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I really love fishing and plan to do some from the Mac. I know this boat isn't the best fishing vessel but do you guys have any pointers or any mods that you love in regards to fishing? We have rod holders and a pretty good fish finder/chartplotter. Thanks!

We almost always troll 1 or 2 lines when sailing in the bay and normally can catch supper if we feel like it. Best tip I got was to pick up a few Cuban yoyos for trolling. They take no room to store, no tangle mess, and you leave them rigged ready to go, the rig wraps around it for storage. Its very easy to drop 1 or 2 over while sailing so I find I do it much more frequently.

Who says you can't fish off a Mac?
Seapup, we call those hoochies here and use different colours but same look and idea. I'll fillet and salt a few herring and put a single fillet on the hook as well. it makes the rig spin/roll (slow and big is best) and a flasher a few feet in front of it really brings the fish in. All this we do off down riggers or a planner board (dipsy diver). Each area has its own techniques so ask aroudn and see what works best

Buddies 140lber last year off our boat

My wife's 50lber a few years back

A random king from a few years back

yukonbob wrote:All this we do off down riggers or a planner board (dipsy diver).

I've used a down rigger to fish for salmon here at the mouth of the Columbia, but that was on my Father-in-Law's boat. I'm not sure how I would mount it on my . Do you have a picture of how you did it?

Jeff

No pics just a video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf21cT326lU

those halibut and salmon are awesome thanks for the pointers! Seapup-Are you just trolling a handline? No rod?

yukonbob wrote:No pics just a video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf21cT326lU

Looks like fun. I miss my Australian Shepard! Did you mount the bracket permanently? Did you have to take out the foam and bolt from the underside?

Jeff

C Buchs wrote:

yukonbob wrote:No pics just a video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf21cT326lU

Looks like fun. I miss my Australian Shepard! Did you mount the bracket permanently? Did you have to take out the foam and bolt from the underside?

Jeff

Through bolted. No glassed in foam in these boats. (at least the M's) Foam is only placed in large accessible voids. Just drill from top, hole saw access underside a little bigger bolt base on and embed, install caps on holes if you so wish. Fg is thick there.

Here is our downrigger set up.
http://www.macgregorsailors.com/modt/in ... ?view=1829

A long handle net helps overcome the high free-board, plus its a little awkward on the X with the boom and the backstay getting in the way when working the fish to the boat ... sometimes have to work the boat around to the fish

Wind Chime wrote:plus its a little awkward on the X with the boom and the backstay getting in the way when working the fish to the boat ...

The rigging being in the way was a big reason why I ditched my salmon rod and started using an old lighter halibut rod and reel; Much shorter for manoeuvring and more control over the fish although you have to be careful you don't rip you're hook out. They are also much easier to stow.

From another site:

Claude was the only one in the community catchin’ any fish. Folks was goin’ and they wasn’t catchin’ nothin’. Old Claude Ledbetter, he’d come with a pickup truck loaded down. So the State Game and Fish Commission of Mississippi decided they’d go fishin’ with Claude, just see how he was catchin’em. Claude told ’em – popped off – said, y’all don’t know how to do it. Y’all ought to just go with me and watch me.
Well, the game warden got in the boat with him and they took off out in the middle of the river.
The game warden said, “Alright Claude, I’m gonna see how you catchin’ all these fish when cain’t nobody else catch none.”
Claude raised the lid on the boat seat, got a big, long stick a dynamite. Lit the fuse on it. Let it go down kinda short, then drawed back and chucked it. Boom! Them big catfish come turnin’ they belly up, whoopin’ it outa that water, and Claude was just gettin’em by the tub full.
The game warden said, “Boy, that’s against the law, you cain’t do that. Don’t you know you’re breakin’ the law?”
Well, Claude done lit another big stick a dynamite, handed it to the game warden; it goin’ phsssssh!
The game warden took that stick a dynamite and said, “This is against the law! You cain’t do this!”
Claude said, “You gonna set there and argue, or fish?”

A-1 Boss wrote:I really love fishing and plan to do some from the Mac. I know this boat isn't the best fishing vessel but do you guys have any pointers or any mods that you love in regards to fishing? We have rod holders and a pretty good fish finder/chartplotter. Thanks!

dlandersson wrote:From another site:

Claude was the only one in the community catchin’ any fish. Folks was goin’ and they wasn’t catchin’ nothin’. Old Claude Ledbetter, he’d come with a pickup truck loaded down. So the State Game and Fish Commission of Mississippi decided they’d go fishin’ with Claude, just see how he was catchin’em. Claude told ’em – popped off – said, y’all don’t know how to do it. Y’all ought to just go with me and watch me.
Well, the game warden got in the boat with him and they took off out in the middle of the river.
The game warden said, “Alright Claude, I’m gonna see how you catchin’ all these fish when cain’t nobody else catch none.”
Claude raised the lid on the boat seat, got a big, long stick a dynamite. Lit the fuse on it. Let it go down kinda short, then drawed back and chucked it. Boom! Them big catfish come turnin’ they belly up, whoopin’ it outa that water, and Claude was just gettin’em by the tub full.
The game warden said, “Boy, that’s against the law, you cain’t do that. Don’t you know you’re breakin’ the law?”
Well, Claude done lit another big stick a dynamite, handed it to the game warden; it goin’ phsssssh!
The game warden took that stick a dynamite and said, “This is against the law! You cain’t do this!”
Claude said, “You gonna set there and argue, or fish?”

A-1 Boss wrote:I really love fishing and plan to do some from the Mac. I know this boat isn't the best fishing vessel but do you guys have any pointers or any mods that you love in regards to fishing? We have rod holders and a pretty good fish finder/chartplotter. Thanks!

That's a story from an old comic / storyteller who's name I cannot recall now... He was hilarious...... Ron.

mrron_tx wrote:

dlandersson wrote:From another site:

Claude was the only one in the community catchin’ any fish. Folks was goin’ and they wasn’t catchin’ nothin’. Old Claude Ledbetter, he’d come with a pickup truck loaded down. So the State Game and Fish Commission of Mississippi decided they’d go fishin’ with Claude, just see how he was catchin’em. Claude told ’em – popped off – said, y’all don’t know how to do it. Y’all ought to just go with me and watch me.
Well, the game warden got in the boat with him and they took off out in the middle of the river.
The game warden said, “Alright Claude, I’m gonna see how you catchin’ all these fish when cain’t nobody else catch none.”
Claude raised the lid on the boat seat, got a big, long stick a dynamite. Lit the fuse on it. Let it go down kinda short, then drawed back and chucked it. Boom! Them big catfish come turnin’ they belly up, whoopin’ it outa that water, and Claude was just gettin’em by the tub full.
The game warden said, “Boy, that’s against the law, you cain’t do that. Don’t you know you’re breakin’ the law?”
Well, Claude done lit another big stick a dynamite, handed it to the game warden; it goin’ phsssssh!
The game warden took that stick a dynamite and said, “This is against the law! You cain’t do this!”
Claude said, “You gonna set there and argue, or fish?”

A-1 Boss wrote:I really love fishing and plan to do some from the Mac. I know this boat isn't the best fishing vessel but do you guys have any pointers or any mods that you love in regards to fishing? We have rod holders and a pretty good fish finder/chartplotter. Thanks!

That's a story from an old comic / storyteller who's name I cannot recall now... He was hilarious...... Ron.

After racking My pea size brain..... I think the storytellers name was Jerry Clower from Yazoo city Mississippi

Seapup-Are you just trolling a handline? No rod?

Yup, Only sounds goofy until you try it though...

Kind of like boating places with the motor turned off sounds to non sailors

That was a random pic I grabbed from google, but I use a similar setup. Its a different type of fishing and I find it fun once you get used to it. Not ideal for everything, but keeps it simple when you are already sailing and can be surprisingly effective.

Here is a good write up of it
http://theotherchesapeake.blogspot.com/p/fishing.html

Seapup, Thanks for the post. I ordered a couple of those yo-yo from bass pro. I'll leave them on the boat with a couple lures for anytime we feel like dropping a line. When I was fishing in zihuantenejo in Mexico the local fisherman were 30 miles offshore fishing for giant tuna only using handlines in 14' aluminum boats. My guide said that's how they always do it. I was amazed then because these are fish that get up to 300-400 lbs.