First post / Advice rigging my boat

OK guys here goes first post. I have been fishing all my life and have fished Erie in the past but primarily for smallmouth around Kelly's and Bass Islands with my dad. Now I am ready to do some walleye fishing (and perch).

I just bought my boat and want to rig it for catching eyes. It is a 21 foot Aquasport center console with 175 outboard. From what I know and read I will probably need to add downriggers and planer boards. I'm looking for any advice you guys can offer in rigging the boat and methods of fishing for both walleye and perch.

I'm planning a weekend trip to the lake Aug. 7-10. I know the walleye fishing will probably be slow by then but hoping to fill a cooler of perch with my wife and sons.

Thanks in advance.

I wouldn't mess with Down riggers . You can use Jet divers, Dipsys , In line weights , Lead core ,snap weights, or bottom bouncers to get your lure into the strike zone. Do alot of reading and asking questions to experienced fisherman , costs add up quick when rigging a boat. Make sure you get all the safety gear you need first . Alot of different ideas to consider. I would say you will need either planner boards or in line boards. I use both types depending on the number of rods and type of lures being used. have four down riggers and only use two when Salmon fishing .good luck

Some of this depends on which basin you are planning to fish the most.Also need to know how slow that boat goes then I can help you more.Does the boat have good electronics?A must for successful eye catching on Erie.And as stated before safety is number one when it comes to fishing Mother Erie.

Yes I understand the safety gear. I should have said that I'm not new to boating. I've been boating all my life and owned a boat for the last 20 years.

I will be fishing the western basin...from Kelly's on west.

Not sure how slow the boat will troll but I'll check that with GPS here shortly. The boat has a good color fish finder and GPS.

The first item I would purchase is a good set of drift/trolling bags because I know that your boat will not idle down slow enough, you just run one on each side of the boat to slow you down. I would not purchase downriggers its a waste for the area you are going to fish, put your money into good rod holders and good inline planer boards. I personally use snap weights, dipsies, jet divers, or bottom bouncers depending on the depth I am going to fish. Good Luck.

I am a firm believer in quality equipment. Spare no expense. Rather than purchasing 2 or 3 of an inexpensive product, get 1 very good product. I love downriggers. I love knowing the exact location of my bait. I often outfish others due to the precision of the presentation. They are however expensive. You need to troll 1.6mph early then up to 2.2 later. You can control speed with buckets, drift socks, prop plates etc. I would recommend picking up 2 down riggers, 2 size 1 dipseys, 2 yellow bird inline boards and 6 quality trolling outfits with line counters.

Thanks guys. I am looking for some good quality rod holders. What do you reccomend?

I preference big jon rod holders and riggers because of the quality and durability. I just had them make me some custom adjustable rod holders that are on the rear vertical posts of my hardtop for leadcore and they are great. Good luck on what you choose but it is definitely worth spending the money up front to get very good equipment as to by soso and in the middle of the season wish you would of spent just a little bit more.

If you want to spend the money on riggers go for it but I feel it is not necesary on the western basin.I have developrd a system the last couple of years that is deadly on the eyes and catches few junk fish using Offshore boards with tattletales that have been modified and Inline weights and spinners.We have used this system since the jig bite ended and only once did it fail to get our limits of eyes.{six out of seven}I agree on the decent rodholders and also the six trolling setups.A word of advice here.Make sure your rods are all of the same length and brand.Makes it a lot easier to read the rods just in case you pick up a small fish.The system described above requires that your boat will troll speeds as slow as 1.3mph.If you want to know more just let me know.

Rebel is a master of his craft and is 100% correct in not needing downriggers. I simply like them as it makes my boat versatile for other waters. I fish king salmon and steelhead in addition to walleye. Bar none-my favorite way to catch eyes is bait fishing by drift. Second is trolling crankbaits. Simple can be very effective. I have a friend across the pond that has a pattent on Torpedo Divers. It is a weight that just might replace downriggers. Look it up on torpedodiver.com This is the time of year the scramble is on to find actively feeding eyes. The best bite is North of the border or East right now but some are being caught near the usual areas.