Finally after 18 months ...back on the Water <'TK><

[tkwalker]

To bring you folks up to speed ... after selling my 23 foot guide boat in 2007 and selling my Cabin on the Caney In 2011 and pretty much parked the River Hawk. The wife says I want to go fishing ... Since we really like to troll for Walleyes ... I decided to buy a Walleye boat ... Hard to find around here ...

Through a friend I found one via a boat Insurance salvage for $2575 in Minn in January 2012 BURR :eek: .. So 18 months later Here is the first fishing trip. (It would have been completed sooner but it is hard for me to turn Outboard customers away) ... The boat needed Total Electrical overhaul ... All four carbs rebuilt on the Yama 4 stroke,etc ... and trailer totally restored .. I added my on electronics and trolling motor ...

Now our first shake down cruise/fishing trip (today) was to see what else it needed for the wife and I to make it more comfortable for us ... So I still have some work to do ..

Now the fishing trip ... Center Hill was the lake and wanted to aim in on some of my Old Walleye Haunts ... Since we arrived at mid day we decided to gill fish until the Sun got lower for the EYES ... We wore the Gills out with the Bison TM ... But never got in to the "suppertime ones" I did probably catch two of the smalliest Bass I have ever caught ... See Pic one ... The second cast I caught a Small Jaw half the size of the first one ..

We started Trolling for the eyes around 4:00 My Son and his Wife stopped by for a few min's Going to take a few days off for a little R&R ... See Pic's ... Yes that is a Sea Ray Pachanga with twin 454's ... He loves water sports but never got in to the fishing like I did ... Maybe it was the Drag Racing I use to do in the 80's and he was one of my crew members at 12 yeas old .. He could almost tear down a Small Block Chevy by himself and tell you how everything worked ...

Continued Walleye fishing ...Not much luck ... not seeing much on the screen ... So Either I'm to late or to early for my honey hole ... With this cold Spring we are having I suspect to early ...

Fixing to call it a day and in a slow turn the wife said she was hung ... I start reeling in and then detect our lines had crossed ... But I told her that would not give a hung sensation ... I asked her to check again and see if you are still hung ... .. Well her "HUNG" Surfaced ... Not what we were looking for but still fun .. About a 4 pound Channel Cat ... (To the pond he will go !!) ...

So needless to say I am still hearing about the most and biggest fish caught today ... She did the same thing to me on a trip to Canada to fish the Boundary Waters ... ... The Guide sat in the back of the boat and strung the fish ... I sat in the middle seat and put the Leech on her hook and she sat in the bow and about every other cast she was either hauling in nice eyes or Pike ... And the assemble line would start over ... I am still hearing about that trip :o <'TK><

[agelesssone]

Maybe not too many fish, but a beautiful day to be on the water.

Nice looking boat too! Glad the shakedown cruise was uneventful.

[MNfisher]

That sure is a good lookin MN walleye boat! About 75% of boats in MN look just like that!

Glad you are getting out TK! Looking forward to some pics of some lunker marble eyes!

[SAMBOLIE]

That is a nice looking boat TK. Of course I would expect no less from you. :)

[Travis C.]

Good looking boat tk, glad you could finally get time to enjoy being on the water some.

Is that a Natural Ike I see in that one pic? I haven't seen those in a long time. They were and I guess are still good baits.

[Alphahawk]

Sounds like a fun day. Best boat bargain I've seen in a while. I know it feels good to be back on the water.


Regards

[ttitan27]

Sounds like a great day on the water and yes, you got a bargain on that boat!

[eaglestrike09]

Yep that is a very nice boat, glad that you and your wife could get out and have some fun!!

[browntrout]

Welcome back to the water where you belong. Love the pictures of the boat. I am going to make some minor mods to my Riverhawk this weekend. I enjoy looking at what people do to their boats to make them more fishable. Glad you had a good time.

Roy.

[rsimms]

Welcome back Kotter! Thanks for sharing... great looking boat. Actually looks very similar to my new G3 V170 Angler.

What do you use trolling for eyes, and what is your preferred trolling speed (if that's not asking too much) ;)

[white95v6]

looks like you and the wife had a blast. glad you finally got that wonderful boat on the water again.

[fishfindergeneral]

TK, have you ever fished Dale Hollow for eyes?

[commdd]

Great looking boat and a fine day to be on the water..nice!

[fatherof4]

TK,
Great pics- i love that you included the family and shared them with us. My kids are 17, 9,7, and 4. When my youngest is your sons age, if i am lucky enough to have them all on the lake at the same time, one will be changing my depends...

Regards,
46 yr old Fatherof4...

[tkwalker]

Good looking boat tk, glad you could finally get time to enjoy being on the water some.

Is that a Natural Ike I see in that one pic? I haven't seen those in a long time. They were and I guess are still good baits.

Yep that is what it is ... Hey, !! Hey !! as Si would say ... If the baits 10, 20 30 ,40 years ago caught fish ... They still do ... ... It is all about marketing now ... .. Like new auto designs ... must change every 4 years ... <'TK>< And that's a Fact Jack !!! :)

[tkwalker]

Welcome back Kotter! Thanks for sharing... great looking boat. Actually looks very similar to my new G3 V170 Angler.

What do you use trolling for eyes, and what is your preferred trolling speed (if that's not asking too much) ;)

Richard, this is one of the areas that I have to work on ... On my guide boat I had a 9.9 ... Four Stroke Merc (Tahatsu/Nissan) Remote Controlled Kicker ...so I could get down to the .6 to .9 MPH range ... Which is perfect for the eyes ...

I wanted my present rig because of the 50 HP 4/stroke and a 1000 pound factory rating out of the box boat (This one is a Cadillac) so I would not have to have a kicker ... I didn't quite make it ...

I have fine tuned this 50 HP ...2001 four stroke Yama in gear idle to 850 RPM about as low as I want to go for performance reasons .. But I am running 1.5 to 1.6 MPH !! .... To fast for me ... So I am looking in to the trolling plates that Cabelas sells to reverse the backwash from the prop ... same principal that Jet aircraft use for braking after landing ... I think this was the majority of the problem this weekend ... TOOOOO FAST ...

As far as bait... Depending on Bottom structure , smooth sandy/gravel ... I go with wire bottom bouncers ...Attached to said bouncers can be a short single hook spoon/beaded leader about 14 inches long which in the south is usually attached a Big Juicy Night crawler ... Also a 36 inch mulity hook Night crawler rig can be attached .. The secret here is to get the bait as close to the bottom as possible ... (Note: Cabelas is the premo supplier for these needs ..)

Second method in rocky structure where the Bouncers will get hung ... Is the Deep running crankbait method ... Get deep diving Cranks and attach the same Night Crawler rigs mentioned above ... This method is you have to watch your depth and run the Crank to it's limit as close as possible to the bottom ... Dangerous stuff ... Keep you Hound Dog Ready to retrieve hung Baits ...(I drug mine out yesterday after getting Sticker shock at Bass Pros shop Saturday :eek:) ... I am glad I have some 30 year old deep diving cranks that cost 50 cents ... I don't use my balsa ones though ;)

And lastly ... Like Sauger fishing ... A lead jig tipped with minnow/shade/Worm jigged vertically in a known hot spot always works ...

Hope this helps ... <'TK>< PS ... Some of our Northern members may add to this ... But guys ... remember where you are ;) no leeches ...

[tkwalker]

TK, have you ever fished Dale Hollow for eyes?

And loved it ... Most of my fishing there as an adult has been with Calvin Short and his Brother out of Celina ... I worked with Calvin for a number of years before I retired ... All of this was Float and Fly for Smallies in the winter ...


Glad that you posted ... I was going to contact you about some Dale Hollow Walleyes with you ... The wife and I are looking for some R&R and some clean economical lodging and a trip ... She wants to see eagles ... I see plenty in the winter ... I don't know about the Warmer Months ... PM me ... Thanks <'TK>< :)

[tkwalker]

First of let me thanks all of the folks who replied to this thread ... Greatly appreciated ...

Yes I was surprised that I won this auction ... A 1993 Competitor with a 2001 Yama four stroke ... (Ins/ never sunk but beached during storm) The boat did not come with a trailer ... A friend of mine in the mutual business loaned me one to go get it ... When I arrived home with it he said ... Hey .. That boat looks good on the old Trailer ... I am just going to give it to you ... ( I rebuilt it from the spindles up ) $$$ ... Tires, wheels , bearings , LED lighting and added the guides and lights plus new bunks and carpet and fender inner carpet and supports . And built the winch post etc ... It had none ... I brought it back with a come-a-long .. Total cost $450 in trailer.

When I picked the boat up (Dammmmn was it cold !!!) There was an additional $300 fee for storage and Ins/title etc fees ...

Plus the trip with fuel cost and two nights lodging came to $700 ...2400 miles round trip...

Had to dismantle two of the seats and replace Broken wood material ... and reupholster with the original seat covers that was on it ... .. Totally replaced the electrical circuit system ... and a major TLC clean up of the boat ... Rebuilt the four carbs .... (note: All four stroke Merc's ... 50 HP and above are Yamaha's .. Merc parts are a little cheaper ..... Serviced the lower unit new ,water Imp ... and fluids ...

So bottom line is that I have around $4000 +/- in the rig ... (Labor of love is free!! ) Now the 2 depth finders and Trolling Mtr. has been in my stable for years ... Hey you can't beat $10 for a new Raytheon At a Garage Sale ..

[agelesssone]

tk and rsimms,
PM me your adresses and I'll send you copies of a story about walleye fishing that you will find very interesting, informative, and rule bending!
I've copied the article out of a magazine and want to get out and try the techniques myself. I'm probably going to try them on the Cumberland below OHD.

[Reel Tune]

I'm glad you both got out on the water. There is nobody more deserving, and you need to do it more often, it's good for your health.

Jeremy

[Travis C.]

Yep that is what it is ... Hey, !! Hey !! as Si would say ... If the baits 10, 20 30 ,40 years ago caught fish ... They still do ... ... It is all about marketing now ... .. Like new auto designs ... must change every 4 years ... <'TK>< And that's a Fact Jack !!! :)

I thought that was one... ;) and I completely agree with the older baits. That is why I still have boxes of Poe's, Bagley's, Hellbender's, Mud Bugs and Bombers.

[rsimms]

Richard, this is one of the areas that I have to work on ... On my guide boat I had a 9.9 ... Four Stroke Merc (Tahatsu/Nissan) Remote Controlled Kicker ...so I could get down to the .6 to .9 MPH range ... Which is perfect for the eyes ...


TK... you might want to consider going electric?

Actually .6 to .9 is also my preferred trolling speed for crappie as well and I have always used electric TM to obtain that.

And this year, since I've gone to a 24-volt Minn Kota Terrova system (i-Pilot), it's been awesome. It maintains my .6 to .9 easily, even in the face of a stiff wind. I can troll for ten hours and still have 70 percent battery power remaining when I get home.

If I crank the Terrova full speed, in my boat it will hit 3.5 mph.

And for what it's worth, you can get the i-Pilot Link system and network it to Humminbird w/Lakemaster maps. You can simply tell it you want to troll a 20-foot contour at 0.9 mph and off you go, hands free. It's awesome!

Just the TM is great, and the entire Link system gets pricey... but once you use it, you'll wonder how you ever did without it.

Thanks for sharing.