Thunder Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 I bought a 5.5m Cruise Craft which needs a bit of cleaning up and I want to set it up for fishing. What is the ideal setup for fishing? I have 2 reversible seats at the front and the rest is open slather. Live Bait tanks. I am thinking of 2, 1 each side at the back because I don't know whether squid co-exist well with slimies and yakka and they probably squirt ink each time they are disturbed which is probably not that good for the fish. Otherwise, maybe a bigger one in the centre near the transom, and maybe a divider. Am I right, or do they co exist without eating each other? Cutting/Bait Board I am thinking of mounting this over the transom beside the outboard, but I don't want to have it in the way of rods and lines. Kill Tank I am thinking of having this running up the middle with a seat on top and maybe combining it with the single large live bait tank. Have any of you guys got pictures of your setups and can you list the good features and the downfalls with your setups. Any ideas and hints would be appreciated. Cheers Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flattieman Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 Thunder, squid and baitfish DO NOT coexist. Baitfish are one of the main prey items for squid - so putting the two together would be like a smorgasboard for the squid. Two live bait tanks sounds good - but one large one with clear partitions and double the water treatment/distribution apparatus is essentially the same. A kill tank integrated into this system sounds good too - just make it big! Mounting bait boards on the transom is quite popular - I think there may be a combined setup of rod holders and bait board... Hope this helps. Flattieman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
numbnuts Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 (edited) Mate the best thing you can do is dont rush it.Fish out of it for a while to make sure of all your options ,look at similar boats to see how they have set-up before you start cutting holes in it. Also there is a book called "Setting Up For #####ing" it has plenty of great set-up ideas. Sorry, that should be "SETTING UP FOR #####ING' computer gremlins #####ing Edited November 8, 2006 by numbnuts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
namesay Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 To throw a spanner into the works.... squid and bait fish can happily co-exist in a single bait tank as long as it is BIG. Squid ink although looks bad doesn't seem to harm the squid nor the baitfish. In my opinion it is better to have one LARGE bait tank than 2 small miniscule ones. Check also that you have a high volume water pump to have the water going through as squid really need a LOT of water. THis also means you gotta have excellent drainage as well. There are heaps of off the shelf tanks and kits so look around. Cheers Kelvin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aron Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 I seen a video where they have squid, yakkas, tailor, pike all in the same tank - kingfish secrets - the squid tend to congregate on the bottom with the bait fish at the top Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunder Posted November 9, 2006 Author Share Posted November 9, 2006 If I put one each side at the back and a kill tank/seat up the middle it may be hard to handle fish at the back of the boat and get to the bait board. I am now thinking 1 bigger live bait tank and the kill tank/seat in one line up the middle. That way we can get either side of the motor at the back. I think it will be a suck & see exercise. Cheers Greg Mate the best thing you can do is dont rush it.Fish out of it for a while to make sure of all your options ,look at similar boats to see how they have set-up before you start cutting holes in it. Also there is a book called "Setting Up For #####ing" it has plenty of great set-up ideas. Sorry, that should be "SETTING UP FOR #####ING' computer gremlins #####ing Numnuts, why don't you just come out and say what you really mean!!! I hope you are not being rude!!! #####ing BOAT#ing? FISH#ing? "Boat" and "Fish" are both 4 letter words, however SCREW fits!!! Cheers Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DV8 Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 If I put one each side at the back and a kill tank/seat up the middle it may be hard to handle fish at the back of the boat and get to the bait board. I am now thinking 1 bigger live bait tank and the kill tank/seat in one line up the middle. That way we can get either side of the motor at the back. I think it will be a suck & see exercise. Cheers Greg Numnuts, why don't you just come out and say what you really mean!!! I hope you are not being rude!!! #####ing BOAT#ing? FISH#ing? "Boat" and "Fish" are both 4 letter words, however SCREW fits!!! Cheers Greg Greg Its a tough life if you are deciding where to put both your live atnks, kill tanks, cutting boards etc. Luxury ehh!! Like kelvin said- just get out there and fish it for a while. Otheerwise youll end up with a whole lot of shit you didn't really want. your fishing often changes direction too somewhere along the course. Mine did when I got my first 5.5 kg reddie. Before that i was obsessed with Jews so you can see there is qiuite a difference to what my priorities were and are now. Good luck anyway. i am sure the reports will be rolling in befotre long and we will be asking you how to catch fish. Davo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Big-Banana Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 One main thing I regret about our boat set up is not getting a 2nd live bait tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
numbnuts Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 Guys I can assure you I was not trying to be rude or funny,for some reason [ I dont know Im not a computer geek] when I typed in sport , it came up right on my screen but different on the post, any way it is published by Bay Books I think, its a bit dated now but still has some great tips from DIY guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunder Posted November 14, 2006 Author Share Posted November 14, 2006 Guys I can assure you I was not trying to be rude or funny,for some reason [ I dont know Im not a computer geek] when I typed in sport , it came up right on my screen but different on the post, any way it is published by Bay Books I think, its a bit dated now but still has some great tips from DIY guys. Don't take it seriously, I wasn't !!! After reading the live bait tank thread, I bought 2 x 50L Eskies and I am thinking of putting them back to back on the floor in the middle and making a seat to come up the middle from there. That way there is plenty of room each side at the back if I have to chase a fish around the boat. Anyone have pictures of the inside of their boats that they can post up for ideas. Cheers Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heath Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 I've got your boats big brother, the Cruise Craft Explorer 600, which is pretty well setup for fishing. In relation to the two live wells. I've plumbed them both. One with the inlet up the top & the other with the inlet down the bottom. I use the one with the inlet down the bottom for livies such as pike & slimys as these fish require moving water and also it ensures oxygenated water all through the tank. The other tank is used for yakkas as they will survive just about anything. so it don't matter really if the water comes in the top & out the over flow. The pic shows my pump setup. Also where I have put rod holders for travelling to and from the ramp. My boat has a big kill tank already. How big? Big enough to fit Spaniards over 60lb in and room for more. Only a 30lber in there in this pic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heath Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 This pic shows the rod holders - Now you see them, now you don't. This pic shows the dual pickups. I put the rod holders as far back as possible. With one approx 45deg offset. Gets all the rods down the back of the boat & allows more room for things such as spinning. Also put Scotty rod holder brackets down each side as well. I use both the powerlocks & strikers. Pic of the bait board. It has a sink underneath where you can either keep bait or other bits n pieces. One thing I did do, is put a LED light strip along it. During the dark, it throws plenty oflight & cancels out your shadow from falling on the board, stopping you from seeing what you are doing. Pic of her side on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest IFishSick. Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 God I love the look of that boat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domza Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 great looking boat heath, thanks for sharing such a detailed post with me. It gave me a few idea's and your boat has EVERYTHING a good fishing boat should have. I will consider getting one of those led strips on my bait board, as i don't have deck lights and hate holding the damn torch all the time.(I do a lot of night fishing) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heath Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 The LED strips are water proof. I got a 70cm one & they work great. ( Pic of the bait board was taken befoe I got the LED strip) I'm thinking about mounting some lights flush in the bait board that face outwards. So when fishing of a night, the rods are illuminated so you can see whats going on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 Heath, that's a great set up and obviously you have put a great deal of thought into it. Very practical, neat and tidy. Nice size cockpit on her also. Cheers Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kantong Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 mate that is a hectic looking setup! You have spent some time and money on that and the results show! very clean finish! If i get a boat, you may get a PM from me hehehehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
numbnuts Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 Thats an awesome rig youv'e got there.As for those LEDs , are they readily available at boating stores?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domza Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 jaycar sell them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunder Posted November 15, 2006 Author Share Posted November 15, 2006 Thanks for the pictures Heath, that is a great setup. My fuel tank takes up most of the under floor area up the middle, but I am going to move it further forward to give more room down the back. Maybe there will be enough room for either the live bait tanks or a kill tank. I have already bought some LED lights off ebay, just waiting for them to arrive. Anyone else with pictures? These photos give all of us useful ideas on setting up our boats. Cheers Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heath Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 When we were looking for a new boat we had a list of features we definately wanted & the Cruise Craft Explorer 600 fitted the bill nicely. A lot of planning did go into the setup. Many an afternoon with a rod in each holder deciding where to put different things. Quadriple checking everything before drilling holes..LOL Took an hour for us to drill the hole through the transom for the second pump pickup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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