to hone in on best approach. If all the lines take fish then I switch to what's easy to run and life is good. There are those days though when you all you can get to go and only once in a while is one setup with a specific spoon and although it's exasperating , if I start trying to figure out things right away I might manage a one man box and good eats by finding that one thing and working it to death from 7:00 am to Noon. Anyway that's my 2 cents.