Previous Next

The skunk is off the new boat! It only took one trip but now we can get to some serious fish catching. As our maiden fishing voyage, we hit Lake Stevens today to see if the water has warmed enough to put the kokanee on the bite. It had not. The surface temperature ran between 42.2 degrees and 44.0 degrees. The water was still a little cold and then with the gusty winds, localized warm spots were hard to find. The fishing was tough but we still were able to scratch out a few take downs, lost fish and a nice native cutthroat (released).

There is a lot of surface activity with many fish showing at various depths on the meter. A large number of the fish we saw jumping were larger kokanee, maybe even a pound or more. Another few degrees and the kokanee fishing is going to be stellar. We pulled a variety of dodger/spinner combinations at 8-42’ on the downriggers. We were trolling 0.9-2.0 mph with most of the hits coming as we increased or decreased speed, passing about 1.2 mph.

All in all, our first fishing trip in the new boat went very well. We have some organizational issues to address but the boat did very well. I am very pleased with the outcome of what was an exhaustive research project.

The Quadfather

4/3/2011 4:36:00 PM

Very nice looking boat Randy, from just the bit you see in the pic. What did you purchase? I didn't know you were looking at new boats. It looks like you have quite a bit of room to move about.

Matt

4/3/2011 8:06:00 PM

Awesome looking new boat!! Way to go getting the skunk off too. Did you get a pump on that bad boy or is that a prop?

Dave

4/4/2011 12:50:00 AM

Funny, before I read your report I looked at the pics and the first thing I thought was nice boat. Then I read your report and see that two other members were thinking the same thing.

rseas

4/4/2011 6:20:00 AM

We bought a Lund Renegade with a 40hp Yammy prop. As time permits I plan to “Blog” some thoughts on the subject later. The short of it is we love the boat. The boat fits in the garage, is economical to tow, easy to launch/retrieve solo, it is very stable and will handle the bigger water if needed. During our break-in cruise on Lake Washington last weekend (no fishing gear) we ran 5 hours and burned just a little over 2 gallons of gas. Our top end is about 33 mph, cruises at 20 mph/4200 rpm and idles down to about 1.4 mph. We purchased the boat bare bones, without the built in tank. No use hauling around 17 gallons of gas and trying to keep it fresh when most of our trips will only require a couple of gallons tops. We burned less than 1 gallon on our trip to Lake Stevens yesterday.

Organizationally I will be adding a storage hatch or two in the deck where the built in fuel tank would have been. I also plan to build a raised casting deck in the bow for additional storage. As upgrades I have already added downriggers, rod holders’, passenger seats, a 12 volt Minn Kota trolling motor and a Columbia River bow roller/anchor nest. More upgrades to come but this gets us started.

Idstud

4/5/2011 6:04:00 AM

Looking good. Nice to see you out there. I bet its nice to have 2 downriggers.

Leave a Comment:

Login

Flag

×

Why is this comment inappropriate?

Close Submit

Delete this comment? Provide reason.

No Yes

Edit

×

Cancel Save