Complete Rigging for 226

[Spawn Bag]

Hey everyone,

New to site and completing purchase of 2007 226 powered with a Yamaha 225. I troll on Lake Michigan for Salmon/Steelhead and have been doing so in an 18 foot Hewescraft for the past 7 years. Have always admired GW's and cant wait to get her on the water. Also fish the streams/rivers for Salmon and Steelhead and have for years (thus "Spawn Bag").

The subject reads Complete Rigging because it's going to take a lot to get this boat to where I need it to be. I was hoping that some of you can help with suggestions although I understand that our type of fishing differs greatly from ocean fishing. We troll typically 3.1 - 2.8 GPS SOG. We fish downriggers, dipsy divers and long lines which include copper line and lead core attached to inline planer boards (2-3 per side) for a total of 8-10 rods at any given time.

Here are some of my rigging questions:

Down rigger mounting......I was going to get 2 gimbal mounts with swivel bases to mount the riggers. We run our riggers out to the side, so with 10-12 pound cannon balls there will be a lot of torque on the gunwale while fishing. I have been warned by a few that may be a problem, although none are GW owners. The problems I have heard about include the teeth shredding on the holders (nothing to do with the boat) and major stress including cracks to the gunwales. The other option is to mount a track system by lets say Traxstech (link below), however now I will have to drill holes and it wont look as clean. I guess the other advantage of the track is that I will be able to position the riggers where I want then rather than right next to the rear seats making them useless. I just hate to drill holes not to mention those tracks seem to collect a lot of dirt and debris.

http://www.traxstech.com/Home_Page.php (home page launches a cool video of what we do)

Dipsy Rod Holder Mounting........Again, I was going to get 2 gimbal mount stands and mount (2) 3 rod holders on each side of the gunwale (link below). Dipsy rods also have a lot of pull and torque but nowhere close to a down rigger. Wondering if I should trust the gimbals or just add a piece of track there as well?

http://www.myfortune3cart.com/BigJonSpo ... roduct=784

Long Lines......I have to mount 3 rod holders on the SIDE of the the hard top tubing (per side) (clamp on I'm guessing). I will need to be able to change the pitch of each holder and would also like to be able to fully adjust so I can fold in when approaching the docs and trailering. Any thoughts on good holders that will secure onto the tubing. Below is a link and the 5th picture shows what appear to be non-adjustable holders however out to the side like I need. This is not my boat or me...Just a picture from a site I found.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Lead-Cor ... 532195.uts

I have a ton more to rig and will post a few more projects as I complete others. I will also post pictures as I go along.

Great to find a site like this. Excited about rigging the new boat and getting her on the water however I want to get as much right the 1st time around....

Other projects to come:

Rocket launcher on the hardtop....I need to room to store a lot more rods as we go out with different application rods that may or may not get used. Guessing 8-10 holder

Kicker for trolling

Auto Pilot - Wow, where do you start?

Additional electronics. Love my present HDS7 with XM/FM radio and satellite weather. May just move over from current boat.

Fish Hawk...Tells you speed and temp on the surface as well as speed and temp at the down rigger weight. Great when looking for temp breaks and/or currents below the surface. May just move over from current boat.

Radar - Even further down the road.

Don't seem like she is going to see any fishing this year......LOL

Thanks everyone. Looking forward to any and all suggestions.

 

[Seafarer228G]

Can anyone help this guy?

 

[Harley349]

Spawn Bag.

I have a carbon copy of your boat and fish Lake Superior. This is the way my boat is rigged, and I will comment after each category.

Dowriggers: I run four Walker electric riggers. Two are configured off the sides and they are mounted directly to the gunwales. I have never had a problem with them. Two are run off the back, one is a regular downrigger and the other is set up with a Moor trolling system. The Moor system tells me the temperature of the water at the depth of the rigger weight, and it tells me the speed of the rigger weight at the depth you are fishing.

Dipsy and planer boards. I do not run planer boards, but I do run two dipsy divers, one on each side in the rod holders on downriggers on the gunwales. Some guys fish more than one rod on a downrigger, stack the lures. I do that only on the downriggers off the back of the boat. I also use 10 lbs weight on the sides and 8 lbs on the back so I have less chance of huge tangles. Now and then I do run a line of copper, monel or lead core but I find I am busy enough with what I have without them.

Electronics. My boat has Raymarine electronics including radar, chart plotter, auto pilot, and fish finder. I use all of them. The most handy gadget is the auto pilot, I can set it and fight a fish or work with a rigger or help someone and stay on my course without being on the helm. The auto pilot is not good in winds over 10 mph, I have a hard top with full enclosure and that is a big sail to contend with.
You can mark waypoints with the chart plotter and those waypoints are interfaced with the radar. I put a waypoint at the entry to the harbor so my radar can get me home in a storm or heavy fog. I usually split screens with radar and chart plotter when under way in bad weather.

Autotether. I do fish alone now and then and for safety I use an autotether. That way if I happen to fall overboard the trolling motor will quit so I can get back on the boat. I have never had an issue like that but it is just good insurance.

I am very happy with the rigging I have, and I am not sure how I would improve upon it. I can fish 8 to 10 rods easily and that is a chore. If I were to recommend one piece of electronics it would be the chart plotter and auto pilot, it is hard to fish without them.

Harley

 

[Spawn Bag]

Harley,

I appreciate the response.

Quick question......It sounds like your riggers are mounted directly to the gunwale, correct? Meaning that your not using the flush mount rod holders and gimbal mounts. After I dig into this further and further it seems like mounting directly is the better option.

I have been up to Lake Superior once with my present boat. A friend of mine has a place in L'Ance Michigan and we fished in Huron Bay. Caught a few Kings and had a great time. Also fished a few of the rivers and got into some Steelhead.

I will attempt to post a picture of my present boat that will be for sale shortly. Cant wait to be into something bigger soon.

Thanks again

Jim

 

[Spawn Bag]

Here is a picture of my Hewescraft. GREAT fishing machine but time for something larger. On the south end of Lake Michigan it's not unusual to go out 15-20+ miles in search of Salmon during the summer months.

Cant wait to be doing this on the new boat....

Jim

 

[Harley349]

Jim, the downrigger base plate is bolted directly to the gunwale. The rigger base bolts onto the base plate. I also have a trac system like those in the website you have in your initial post on each side for extra rod holders if needed. They work great, but with the 2 holders on each rigger and the ones built into the gunwales I normally don't use them since that set up handles 10 rods, and I rarely every put that many out.

My 226 is a 2004 with the Yamaha F225 and a Yamaha F9.9 kicker. I purchased it from Twin Cities Marine in Wisconsin. The kicker is not an easy starting machine for some reason and I usually start it at the dock and let it warm up before I start the 225. I grew up in Montana and Hewescraft boats are popular on the West coast, great boats. There is a 25 foot Hewes Pilot House boat that fishes near me now and then, it looks like a tank.

Our place is on Bete Grise, about 50 miles up the Keweenaw from where you were fishing. Salmon of any size are not here until late August and September so most of my fishing is for lake trout trolling in 130 to 180 feet of water. I do catch small coho in 50 feet of water now and then, and I use the dipsy divers exclusively at that depth and now and then I catch one. From my dock I am a half mile from Lake Superior, it is located on a lagoon off of the channel to Lac Labelle.

Have fun rigging your boat the way you want, you sure seem to have all the stuff except for electronics and that will come over time. Do some research to find what system you want and go for it. I like the integrated systems since everything is all together and on one screen.

Harley