I mentioned it in my first reply, Ive been learning this striper thing for about a year and a half. Ill leave the fishing reports to the boat captains, however I have picked up some valuable tips and tricks on striper fishing and boating in general that I would like to share. Please feel free to add to this list as Im sure this great group of fisherman have had many wonderful experiences. Names have been omitted to protect the guilty.
Free lines go out the back of the boat
Leaders should be less than 6 feet long
Try to remember to turn your head lamp off when looking at someone
If you bring one of the portable battery operated clip on bow lights, dont let it fall off the dashboard into the water. They sink.
Dont keep your favorite visor and expensive head lamp on when running in at the end of the night. It can blow off and sink.
Be careful adjusting your second favorite visor when running in during a downpour, it can blow off and sink.
The mounting clip on 12v fishing lights are not real strong and sink.
If the DNR cant see your nav lights, they will give you some green and red glow sticks
A nav light will fit through the holes of the built in rod holders in a boat and fall into a compartment that has no access to it.
The PVC elbow joint on the bait tank can be a little it brittle.
When you trailer the boat at the end of the night, give the truck keys back to the owner before you get in your car and drive home.
Yeah, especially the one that stranded me at the boat ramp till 4 in the morning when I had to get to work the next day. Another tip might be answer your cell phone when you are on your way home from fishing at 3am, it might be the person you stranded at the dock trying to get home.
-when backing up a trailer at the dam, the trailer is supposed to go between the curbs, not straddle the curb
-when you see a storm is definitely coming your way, don’t wait till the last minute or you will be the 20th person in line at the ramp.
-dont drive off with your fishing lights and trolling motor in the water
-water fills up a boat fast when there is no plug in the bilge, especially with 2 batteries and a 30g bait tank in the back
-Always make yourself a note reminding you to put in the plug
-Never rely on the “auto” setting for your bilge pump
-Always wear Croakies on your glasses. Preferably the type that float
-Always have extra hats on-board
-Always keep a bucket on-board
-Nothing displaces water faster than a scared man armed with a bucket
-Unfortunately a gas pump nozzle fits very nicely into a gunwale rod holder
-Gasoline odor is very difficult to get out of the bilge
If fishing in the winter, keep a change of clothes and a towel. Also, your muscles will contract in 40* water and make it hard to get back into the boat. Use the trim on the motor to help yourself in. Not a lesson I learned personally, but talked to the person. Also, keep your floor clear or you might trip over your gar club and fall in.
-Don’t beach a jon boat to get out of the weather on a wind blown side of an island…
-Dont tie your jon boat up to the wind blown side of the dock.
Don’t store used sabiki rigs in a sandwich bag unless u are bored
Don’t leave the house to go fishing and forget the boat
-HAND the truck keys to the guy in the boat.
-Carry strong magnet if you like to throw them
-Coolers and boat seats are to be turned backwards when transporting boat.
-2 boats trolling the same area is not a good idea
— Make sure boat is secured to dock cleats properly, especially when the wind is blowing 15 MPH and you are putting the boat in by yourself… Parked truck walk back toward the dock, boat was 1/2 way across the lake… I never knew there were so many dead end roads on Lake Greenwood, after going down many dead end streets I’d finally located my boat… Luckly the boat landed on a beach and not the rip rap next to the beach…
That reminds me of another
-don’t use cheap clothes line to tie your boat to the dock when there is a 30mph wind and white caps breaking on the dock. Better yet, don’t launch your boat when there are white caps breaking on the dock
-when you buy a boat and launch it for the first time, make sure your trailer bunks are not just floating above the metal brackets. That way you won’t gouge your hull on exposed steel brackets. The twine wrapped around the bunks should have given me some indication.
I just remembered one that I thought was the end of me.
Don’t try and tow a bow rider with a 12 foot john boat and a 3 foot piece of dock rope. Thankfully the outboard had a mercury switch in it that killed the motor when it was inverted.
I know not many of you fish with downriggers, but if you do…make sure they are securely locked in place in the mount before you leave the dock. I have one sitting on the bottom in about 150’ of water.
I know not many of you fish with downriggers, but if you do…make sure they are securely locked in place in the mount before you leave the dock. I have one sitting on the bottom in about 150’ of water.
'07 198 DLX Carolina Skiff
FS90 Suzuki
Since u told me that story i have been tying mine to each other hoping if one goes the other will save it…
i put 33 gals into the rod holder my second week of owning my seapro. took about a year to get smell out. had one of my chemists at our company make up a compound to rid the smell. just a shame about those 5 brand new life jackets and throw cushion.
2. please turn off your headlights when putting your boat in and taking it out. makes it a hell of a lot easier for the other person to see backing up.
Don’t feed the ducks no matter how hungry they look.
2)Assure the cast net retrieval line is tied to something BEFORE YOU CHUNK IT OVERBOARD.
3)Never assume you got that last leftover herring out of the bait tank - look twice!
4)Don’t trust expired sunscreen.
5)If you ever forget where you put out your christmas trees for crappie, just break out the umbrella rigs, you’ll soon locate them. I always do.
The white cap is for water, not gas. Had to replace the whole freshwater system in a guys boat one time. He had a 235 wa seapro, complained because he could only get 5 gallons of gas in his brand new boat.
i put 33 gals into the rod holder my second week of owning my seapro.
quote:Originally posted by tigerfin
The white cap is for water, not gas. Had to replace the whole freshwater system in a guys boat one time. He had a 235 wa seapro, complained because he could only get 5 gallons of gas in his brand new boat.
More proof that the designers at Seapro didn’t think things through.
I feel vindicated. Now if I can just convince my buddy of that.
I bet there are some good stories behind those