First Year

[narrows11]

Alright so I turn 16 right before fishing season and this will be the first time I really take my families 12 foot boat out by myself or just fishing on it with just a buddy and not having my pops with me are there any last pointers I should know like about parking near a ramp or trolling techniques? Any help would be great! Thanks

[Steelheadin360]

well what lakes are you planning on fishing and what are you fishing for? poking around in some of the trout forums might yield some useful info for you

[narrows11]

My goal is to try and fish most of the lakes in pierce and kitsap county and mostly trout and bass. But I fished for Kokanee last year and had a great time deffinetly want to do that again also attempt to fish for perch

[narrows11]

Not quite sure if i will be able to squeeze all that in between baseball and football but I'm gonna try :D

[jd39]

Always wear some sort of pfd when out.
What kind of boat is it?
American is a great lake in pierce for all of those fish species.

[narrows11]

It's a 12 ft duraboat and good call with the pfd and American is a lake I fished last year and caught my first Koke! Really noce lake

[Steelheadin360]

I have never fished down there but the lakes cant be much different then up here. a good sonar can help you locate fish, also finding underwater fish hiding spots. One dirty trick i use for perch, take a 15 ft chunk of mono and put a snap swivel on one end and a bobber on the other. catch a perch- attatch, then let it go and it will go find the school again. fish next to the float but make sure you remove it at the end of the day.

I fish out of a small boat as well and boat an inflatable pfd and hardley notice im wearing. just remeber to be thoughtful of the other fishermen on the lake and follow the general fishing guidelines and im sure youll be seat. running a boat is a bit of a learning curve but the effort is well worth the reward!

[narrows11]

Haha that's a good trick! I will have to try it someday thanks!

[jd39]

It's a 12 ft duraboat and good call with the pfd and American is a lake I fished last year and caught my first Koke! Really noce lake

Nice, those are good boats. Steelheadin offered good advice. If you've never backed up and launched that boat on your own before i'd hit a slower lake or go in the off season to pratice a few times. Good luck and tight lines.

[narrows11]

Thanks! I think it will be a great first boat

[rcthepirate]

I have never fished down there but the lakes cant be much different then up here. a good sonar can help you locate fish, also finding underwater fish hiding spots. One dirty trick i use for perch, take a 15 ft chunk of mono and put a snap swivel on one end and a bobber on the other. catch a perch- attatch, then let it go and it will go find the school again. fish next to the float but make sure you remove it at the end of the day.

I fish out of a small boat as well and boat an inflatable pfd and hardley notice im wearing. just remeber to be thoughtful of the other fishermen on the lake and follow the general fishing guidelines and im sure youll be seat. running a boat is a bit of a learning curve but the effort is well worth the reward!

Love it. Can't speak to the legality of your poor man's fish finder, but it sure is clever. My grandma used to tell me about how her dad would catch channel cats by tying a line onto a beer can w/rotten chicken guts for bait. He would just toss it in the middle of the lake and go pick it up the next morning.

[Steelheadin360]

I just look at it as a very big livewell. Most lakes are no min size no daily limit for perch anyway so i dont think most people would mind. Nothing against it in the rule books

[DavidA]

Narrows11
I'm in north Kitsap and fish Kitsap, Jefferson and Mason lakes. I'd be happy to suggest a few that would be good ones to start with i.e. not too busy, decent launch area, not bad for wind, (and decent fishing!). I fish a 12' inflatable that I've modified and recently have had my son-in-law along with me. If you'd like to know there's someone else on the lake with you, just in case, I'd be happy to let you know when and where I'm planning to fish, around the days you're interested.
Plan ahead, and if things don't go quite as planned, stay calm and think things through. Good luck.

[rcthepirate]

I just look at it as a very big livewell. Most lakes are no min size no daily limit for perch anyway so i dont think most people would mind. Nothing against it in the rule books

Wasn't trying to knock it at all, and I agree 100%. Perch don't seem to be hurting in numbers.

[jd39]

I just look at it as a very big livewell. Most lakes are no min size no daily limit for perch anyway so i dont think most people would mind. Nothing against it in the rule books

Wasn't trying to knock it at all, and I agree 100%. Perch don't seem to be hurting in numbers.

Yeah they breed like rabbits and need to be harvested for their own good. Take as many out as you can eat or use for bait. I like removing perch from kokanee and trout lakes and so they don't negatively impact those populations. They taste great too! A cajun spiced breaded & pan fried perch fish sandwich is one of my favorite lunches!

[narrows11]

DavidA that sounds great and a good idea! I will deffinetly be in contact with you coming closer to fishing season thanks I've heard there is quite a few quality lakes in mason county are there many that are easier to launch from?

[DavidA]

Narrows11. Let's plan on it then! A problem you will face later on in the year is jet skiers and water skiers, but early on, traffic at the launches is not bad at all. Opening day of course, will likely be busy everywhere for fishing. You may want to consider one of the lakes that is open year round so you can try everything before the crowds arrive. I'm getting out about every other weekend, now. Three such lakes are Kitsap, in Kitsap Co., Leland, in Jefferson Co. and Spencer, in Mason Co. You can read fishing reports on all of them on this site and if you go to the individual Lakes Reports, there are several pix of each, largely thanks to Bob Johansen! These should give you some idea what to expect, and the maps give you a good idea of what the bottom is like. You could also use something like Google Earth or MapQuest, with satellite image layering to zoom in and see what the launches and lake edges look like.

[gfakkema]

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[The Quadfather]

You've got most of the goood advice already. I was going to say ++1! on the comment about having a back up system for you getting back to the launch. Even though I am in salt water often times, I keep my electric Minn Kota attached to the transom for emergencies. It should never be used in salt, and the amount of propulsion it has in tidal current is worthless... but that being said, this past summer it saved my bacon, and got me into the marina.

The point that I just wanted to make was,,, if you are ever going in and out of the launch, and are having what feels like any trouble getting things lined up, etc. Do not let anybody who is impatient with your boat retrieval, stress you out. As long as you prep your boat/load it while still away from the launch.... then you just do it safely and how you are comfortable. there are a lot of really nasty people at busy launches, and you shouldn't let that stress you out.
(And those are often the people whoare doing stupid stuff like loading there boat while it's in the middle of the launch, etc.)

Have fun!

[jd39]

If you are taking the boat out for the first time, especially the first couple times for the season, I would recommend a few things. First, make sure all tabs/licenses for boat/trailer are current and that all lights/hitch locks/winches are in working order. Next, make sure that the motor(s) start and batteries are charged before you get to the lake. Nothing is worse than getting to the lake to find out that your motor doesn't work or batteries are dead when it would have been an easy fix at home. Always have necessary saftey gear (pfd's for everyone on board, whistle/flairs, lights for when it gets dark, etc). On a similar note, check to make sure that you know the capacities of your boat (max number of people, weight, horsepower etc). It's also never a bad idea to leave a float plan with someone who will not be with you so that if something goes wrong, then know when to expect you back or where to look if you don't make the deadline. I always check the weather forecast as well, because the weather may look fine when you go out, but wind and storms can come out of nowhere at times. When I go out, I almost always depend on a what I call the tri-fecta of propulsion (1st:gas motor, 2nd:trolling/electric motor, 3rd:oars/paddle). This way, if one or more methods fail on you, you always have at least some way to get back to the shore/launch. For the first little while, I also would not go out further than you are willing to paddle/row back. If you do have a problem for some reason, you don't want to be 5 miles out and realize that you have to row back. Once your experience and confidence grows, then you venture farther. Also, I'm not sure what size motor you have on the boat, but you will need a boaters license to operate anything bigger than 15 horsepower (a little oversized for most 12' boats, but I have seen bigger installed before depending on boat dimensions/capacity). I'm sure that I will think of 10 more things to help, but this is a good list to get you started.

+1, all great advice! This pretty much lays out how i got started and things I currently do to stay as safe as possible when out. In a 12' it doesn't take much weather before it's time to decide not to go out or get off the water. I have a 12' livingston, a tank of a boat for a 12'er, but I'm still very cautious. It simply isn't worth the risk to be otherwise.