Fishing Forum

I love fishing with my young family. I feel pretty confident on a river trying to catch a fish and I am at home on the ice. On the side of a lake I am learning and I am totally a novice when it comes to fishing from a boat. (I have only been out once with a friend fishing from a boat at the berry last year) So around christmas this year my aunt gave me her fishing boat because she didn't use it any longer and she knew I loved fishing.

So now I am the proud owner of my first fishing boat, and I have a TON of questions.
So here is my setup,.
19 foot Aluminum (tracker) boat with deck on the bow
40 horsepower engine

It does not have a trolling motor or downrigger. So help me out. What do I need to get into trolling with my boat when it warms up.

What is a good entry level downrigger? In your opinions what are some that I should research and what should I stay away from?

What is best, a Bow or transom mounted trolling motor? or should I just get a trolling plate for the motor.

I have spincasting reals. For trolling what should I have? I heard someone mention lead line....Is that something I need?

I tried going into a store today (rhymes with Jobelas) to ask them these same questions and the guy working that area just stood there and talked to his friend about fishing. I asked two different people to get someone to help me and nothing. I left so disappointed and then thought you all would be of better help anyways.

What else do I need to know? Thanks in advance.
[signature]

Hi fishin dad, I've got a 16ft aluminum with a 50 horse power I can troll everything from slow Kokanee to fast trolling for trout with it, so I don't think you'll need a trolling plate with your setup ( just my opinion ). I use 2 penn manuel downriggers ( ksl has manuel downriggers for 80 to 100.00 often). I don't care for lead core so I use dipsedivers to get my lures down. I do have and use a terrova bow mount, but it's mostly for steering. So I can fish more and not worry about steering. I hope this helps.
[signature]

You mentioned different speeds for Kokanee and trout. Those are two species that I would like to go after. How fast (or slow) do I need to go for Kokanee, and how slow should I go for trout?

Thanks for the KSL advice. I wasn't even thinking of that!
[signature]

PM me and we can talk on the phone and I can answer all your question of how I fish.
[signature]

Depending on the type of gunnels you have, these are the two entry level riggers I'd recommend. This is the type I have:
http://store.cannondownriggers.com/produ...Lake-Troll
But if you have room this clamp on type is even cheaper but again, it will not work on every boat:
http://store.cannondownriggers.com/produ...Mini-Troll
As far as a trolling motor, for now you would be fine trolling with your big motor, depending on how slow it will troll down to. If it does not troll slow enough a trolling plate is the way to go. That being said, I would consider upgrading at some point to either an electric bow mount trolling motor or a gas kicker or both. The gas kicker would be my first upgrade, because by using one you are not putting undue hours on your main motor and it will get better gas mileage. If you are fishing just for trout or kokanee that will likely be all you need but if you ever decide you want to go slower and fish for warm water fish, then at some point you might want to get an electric trolling motor. For trolling I use level wind reels and I prefer the ones that have line counters, so I know how much line I'm putting out and can get my lures back to that same place in the water, if I start catching fish. Lead core line is another useful tool, if you can't spend the amount a downrigger cost to get started. Again I like level wind reels but you don't need a line counter when using lead core line because it has colors on the line, so you will know how much line you are letting out.
Sounds like you need to go to Sportsmans warehouse, they are usually very helpful but there are other smaller stores that sell the items you need that I'm sure can help you. That being said, check out the many pages of on this board, there is a lot of helpful info here. I hope this helps, good luck.
[signature]

If you fish the shallow lakes like Willard you don't need down riggers. All I do is put a nice 1 oz egg sinker on the line above a #7 swivel. From there a long leader and then the bait. If I wanted to get down really deep then try lead core line and then finally a downrigger. I am surprised the tracker boat doesn't have an electric trolling Motor on it. If you want it rigged with one and you don't want to do it yourself the tracker dealer in Utah is in Layton.
[signature]

Thanks for all the help.
[signature]