This spring I purchased my dream boat, a 2011 Lund Pro V 1975 with a 225 horsepower Mercury Verado. Picking the boat and motor was easy where the work began was rigging the boat to fit my needs.

When rigging a boat the most important thing is to rig your boat to fit your style of fishing. If you only fish rivers, your boat will be rigged much different then someone who only fishes inland lakes. Someone who only fishes the great lakes will rig there boat differently from the person who fishes inland lakes and rivers. Because I fish walleye tournaments on rivers, in-land lakes, reservoirs and the great lakes I have to be versatile and be ready for totally different presentations.

Here is how and why I rigged my new Lund Pro V:

Electronics

This is probably the most important and most expensive decision you will make when rigging your boat. The advancement of technology in the last ten years has been unbelievable. These aren’t your dad’s depth finders or flashers.  A grey scale Lowrance unit that I bought in 2002 looks as out of date as a black and white tube television. Today’s units have GPS, map overlay, side-imaging, down-imaging, mapping etc.

I chose to go with a top of the line Humminbird 1198C for the dash and a 998C for the bow unit. Lowrance also makes an excellent product with similar features and benefits. These units allow me to search for fish at speeds up to 20 miles and hour, which is extremely important especially on the great lakes.



The GPS and map overlay data allow me to stay on the fish I found with military precision. The new side imaging gives the best detail, of what is going on below the boat, we have ever seen. The side imaging allows you to see structure and fish up to 200 feet to each side of the boat.

Another great feature is you can hook your locator up to your computer and use the lake maps to scout the body of water and even place waypoints on areas that look promising. There are many other features that are extremely helpful. The benefit of all of these features, if used correctly, is you will catch more fish!

The good news is you don’t need to have the top of the line locators.  Humminbird, Lowrance and others make affordable units that fit your fishing needs. I recommend that you do get the gps and overlay mapping (many come with these) if nothing else for safety. Finding your way back to the boat landing or around wing dams in a fog or rain storm can be close to impossible. I have been saved many times by the gps and will not own a boat without one.



Mounting

If you are going to spend $4000, or more, on electronics make sure to buy a mount(s) that will support and protect your locator. I made the mistake of not using the proper mount on my last boat. I had a Lowrance 110C that would sometimes slip while traveling. On several occasions I was traveling over 50 miles an hour and the unit would slip, hitting the steering wheel. I would have to take one hand off of the wheel and push the unit upward often hitting the windshield. I easily could have damaged the locator and, even worse, put my safety at risk.

I chose Stabil mounts for both of my units. They are more expensive but the extra cost is worth it as my locators are safe and secure!

Mounting the transducer on the transom is extremely important. If it is too low the transducer is at risk of hitting something and breaking or flipping up at high speeds causing inaccurate readings. If you mount it too high inaccurate readings are likely. If you have side imaging you have to be careful that the side view is not obstructed. If you do it yourself read the directions carefully. I chose to have my dealer, Pharo Marine, do mine.  For the bow I chose to buy a trolling motor that has the transducer mounted in the unit. If you choose this route, side or down imaging features cannot be used.

Trolling Motor

If you are a river fisherman and primarily jig a cable steer trolling motor is the way to go. The cable steering reacts immediately allowing you to keep your jig vertical. This is of utmost importance when fishing current breaks and eddies.

The most versitle bow mount trolling motors are the wireless units. These units can be steered remotely or they can be put on autopilot using a gps to stay on track adjusting for waves, wind and current. You can also record a track up to 2 miles long and can be used to immediately retrace your path. You can also save this path for a future trip. Some even have an anchor feature which allows you to stay on a spot without having to use an actual anchor.

I chose the Minn Kota 101 I-Pilot. For jigging it is adequate. If fishing an area where the current is constant it is great as you can set the autopilot to match the speed needed to keep your jig vertical. Where this trolling motor excels is when trolling or rigging. When trolling in rivers I use my kicker motor for power and use the remote to steer my boat. This allows me to fish with two hands free allowing me to move around the boat as needed. This is also great for netting fish.



When fishing lakes I will use the I-Pilot to troll spinners. This is great when fishing shallow or when the walleyes are high in the water column allowing for a stealth approach.

Regardless of which trolling motor you buy do yourself a favor and buy the quick release plate, which is about $50. I had a trolling motor deploy at 30 miles an hour and I did not have the quick release plate. The shaft was made of graphite and splintered which meant I could not slide it back up to a secure position. I had to slowly motor over to shore and take off the trolling motor in 30 degree temperatures. You won’t have that problem with the quick release bracket!

On-Board Charger

If you have ever gone to a boat landing and tried to tilt your motor up only to find out you have a dead better then you know the importance of an on-board charger. I chose the ProMariner 4 bank charger. Three of the leads are hooked up to the trolling motor batteries and one to the starting battery.  This charger is pre-rigged, waterproof and charges batteries quickly. Just plug in your charger after a long day of fishing and you will be sure to have fully charged batteries in the morning.



Rod Holders

Lund has a neat feature that allows you to mount your rod holders using their sport track system. This allows you to move the rod holders as needed, just slide it along the track.

I mounted Scotty rod holders to the sport track brackets.  I also use rod holder extensions, which allow me to spread my lines out with fewer tangles. Wisconsin allows three rods per person when trolling. I have three rod holders on each side in the back of the boat and one on each side in the front. If you use planer boards I recommend that you have one more rod holder on each side than you do rods. The great thing about the sport track system is you can remove and store them easily.



Guages

If you are buying a new boat or if you want to upgrade your existing boat, I highly recommend getting the smart gauges. With my Mercury Verado I can turn down the rpm’s slow enough to troll. With a push of the button I can see how much gas I have left, how many hours on my motor, trim height, optimal rpm’s for fuel consumption and how much gas I am burning per hour just to name a few.



Access

If you own a boat 17’ or larger you know how tough it is to get in and out of your boat. Some step on the spare tire others step on the wheel wells of the trailer. Both can be dangerous especially if moisture is involved. Launching and loading your boat is also a chore as there is no easy way into and out of your boat.

After several close calls I put EZEE Steps on my trailer. Now, getting in the boat is a breeze. These steps are custom made to fit your trailer and are made of stainless steel. The steps are graded to that prevents slipping. To learn more go to http://www.ezeestep.com/.

The only right way to rig a boat is the way it best fits your fishing needs. Hopefully this article will help you when making rigging decisions. Please feel free to post any questions or post your rigging tips at http://www.facebook.com/RoyVivianProWalleyeAngler.

One last thing, don’t forget the net!

Article as-seen in Issue-5 of Fishing-Headquarters Magazine

The 25th anniversary of the MWC Illinois River tournament is less than two weeks away. For my MWC partner, Shooter (Scott Pirnstill) and I it will be our sixth straight. This tournament is special to me for a number of reasons.

Even though I grew up only an hour and fifteen minutes from the tournament site I only fished the IL River once prior to fishing my first tournament in 2006. In 1983 or 1984 the river was getting a lot of attention as it was re-awaking after being used as a dumping ground for much of the 20th century. I was a wide eye kid addicted to fishing and a regular reader of Midwest Outdoors Magazine. In one of the spring issues I saw a headline “First Annual White Bass Tournament”. I sent my $5 entry fee in and begged my parents to take me.

I read everything I could find on how to catch white bass. I watched every fishing show that was on TV hoping for any tips that would help me. I scraped up enough money to buy a couple of sonars, gay blades, little george’s, road runners and twister tails. I was so excited to go and literally counted the days.

Two days before the big day I was pitching in a Babe Ruth league game. I was covering home plate after a passed ball (Brian Rubis will say it was a wild pitch). I stepped on home plate and slipped as I was reaching for the ball. The runner slid and kneed me in the head. I probably had a concussion but it went down as my bell being rung. Regardless, my dad said that I could not fish the white bass tournament. I was absolutely crushed. I threw an absolute fit and finally my dad agreed to take me to the tournament. I am sure the only reason he agreed was he knew it was the only way to shut me up.

I set up on the wall at the Starved Rock dam and casted everything in my tackle box. Not only did I not catch a fish but I did not get a bite. I was disappointed but remember thinking “if I only had a boat”.

Fast forward twenty-two years or so to 2006. I had always wanted to fish tournaments and finally had a boat to give it a try. I had hired a local guide, Joe Okada, to take a customer out on Lake Mendota. Joe encouraged me to find a partner and fish the first tournament of the year on the IL River. I called up ‘Ol Shooter and we signed up. We were as blind to this tournament as I was in the first White Bass tournament.

We pre-fished for the tournament and ending up finding some decent fish on the Thursday before the tournament. Disappointment soon followed as the computer on my outboard motor went bad and no one had one in stock. That meant we had to fish the tournament with my 15 horse kicker motor. I was again crushed. Upstream we could go a healthy 3.1 mph while downstream we maxed out a blazing 4.1 mph!

Honestly, I don’t think we thought we had a chance to do well with my motor running, now with only my kicker motor we didn’t think we had a chance at all. That is exactly what happened the first day as we caught one 2.93 lb. sauger that was good for something like 181st out of 220 boats. I remember ‘Ol Shooter saying “We are good fishermen but these guys are really good”. Basically he thought we were over our heads.

With no expectations on day 2 we putted up river just hoping to catch a fish. Just like the day before we caught a nice one early and instead of feeling sorry for ourselves we actually started fishing. We went through a bit of a lull but then we put on a clinic right in the middle of a pack of boats that was not catching anything.

We ended up catching our limit that was the eighth heaviest weight of the day. Eighth heaviest out of 220 really good teams? Holy Crap! We zoomed up and finished 57th. Now we did not make a dime but this gave us the confidence that we could compete at a high level and I have been hooked ever since.

In 2008 we were 4th after day one and ended up 11th. In 2009 we finished 3rd. We had opportunities to win in both of these tournaments but just didn’t get it done. There are not a lot of opportunities to win at this level so when you have a chance you have to take advantage. Hopefully, we are a little wiser and will use our experience to close the door if we are in the hunt.

Is this our year? I sure hope so. I do know one thing for sure, I can’t blame it on not having a boat!