Newbee

[tkcamp]

Hello,

I have been reading a lot of these posts and everyone has so much good info on here.

I am planning on coming up from Mansfield Wed. with my son and son-in-law. I have a 17foot v bottom boat with line counter reels and an I-pilot system on board and off shore boards, I have no kicker. I would like to do some trolling. I am concerned about going out too far as a rookie. any suggestions would be helpful as to where to go out from, do I need to ferry out to the Islands? I do have a radio on board. Just looking for a good starting point with maybe some suggestions on what to bring along....maybe someone to call?

Thanks

[Dr.Ed]

You are right. There is a lot of info on this site and it would be a good idea for you to go over the posts for the last 3 weeks to get all the information necessary to have a successful trip. I will be launching from Catawba State Park tomorrow and Wednesday. I will be looking for slightly stained water away from other boats. I will be trolling Perfect 10's, DDHuskyJerks and DD Reef Runners behind Church Walleye boards with and without 1 oz Snap sinkers 30' ahead of the cranks, plus 30'-60' of line to the boards at 1.7 mph. My choices lately are Lemon/Lime P-10s and DDHJ Pink Crystal Clowns. Cheap Sunglasses 800 DDRR on a flat line back 64'-100'+. Good luck and stay safe. The forecast for the next few days sounds good but consider the source and act accordingly.

[wayne johnson]

There a close in fishery right now 1/2 mile to 1 mile out from wild wings troll from beese power plant to crane creek, husky, reef runners, and bay rat, 30 to 50 back, 1.73 mph colors blue silver, tocan, pink and white, lime, purple not big fish but two to four lbs, not much boat traffic and close to shore. water is fairly clean, jiggers doing good in this area to.

[Madd Matt]

Hello,

I have been reading a lot of these posts and everyone has so much good info on here.

I am planning on coming up from Mansfield Wed. with my son and son-in-law. I have a 17foot v bottom boat with line counter reels and an I-pilot system on board and off shore boards, I have no kicker. I would like to do some trolling. I am concerned about going out too far as a rookie. any suggestions would be helpful as to where to go out from, do I need to ferry out to the Islands? I do have a radio on board. Just looking for a good starting point with maybe some suggestions on what to bring along....maybe someone to call?

Thanks

Great question! The fact that you are asking shows that you have some respect for the Lake already. I have a 17' Ranger Fisherman which is a deep "V" Ranger.

I "have" had it out on the Lake out to the Islands (Kelly's) during a nice slow South wind that isn't supposed to change....

If the weather is good and you are comfortable in your boat in 1-2' waves then the answer is, yes, you could do that and be fine. However, the weather can change in 10 minutes out there and blow in 4-6' waves quickly.

Last week some guys in a 19' boat who are well experienced and been on the Lake many times capsized and where safely rescued. No one should have been out there last week in that boat, and they should have never left the dock with the current wave conditions that they launched in, and the weather report they had that day and water temps in the mid 40's. I am not saying that to be critical of them but to say that it is never as easy as "yes or no" in regards to "can I go out in a 17' deep V?"

I have taken a canoe out several hundred yards, and some guys take them out several miles on a calm day.

Watch the weather, judge the wind, watch the weather, pay attention to the weather, use a radar app on your phone to check for incoming weather... Did I say, "Watch the weather"?

I would be comfortable in 1-2's, but not 3-4s.

Just my opinion.

-Matt

[tkcamp]

Thanks for the replys guys. I do have respect for the lake. I have been on it, just never much on my own. I wil have two young fathers with me and want to be safe . I will watch the weather closely. just trying to learn the planer boards and trolling methods. Been reading but nothing like experience. I'm sure I'll have tangles

[Madd Matt]

Thanks for the replys guys. I do have respect for the lake. I have been on it, just never much on my own. I wil have two young fathers with me and want to be safe . I will watch the weather closely. just trying to learn the planer boards and trolling methods. Been reading but nothing like experience. I'm sure I'll have tangles

That's great! Hopefully you will have a good time. Keep in mind that there are several captains that are experts on trolling and they are more than willing to take you on a "learning" trip. They are welcome to someone telling them that they want to charter them for a trip mostly to learn techniques and skills.

I am not a captain, nor am I affiliated with any of them on here or get a commission. If I where to want to go on a "learning" trip though for small boards I would go out with Captain Jules, and big boards I'd go with Skipper 9's Eyehunter Charter. There are others in here that may be just fine too. I have not been out with them, nor know enough to recommend them one way or the other.

-Matt

[Hoytman86]

I'm far from the most experienced person to talk to on these boards, but in my limited experience with inline boards, I can tell you this: If you think there's a fish on, bring in that board, especially if you're pulling a harness with meat (a crawler). Bringing in the board may take a few minutes, but it's not nearly as bad as leaving it out dragging a fish or if something's hit it and there's no crawler left. Tattle flags aren't necessarily cheap, but they're well worth the money if you take the time to dial them in. On "The Walleye" boards you've got, you want to adjust that lever just enough so that the flags will stay up with the weight and speed you're pulling, but the slightest extra weight they start to go back. I've developed a pretty good eye for them, and if they're dialed in, it's really easy to tell when you're dragging a white bass or perch that you may not notice without them.

I've found a few videos to try to help you out. The first one shows you how to set them, including the most important part when using the tattle flags, which is to make sure you leave slack between the clips to allow the flag to function properly. Also, it's very important that whomever removes the board doesn't just let go of the line and let it snap back, that creates a backlash effect that can pull the hook. Keep tension on the line and slowly move it up until it's straight to the rod tip. The second video is EXTREMELY helpful for showing you exactly what to look for when trying to detect a bite. It's pretty much a given that the water won't be as calm on Erie as it is in this video, but it's still helpful to understand what to look for, even though the bites will quite often be much more subtle during the summer months once all of the trash fish start moving into the Western Basin.

Good luck and enjoy! Please feel free to continue asking questions. I know I'm not the only one that's learned to fish Erie using inline boards from the members here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhZDevRX3Z

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXqFRt3NVS4

[wakina]

This will save you some money on the flag system. Just make them yourself. This link provides you with a parts list also.

http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/commu...lag#post988017

[tkcamp]

Thanks everyong for the info. We came up Wed. and failed to get anything. We didn't see anyone else pulling out nets either. We fished around mouse reef area marked alot of fish. We had fun learning the planer boards and the Ipilot system. I tried monitoring the radio ch79 but not much was being said....was this the channel most use? We are going to try again Saturday morning.