splash guards

[Northlander]

Save your dad the $ and go whitecaps they are just as good from what I have seen. Just make sure you take a pic of your boats set up and measurements and they will make them up nice and comfy. I may use the ones I talked to you about because I found out yesterday they are for a bigger boat like mine.

[jwmiller33]

I am planning on having whoever i buy them from put them on my boat. I think it is like a extra $30 (according to whitecaps) and that way I can know it is done right.

There is just something about drilling into my transom that makes me not want to do it. I am extremely cautious when drilling into my boat, especially when it is near the waterline.

[gregg52]

ya he put mine on in bout 45mins -hr

mines has a kicker on it so there was some extra work and cuttin

but they look nice and i can pull them off in couple mins

and no you dont need any tools

[live4chrome]

I bought the glass, stenciled what I needed cut, then brought it to a professional glass cutters.

[Northlander]

You used glass? Do you mean plexi glass? Who cut it for you Chadwick?

[jwmiller33]

Well it is long overdue but last night I finally ordered some splash guards for my boat. I decided to go with the Whitecaps. I really like that they come with a 3 year warranty and are much cheaper than the Wavewackers.

Couple questions for you guys that have them...

1) Do you guys usually trailer with them on or do you remove them? It is my understanding they are very easy to remove and just involve taking off a couple wing nuts. I think for any trips out of the cities I will remove them. I think they will create more drag on towing my rig on the highway, although most likely not noticable, I think its better just to remove them.

2) Are there any tips for installing them? Do any of you use marine silicon around the holes you drill in the transom?

Thanks

[Duffman]

Jake...

I keep mine on when fishing the metro and take them off when heading up north because my boatcover does not fit when they are on. Super simple to take off and put on, four wingnuts total for mine. I was able to install mine by myself, and I did put some silicon in the holes before I inserted the screws.

[bobbymalone]

1) Do you guys usually trailer with them on or do you remove them? It is my understanding they are very easy to remove and just involve taking off a couple wing nuts. I think for any trips out of the cities I will remove them. I think they will create more drag on towing my rig on the highway, although most likely not noticable, I think its better just to remove them.

I don't have them on my rig and I don't have a PhD in aerospace engineering or physics, but I'm think the increased drag from those things is negligible. It's not like your boat is aerodynamic to begin with. I think it would be more like an extra few inches of tailgate on your truck rather than keeping the tailgate down. Not that the difference in tailgate up or down makes an appreciable difference either.

Maybe they will act like a spoiler and the increased downforce will help keep your trailer on the ground when you are going 150+ mph.

I would just leave them on all the time and not worry about it, unless you have a problem like the one duffman is thrusting in the direction of.

+1 point for anyone who got the simpsons reference.

[jwmiller33]

bobby- maybe I wasn't clear enough. I didn't mean I was worried about the drag effecting my gas milage or anything like that. I am more concerned about the intergrity/strength of the splashguard itself being subjected to 70+mph driving for several hours at a time considering the angle they sit at.

Duffman, thank you for your input. That is exactly what I am going to do. Trailer them on around the metro but if I head north, they are coming off. I am most likely going to have to take them off when I put my boat in the garage anyways, as I have to angle my boat in the garage in a way that the back of one corner basically touches the back wall. Talk about a tight fit!

[bobbymalone]

bobby- maybe I wasn't clear enough.

ohh. that makes more sense. I thought you were worried about an extra 50 feet worth of distance per gallon

gramps has had them on his boat permanently for the last 10 years and not had a problem, but like duffman says if you are worried about it - 4 wingnuts and 30 seconds of time at the launch.

[Duffman]

You still might be able to fit the boat in the garage with them on, I have room to spare between the edge of the guard and the corner of the boat. Don't leave them in the boat if you take them off while trailering, I'm guessing they'll become airborne pretty easily.

[jwmiller33]

Wow Duff, that is an awesome looking boat you have there! Pretty much my ideal rig right there. I love the open floor space provided by the tiller.

Also, that is a great looking golden you got there! I have a golden too!

[Duffman]

Goldens, a guy couldn't ask for a better fishing partner. It'll be summer number 6 with the rig, my wife said last summer that I must really love my boat, when I asked her why she said that, she replied because I was always smiling in it.

Good luck with the splashguards, I really think they "complete" the make-up of a tin boat.

[OnAFly]

For anyone considering making their ownsplash guards, use polycarbonate. You can machine and bend it like aluminum. It doesn't crack, it just yields. This is also nice for if you accidentally catch something on them. Poly isn't as brittle as Plexi, so they will bend, not break.

It will cost more, but it will be much more durable. I would think that these brand name guards are probably made out of this stuff.

[jwmiller33]

For anyone considering making their ownsplash guards, use polycarbonate. You can machine and bend it like aluminum. It doesn't crack, it just yields. This is also nice for if you accidentally catch something on them. Poly isn't as brittle as Plexi, so they will bend, not break.

It will cost more, but it will be much more durable. I would think that these brand name guards are probably made out of this stuff.

the whitecaps are made out of polycarbonate

[hamms-scooter]

First off great looking goldens . I love the look of both of your boats. I think the splash guards would really round off and complete your rig jw. I love the remodel you did to it and i am also looking into some for my boat. Was thinking of making some but you can find them cheap as take offs on HSO-Classifieds. Would just have to make sure everything was fit and might not be worth the trouble. ... I have a 16' lowe lunker v.

[jwmiller33]

thanks for the kind words hamms-scoot. I got my whitecaps shipped to me last Friday and installed them on the boat in about an hr and then took the boat up to Duluth to fish over the weekend. They look great on my rig! I didn't get a good pic of my boat on the water with them, but I did snap this quick pic with my cell phone in the garage shortly after installing them. I can't wait to break out the leadcore rods and put these babies to good use

[Northlander]

You are back trolling with leadcore? Those whitecaps look sharp!

[goose89]

Ya, I was curious about that as well. If I remember right you had a night time back-trolling leadcore pattern going on last fall that I'd never heard of. Care to elaborate how deep / what speed you back-troll at night with lead??

[jwmiller33]

Ya, I was curious about that as well. If I remember right you had a night time back-trolling leadcore pattern going on last fall that I'd never heard of. Care to elaborate how deep / what speed you back-troll at night with lead??

Ya backtrolling with lead. It doesn't matter which direction your boat is going when trolling, your lure looks exactly the same to the fish. It is all about speed. Speed is the most important part of the trolling equation IMHO. I can troll down with my big motor to .9 mph when I go in reverse (ie backtrolling). When I go forward, the slowest I can go is about 1.3 or so. You can troll down slower going in reverse because there is more drag on the boat going backwards (boats are made to go forward with the least amount of resistance). I have found that my ideal trolling speed for pulling plugs w/ lead is anywhere from 1.0-1.3 mph. Thus, backtrolling is how I troll lead. Every boat/motor is going to be different w/ what speeds you can do. If I am pulling spinners, I will use the trolling motor b/c I like to go a little slower for that, right around .8-1.0 mph.

As for my pattern that I found for pulling plugs late at night, it was late fall and I was up shallow. No deeper than 8 feet. Ideal depth range I targeted was 4-6 ft. Basically just troll the shallows doing S turns and you will find the fish b/c they are up shallow gorging themselves on forage while they are putting on the pre winter feed back. Planer boards would work for the same situation if you are worried about spooking the fish if you are trolling with your big motor, but I didn't find the fish to be spooked at all by doing this. These 3 walleyes were all caught on the same night.

The proof is in the pudding

[goose89]

So how many colors are you pulling in 4-6 feet??

I'm a more traditional 1.8-2.5mph, with 2.0-2.2the starting range when forward trolling lead in water greater than 20ft most of the time.

I've never heard of slow-back-trolling lead. I would think it'd be hard to feel your lures or know when you're draggin. But, the proof is in the puddin....backtrolling leadcore in 4-6 feet of water at night....who would have thunk???

[jwmiller33]

Goose, I hear ya. I used to be a "traditional troller" w/ the speeds of >1.8 mph until last year. Time of year has a lot to do with speed as well. As for trolling, as long as you are trolling fast enough to get the crank to run true, you are going to be at the same depth whether you are running 1.5 mph or 2.5 mph (This is if you are long lining mono or fireline, not using lead). Important to note, the slower you go w/ leadcore, the more the line sinks and gets your lure deeper. The faster you go, your lure will run higher up in the water column. This is a useful tool incase you suddenly troll over a sharp increase in depth, just give it some gas and you lures will rise up over the obstacle and not get snagged.

As for number of colors I was running up shallow, it is completely dependent on which crank you are using and how long of a mono leader is attached to your lead. I have 2 trolling combos rigged with lead and one has a 50 ft mono leader and another has about a 15 ft leader. The cranks I was using varied from husky jerks, jointed shad raps, lindy shadlings, salmo hornets and plain old original floater rapalas. Each lure is going to be different, so you need to trial and error/guess and check until you get each lure dialed in. Once you find the right amount of line to have out, make note of that number on the line counter and then you are golden for replicating that presentation. When we had this late night backtrolling lead bite dialed in, I was running anywhere from 45-80 ft on my line counter, which meant I was usually using about .5 - 1 color of lead (depending on how long my leader was). Another guy in the boat was long lining mono w/ the line counter too. There are a million ways to get cranks 5 ft down, you just have to find the one you are most comfortable with.

Like I said before, as long as you are going fast enough to get the crank to run true, the depth the plug is running at isn't going to change. Remember, the slower you go w/ leadcore the more the line sinks and gets your lure deeper. However, that isn't as big of a factor when you are only running 1/2 to 1 color of lead. If you ever find yourself in a situation where the walleye bite is neutral (not aggressive), try lowering your speed to the 1.2 mph area... I have found slower to be better for finicky eyes.