SMALL BOAT FISHING

[WAHOONBOX]

I THINK IT'S TIME TO TALK ERRR .......UH...SMALL BOATS....

I MEAN ...I AM TALKING SMALLER THAN WHITEY'S RIG ...SMALLER THAN TIM'S HOTEL...SMALLER THAN THE RUN-OFF AND AGAIN, SMALLER THAN THE BLOCKS NEW KILLING PIT!

I THINK I WILL MAKE THIS THREAD DEDICATED TO RIGS LIKE MY 23' GW ANIMAL...TWIN 140 ZUKIS.....AND ALLOWING RIGS LIKE COWBOY'S,FINRAZR'S AND SQUIDNATIONS....


32 FOOT AND UNDER IS WHAT I WOULKD LIKE TO DISCUSS HERE UNLESS YOU HAVE A CENTER CONSOLE CLASS MACHINE AND YEAH YEAH THEY (CC'S) GO FASTER THAN MINE BUT WILL BE ALLOWED TO PLAY IN THIS THREAD.

I WILL BEGIN THIS CONVERSATION WITH COCKPIT MANAGEMENT

RODS........HOW MANY?......I THINK THE MAJORITY OF SMALL BOAT GUYS TEND TO OVERFISH THE SMALLER BOAT......KEEP IT SIMPLE!!...I FEEL I CAN MANGE 5 RODS IN THE WATER GREAT AND CATCH JUST AS MANY FISH WITH ME AND ONE OTHER GUY AS OPPOSED TO 7,8,9 RODS AND BECOME BURDENED WITH ORIENTAL FIREDRILLS ...

AS FOR ME ....I OUTFIT THE "WILD GOOSE" WITH 7 50 LB CLASS RODS FOR THE DAY AND ONLY FISH 5 RODS AT A TIME ON MY 23 FT 1994 GRADY-WHITE WARSHIP

I PLACE DA SNIPER DOWN ON THE SNEAK......WITH 2 50'S IN MY RIGGERS (I ONLY HAVE ONE AFTCO RELEASE CLIP PER OUTRIGGER)..... AND PULL 2 STAGGERED FLATS ONE OF WHICH I TRY TO KEEP OFF TO THE MIDDLE OF THE STERN AS A CENTER FLAT AND AWAY FROM MY SNIPER PLANER GEAR WHEN IT'S TRIPPED .

I HAVE ONE BACK UP 50 LB ROD READY AND I HAVE ONE TLD25 PITCHBAIT RIGGED AND READY WITH A NAKED MEDIUM HOO IN A 5 GALLON BUCKET POSITIONED JUST BELOW IT.....I MOUNTED A ROD HOLDER FACING FORWARD STBD SIDE ON MY HARDTOP "TOWER LEG" AND THIS ROD IS OUT OF THE WAY HERE....

I NORMALLY PULL ONE TEASER FROM A 6/0 SENATOR MOUNTED ON THE "TOWER LEG" GOING TO A GLASS RING FLOSSED TO MY OUTRIGGER......THE GLASS RIG IS ONLY 4 FOOT UP THE RIGGER SO THAT I CAN EASILY REACH OUT TO RETRIEVE IT.

WHEN I RETRIEVE MY TEASER....I JUST TOSS IT FORWARD ON THE SIDETO WALKWAY AND IT IT OUT OF THE WAY IN THE ACTION AND EASY TO RETURN TO DUTY


I HOPE THE REST OF YOU WILL JOIN IN HERE WITH YOUR SET-UPS.....THIS WILL BE AN ONGOING THREAD AND I WILL TRY TO ADD SOME THOUGHT TO THIS THREAD EVERY DAY UNTIL IT DIES OUT

I WILL ALSO ANSWER QUESTIONS SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE AND BEGGINGLY ASK THE OTHER EXPERIENCED GUYS TO HELP OUR BRO'S OUT WITH SOME ANSWERS ANS SMALL BOAT TRICKS


ROCK ON!

[bobdu11]

I'll chime in here...I've got a 28Southport. One of the main reasons I chose the southport is it's got a 10'6" beam, which is pretty big for a 28Center console.

I have 4 rod holders on each gunnel, I have a rocket launcher with 5 rod holders mounted on my transom, I have a rocket launch on my t-top with 6 rod holders...here's my normal spread....

Long riggers are placed up in the T-top outer rod holders and I normally run Sea-witch over Ballyhoo in this position. Next set is my short riggers, bigger baits, always Ballyhoo, normally with a hawaiin Eye or Islander, then comes 2 spreader bars just in front of the short riggers with stingers trailing...then on one side I run a Planer system and the other side is normally a Cedar plug or something similar....then up top in the T-top launcher is the shotgun boon bird with Islander trailing (yes I sometimes run a Green machine and have caught fish on it !)......

Normally after getting the first knockdown I will keep the boat in gear for about 10 - 15 seconds trying to get the school to committ to the rest of the baits...once I'm pretty sure they've bitten all they can I will clear remaining lines ( if the fish are big like they have been this year), this allows me to maneuver when the fish gets close to the boat. It can take some crazy turning to keep the fish out of the outboards and from under the boat..I've had to circle for quite a while when big-eyes are coming to Gaff !.

All rods that get cleared are put forward out of the way of any possible action, this means keeping one side of the boat completely clear in case I have to send my angler to the bow to chase down a fish !

If I've got enough people on the boat they will be assigned a specific job based on who is on the rod...I like to have a leader man to keep the fish from under the boat and chaffing the line when he gets close, and of course the Gaffman for the closing shot !.....the guys are always talking to me telling me what's happening if I can't see the fish....

Once the fish is brought onboard I like to get them immediately into the fishbox if possible and get lines back out and working immediately because you don't know how long the fish will be up.....

That's my way...works ok but always learning something new every trip. SFC has been a tremendous help for sure !.....Bob

[jayjysmth]

Great idea here Box, I am going to be watching this one closely.

My tip is one that applies to all size boats but especially smaller ones.

Try and keep everything organized and in it's place.

Things can become a disaster on a small boat when a couple fish are hooked and crap is everywhere and you're trying to shuffle around while fighting fish.

Keep it simple and organized.

[bohica]

Hey Box, good topic, this one. I've been a small boat fisherman for the past 15 years, and I have to agree that 5 lines is about the max that is manageable on a boat with an 8.5' beam. If you or anyone else knows how to run more without getting them crossed at every turn, I'd love to hear it.

As for as cockpit management, shit, pandemonium is WHY I go out, lol.

Crew wise, I find 3 ppl to be optimal, 2 is doable, any more than that and you're trippin over each other in my boat (was a 24' GW). Now that I'm gonna be taking the deck boat to the canyons, I'll be able to fit a couple more guys up front. Should be interesting, can't wait till next year!!

[Double D]

Good topic. With 2 boats that meet this criteria, I may have something to add, when I get a few minutes

[t bird]

Marty
My question is for post catch..
In a “small boat” w/o ice maker, freezer plates, or ice boxes the size of a VW
what’s your set-up??
I’ve a good sized cooler (takes up a lot of cockpit space)
I keep it on one of those “non-skid” pads (so it don’t break legs)
I fill it w/ ice(150lb’s) and shovel it into “fishbags” for the ride home.
What’s everyone else doing?
T

[#1Gaffman]

Intresting thread here, and i hope to learn something from the pro small boat fisherman on here.

but

Ill chime in a little, I have been fishing on a 28 Albermarle a good amount this year. Its a nice boat but a small pit.

All we do on this boat is meatfish, So i run

2 longs, because there is not enough rod holders in pit area i must run my longs up tower legs, i usully fish islander outriders/trackers on my longs.

2 shorts; shorts are fished in close, usually my big baits, Hawaiin eye, or some sort of popper, if strictly meat fishing, i run 1 big bait and the otherside usually a daisy chain, or sea witch

2 flats; flats are pretty simple for me, on almost any boat i go on my flats are nakeds splitbill.

On this boat, the captain is always, always in the tower, so we run 2 more rods off the tower, 1 always a spreader bar, and the other usually a islander as the mouse trap, if we can get away with it we will sometimes run another bar instead of the islander.

On a little boat it can be a little hectic when we get a multiple on, but as said before, everything is organized, and this helps. If we get more than 2 fish on the remaining rods will stay in the tower until 1 is boated in the pit.

this boat has a transom fish box, but we also carry a tuna bag.

we dont pull teasers on this boat becuase we only meatfish, and i dont carry a pitchbait because i can use my flatlines to hook any fish that comes in my spread....

this boat also has a large in deck fish box were we store all the ice, usually 6 large bags.

The main thing i do when fishing on small boats is, getting everything i dont need out of the way, nothing i dont need should be in the pit at all.

Just my opinions, and the way i do it.

[WAHOONBOX]

FISH STORAGE....HELL I SEE BIG BOATS WITH NO FISH STORAGE BUILT IN......MAKES ME WONDER WHAT THE HELL DO BOAT BUILDERS IN FLORIDA AND ABOVE THE MASON DIXON LINE THINK!!!

AND WHEN THEY DO BUILD A FISHBOX.......THE DANG THING ISN'T INSULATED AND WOULDN'T KEEP ICE FROM MELTING IN THE DEAD OF WINTER IN A SASKATCHAWAN SNOW STORM.......

EVEN MY 23 HAS UNREAL FISH STOWAGE WITH THE BUILT IN BOX ON DA STERN AND ALSO A HUGE ONE UNDER THE HELMS CHAIR...MY PIT AREA IS HUGE TO BE JUST A 23......I HAVE HAD TEN WAHOOS AND A COUPLE TUNAS IN THE LOWER BOX BEFORE

I ALSO CARRY A 172 QTERIN THE GW'S PIT WHICH IS FULL TO DA BRIM OF SHAVED ICE WITH MY BAIT TRAY ON TOP SLAM FULL OF BELLY UPS.....THE LOCK-DOWN CLAMPS ON MY IGLOO ARE MISSING....OR AT LEAST PAST OF THEM.....THE PART I STILL HAVE ARE STILL LODGED IN MY SHINS.

A LARGE FISH BAG FROM CANYON FISH BAGS WOULD BE SWEET IN MY ARSENAL AS WELL

[Trojan Joe]

I have a 32 Trojan with 13 ft beam and 28 ft outriggers. While I have the comforts of home inside the cabin, I have limited cockpit space, especially compared to the newer Carolinas and Albamarle boats of similar length. I carry 9 rods, run 7 line spread.

30TWs on the long riggers and center wwb-witches or ilanders
50 TWs on the short riggers-spreader bars or daisy chains
25TLDs on the flats-naked hoos
2- 25TLD's rigged and ready

To keep the cockpit clear:
Gaffs are attached to the ladder to bridge. Spare rigs just inside the door to the cabin. Plenty of rod holders on the bridge to get them out of the way when needed. I keep extra ice in a canyon insulated fish bag up on the bridge.
One fish box behind the ladder w/bait tray of hoos on top.

Works for us!
and a sofa in the salon for #1 GAFFMAN to take a nappy on the way home.

[#1Gaffman]

I have a 32 Trojan with 13 ft beam and 28 ft outriggers. While I have the comforts of home inside the cabin, I have limited cockpit space, especially compared to the newer Carolinas and Albamarle boats of similar length. I carry 9 rods, run 7 line spread.

30TWs on the long riggers and center wwb-witches or ilanders
50 TWs on the short riggers-spreader bars or daisy chains
25TLDs on the flats-naked hoos
2- 25TLD's rigged and ready

To keep the cockpit clear:
Gaffs are attached to the ladder to bridge. Spare rigs just inside the door to the cabin. Plenty of rod holders on the bridge to get them out of the way when needed. I keep extra ice in a canyon insulated fish bag up on the bridge.
One fish box behind the ladder w/bait tray of hoos on top.

Works for us!
and a sofa in the salon for #1 GAFFMAN to take a nappy on the way home.