'83 Mirrocraft 16' Lake Fisherman II Restore

[henro]

Just a little update as the fishing season winds down for me with hunting season about to start. The boat has performed beautifully this summer and has not gone skunked once! There has been no leaks at all and it's very stable. I'm so glad I went with the 80lb thrust trolling motor as well! It does almost 4mph all loaded out with gear and 3 people in it. The combo of (2) 29 series and (2) 27 series batteries was awesome as well. I get about 2/3 of a day of non-stop trolling on just one set of batteries before I have to switch over. I plan on doing the roller bunks on the trailer this winter or next spring as well replacing a few of the roller guides.

Here's a few fishing pics on the boat from this summer with my buddies:

 

[BeerMe]

Very nice fish. I especially like the smally. Ive never caught one. Looks like you have been enjoying the fruits of your labor very much.

 

[henro]

I treated the Dirty Hooker to a few upgrades over the winter... I just sold my manual downriggers and bought a pair of Cannon Magnum 5 ST electrics! I can't wait to try them out. I also sold the Nissan motor and just bought a 2005 Johnson 9.9HP 4-stroke long shaft with electric start. Maiden voyage was this weekend and already loaded the boat with crappie on 2 trips with some buddies. The boat does 7mph with the 9.9 now. As you can see in one of the pics there was a 8hp Johnson on the boat. I learned the hard way I never checked about long shaft vs short shaft and my transom height originally. I had wasted money buying a 8hp short shaft that obviously didn't work with my boat so I'm selling that now. I was lucky to find a great deal on the 9.9hp engine so quickly. Looking forward to some great fishing this year!

 

[jethro]

Oh man, nice downriggers! No laker is safe!

 

[henro]

Oh man, nice downriggers! No laker is safe!

Thanks I can't wait to get out trolling with them. Going to be much easier to fish with the electrics.

 

[henro]

Added Cannon swivel bases now for the downriggers as I realiezed keeping them only mounted in one position was not going to be an option. They are a very nice piece but they sure should be for $70 each... I also had to add ANOTHER 29 series battery to run 12V on for the downriggers and electric start on the outboard. Had one quick mishap I caught in time where the outboard got 24V by accident for a split second and that was enough to have to change it. The downriggers also required a 30amp breaker for each to protect the motors which had to be wired in.

Something I am now worried about is how much weight I have in the back of the boat... It's never going to get on plane. I'm sure this is why it already only did 7mph with 2 people.

 

[perchjerker]

welcome to the wonderful world of electric downriggers LOL

I have 4 on my Grady White.

They are super nice but real money pits lol

make sure you keep your cables fresh.

And make sure you clutches are loose enough so if you get hung up it wont pull that boat into the drink

 

[henro]

welcome to the wonderful world of electric downriggers LOL

I have 4 on my Grady White.

They are super nice but real money pits lol

make sure you keep your cables fresh.

And make sure you clutches are loose enough so if you get hung up it wont pull that boat into the drink

Thanks for the tips. I was used to the manuals last year but this will be a new and hopefully easier learning curve.

 

[perchjerker]

on your cables, make sure you change them every few years even though they look fine.

I made the mistake of not doing this and lost a $250 Fish Hawk probe first time I used it!

It did not get hung up or break at the terminator, it broke 1/2 way up.

The cables were old but were hardly ever used, but I found out they can deteriorate from just sitting like mono can.

I learned that one the hard way lol

 

[henro]

The downrigger and cables are brand new. I went out again for panfish Thursday and with the boat loaded up with 3 people and gear it did 7.6mph. This was with two guys sitting on the bow and lightest man steering. Just spreading 3 people out evenly it still did 7mph. I'm content with it as is.