Modifiying my boat!

[emeraldmanor]

Hey all, love it here...get a chuckle every time I come to visit. OK,now for the help please...I have a 19 foot Northwood Pro and I have it set in my mind to do some changes to try the deep waters of Lake Superior....love them Lakers and salmon...looking for manual downrigger relatively inexpensive...anyone have some you want to part with for this disabled fisherwoman trying a new area to fish? Limited budget requires me to design my own rod holders for the back and only two on the boat. Willing to spend time learning where to go in the Duluth-Superior area to learn the finer points and to test the equipment out to begin....fished all my life...and now promise to departed father drives me on to do the things he didn't get to do....any help is greatly appreciated....also would love to be a companion at times....or even deck mate to learn more....hope to hear from you all soon..
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[Tarpon4me]

First and foremost, welcome to BFT emeraldmanor! Mmmm, let me see..............

For specific info on the lake, I would start on your state board at the bottom of the message board list. You'll be able to get localized fishing reports, speak to other anglers in your area, and maybe even score a ride-a-long with a local angler in your area that would be willing to show you the ropes.[cool]

Next, You can get a down rigger cheaper than you may think. I'm talking under a hundred bucks for the rigger, mounting plate, and a accessory pack. Go to this website and check out the prices, you'll be surprised:

[url "http://www.basspro.com"]www.basspro.com[/url]

If that's still too rich for you blood, I can tell you how to make an inespensive one using an old leaf spring and a trailer winch. You need to know someone that has decent steel working skills. If you don't know anyone that welds, you could just as easily make it by just bolting it all together, it just wouldn't be a efficient. Seriously though, your best bet is to put a few green backs away and purchase yourself a new one.

As for your rod holders, you can get a couple sticks of 1 1/4 schedule 40 PVC pipe and make all the rod holder your little Northwood Pro can handle.[] Drill two holes through the center of each lenth of pipe. Cut the pipe into about 14" pieces, that's plenty long enough. Make your front hole big and the back hole just big enough to get the screw through. Fasten each rod holder directly to the boat using stainless drill point screws, or, if you have access to the back panel, it's better to use stainless bolts so you can remove them and replace them with out having to drill more holes.

You can also purchase rod holders pretty cheap too. I'm not sure what you're calling expensive, but you can get good rod holders for around 10 bucks a piece.

I hope this helps! Do you have a fish finder and all that stuff yet? You're gonna need one.
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[bkidder]

welcome aboard! for downriggers and rod holders id check out ebay. ive been amazed at how low they sell for on there at times. (this time of year especially, being the "off season" for most people)

im partial to cannon downriggers and when i started out i used their sport troll model. these will do the job just fine. make sure the rigger you get has enough cable to get down to the depths you want to fish. (with some room to spare in case you snag up... id say if you want to fish 100 feet deep- make sure you have about 200 feet of cable.) i may be over cautious on this stuff, but losing weights, etc can get pricey!

when you get your boat set up, be sure to check in here with us. there are a lot of people that can really give you great tips on using downriggers. i have spent a lot of time and money learning the hard way. asking questions will ensure that you can learn quicker and cheaper! (where was this message board when i started out? LOL)
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