The Outdoor Line Forum

Liquidated some a Tiderunner and some stuff around the house and just got my first drift boat. Willie 16x54 setup perfectly for the kind of fishing I want to do, cant wait to start practicing! Couple questions for the drift boat owners out there...what type of leader dispenser do you use in your boat and is there a way to make them yourself and save some cash? I thought I saw a writeup in salmon steelhead notebook about leader dispensers a few months back but unfortunately I dont have that issue. Anyway look forward to learning as much as I can about the art of drift boat rowing/ fishing and seeing some of you guys out on the river! If theres anybody in the Gig Harbor area who has some experience on the sticks and wants to go fishing let me know as I would love to pick your brain.

Don't worry about a leader dispenser yet, you'll be too busy on the oars to fish much anymore.


Good luck & have fun.

Nicely done! I'm not worth much advice when it comes to a drift boat but congrats, looks like your in for some good times ahead.

You'll be very happy with your purchase! I rowed a 16x54 Willie for over a decade and loved the heck out of that boat. First thing you'll want to do is get ahold of the guys at Lee Lock anchor systems and pick up one of their driftboat anchor systems. You can pull the anchor with one hand with their setup. Pretty sure Lee and Eric can also fit you up with some leader rollers and if not you can get them from Motion Marine. I'm in the harbor also and can help you out as much as I can.

How exciting! I remember towing my first Drift Boat home from Yakima. I grinned the whole way home looking in the rear view most of the way! Great advice from Robbo about the Leelock anchor system, I have it in my boat and I love it! Helps you get on the sticks quicker when pulling your anchor. Try some Oar Rights too. I see they have a new design that allows you to switch from a static position to a feathering position. Clackacraft has a video out on boater safety and rowing basics, might wanna check it out. Congratulations, see you out there!

Thanks for the tips guys I will definately pick up one of the Lee Lock systems sounds like the best/safest way too go! Fortunately the oars came with oar rights so that was a big plus and a full size break down oar for a spare. Watched Bob Kratzers float fishing talk at the sportsmans show and he talked a lot about bobber doggin. Would like to utilize this technique... does anyone utilize this technique and if so what would be an affordable rod to pick up x2 for the guys up front?

I use this technique quite regularly, its a great way to fish an entire hole out of a drift boat when you can't necessarily anchor up in the perfect spot to drift fish it. It's a long liners delight. For float fishing from shore I use a 10'6" rod, but that is extremely cumbersome out of a boat. I would suggest something in the 9' range for your boat. A rod in the 6-12 or 8-17 pound range is most popular. Fetha Styx new homewater Rods are Awesome for this technique, but if your looking for an economical option there is plenty of less expensive sticks on the market that will suffice. My buddy outfitted his entire boat recently with Fenwick Rods, an old school rod company but I played around with them last weekend and saw them in action fighting fish and they seemed to handle the job just fine.