Well.... 15 years later - with at least an equivalent number of boats - I realize there are a few extra "features" I was missing in my original purchase. Nowadays I run a state of the art twenty and a half foot boat Tracker Targa 2000 with a 225 Mercury EFI engine. It has a 9.9 hp, 4- stroke kicker (with more power than my original 18 hp), three LCG fish finders, two GPS units with screens that have maps of my location, a 48 lb thrust Minn Kota bow electric motor, a marine band radio, a dual axle trailer.... and a price tag between $25,000 and $30,000 dollars. Of course I fish for a living.

On the tournament trail, it is not uncommon for me to drive 40, 50 and even 60 miles to get to the winning walleyes. Since tournament days are limited to about nine hours I need to quickly get to the fish, find my spot, search for walleyes on the electronics and then catch them. That should sound familiar to most fisherman. Very few of us have the luxury to take days or weeks to locate and catch walleyes.

Weekend anglers, in fact, are much like tournament fisherman. They arrive at their destination, search out some information at local bait shops, try out the "hot spots", then locate some areas that are holding fish, and finally catch some walleyes - all this before it's time to head back home. Like anything in this high tech world we live in, your success or failure at accomplishing these tasks can depend greatly on your equipment. Let's take a look at my rig and explain why I - and possibly you - need the gear that I use.

First of all, my boat. I run a big fast boat because some of the best walleye fishing is in large, expansive bodies of water. The Great Lakes, the Western Reservoirs (Oahe, Fort Peck, Sakakawea, Lake Sharpe), large inland lakes (e.g. Mil Lacs and Winnebago) river systems (e.g. Mississippi, Missouri) and the huge Canadian Shield lakes are the best areas to consistently catch walleyes. But not all sections of these waters hold walleyes. Many times the best fishing is out of range of for most boats.

A good example of this was at Lake Tobin in Saskatuwan. Rumors of a big fish bite were rampant so Gary Parsons and I took a late October road trip to the North. The lake basically has one ramp that most anglers use - outside the town of Nippwin. Many anglers were fishing out of small boats with low horse power outboards. As such, most of the fishing pressure was limited to 5 miles from the landing.

Since our boat could go 65+ mph, running 10 or 15 miles was no big ordeal and it got us out of this "used" water. What did we find? The best big fish bite either of us had ever seen. In one afternoon, we caught a 13-lb, a 14.5-lb and a 15.8-lb walleye, mixed in with many over 8-lbers. Why did we produce so well? First of all, because we did not let boat dictate where we could fish. We were able to get to where the fish were! Did we need that a fast boat? Of course not, but at a minimum you should choose a boat and motor that you are willing to run at least 20 miles with. If your patient that may be a 17 foot hull with a 50 hp outboard (about 30 miles per hour). A good choice would be a Tracker Targa 17 Console boat with a Merc 125 hp engine (45+ miles per hour).

A second reason to run a big boat is for rough water. Every foot added to the boat's hull will dramatically improve it's rough water performance. Especially on the Great Lakes, big winds and waves can ruin a day, if not an entire fishing trip. If you plan on fishing big water often, I suggest a minimum of an 18 foot boat (see the new Dual Console Targa 18) with a 125 hp engine. Optimally move up to a 20 foot fiberglass boat (like my Targa 2000) with a V6 engine like a Merc 150 EFI. This combination will give you the power necessary to outrun bad weather, get you out fishing on days when a smaller craft will be left on shore, or get you safely back home in rough seas.

The boat and the motor are going to be the big ticket items when purchasing a rig, but don't skimp on speed and rough water ability if it's going to limit your fishing success.

The next most costly equipment will be your electronics. I live and die by my fish finders! In the description above I mentioned I have 3 LCG units. I put one Lowrance Global Map 2000 on my dash. This unit has great sonar for locating walleyes (200 vertical pixels) and also has GPS with mapping incorporated. I put one Lowrance LMS 350A on my bow (for when I control my boat with the bow electric), and one 350A in the back of the boat (for trolling). I also run a wider angle transducer off the back unit so that I can get a slightly different view of the bottom and fish, than on my dash unit.

If you want to reduce your rigs cost, reduce the number of units, not the functionality of the units you buy. I would buy one high end unit and some spare power cords before I would purchase 3 less functional units. You want electronics that will show you the fish that are down there. No matter how good your angling skills are, if there are no walleyes where your bait is, you will catch no walleyes.

The key features to get on a good LCG (Liquid Crystal Graph) are: 1) Vertical Pixels; 2) Gray Line; 3) Bottom Zoom. The best units (LMS 350A, Global Map 2000, X70A) have 200 vertical pixels, this will give you better resolution to see even bottom hugging walleyes. Gray line will help you distinguish the bottom composition, and will more easily show fish laying belly to the bottom. A good zoom will show you more detail in the zone you are looking for walleyes. Sacrificing any of these features will greatly compromise your ability to find fish.

On the dash and bow units I have GPS (Global Positioning System) units. These units use satellite information to plot my boat's position so that I can easily keep track of where I am when I locate some walleyes. The navigational information also allows me to plot courses back to the landing in case of emergencies (or for weigh-ins).

The most important feature on a GPS unit is a good plotter. It will show you an easy to understand picture of all the information and make it a tool for fishing instead of a tool for navigation. On my units (Lowrance's Global Map 2000), the plotter goes one step further in that it shows a map of where I am. This allows me to see where my boat is in relation to shore, islands, etc. that are displayed on the plotter.

A hidden feature to look for on GPS units is a multi- channel receiver. Lowrance GPS units track up to 5 satellites simultaneously. This will give you more accurate and reliable position information. Channels are usually the feature sacrificed in less expensive units - not a good place to save yourself some money.

How we control walleyes boats has underwent a transition over the last decade or so. Pioneered by guys like Mike McClelland and Gary Parsons, fishing from the bow of a walleye boat - for many techniques - is the best approach. Because walleye boats are Deep-V (allowing them to run in bigger waves), you will need a strong (24 volt, 48+ lb thrust), long shaft (48+ inches) bow mounted trolling motor. A key element, and one that is often overlooked, is the bracket strength of the motors. High thrust and long shafts put unbelievable torque on the brackets. Combine that with the beating the engine takes when running rough water and it's easy to see why a tough engine is required. My choice is the Minn Kota "All Terrain". Like the commercials say, it's like having 4 wheel drive on a boat.

The other "control" engine we use is a "kicker" engine mounted next to our main outboard. Usually a 8 to 15 hp, this kicker is mainly used for trolling techniques. Often a kicker is one of the first items taken off the "options" list when there is a budget overrun - and maybe rightly so. Unless your running a 50 hp or less, it's going to be hard to slow a boat down to 1 mile per hour (my typical trolling speed) with the main engine. With no kicker, look into a trolling plate. This device swings down a plate behind the prop and dramatically slows down the boat. When it's time to run somewhere, a string is pulled up and the plate swings out of the way.

In my case I run a 9.9 4-stroke from Mercury. I often get asked if a 9.9 is adequate to control a 20+ foot boat. Not only is more than capable for trolling and boat control, but it makes a great secondary engine in case of emergencies. The new 4-stroke engines are nice because they do not burn oil in the gas. This eliminates that annoying smoke that filters into the boat. The 4-strokes are somewhat more expensive, so if needed, don't hesitate to use an 8 hp 2- stroke, I used them for years without any problems.

Do I need a $25,000 dollar boat? If you fish for a living, fish a lot, take your walleye fishing real seriously, like to run faster than everyone else on the water, fish big water or are out in big waves often - then the answer is probably YES! Are there excellent compromises to get a rig that will perform well in most situations - Of Course.

Just remember to try to pick equipment that will not limit your fishing success. Get a boat that can handle some big water and one with enough speed to get you comfortably to where the walleyes are. Spend a little extra money to get good electronics, and remember - even if you tell your wife this is the last boat you'll ever need - it probably isn't, so you can correct your mistakes in boat 2, 3.....