Ok, I’ve got a boat, bout to have a decent fish finder, but I’m starting from scratch gear wise. I will be on lake murray, so the live bait of choice is blueback herring, so the first question I guess, should I bother using the 2 10 gallon bait tanks on the boat, or just get one to sit on the deck (likely under the leaning post). I have a feeling that it would be a real pain to convert both tanks to aerated tanks, then again, it may not be nearly as big of a deal as I am thinking it will be.
Next item, rods & reels, I’m basically starting from scratch, got a little large mouth stuff laying around, but most of it got stolen out of the garage a couple of years ago, and hasn’t been replaced. I do have one abu garcia 5500C3 on the way that I got cheap on ebay, I’ve been told this is a good starting place on reels, but don’t really have a clue.
Then comes tackle, the bassics for live bait seem basic enough, what else do I need to complete the box?
The abu garcia should serve you well. 7ft ugly stick, med or med/heavy will work as a rod. A bunch of: spro swivels (40 lb will work fine), 15 lb floro for your leaders (segar is the most popular), circle hooks (size 1/0 or 2/0), 2 oz barrel weights. That’s it. A basic carolina rig using a 20" leader.
Oh, almost forgot the three important ones: time, patience, sense of humor.
Good luck
A Penn 9,209 or even a 309 levelwind on a medium rod is good for live bait. Set the clicker and loosen the drag and you’ll know when there’s a fish on. I use them for live bait and trolling. They’re good reels and you can find them on ebay daily.
Good luck,
Taz
thanks for the help, what is your opinions on the livewell setup, I’ve got 2 10 gallon raw water tanks in the stern, both plumed to a raw water pump. I am assuming that these would have to be somehow converted to a aeration system (how to go about doing this I don’t know), or an on deck tank added. This will probably be the easiest option, but if it is simple to convert the other two I would like to go that route for the sake of saving space.
Abu 6500’s and 7’ Ugly Sticks are the way to go, and you are going to need a decent bait tank if you are going to use BB’s. I use one of the Ron Vest Super Bait Tanks and it will keep them alive for a couple of days in midsummer if you keep it running.
Auto, go ahead and bite the bullet and get you a nice bait tank! I know that they are pricy but in the long run its worth it, I’d go see Richard at Lake World for one.
“Stay here Texas fans as the Armadillo Band plays a tribute to Gun Racks and Open Containers!!”
I think I’ve got the bait tank, or at least the aerator part covered. A guy that works in my building (used to be a co-owner in the company I work for) makes the Keep 'em Live baitwell pumps (http://www.danncollc.com/), I have a feeling that I can get him to fix me up with a pump for a decent price, and see if I can pick up a used tank somewhere.
What do you think of the abu garcia 6000 reels, I can’t find any new for sale, but there are quite a few on ebay available, looks fairly decent, but I am ignorant when it comes to them.
Auto, Listen to what we are saying BUY A GOOD QUALITY BAIT TANK. I have seen some folks spend a fortune to build a tank and it still will not keep them little BB’s alive. I have a fishing buddy that built his and he may have saved $100 but he has a week in building the ■■■■ thing, course he has plenty of time on his hand.
I like some others tried to get around a bait tank but it was the best thing my wife ever gave me for Christmas. You have to keep the water cool, not real hard during winter, and keep O2 and circulation for them to thrive.
Also do not cut corners on a fish finder, I know Lowrance does not have the best name in durability but they have the best detail fish finders for the $$$ and the bulk of your striper fishermen use them for that reason. I use the LCX19c with gps built in and this works great.
There you have it. And it all comes with a free boat!
Bait tank will be your best friend. Rods and reels … most of us will fish with 6-8 rods and carry 10!
Now for the learning curve. These fish are much harder to catch than you might guess
Good luck
on fish finders, currently there is no way I can afford to drop a grand on one, what I was considering was either a garmin 178 dual frequency, or perhaps if I can come up with the funds, the lowrance LMS337 combo unit. I’ve got a handheld gps, so I could hold off and just put the money into the fish finder for the time being, but I would really like to have the larger display and clear off the dash of the console.
There is a reason that everyone who striper fishes (or almost everyone) uses Lowrance. It will be money well spent. Look for a close out model, or check and see if Lowrance sells discontinued. Eagle is also made by Lowrance, very similar.
Been looking at the lowrance fish finders, the two that are catching my eye are the LMS337 & LMS480. On the LMS480 there is a single and dual frequency transducer available, does this make much difference on the lake? Also, is having a color display worth the extra money other than clarity of the display? Does anyone have experience with either of these two units.
Color is well worth the money. Check Ebay for the most part fishing season is over in a lot of the country and you may pick up a good deal on a FF. I used to have a X85 and it was pretty good till I fished with a friend that had the X15 and I was amazed. Then I fished with someone with a color unit and it did not take me long to save up the money for the LCX19c, only wished I had gone with the 104c due to a larger screen but like all electronics what every you buy today will be outdated next week.
Yep Chris is correct, most of use will fish with 6-8 rods and have that many more ready to go when freelining/planer boards.
I have even thought of breaking out my outriggers on Lake Hartwell just to see if I could get a little better spread.
IMHO pulling planers and freelines is a freshwater version of saltwater trolling. Same principal just going slower and using smaller gear to catch fish.
It is addictive, in fact I have about given up deer hunting to striper fish. If the fish bit real well from Sept-Nov like they do from Dec through spring I do not think I would pick my deer rifle back up, my hunting buddies cringe when they hear me say that but it is true.
thanks for the advice everyone, hopefully I will be able to piece together enough gear to get on some fish later this fall (and hopefully I will have time to do so). So far, I’ve picked up 3 reels, 5500C3, 6000, and a 6500C3. I’ll have to get a few more, as well as rods to go with them. I’m going to keep my eyes open for a used bait tank, hopefully one will surface pretty quickly.
autobaun, I picked up most of my 6500’s on ebay. Just watch what you are looking for.
I will not pay more than 35-40 for a used reel and have purchased 5-6 in that range there and all have been great. There is some guy that sells them from MN and all his are cleaned, seviced and ready to go.
You just have to watch it though it amazes me how many idiots will pay the same thing for a used reel that you can buy a brand new one for. I use the theory of 1/2 price regardless of how “clean” or “unused” it is when I bid. Eventually you will “win” a few in that price range.
that’s exactly what I’m doing, I noticed the same thing, one went today for 85 bucks, I could have picked on up new sunday at the cabelas store for less than that, or just about anywhere for that matter. I did just find out one nice piece of information, one of my friends just got approved for an account with a major wholesale company, it will be real interesting to see what that does for the price of gear. Hopefully that will bring the price of a fish finder into the affordable range.
Shakespeare has a spring sale of old inventory. It is huge! Ugly sticks go for $15. I still use the tidewater reels for trolling, they were $15. eBay… 50% is my rule of thumb.
You also need to line up some of the guys to fish with to get a feel for it. I recomend…(I am thinking)… all of them. ctoolman is learning his way pretty quickly, tprice is already on top of it. Go with guys that know what they are doing. It will help alot.
Tprice… I have made a pair of double planer boards. Very much like you would use fishing big lake waters like Eire and Michegan. Am toying with looping the feeder line out to them with two out rigger hooks on them. The other consideration is a single line out to the double planer board, then sliding the bait (or lure) out on a clip. The second method would be the more traditional big water planer setup. It should be interesting. When you get a knock down, you play it from/to the back of the boat, then just adjust your spread by sending out another. Will use the downrigger clip on the shower curtain clip (boy does this sound stupid!). Any thoughts or sugestions?
Good luck Autobaun. Keep asking, these are the best guys on this site.
I plan on hooking up with a few people on murray to get the feel for things, might even see if I can talk a few people into splitting a charter with blue heron charters, he lives right across the cove from my uncle, and I see him hauling in a ton of fish. I’m sure I will have more questions, and if anyone has anything to add, please do.
