What’s your ultimate set up for fishing?

[clarkbre]

I know it’s an open ended question but here are my thoughts:

Every time I see a boat, I make a mental note of the things I like, and don’t like, about it. Since buying my boat in 2007, I try to modify it with the “likes” I’ve seen. Being a 16’ aluminum, I’ve installed 5 rod holders, 2 permanent seats, hidden the battery and fuel tank, built a front deck with underneath storage, and many more little features. I’ve customized my boat to have clear decks and be as orderly as possible. This allows me to fish medium and large lakes and go crabbing in the sound without any hassle.

Now, I have an idea (my wife will love that[-( ) to build a small lake fishing boat. What I’m thinking is an 8’-10’ Livingston for 2 people. It’d be electric only with 2 batteries, have folding wheels to access non-launch areas, and that’s about it. Just something small 2 guys could load in and out of a pick up easily.

So, what are your thoughts? What has worked well for you in your boat and what have you added or deleted to make it that much better?

[rseas]

A beach chair with a beer can pocket and a rod holder!

[Gringo Pescador]

A beach chair with a beer can pocket and a rod holder!

I 2nd that!:cheers:

[Toni]

I have a 12 foot fiberglass gamefisher. I had to put wood (my son did) on the back to keep the electric motor in place. The fiberglass is also cracked there. If I went to 5 it would slide up and out of the water. That was scary.
I put a swivel seat on the back bench seat and a piece of plywood as a floor between the back and middle benches.
My son fixed up some rod holders out of PVC pipe for me. He also made a downrigger shelf for me. He also made my fishfinder portable.

I would like a boat big enough for me to take on rivers plus the sound and walk around on easily.

[sickbayer]

ive a 20' ThunderJet with a hard top and raised deck which the misses and kids love. but i would for it to be 4' bigger. i know you have a 16' and want to go smaller but i really dont see the point in it. Ive a few buddies who go after the planters and have a blast in the jon boat he has. It is also set up with a 25HP jet so they also run the rivers.
SO my untimate set up would be well... i think i already have it except the 4 ' extra bit. I guess i will list my stuff ive installed that i think have helped my boat become a great fishing/pleasure machine.

2 penn 835's, great with programable way points.
LCX 28 HD dont leave home with out it. (just once)
TR1 auto pilot vital when you just dont want to steer.
Fusion stereo great sound with big dials so you can actuall see what your pressing.
t8 electric start kicker motor as dependable as ever and charges my duel batteries.
suspension seats, its a sled so if you value your back get them.
Columbia anchor and retrevial system, boat is bloody heavy.


I take this boat in the sound in the lakes and in the rivers it does do it all and that is why i dont see the point in going smaller. Unless i got a seasport and then id buy a 14' jon boat with a jet on. but aint that a whole new thread...

[rseas]

I thought this aligns with the topic so I borrowed it from one of my blogs. My current boat is a 16’ G3 and it brings me more satisfaction than any of the other boats that I have owned. The purchase of the G3 didn’t just happen. I did a tremendous amount of research, networking and relied on previous boating experiences in making the choice. I bought the boat with a vision, knowing what I ultimately had in mind for it. I bought a very basic skiff with a motor well and that was about it. I found the boat (new) and a used trailer at a boatyard/marina in Oregon that was going out of business and I got them for pennies on the dollar. From the same marina through a dealer trade transaction I also purchased my motor, a 20 HP tiller Yamaha 4-Stroke at a very good price. My goal was to set-up an economical to tow, easy to launch anywhere, stable fishing platform that was fishing friendly and easy on the wallet to run. I do not know what my actual GPH is but typically I run 5-8 all day trips a month on less than 6 gallons of gas. With the boat behind me there is minimal impact on my tow vehicles MPG. And BTW…the boat is a fish magnet!

Today the boat is rigged as follows:

1 Scotty Manual Downrigger with Braided Cable
Humminbird 788i fishfinder with the QuadraBeam Transducer
Custom Bow Deck
Columbia River Anchor System, with 300’ of Rode.
A General use Anchor + 75’ of rode
8 Scotty Rod Holder Mounts and 6 Scotty Rod Holders.
A couple Scotty Cup Holders
A Custom Rod Holder for Stowing the Rods While Running.


Future upgrades:

4 HP Yamaha 4-Stroke
A Small Bow Deck Surface for Mounting a Bow Mount Electric Trolling Motor and the Motor.
Fuel Tank Locker
Live Well.

[Marc Martyn]

I have my pontoon boat set up pretty much the way that I want it. It is very comfortable and efficient.

I modified the seat mount and added a very comfortable boat seat, replacing the hard plastic seat that came with the boat.
A Scotty fly rod holder mounted to the side frame.
A Scotty manual downrigger with a collapsible anchor and a 100' of cable.
I added a wheel chair backpack to the seat which gives me a lot of extra storage for a small cooler, thermos and supplies.
On the left front frame I have a Humminbird 585C color fish finder with the transducer mounted off the back of the frame.
On the cargo deck in back, I have a storage tub which holds my battery for the fish finder and is storage for jackets, etc.

I also built a cart and ramps to make it easier to load and unload the boat from the truck.

Now, all I need to do is add a microwave to warm up my Stouffer's entree's for lunch![woot]

[Lotech Joe]

I have my pontoon boat set up pretty much the way that I want it. It is very comfortable and efficient.

I modified the seat mount and added a very comfortable boat seat, replacing the hard plastic seat that came with the boat.
A Scotty fly rod holder mounted to the side frame.
A Scotty manual downrigger with a collapsible anchor and a 100' of cable.
I added a wheel chair backpack to the seat which gives me a lot of extra storage for a small cooler, thermos and supplies.
On the left front frame I have a Humminbird 585C color fish finder with the transducer mounted off the back of the frame.
On the cargo deck in back, I have a storage tub which holds my battery for the fish finder and is storage for jackets, etc.

I also built a cart and ramps to make it easier to load and unload the boat from the truck.

Now, all I need to do is add a microwave to warm up my Stouffer's entree's for lunch![woot]

I've seen your boat Marc and I think it is set up as well or better than any other. The only things lacking are the hot tub and the satellite TV. :bigsmurf:

[hewesfisher]

Maybe I read this wrong, but I got the impression clarkbre wants a second boat for lakes where he can't or doesn't want to take his 16 footer - wheels for non-launch areas, small enough to load/unload from a pickup, 2 person, electric motor only, etc.

As much as we love our 20' Hewescraft, and we do, there are times I regret selling our 14' foot open fisherman several years ago. It was light, easy to tow, very maneuverable, I could pick the trailer up from the rear without the boat on (great in tight parking areas), could quickly remove the 15hp Merc if we wanted to fish lakes with internal combustion motor restrictions, had Minn Kota transom electric trolling motor and two batteries, oars, sonar with speed/temp, plywood floor for added stability, comfortable swivel seats, and even a 2-bow bimini top if we wanted shade from the summer sun. We ran that boat at all of the smaller local lakes. It would top 25mph with just the right water conditions or troll dead slow if that's what I wanted. We can fish most of the local lakes with our new boat, I'm just less apt to do so.

Muck like clarkbre, I am always checking out other people's boats to get ideas for what I either want to do on ours, or just to see how someone else modified their boat for their use. Never know when that info might come in handy. I don't have many suggestions to add as we've moved "up the scale" so to speak and usually fish bigger waters these days.

[BassinBomber]

I love the Mods on your Toon Marc,..I've made a few 2 mine but I'm still trying 2 figure out a light weight casting deck,..maybe some aluminum plate,..just so I can stand and cast,..since I have the Battery and Troller on the back it shouldn't be a problem with balancing out on the water,..any Ideas would be greatly appreciated from all you custom/modification guys,..ty!

BB

[Dustin07]

unfortunately (fortunately?) This state has so many different types of waters, one boat could never do it all. The closest I have found is our Lund. It's a 20ft fisherman 2000 series (2005 I think). what it has, and I like:

Strong v8 inboard
good kicker
livewells
fish finder
electric downriggers
Lots of room to walk around for bass fishing or party fishing
stable in the puget sound
shallow enough draft to get into docks and shallow fishing (although it's on the edge.)

What I don't like:
havne't yet found a bow mount trolling motor I like for it. it's a big boat.
Inboard can be harder to work on.
boats a little large in my opinion for stump ridden lakes like Kapowsin
too nice to camo up for duck hunting.


The other boat I think I'd get if I were to pick one, would be a john boat of some sort, over 18ft. like the roughneck or alumacrafts duck boats. they have livewells, bow mount trolling, rigged perfectly for salmon, trout, bass, etc, but also correct for duck hunting lakes, or sea duck hunting the salt.




and if I were looking for a specialty, one-purpose boat, this would be it:

[VooDuuChild]

Clark- I am in the same boat as you....so to speak; just the other way around! I've a nice small 12 foot aluminum lake boat (and canoe and pontoon at my disposal); and now it's time to build up a bigger one....nuttin too big, basically a bigger version of what I got. As to your dilemna, I'm going to suggest you might want to consider another route......hear me out. My 12 foot V-hull (flat bottom) aluminum boat does far better than the 10 foot livingston I've used in the past. Here's why. For one, I do A LOT of fishing by myself and that Livingston was a pig, it was just heavy and hard to load by myself at times (granted I did use a utility trailer most of the time). But if you're lookin to launch where there's a limited launch area where you have to drag or wheel it in by hand, you will soon not like the fiberglass setup of the livingston. On the other hand, my 12 foot aluminum boat is a breeze! My girlfriend who's pretty little has no issue or problem at all carrying the boat to launch or to the truck. Plus, and this is a HUGE plus, it even slides into the back of my little Ford Ranger (back up against the cab facing backwards) perfect!!!! I just use two tie downs to snug it against the bed and viola! It also goes right into our utility trailer and it also has a boat trailer that I never use since the other options are just easier. My setup is real basic: 2 group 24 batteries, one of the bigger transom mount electric trollers (will be going with bow mount when I can afford it to transfer weight to the front for better weight distribution and wind handling will be better), a manual downrigger (not installed yet...so lazy) and a portable fish finder which is, I must say, the beez kneez. It goes in the pontoon and the canoe too and whatever other boat that I'm in that's without. I've got places for four pole holders and it'll fish two very comfortably or three without hassle and four if we're double ancored and still fishing. Plus, I can even get it outta the lake, into the back of my truck by myself if the launch is truck accessable. For my vote, it's gotta be a 12 aluminum v-hull; it's more stable than a jon boat and wayyyyy lighter than a livingston....then just add all the toys you want to fish with....another nice thing, these boats are EVERYWHERE for sale and you can usually pick'em up cheap. Here's a link to my fish finder, it's freakin sweet and you can put most of the humminbirds in it.
http://www.washingtonlakes.com/forum/ya ... EVIEW.aspx

Hahaha, just realized that the report's so old that most of the other people's posts in it are deleted (probably to save server space) so it looks like I'm talkin to myself [lol]

[arniejl]

I have a friend that bought a 10' Livingston from some guy on Craig's list for $150.00. He bought a Minn Kota from Costco, plus the boat came with oars for back up. He then added decks in the front and back of the boat but left the middle normal, so when we hook a fish, we can step down into the bottom and reach in for the lip.

He was driving down the road one day, and seen a sign in a guys yard that read "Boat seat for sale $25". He pulled in there and this guy (bear with me, I do not know boats seats) was selling two padded seats, brand new, or at least, little used, the adjustable aluminum stands for them and the mounts, 50 bucks for the pair. My buddy told the guy that he only has 40 bucks, would you take it? and the guy sold them to him for 40 dollars.

My buddy went home and Googled the seats, they were like $50 new. The adjustable stands were $105 new, and I forget what the mounts were, but who cares, he got way over 300 dollars worth of stuff for 40 bucks.

He mounted the seats in the boat up on the decks and drilled a big hole through the back deck for the battery lead for the electric motor and slides his motor under the deck, out of sight.

So now, we fish from casting platforms and if our backs get tired we raise the seat up and fish from the seats. A kick of the feet and you spin around to the other side. All this for less than 400 smackaroo's, lol.

[Lotech Joe]

My ultimate setup would be about $16,500 more than I can afford. I remember when fishing was what poor folks did to help feed the family.

http://spokane.craigslist.org/boa/1779617931.html