Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD
A friend of mine fished area inland lakes and trailered his my boat to Florida each winter to spend time fishing for sea trout and redfish. The boat was well equipped for these activities, handled fine in moderate waves so he decided to rig it for Great Lakes fishing, as well to get in on Indiana’s great salmon and steelhead fishing.
He loved it and soon found himself fishing on Lake Michigan as much or more than on inland lakes. He fished without downriggers, relying on divers and lead core during the summer months, but he was reluctant to add downriggers since he thought that would require drilling holes for the downrigger mounts or installing a track system. He wouldn’t mind doing that but he plannedi to upgrade his boat in another year or two. A boat with tracks or holes in the gunwales would either limit the market for potential buyers or degrade the resale value.
I noticed his boat had flush mounted rod holders built into the gunwales and so I suggested he find downrigger mounts that would slide into these rod holders. After checking around on the Internet, he found some Scotty 1028 Gimbal Mounts at Amazon.com that would fit his rod holders perfectly. I told him Scotty products have been around for decades and always get great reviews. So he bought a pair.
Now he’s set for another season on Lake Michigan and I know the addition of a pair of downriggers will up his game and increase his enjoyment. Perhaps he’ll even learn his current boat will do just fine for more than another year or two.
FISHING TOYS 