Help!

A

Angler

New member
Greetings C-Brats and thanks for accepting me. My daughter lives in the Seattle area and on a recent visit we spent a long weekend on San Jaun Island. (beautiful) It was there that I saw my first C-Dory and it was love at first sight, literally. I live in WNY and primarily fish Lake Ontario salmon. With occasional trips to Lake Erie and both the upper and lower Niagara river. My sights and budget lean towards the 22 Angler or cruiser. Here are my questions.
1. Does the 4' or so of stern space on the 22 cruiser allow for enough space to fish 4-6 rods, both riggers and dipseys.
2. What age stops making sense for solid hull (boats) Not concerned so much with power I can fix that.
3. Any Great Lakes owners here who want to advise on their experiences?
4. Who has a 22 for sale.

Thanks in advance for any and all input.
 
Not a fisherman here, so I will defer to those that are.
AS the wanting a 22, the best place to look is on the C-BRATS Home page, bottom right corner. Be advised, the good ones go fast. Sometime so fast the ink isn't dry on the computer screen :wink: Soooo, Be sure and know what you want, Have your $$$ all lined up in a row, and be willing to travel, 'cause sometimes the right boat for you is not around the corner or in the same county, but across a few state lines. Go, look and take it home. If you see the one you want listed, call or PM Right Now, and get an address to send a check to hold your first option to buy, THEN arrange for survey and mechanical inspection with the sale pending on those results. Hesitate and someone else is going to be fishing out of your boat.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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Angler":2z1j8yhx said:
Well then...that was a positive owner response. Thank you Harvey, advise is noted.
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On your number 3, again, no Great Lakes experience here, except watching Michigan from the shore for a year, but a C-Dory will handle more water than you will want. I boat in the PNW, mostly north up into Canadian water. I have been in 6-8 foot following seas, 30% whitecaps, I have crossed Juan de Fuca Strait in 4-5 foot beam seas, on occasion, and had head seas of 3-5 feet in Knight Inlet and Johnstone Strait, (up toward the northern end of Vancouver Island. Comfortable, not really, but afraid for my life, no, not really either. These boats are built like the proverbial brick __ house, so if you can take it, and know what you are doing the boat will handle it. Would I recommend going out into those conditions, NO. And I don't, but conditions change over time and distance. What you have here and now is not what you will have 30 or 80 miles upstream, 3,4 or 8 hours later. Going out into open water -- for me that is anything outside of Sequim Bay, The forward hatch is closed, and the front center window is closed. Depending on the sea state and weather, (heat mostly), I may or may not have the side windows open. Depending on the sea state and weather, I determine "Go or No Go" status. Sea state dictates speed. I don't pound!! Crossing Strait of Juan, I want a 3 hour window of winds at 10-12 max, prefer 5 or less. It's 25 miles across, with 5 miles of fetch protection, after that it is straight out to the open Pacific with westerly's prevailing.

I don't know your weather there, so you need to determine your situation. Remember, the boat will take more than you want, but that does not mean you just through yourself at it. Start easy and stay careful. Stay safe.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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I don't fish, but I've had my 22 cruiser out on Lake MI and Lake Erie (Sandusky, Islands area, Vermillion) among other places. Definitely doable.

However, there will be times when the bigger boats might go out, but you'd be better served staying home. In those situations, it's not that the C-Dory can't handle it, but it'll be an uncomfortable ride and probably not worth it.

A C-Dory is not a heavy boat, so it doesn't really punch through waves. It tends to go up and over.
 
Harvey, Ssobol, We choose our days wisely on the great lakes. Good to know the C-Dory will get us home on a quick weather change.

Thanks,
 
Angler":2wyp2ghk said:
Harvey, Ssobol, We choose our days wisely on the great lakes. Good to know the C-Dory will get us home on a quick weather change.

Thanks,
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FWIW, a couple of years ago, we went across the Chesapeake from Annapolis to Cambridge, MD. It was blowing a bit, overcast, raining from time to time, and the waves in the bay were up and confused. After we arrived and docked more than one person came up to us and said "You came across the bay today in THAT!?" I told them "Yeah, it wasn't a big deal." Those people had a hard time believing that.
 
22 angler is great for fishing. Are you asking about fishing 4 to 6 rods ( as on the great lakes you can fish as many rods as you want ) or are you asking about fishing with 4 to 6 guys ( as in the pnw you are allowed one rod per person???? ) See if you are looking to fish 6 rods. 2 0n downriggers 2 on divers and 2 on boards then yes you can. I used to run that set up out of a 12 foot alum boat on lakes for trout. but 4 people would be the max in a angler and 3 in a cruiser. with one guy on the wheel all the time. It all depends on which question you were really asking.
 
Thomas, Sorry for the confusion. My question was all about space and not necessarily anglers. In example, could I mount (fish) two down rigger rods and run 2 dipsey rods on a 22 cruiser and find any comfort of space with 2-4 anglers on board? Not all need to be in the cockpit at the same time. I like the cruiser cabin but reality is, primarily I fish!
 
have fished on 22cruiser many times 2 Down-riggers 2 dipseys is workable could maybe add trolling board to mix problem is when you add a cooler and say 2 crew in cockpit area it gets tight ....to play and land a fish around all that fishing gear can be done but is not optimal Throwing in a bit of Lake Superior seas can create a cluster f...!
 
I have not fished that many rod here in the PNW but you could fish two downriggers and two dipsys just fine I think. You could even set out two side planers. but i will say that an auto pilot is going to be a necessity. narrow flat bottoms boats are awful at holding a course with no one at the wheel if you are trolling by yourself setting gear or reeling fish. 4 lines in the water at that time might be a PITA.
 
My feeling is that more than 5 rods (two each side, one straight aft) is about max for an 22' boat. Two people in the cockpit of a 22 is about all I would want when fishing.. 4 fish on would be a circus. It is not the physical layout, but the mechanics of reeling in and then boating the fish. (Gaff or net).

Years ago I had a dedicated 26' in board sport fisher--3 in the cockpit (bigger than the C Dory 25) was about max either trolling or live bait fishing. Even 2 fish on at once was difficult.
 
We regularly fish board lines in Lake Superior. On Wisconsin waters my wife and I run 6 rods; with another angler we run 8 rods.

I have a new-to-me C-Dory 22; I went simple and cheap to start with it (no holes drilled). Here is our port setup (same on starboard). 3 board line rod holders on the upper mount; 2 rod holders and rigger on the lower setup for dipsy and/or downrigger rods. We trailer to the better water temps -- mainly fishing the upper 60 feet. I haven't been brave enough to put larger riggers on the boat yet.

C_Dory_RodHolderswRodsPort.sized.jpg

The holders remove easily for when cruising/camping.

Jim's cooler mod to the splash well is a game changer. Thanks for posting that.
 
Having a hard time determining exactly where to mount my down riggers on my 22 cruiser. Don't mind removing the factory rod holders, but don't want to lose my bimini for non fishing days. Any down rigger mount photos would really help me. Thank you in advance.
 
we run 4 rods with lead, no downrigers , often on the Columbia. It's well orchestrated chaos with a fish on though with the cramped quarters. If you don't need it for beverages or food, leave that cursed cooler at home and hang a kill bag up across the stern, it's a much better way to handle fish.
 
I fish Lake Ontario salmon, water temperature is critical and down riggers are a must have. Two riggers and two dipsey diver rods is my set up.
 
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