The Great Compromise
Boating Life -- June/July 1997
by Dave Ferrell

You've wanted it for years. A 20-foot, red metal-flecked, bass-chasing machine with enough juice hanging on its butt to get you and every piece of tackle you own airborne in under five seconds. You've scrimped and saved, and now you're ready to step up to the pumps and make a purchase. You ask the wife to come along to witness your moment of glory, and you return from the dealership with a fine, sporty little runabout that your whole family can enjoy.

What happened to your dream boat? Don't despair, it happens to the best of us. Personally, I have come to the conclusion (after wasting many hours losing arguments with my wife) that compromise is one of man's most noble traits. And believe me, by the time I'm 50 I'll be so noble that I'll be nudging big-eared Charles out for a piece of the crown.

Well, for whatever reason, you're now an angler with a ski boat. You'll find that fishing from a ski boat or runabout is not only possible, but comfortable - and more important, productive. With just a few modifications and a couple of accessories, you can turn that big chunk of upholstered, fiberglass comfort into a first-rate fish chaser. So, when you're sitting at the poker table next Friday night telling your buddies how you decided that a runabout was the best boat to buy and how you really didn't want that bass boat anyway - you won't be lying.

Hit the Deck

Unless you're soaking shiners, when you're bass fishing you're going to be doing a lot of casting. Bass boats are built sleek and low to the water so anglers can cast without obstruction from the gunwales while sitting down or leaning on a pedestal seat. Runabouts are built just the opposite. High gunwales keep equipment, children and uncoordinated individuals in the boat and out of the props. Since you can't make a cast from the bottom of a bucket and you don't want to be standing up all day, make it easy on yourself and construct a casting deck in the bow, complete with removable pedestal seat or leaning post.

If your front seats are too low, and you can't get the height you need by setting the casting deck on the seats, don't sweat it. Use length adapters to elevate the seat. Also, try to build in space that will allow you to add on accessories and equipment at a later date - you can never have enough stuff up there. The more space you have available, the better. Some runabouts have enough room up front for a platform that accommodates two or more people - without the pedestal seat - to stand and cast.

Don't ignore the back of the boat - see if there is room that would accommodate a pedestal seat arrangement. It's a lot more fun to fish with some company, and most runabout types have enough room in the back for one or two people to fish. For more detailed instructions on building a casting deck, check out "Fishing From the Front" on page 58.

Think Velcro and Suction Cups

Whether you're a first-time fisherman or a tobacco-juice-stained tournament veteran, the second stage of your boat's makeover involves figuring out what kind of accessories are out there and how they will fit your particular boat's needs. To save yourself a lot of time and heartache, pick up a copy of the Bass Pro Shops catalog (800-227-7776). The one now occupying over a third of my desk space has more than 400 pages filled with every freshwater fishing accessory imaginable.

Portability should be your target word. Unless you want your kids playing sword fight with a pair of $200 bait-casting outfits or pretending to be Capt. Kirk with your depth-sounder buttons, you're going to want to be able take your fishing equipment off the boat quickly and easily. Let's face it, if you make things too hard to get off, you're going to leave them on.

One glaring omission (at least to us fishermen) in runabout design is the complete lack of rod storage. Rods are delicate, and they have the life expectancy of an east African coup d'etat-installed government if they are not stored properly. Kwik Tek's portable Fishing Rod Rack uses giant suction cups and adjustable straps to hold up to six rods and reels in a horizontal position, or 12 if you let the rods stand vertically. With this rack, any flat, slick surface now becomes a potential rod storage area. The straps between the cups are fully adjustable - out to 22 inches - and the cups have little pull tabs so you can release them. As an added bonus, you can use the rack to transport rods in your truck or for home storage.

Since you can't leave them on your boat, you're going to be carrying your rods and reels around a lot - loading them and unloading them every time you fish. I've probably ruined over 30 rods in my long fishing career - and only one while fishing. The rest were trimmed by car doors, misplaced steps or the buzz-saw-like action of a ceiling fan. Do yourself and your rods a favor and pick up a carrier like the Extreme Combo Carrying Case. It holds up to eight rods and reels up to 6'6" in length. Each combo locks into place with Velcro straps that keep tangles to a minimum. Completely padded to protect all your gear, the case comes with a shoulder strap to help you lug it to the car when full.

And speaking of lugging things, how much of the tackle that you carry on a fishing trip do you ever use? If you're like me, you like to drag along every piece of tackle you've ever bought - just in case. Here's some advice: 1) Stop being like me; and 2) Get a modular soft-sided box like Extreme's President bag or one of Plano's Tackle Logic systems that hold storage boxes that can be switched out to match the fishing you'll be doing.

Extra space on all boats is a luxury, so using one bag that holds all the tackle you'll need for a particular trip is definitely a bonus. You really don't need those 3-ounce lead weights you use for river catfish when the bream are biting. Removeable plastic storage boxes let you leave behind the things you don't need, allowing you to customize your tackle supply to each outing. The hard part is convincing yourself that you won't need that jar of pork-rind frogs your mom gave you when you were 12.

The tackle bags are made of super-tough materials that will hold up as long as the old hard-plastic models you grew up with. Plus, they just about force you organize your tackle in an efficient way. (They're not even called tackle bags; they're called "tackle management systems.")

Electrically Speaking

We live in the electronic age, so it shouldn't surprise us that things electrical have crept into the serenity and solitude of fishing. Gone are the days of the johnboat and cane pole (unless you make your living as a magazine writer). Nowadays, fishing boats come equipped with depth sounders, fish finders, trolling motors, temperature sensors, satellite navigation systems and live-well setups that you'll probably be able figure out just about the time you're ready to sell the boat.

The good news is that there are many manufacturers out there making portable and semi-portable systems to fit the needs of the conversion-minded individual. Most use either batteries or 12-volt DC power supplied by an extra battery or two. But never fear, once you put in your casting deck you should have plenty of room underneath to store at least two batteries.

You can't fish with any degree of stealth or control from the front of any boat without a good trolling motor. And since most runabouts are lot bigger than most bass boats, I'd opt for a trolling motor that really packs some thrust. Pick one that has at least 50 pounds of thrust (the more the better) and a shaft long enough to reach the water from the high deck common to ski boats. Most manufacturers make shafts up to 60 inches so finding one that fits your boat shouldn't be a problem. If a trolling motor isn't an option for you, a sea anchor will keep you steady and slow you down when the wind picks up and starts blowing you around.

You're going to want a removable mount for your trolling motor, and Swivl-eze makes one especially designed for fish-and-ski applications. Constructed of black anodized aluminum, this removable mount adapts to most motors and features nylon covers that go over the mounting plates when the motor is removed.

Runabouts usually don't have a flat place to mount instruments on or above the dash, but if yours does, try getting brackets that swivel so you can turn them for viewing from the front of the boat. Many instruments feature removable brackets that leave just a small receptacle in the deck or console when removed.

You're going to have to drill some holes somewhere sometime to mount most of your electrical accessories, so get over it and just do it. You'll be surprised how good it feels to put a hole into something so expensive - especially if you're one of the chosen few who can do things right the first time. Just be sure to measure everything twice and use a template when possible.

Eagle's Ultra III Portable and Humminbird's Wide One Hundred are both affordable, portable fish finders that offer almost as many features as more permanently affixed models. You can't go wrong with either. The hardest part about mounting any fish finder, however, is figuring out where to put the transducer (that little thing that hangs in the water and sends signals to the bottom). One way to mount the transducer is to get one of Tite-Lok's Portable Transducer Mounts that fits into your boat's drain hole. You can mount up to two transducers on the plate and it can be removed in seconds. (Just remember to put that plug back in!)

Johnny Ray Sports also makes an ingenious little gadget that allows you to mount the transducer to the foot of your trolling motor - a perfect solution for someone who needs portability without a lot of hassle.

Keeping bait alive is a challenge on boats that have live wells designed for that sole purpose. Doing so on a runabout would be near impossible if it weren't for products like Marine Metal Products' 12-volt aeration system, the Catch Saver. This handy tool aerates and cools up to 35 gallons of water in any type of container you choose. You can turn a 5-gallon bucket or your 100-quart cooler into a live well in about five minutes. It works well in both fresh and salt water and can even be used as an emergency bilge pump or spray-down hose in a pinch.

So there you have it. It's not hard to turn your runabout into a decent fishing machine with a little effort and even less money - a lot less than you would have spent converting a bass rocket into something your whole family could comfortably spend the day on. Especially when you factor in the cost of a good divorce lawyer.