Just wondering what you guys would put in a boat for fishing tournaments.

lets see what everyone thinks is the most valuable piece of equipment.



Gary

Mostly obvious things realted to actual boat rigging:

1) Good finder and a good GPS at helm and bow (if needed)
2) Trollmaster for kicker
3) Freshwater pick up for livewells-lots of guys are going to O2 generating systems
4) Adequate # of rodholders placed correctly
5) Bowmount suited for the app (i.e. Autopilot for open water, cable drive for position fishing).


Tim

A fishin rod could be helpful

Tim has hit the nail on the head as far as rigging. Everything else depends on WHERE i`m fishing. On the Miss river, I never will be caught out without plastics,rapalas and hair jigs. On erie,harness`s. It cost me placeing in a tourney once. Trolled next to a boat slamming fish all day. The IL river,MINNOWS. At times, thats all those darn saugers want!!!!!

2 GPS units and or sonar units, balance beam scale, digital scale with extra batteries, extra rods and reels ready to go, at least 2 of them for each style of fishing you will be doing. more than enough worms or other live bait and a way to care for them, a properly functioning boat with everything working extra oil if you run a 2 stroke. Just a few that came to mind.

Besides the obvious - pole, tackle, kicker motro and beer, you should have a good speed indicator, a Controllking, remote steering and a GPS

As mentioned above, it depends on what the fishing conditions and how you are planning to fish---I never leave the dock without driftsocks (several different sizes), two anchors that will hold your boat, planer boards, proper life jackets for however many people will be on board, a Marine radio, a good tool kit, first aid kit.........the list goes on if you really want to be prepared for anything.

This has nothing to do with your boat but a list of people that you want to thank when accepting the winner’s check is a must have item. Remember you don’t want to make a complete boob of yourself when you’re up on that platform and the TV cameras are rolling because any potential sponsors will avoid this type of individual like the plague.

BTW, a well groomed appearance is not a prerequisite but you don’t want to look like a junkyard dog either and please remember to use deodorant every day, for obvious reasons.

A quick list off the top of my head -

1. Good quality front and rear sonars, the one at the helm should have a GPS unit, ideally both will have speed indicators.

2. I can't imagine trying to fish a tournament without front and rear trolling motors.

3. Like was said, at least two rods, completely pre-rigged, for every presentation you intend to use. You can never have too many rods ready to go...

4. A good quality large landing net.

5. Digital scale and batteries - be sure to calibrate the scale to one or more reliable sources, a bcakup doesn't hurt either.

6. Drift socks and anchors.

7. Plenty of rod holders depending on the tournament and preferred presentation.

8. As much tackle as you can jam in the boat without compromising your ability to move around and fish effectively.

9. More bait, of every kind, than you think you could possibly need and a way to make sure it stays fresh.

10. If you have the space and conditions look tough where you're going to be working the motors hard - extra 12V batteries.

11. Clothing for every type of weather you might encounter that day.

12. Food, and especially water. Getting dehydrated really affects your ability to concentrate and act effectively

13. Fish landing tools - needle nose pliers, a glove, jaw spreaders, hook removers, etc... quick and clean handling of fish is essential.

14. Some basic tools - prop wrench, vise-grips, scredrivers, etc... This shouldn't be a real issue with today's outboards and boats being so reliable, but on an unfamiliar lake, bad things can happen.

15. ORGANIZATION - the real key is to have all this stuff organized so it's at your fingertips when you need it, and yet out of the way so you can concetrate on fishing and you're able to quickly move, at high speed, whenever you want to.

16. Binoculars

I'm sure there's more, but that's a good start.

Waxy