Boat Positioning for SRC
- Thread starter MarshRat
- Start date
Ive never had it on my boat, I fish out of a jet sled. It definitely would be nice and Ive been in boats that have it but i wouldnt say its necessary by any means. Ive spent thousands of hours on the sound in the sled and never have any issues catching fish. Sure sometimes I drift in too close or get blown around but its never been a deal breaker ever. If i had an expensive whaler or something like that I would probably get one just to ensure i dont hit something drifting with the tide down the beach.
This video seems appropriate. Josh doesn't need no stinkin trolling motor. He can also stand on the gunwale and not fall in.
Go Zags!
ayyy!
Chris Bellows
Steelhead
After scratching the surface with my new boat if I was going to be buying or outfitting a boat for SRC in the Sound I would 100% have a MinnKota matched with a Hummingbird GPS. The Drift and Countour modes are 100% better for fishing than Spot Lock, especially if you plan on fishing alone much.
that makes sense and I would do the same if I had an expensive fiberglass boat, its not a super popular opinion or at least I haven't seen a ton of sleds on the water over the years in south sound but the jet sled basically lets me go anywhere I want without worry!
This is what has made me consider swapping out my Garmin unit for Humminbird. I'd really be interested in trying out the contour modes. That said, spot lock and hitting jog 20ft every few casts works pretty well. I need to experiment with the other drift/autopilot modes more.
I'm curious - anyone try livescope for SRC?
Nope, I fished with someone who swore by his new fancy fish finder though and frankly it wasn't that tight nor did he catch very many fish comparatively to just learning where they lived and how to catch them. What makes the fishery so awesome is the visual aspect of it, probing casts along the shoreline, watching the case and hooking into the fish. I also fish in sub 10 feet of water all the time so I can see them if they are there usually.
You should try the auto pilot mode, we use that a lot for covering shoreline while casting to shore. It's super easy to set up, once you get to the desired casting range you point the head where you want to go, set the speed and hit autopilot.
Minor adjustments can be made to follow the shore contour with a few clicks of the remote, very easy. Autopilot has 2 modes, advance and legacy, I like the legacy more.
I'm not familiar with the contour follow system, but pretty sure it's better suited for lakes. In the Sound, any given gps spot will have different depths depending on the tide, so you'll have to input and adjust that offset constantly throughout the day to avoid running aground or being out too deep. That doesn't sound like fishing to me
Drifting can be controlled with autopilot or spot lock too. Say you're in a heavy current, you can set the autopilot to go against that current at a lesser speed, so you'll get a slow drift. Or hitting spot lock intermittently would work too.
I think I was thinking more of the "follow the shoreline mode". https://minnkota-help.johnsonoutdoors.com/hc/en-us/articles/23607178243991-Using-Advanced-GPS-Navigation-Features-and-Manual-2023-present#Follow the Shoreline info with Advanced GPS NavigationYou should try the auto pilot mode, we use that a lot for covering shoreline while casting to shore. It's super easy to set up, once you get to the desired casting range you point the head where you want to go, set the speed and hit autopilot.
Minor adjustments can be made to follow the shore contour with a few clicks of the remote, very easy. Autopilot has 2 modes, advance and legacy, I like the legacy more.
I'm not familiar with the contour follow system, but pretty sure it's better suited for lakes. In the Sound, any given gps spot will have different depths depending on the tide, so you'll have to input and adjust that offset constantly throughout the day to avoid running aground or being out too deep. That doesn't sound like fishing to me
Drifting can be controlled with autopilot or spot lock too. Say you're in a heavy current, you can set the autopilot to go against that current at a lesser speed, so you'll get a slow drift. Or hitting spot lock intermittently would work too.
Next time out I'm going to play with autopilot and drift mode. Looks like they renamed legacy and advanced modes to locked heading and locked course on the model I have.
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Quite a few of my Columbia R. buddies use the auto bow mount Minn Kota with a hand held wireless remote to control the troll and spot lock to simulate anchor plug fishing for Springers. They hardly use their kicker and got rid of their anchors. Seems a foot pedal, like the bass guys use would be best to control for SRC hands free. Not knowing much about these, do all bow mounts come with either? The cost a year ago for the whole setup was around $5k, with batteries being the most expensive part.
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You don’t want live scope on your basket? That would be neat for you to see just how many coho are nipping at your non-stinger clouser and not committingI’m holding out for Linekurv or Take to come out with a stripping basket with spot lock, drift and contour mode.
All kidding aside, after having fished in @Kfish boat, the trolling motor technology available today is pretty damn cool.
SF
I brought this up to @jasmillo a while back when we had a hard time staying on bait balls in the Sound, the next big breakthrough/money maker would be a spot lock motor that could track and follow bait balls.
It’s doable with the technology we have, just need to make a special circular array module that scans like radar and the software/computing unit to control the motor.
It’s doable with the technology we have, just need to make a special circular array module that scans like radar and the software/computing unit to control the motor.