Beginner boater lol

Just got my first boat its a 15' aluminum hull with a 1957 johnson sea horse 35 hp and i got a mercury 5 hp for trolling. I got a cannon easi troll down rigger that was givin to me it didn't have a base lol so pretty much a beginner at fishing from a boat my question is is it mandatory to have a fish finder? Also me and my friend have been trying to catch big lakers and carp lol pretty much just want to catch big fish! If i do need a fish finder does anyone have a old one laying around i could buy as well as a base for the cannon easi troll. Also any tips for using a down rigger are appreciated
Thanks and happy to be a part of this fourm!

Hey congratulations on your first boat, My fist one was a used 12 ft King Fisher with a Sears 10hp manual start. Good old boat. Caught a lot big trout up at Lake John, CO. back in the day.golucky You know what they say, the two happiest days of owning a boat, is the day you buy it, and the day you sell it.laugh hyst
Good luck and be safe. Remember everyone with a PFD, and on all the time.
CH

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Originally Posted by Awb019

Just got my first boat its a 15' aluminum hull with a 1957 johnson sea horse 35 hp and i got a mercury 5 hp for trolling. I got a cannon easi troll down rigger that was givin to me it didn't have a base lol so pretty much a beginner at fishing from a boat my question is is it mandatory to have a fish finder? Also me and my friend have been trying to catch big lakers and carp lol pretty much just want to catch big fish! If i do need a fish finder does anyone have a old one laying around i could buy as well as a base for the cannon easi troll. Also any tips for using a down rigger are appreciated
Thanks and happy to be a part of this fourm!

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Without a sonar, you are fishing blind. Good used sonars can be had on eBay as well as on KSL Classifieds. You can also find the base there as well.

You will be amazed how after you use a fish finder for a while, you will wonder how you ever fished without one!

I happen to have a very nice Lowrance HDS 5 Gen 2 sitting in my garage;) This is a pretty good unit, with powerful sonar, color screen and full GPS/chartplotter navigation. $300

If you are interested, send me a pm.....

Thanks for the replies those are outta my price range lol

When using a downrigger you pretty much have to know how deep the bottom is or you will loose a lot of weights and gear, I use the sonar to know the actual depth the weight are running at, it changes with forward speed, and it's nice to know there are fish in the area you are in, a lot of bear lake has no structure,

Im out of rock springs Wyoming so ill mostly be out near little fire hole wanted to take out the boat this weekend but i havnt got the ais sticker yet

Welcome to the forum I live in GR been fishing the gorge for over 30 years. My first boat was a 15 safe-t-mate tri hull ,with a old 55 hp Johnson. If you has two people on board one would have to get upon the bow to get the thing to get on plane.But it was a fun boat ,and a good boat to learn on. 90% of us have had to start slow and build up to what we wanted.You ask is it mandatory to have a ff with a down rigger. Not it's not,but without a good ff you are really fishing in the dark.Keep your eyes open ff's are for sale all over the internet. E-bay is a good place to start looking. If your on facebook,look at the classified ads for rock springs and green river.Good luck and hope you have a great time with your boat.

Thanks for all the replies cant wait to have more time to take the boat out lol did a little gr river fishing today had good luck!

To add on to what Tim(propnut69)was saying is back in our day a fishfinder was not in our budget, old school prevailed fishing with the deepest lure that was in your arsenal, internet & eBay was nonexistent, and when looking for a new fishfinder it was catalogs like Cabelas. For used equipment it was either drive around looking for a yard/garage sale or look at the classifieds of the daily newspaper and hope someone had something that caught your eye and you can justify the budget for it. We also share the growing pains aspect as we were getting more updated with our tooling, some more than others but satisfaction at the time is what counts. We might be dated but we never grew up when it came to FISHING. Catching a 16" trout always excited me when I was a kid because it was bigger than most pan fish I would catch and that excitement still hasn't changed today.

you can google fishing downriggers and you will find a ton of videos showing all the tricks....you really need a sonar unit....

Buying a sonar/fishfinder is best, but while you save up you can buy a fish-n-map for the gorge that will tell you where the fish are known to follow patterns and can typically be found https://www.fishnmap.com/catalogframe.php

I'd be lost without sonar now but back in the day my first boat didn't have any and I caught fish. I would just say to start saving for one and use it as is for now.

PS if you ever have any issues with that old Johnson let me know I am in Pinedale and rebuild antique outboards for fun, in fact I just finished a 1955 Johnson 25 hp which is almost the exact same motor as yours they just made minor carb and butterfly valve changes to get more horsepower.

I have a little Lowrance unit similar to this one http://www.basspro.com/Lowrance-Hook...ductextensions it's not the same model as its a couple years older but still works great. If your interested I could part with it for $60

Way to step up Mike and help a beginner. That small ff will be a lot better then nothing,and it looks like the price is right.
Again wtg.thumbsupthumbsup

Awesome thanks guys sorry i have not been active as much been working 14 hr days. Wyo307 i might take you up on that eventually she runs good but when full throttle it dies down like its not getting enough fuel. And mike where are you located?

These older motors tend to have varnish buildup in the carbs over time. A quick shot of sea foam, and maybe a shot of carb cleaner in the jets. If the fuel tank still has the old black rubber gas hose, it may have swelled up inside and needs to be changed to the gray long life hose. You may as well get it running right before it leaves you with a paddle for go power.
Good luck.
CH

Are you running it with an old two line pressure tank? If so I would start there to look for problems if one of the gaskets is bad in the tank or the fuel line fittings it will suck air and make it cut out at high throttle. If it is not that it is probably in the carb like COfisherman said. Let me know if I can help.

Thanks Tim! That's what this site is all about, people who love fishing helping others who love fishing! I'm in Rock Springs, I'm usually in from the field around 4:30. If you're interested shoot me a pm and we can get something going!