[Gills92]

Just got home from the sportsman’s show. Well, the RV and Bi-Mart show is really what it was. But Bi -Mart did have good deals on what I was looking for.
Okuma Kokanee Black rods for $60. Okuma convector lc’s for $70. Picked up 2 of each. And they had tons of ammo.

I modified the mount for my bait board. The UHMW was a touch flimsy. I swapped it out for steel round stock and conduit. Will cut to size and weld it out once I get the boat over here.

 

[Gills92]

The boat is home. It came with 2 older Cannon Easy Trolls. Ones in good shape so I swapped out the cable for braid. Next trip into Bend I’ll grab an electric. The FF is an older Lowrance HDS-5. I’ll be swapping that out once I decide between Garmin or Humminbird. But have to figure out if I want ipilot or reactor first. Leaning toward ipilot. I’ve already amassed to many Kokanee rods and gear so I’m good there. I’ll take her out next week for the maiden voyage and figure out another grand worth of purchases I’ll need to make.

Appreciate all the tips and tricks.

 

[fishrepellor]

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The boat is home. It came with 2 older Cannon Easy Trolls. Ones in good shape so I swapped out the cable for braid. Next trip into Bend I’ll grab an electric. The FF is an older Lowrance HDS-5. I’ll be swapping that out once I decide between Garmin or Humminbird. But have to figure out if I want ipilot or reactor first. Leaning toward ipilot. I’ve already amassed to many Kokanee rods and gear so I’m good there. I’ll take her out next week for the maiden voyage and figure out another grand worth of purchases I’ll need to make.

Appreciate all the tips and tricks.

nice boat!

Get the bow mount! Not having to run a gas kicker for trout/kokanee is awesome. Plus, I haven't used an anchor for about 5 years.

 

[Gills92]

I just need to decide on what Humminbird unit and eventually what minkota to go with it. Any input on what works for Kokanee would be greatly appreciated.

I’m eyeballing the Helix 7. Just not sure if side imaging is worth the extra $200.

 

[WillFish4Food51]

I just need to decide on what Humminbird unit and eventually what minkota to go with it. Any input on what works for Kokanee would be greatly appreciated.

I’m eyeballing the Helix 7. Just not sure if side imaging is worth the extra $200.

If Helix 7 make sure it is “N” model for networking. The 7 Is only size that comes in non network model.

 

[fishrepellor]

Make sure it’s the “mega” version. I had the helix 7 but non mega on my old boat. Resolution was horrible for side and down imaging. Not really usable. I think the new machines may all be Mega+ now.

get the ulterra. So you don’t have to go through the windshield every time to deploy and stow. If it was an open sled then no ulterra.
I had to replace the stowing motor finally after 4-5 years of use otherwise no issues.

 

[fishrepellor]

I believe the side imaging comes with down also. So worth it if you do salmon trolling also.

 

[Gills92]

Is side imaging really worth the extra cost?

if the fish are at 100’ like the last time I went, will they actually show up on it?

 

[WillFish4Food51]

Is side imaging important or worth? Depends.

MEGA SI with Chirp and a property mounted transducer can be useful… depending on what you fish for. If you are going after silvers on ocean or bays, or bottom fishing then it won’t do much. A lot of the technology from Minnkota comes from bass and walleye fishing emphasis. I have used it kokanee fishing as it will show shallow schools that disperse as you troll through. Knowing they are there you can turn sharp toward when past and pull gear through them. I have never seen springers on it, but am pretty confident in lower river and the channel we see sturgeon regularly in shallow. Might get our tot test that in coming weeks. Bass and walleye holding over structure and suspended of course too. The solid line of shad should help to locate for anchoring purposes.

 

[Gills92]

My salmon days will be pretty limited now. Lake fishing for Kokanee, trout and bull trout will be the primary focus.

I can see the advantage for surface schools of Kokanee. I’ll have to take a day next week to head into the Sportsman’s in Bend to see what they have.

 

[Gills92]

Now the hard part, finding one to buy. Haha

They do have the Garmin ECHOMAP UHD 93sv.

 

[Joek]

Is side imaging important or worth? Depends.

MEGA SI with Chirp and a property mounted transducer can be useful… depending on what you fish for. If you are going after silvers on ocean or bays, or bottom fishing then it won’t do much. A lot of the technology from Minnkota comes from bass and walleye fishing emphasis. I have used it kokanee fishing as it will show shallow schools that disperse as you troll through. Knowing they are there you can turn sharp toward when past and pull gear through them. I have never seen springers on it, but am pretty confident in lower river and the channel we see sturgeon regularly in shallow. Might get our tot test that in coming weeks. Bass and walleye holding over structure and suspended of course too. The solid line of shad should help to locate for anchoring purposes.

March 20 - Side scan was the most successful way for me to find kokes on Merwin.

I toggle through the screens I have to find where the fish are hiding.

when they are 40 or more feet deep Chirp does a good job.

This is the 7” Garmin UHD. I replaced it with the 9” version. If someone had a place to put it, I could let it go for $400 with transducer.

 

[Gills92]

That’s a great price. I’ll keep it in mind.

I’ll fish what I have for a few trips to try and get a feel for what I’ll want to add in the future. I’m still leaning Humminbird for the Minkota ipilot option.

I’m not sure if I have room for the reactor auto pilot on my kicker. I’m still researching all the auto pilot options.

 

[Gills92]

Humminbird helix G3N question for those that have one.

Is there any way to set up a second monitor in the rear of the boat for when you’re running the kicker?

Maybe a small monitor via VGA cables or something of the like.

 

[Gills92]

First day on the water with it. LBC, stayed near where the Deschutes and Crooked come together.

Thanks to Fichnhunt’s advice, I was able to 6 in the boat before the splash and giggle crowd started showing up. Dropped the downrigger to 90’ then adjusted depth accordingly with his set ups.

Beautiful morning on the water.

 

[Gills92]

If you're going to be fishing the manual downriggers or more then two rods on your downriggers I'd consider making some of these droppers for stacking. Clip the carabiner onto the cable and the release to the line. Drop it down to the desired depth using a line counter reel as a reference. When you set the rod the dropper goes to the downrigger weight and hangs up there. Once all of your weights are at the ball you bring them back up and restart.
I have electric downriggers and use these a lot. I keep staking and dropping gear until I'm out. It's a much quicker process.
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Game changer of an idea. I only had 4 made up to see if I liked them. After this morning, I now have 16.

I’m able to see my DR weight and these droppers on my fish tv. Once I started adjusting the depth of the droppers to the schools it was lights out fishing. Even stopped using the release off the weight all together.

Appreciate the tip, thank you.

 

[Gills92]

Cleaning stuff.

After 15 years of Astoria salt fishing, this thing needs a bath.

The rear pedestal seats finally realized I was not playing around when I said I wanted to remove them to open up some room for solo fishing. Had to remove the bases, lock the pedestal in a vise and use a dead blow at full swing to get them apart. Lots of salt.

Now I’m concerned as to all the other places it’s made it to, minus the engines, I already had them gone through.

Any recommendations on what cleaners should I be looking for to get a deep clean and just general cleaning?

 

[Two Fister]

I’d hose the boat down with this a couple of times and then use any of the boat washes that are available. The Salt-Away works really well.

 

[Gills92]

Appreciate it.

I’ll order some up.

 

[Gills92]

I’ve got both older cannon manual downriggers set up, new Humminbird Helix 7 G3N installed. I’ll take it out to LBC tomorrow to see what fine tuning I need to do on the transducer. I never get it right the first time, so I’ll be bringing tools. If anyone sees a guy at the dock in the water behind his boat, it’s not outboard problems. Haha