New to the big lake, Info on setting up a boat

Hi there. Just recently purchased a decent boat. Hoping it can handle waters big and small. But other than a kicker and an electric it is pretty much bare bones. I would like to set it up for salmon, bows, and walleye. I'm hoping for some advice on buying electronics, downriggers, rods, reels and lines for riggers/dipsy/and planer boards. Heck even rod holders, mounting tracks, batteries. and anything else i might be missing.

What brands and models to consider or stay away from? What are some of the go to/must haves?

Any advise is appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Depends what your budget is. Shimano has great rods and reels also the new Daiwa Saltist are very nice reels but these are both $$$. If you decide to spend less then go with Okuma. I prefer the Convectors for rigger reels and Coldwater for long lines but neither for Dipsy, go with a higher end reel for Dipsy like the Saltist or Tekota.

As for electronics, they are all good. I suggest going to the big box stores or Radioworld and playing around with them to see what you like. Just remember the actual unit is great but often times research should be allocated to what transducer you want to run. Garmin makes a great unit but the standard transducer requires an upgrade. Right now Angling outfitters has a good deal on Lowrance 9" Carbon for $1500 with the 3 in 1 Transducer which is perfect for your needs.

When looking at rod holders, tracks etc consider Custom Fishing Solutions they make the best stuff but if you are budget oriented consider Reel Crazy Fabrication. They make custom gear and custom sizes. You can always mix and match too. JB's fishing depot carries Custom fishing solutions products and all your trolling needs.

I could go on and on

send me a pm if you need more info

kris

I did this a few years ago with my boat.
Personally I would buy Streamside rods. They are awesome and don't break the bank. I really love my Okuma cold water line counters for my dipsey set ups. I also use the biggest cold water for a ten colour lead core. No line counter needed for lead core.
If I had the budget I would have bought new Scotty Down riggers. I am using Walkers that work well but they are older and fit my budget. Walker has no service anymore and parts suck to get.
If you want real fun IMO put mooching reels on your down riggers. So much fun and the fun in fishing is what it’s all about.

If you plan to fish mostly Georgian bay it is one line per angler. So you only need 2-3 rod holders. I would recommend double axis Cannons. They can be used for anything like dipsy and inline and downriggers, cal also be mounted in a standard track or mounted permanently.

If I had to start al over again, there's one thing I would never change, and that's Scotty downriggers. Made here and excellent customer service. The only thing I've ever changed in 25 years are one drive belt and changing the cable about every 5-6 years.

That is some great sounding advise. I have done some research but nothing compares to hearing it from people with experience.

I actually was considering a couple mooching reels. Should I go to a longer rod with them?

As for electronics...im thinking that livescope or panoptics would be an addition to whatever i get in the future.

Does anyone out there use a fishhawk X2 or X4? Is this something worth getting if you are downrigging maybe 50% of the time?

Does positive ion control make a difference when downrigging?

Anyone using planer boards for walleye or bows? Would i need different gear for them as well? Or would the dipsey gear work if i were using fluorocarbon or braid instead of lead core?

Thanks again.

i would say the fish hawk is a valuable tool while down rigging any amount of time. It can help locate temperatures that fish like as well as speed at your presentation, little pricey but what isnt these days.As far as adding panoptix or livescope in the future just be sure that the head unit you buy is compatable with these systems. I made the switch to panoptix late last season and didnt have a lot of time with it ,but i can say it has made a difference. good luck with the boat rigging.

I fished for 10 years without a fish hawk and did well, it all depends on how well you know the Bay and what to look for in terms of speed without running a probe, if you know all that then delay the fish hawk purchase for a year bc it is not cheap. But if the probe is in your budget then get one, X4 is all you need.
Planer boards are not a must but do help. Problem is they make 10 different colors, my advice is get yourself a 2 color, 5 color and 8 color. and if you want to go deeper just but a pack of Titan clipweights. just add a weight to any of your leadcore and achieve the various depths you want. Get one rod for all leadcore applications, you could buy a few but not necessary as long as you are only running one leadcore per trip.
As for Dipsys learn how to use a slide diver. the clear water means longer lead lengths 50-100ft before deploying the dipsy.
Forget the positive ion stuff, its all BS
Mooching is fun, i personally havn't graduated to it yet but you will need a longer rod for sure.

For big water fishing I would go for the largest sonar, with the best transducer I could afford. I get really good returns off my Lowrance with chirp. I find that downview and side scan are limited in use but occasionally help when picking up pods of suspended fish. I haven’t had a fish hawk in many years of big water fishing, I have no doubt they are very helpful but I’ve never felt hampered by the lack of one. I would add the longest tracks per side that you can fit. I always seem to find a use for extra track. As for mooching reels. I’ve been down that road twice. They get old very quickly in my opinion. I wouldn’t bother with them, you’d be far better served to spend extra money on your level winds than buying moochers.

I would agree with the longest tracks possible. Always nice to move accessories or add accessories. I regret not doing this.

I run an Elite 7ti, nowhere near a top of the line graph but it does everything i need it to do. The screen is small but anything more is a want not a must IMO. I likely will move up to a 9" in the future bc a little bigger is always better but its also a cost thing.

Scotty downriggers for sure. Made in Canada, and the best customer service you will ever have.

Braid with floro on dipseys is what I run. You can fish Salmon/Steel or Walleyes with them and many other species. If you run lead core the same applies no issue. Your just running deeper with the lead core when using a dipsey.

My next purchase is an x4 when I can afford one. Nothing like knowing the fishes preferred temps and targeting that temp. I wish I had one now but I do catch quite a few fish without one. Same as a graph is a tool that helps but is not a guarantee the x4 is a tool to up the odds and cut down on searching time on the water.

For Mooching rods a long soft rod is a must IMO. Everyone that come on my boat wants to catch a fish on the Mooching reel just because they are fun and more challenging. One to one reel with no mechanical gear advantage is harder but so much fun.

I still run the old Mitchell mooching reels on Fenwick Riggerstik What a fun way to fight big kings lol! Lots of great advice in this thread. I'll echo everything people have said so far about Scotty, best customer service hands down and they make a great downrigger. I haven't had any issues running Okuma Convectors as my dipsy reels, taken a lot of big Lake O kings on them and they keep going. I'm not a huge fan of the Coldwaters as I find I always need to pull line out anytime I adjust the drag, but I use those for shallow water board rods for steelhead in the fall so not a huge deal. I run a set of old Diawa Sealines as my rigger reels (They don't make them like they used to). Although if I was buying new I'd definitely drop the cash on a set of Tekotas. Don't need to spend a fortune. Downrigger/dipsy rods are cheap, they aren't anything special for the most part.

Everyone is talking gear so ill say just watch the wind i fish a small boat on a the big lake and know that the wind can change quick oh yes get some auto scottys not nice winding 80 feet of cable in big waves by yourself!

This thread keeps getting better and better. Sounds like Scotty is number 1 and it will definitely have auto stop as i might be alone half the time. Radio world has a good deal on a HDS Carbon 9 paired with an active imaging 3 in 1 I am strongly considering. The boat came with an HDS 5 Gen 1 or 2 that will get transferred to the bow. And i will probably hold off on the FishHawk for now. I have already planned on the longest rails I can make fit. I checked out Reel Crazy Fab. Nice gear and I would be happy to support a somewhat local company as I live in the innisfil area. I was also planning in running braid and floro. I'm a big fan of both. I see there are lots of used equipped rods out there and will probably start with a couple of them to get me out there. I have never used dipseys before but hear they work well for a variety of species. Thanks for the reminder about the wind. I grew up on smaller lakes in a tin tippy so kind of used to keeping an eye out.

Wondering about additional lighting? Thinking about a Golight 2151 as i may be making some late night returns after walleye. Was thinking on adding some lights to the livewells and gunnels. And would like to have some kind of flood light for setting up at the launch before dawn. Any ideas on that kind of stuff?

Again there has been a great response and i thank all of you. Feel free to P.M. me if you have something you may part with.

But keep the ideas coming. I'm taking it all in.