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Fished from about 11:00 till 4:00 today, caught 2 walleye, one ~18", the other ~20", both in excellent condition. Also got two wipers. Three came on Hot-N-Tots, one on a SR7 in walleye. Speed was 2.5-3.4mph, and the fish seemed scattered. Still don't know what those walleye were thinking hitting a crank running at 10' over 21' of water, out in the middle.
It was blustery, the water was 59F, and I don't think the little cold front helped. Should get hot soon. Didn't really go up to fish, as I was trying my new boat and autopilot. Sorry for no pictures, I forgot the camera. It was first blood for the boat, but not the last.
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Autopilot on a boat? That may explain why I was ran over by two guys in a boat looking backwards the whole time last year in my toon. I just thought they were idiots not looking backwards while trolling. They may have had an excuse.
But while your using you autopilot fancy shtuff, check what you are going to run over once in a while for us paddlers sake.
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Don't worry, I won't run you over. Having an autopilot doesn't mean you have the right of way, or don't have to keep a look out. It does free you up so you can tend lines, downriggers, and take care of fish without your boat doubling back and tangling lines.
I put it on because I troll for salmon in the ocean, and will be fishing tuna this year. I think it's a must-have for trolling. I'm surprised more guys don't use them. It's very cool, as it will maintain a course, or take you to a waypoint. It interfaces with the chartplotter. So, you can activate it once you clear the harbor and it will take you to a spot 50 miles offshore, without you constantly having to steer or watch the compass. So it is more fuel efficeint, and allows you to just look at the ocean ahead.
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Actually blustery springtime weather can be one of the most productive time for walleyes. Walleyes love to bite while there are some winds (just enough to make ripples all over the surface) and there are partly cloudy skies, (low light). I think you would have scored more walleyes going into the evening hours.
Walleyes love hot-n-tots and minnow cranks. I've even caught them on Willard's specials that are typically reserved for wipers.
Willard's a fun place once you get to know her.[cool]
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Thanks for posting your report, I know in the morning it sure was rainy but the afternoon cleared up nicely, yesterday. As far as the walleye being in the upper water column, they have been doing that for a number of years now. I think it has to do with the shad being open water bait fish, so the walleye just follow the food source. It usually starts a few weeks after the spawn and will continue to the first week in July depending on the weather. This time of the year it is not uncommon to catch as many walleye as you do wipers trolling at the same speed and depth.
Is this auto pilot hooked to your gas kicker motor? I have seen them for the electric trolling motors but not gas motors. Are they pricey? WH2
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For a number of reasons, I don't run a kicker. I have a 115HP Mercury EFI 4S on my Hewescraft 200 SeaRunner. The autopilot replaces your original helm with a new one that has an electric drive motor bolted on the back. You mount a flux gate compass, the bracket and socket for the contol unit, which looks lke a TV remote control, do all the wiring and you're good to go. The only thing that gives it away is the control unit sitting on the dash.
[url "http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v495/Paddler/Autopilot.jpg"]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v495/Paddler/Autopilot.jpg[/url]
Not using a kicker means I have the autopilot controlling the boat at any speed, from 2.5MPH to WOT, which at sea level is ~40MPH. At $1225, it wasn't expensive given what it does.
I'm pretty familiar with Willard, so I know what the walleye were doing out in the middle. It's just that their behavior as open water predators is different from what you usually expect.
I would have gladly stayed longer, and it looked to be a beautiful evening, but it was more of a shakedown cruise yesterday. We're heading to the Strait of Juan de Fuca next week for halibut in Canadian waters, and I wanted to make sure the boat is in top shape. The walleye were just a bonus. I've never seen them in better shape.
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No back up motor if your main has problems? Sounds like a nice set up and well worth it when on the open ocean. Good luck on your halibut trip, hope you find a lot of willing fish. WH2
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The debate about back up motors in case of a main motor problem is an old one. Outboard motors are incredibly reliable. I had my 50HP fail once in 9 years, and it was a broken, not fried, fuse. So I carry extra fuses now.
If you're 50 miles offshore with a main failure, coming back in on a kicker will take 9 hours, which will put you on the bar in the dark, with an inadequate motor to maneuver. No thanks. I'll call the Coast Guard. That's why I pay my taxes.
Besides, a kicker will cost $2500, and you can troll for salmon, but not really tuna with it. If my main motor burns .25GPH more than a kicker, my break even is 3400 hours of trolling, which won't happen in the boats' lifetime. And, I don't like the increased complexity and weight. There are many opinions on this, but I feel very comfortable with my approach.
I'm quite excited about the halibut trip. I'll post up pictures if we do any good. It'll just be nice to be on the salt again.
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That is a very interesting perspective and if I took my boat on salt water(not that I would), that sounds like a good approach. I have had several close calls on the lakes I fish and have even used an electric motor to make it to shore when I ran out of gas. It sounds like your 4 stroke gets much better GPH than my 2 stroke. I figure my 2 stroke kicker gets at least 50% to 60% better GPH than my main motor. I really couldn't afford to toll with my main motor, so that is the main reason for the kicker.
Looking forward to seeing those pictures when you get back and again, good luck. WH2
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Yes, it's a balance. Lots of guys would put a bigger motor on my hull. But I'm not in a hurry, and you can rarely use WOT on the ocean anyway. You could make an argument for a 90HP on my boat. Slightly lower top end, but even better low speed trolling. I went with the 115HP in case I have four guys and a boatful of albacore to come back in with.
I'm sold on the four strokes, and now, with EFI, they're even better. I'll burn about .5GPH at trolling speed, ~1GPH at tuna speed, and get 5.4MPG at 29MHP. That's just excellent performance and efficiency.
We'll see what the halibut think. The tides look good for our trip. I'll post pics when I return.
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How big is the fuel tank on your boat?
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I ordered it with the 52 gallon tank, so my safe range is on the order of 200 miles.
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I figured you had to have a huge tank if you were fishing the ocean, that must be expensive on the fill up. [unsure]
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