Kayak Koz

I **think** it might be relatively easy with Garmin and their Active Captain app and the right pair of glasses. The Garmin head unit can create a WiFi network and you can connect your phone to that network and use the Active Captain app to display Livescope on your phone. If you have AR glasses that connect to your phone you should be able to see Livescope on your glasses. It may have to connect through the AR app first. I’d love to try this, but for me it would cost a lot more than buying a pair of AR glasses because I would need prescription AR glasses. **UPDATE** XReal makes AR glasses that use The USB-C connection to show what is on your phone (i.e. the Active Captain app) on the AR glasses. This WILL work. They also have prescription lenses through partner websites. The glasses are about $450 and the prescription lens inserts are about $200. This might be my Christmas present to myself this year.

Dang you! 😀 I was hoping to stop pouring more money into my kayak!

I’m sure my i initial reaction will be a combination of awe and being overwhelmed. I’m sure that to get the most out of it the learning curve is steep. There’s also a big jump going from the Helix 7 to the EchoMap 9. It’s too bad the weather isn’t cooperating. I don’t mind fishing in the rain, but I don’t want to be out there learning the new electronics in the rain.

There was a break in the weather and the bracket for the DI/SI transducer finally arrived so everything is now installed and has fired up. I just need to find some time to get it on the water. All of the wiring is loose and not bundled or secured for now while I experiment with placement. For now, the head unit is on the port rail but I have a feeling that I'm not going to like it there. It's just too big. I'll try it there, then on the starboard rail. But this weekend I did build a prototype console mount that sits low on the deck and that may work the best for my needs. I'm just waiting for some longer track bolts to arrive so I can lock it down properly.

Between winter weather and lake conditions and the short bite window it can be frustrating. We all feel your pain. The good news is that the water is warming and the days are getting longer. Better fishing is right around the corner.

Amazing - the top 10 all weigh in with over 100 pounds. This tournament ended up being a showcase for forward facing sonar. We saw guys literally chasing down one big fish instead finding traditional "fishy" spots and attacking those spots. Among the top 10, eight of them were born after 1990. These are guys that grew up on technology and video games and I think that makes it much easier for them to adapt to and master FFS fishing. Moving forward, I wonder if BASS rolls with this technology or if they place limits on it. Maybe practice and the first round or two only, or have some tournaments with no FFS. And no, I'm not against FFS - I just installed it on my kayak this afternoon. I think it has become necessary if you want to compete in tournaments. As far the limited cameras, my guess is that within the next two years that BASS will require all participants to have multiple GoPro or similar cameras mounted on their boats and all of the action will be live streamed. For the TV broadcast they could simply switch to any boat and camera. The BASS website will probably also start a subscription service so you can login to the site and watch as many of the feeds as you want to watch.

Bravo! Winter fishing on my kayak always has me on high alert. And as much as I love fishing, I simply don't mess with heavy winds and cold water. Heck, I don't even like going out in heavy winds in the summer.

I think I’m going to build a console first and try that out. The best way I can describe it is a V-wing mount. While it means I will have to reach, it keeps the head unit out of the way of my fishing. This may work best if I use the Garmin unit for FFS only and use my Helix 7 for DI, SI, and Lakemaster mapping. I’ll build it out of wood and if it works well I can have someone fabricate an aluminum unit. I’m looking forward to trying different layouts.

With most kayaks, yes. However, if you look at where the forward facing rod holders, cup holders, and trays are there is no space to add track on the rails closer to my seat.

Rigging a kayak where space is limited takes a lot of thought. Between finding space to mount things, taking into account how you fish, weight distribution and balance, etc. it can be a task. I want to get it right before I start drilling holes. I’d hate to drill holes and run cable on one side only to find out I want that piece of equipment on the other side. Or maybe I drill on both sides and put blank through hull plates where I’m not currently running wires. Gotta go - my brain is overloading now!

The Livescope package, the new 9" Echomap package with the GT54 transducer, and the Fishing Specialties Livescope mount arrived today. But I had to order a mount for the GT54 transducer because the holes on the transom mount don't line up with the Old Town mounting plate. One thing I missed out on ordering was a through hull kit to run the Livescope wiring to the head unit, so that was ordered today as well. It looks like I'm going to have to pull out my Yak Power switch and relocate it to the bow hatch instead of the hatch under the seat because that's where the GLS 10 black box will have to go. Hopefully everything is here by Sunday when we get a break in the weather and I can get all of the Garmin stuff hooked up and install my deck lights. Speaking of lights and Yak Power, while their nav lights work fine, they don't stick to the hull. I have to glue them back on. Everything looks easy to hook up. I just hope I have enough cable to reach where everything needs to go. With kayaks, it's measure and test 4 times before you start drilling holes! The one thing I really don't like about my Autopilot is that the head unit is far away from the seat. For a short guy like me, that becomes a nuisance. With my Seastream Angler the rail track went right up to the seat and I could mount the head unit right there. Because I predominantly cast and fish left, with Livescope I want the head unit on the left. To make teh wiring easier that probably means the Livescope mount goes on the left as well. I may end up building a center console prototype as well.

As a kayak angler, the first thing I do before deciding to go out is check the hourly wind forecast and make the call as whether to fish or not. I was in a tournament a few weeks ago and headed to the dock early when frequent gusts hit the mid 20’s. It wasn’t fun out there and not worth the risk.

I thought that my 4.5 hour drive was bad but that’s nothing compared to your haul. FYI - there were over 250 anglers for the Lake Murray tournament. A full 1/3 of the field caught no keepers over two days.

I wish that would work for me. The only door wide enough for my kayak are the double doors off my two tiered back deck. I have a hard enough time loading this beast on my trailer bunks. I can pull most of the kayak into my big shed. I just need to rig up some lighting.

That’s quite alright. I appreciate your concern and doing some research. I actually found that website and offer just last night. And thanks to everyone else with your opinions and ideas. I took them to heart on making my decision.

That’s exactly what I just bought from them. But thanks for being kind enough to do some research. That’s exactly my thinking and why I’m going to hold on to the Helix for a little while longer. The good news is that the electronics and mounting pole will all be here by Thursday. The bad news is that it’s supposed to rain Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and I don’t have a garage and I don’t think my kayak will fit in the big shed to work on it.

After much research and hand wringing I bought a Garmin Livescope Plus bundle that also includes an Echomap UHD 93 GN+ head unit and the GT54UHD transducer. I also purchased the Fishing Specialties mount with the LVS34 multi view system. For now I'll rail mount the head unit and stow my Helix 7. I may build a center console mount if I don't like it on the rail. Who knows, maybe I'll end up ditching the GT54 transducer and then mounting both the Garmin and the Helix 7 on a center console. Anyway - that's it. After this I'm done spending more money on my kayak. Well, until they come up with species identification sonar units 😀

Well, I just order Livescope for my Autopilot 120 kayak, so I'm thinking of naming it "The Money Pit. or "Don't Ask How Much.""

Well, I finally took the advice of @flyfisher and the tongue extender arrived today. I immediately attached it and tried it out, and lo and behold I can back it up without having the trailer jackknife all over the place! Hooray! Now I need to get some longer safety chains and an extension for the wiring harness, Since I bought the trailer, I now have a much heavier Old Town Autopilot rather than the lighter Seastream Angler. That thing is a beast trying to load up on the bunks. The easiest way was to keep my Wilderness cart wheels attached, push it up on the bunks, then detach the cart. I thought about taking the bunks off, but wondered about load stability with the kayak sitting on the trailer frame. Hopefully all of that is moot now as I can now back the trailer down the ramp and into the water.

No, I wasn't good enough. But I managed to play D2. That was way back in the 80's.

Most of us have read stories about how sugar is bad for you, especially the refined and added sugars that show up in just about everything. We may know the hazards, but we don't do anything about it. About 4 weeks ago I decided that had to change. As I approach 60 my general health has been good. No aches or pains and no health issues other than getting a cold or two each winter. But I had gained a lot of weight. My work schedule is busy, and I commute 40 minutes each way to work and combined with finding time for chores and fishing makes a great excuse (sarcasm) for not working out. So for the past 4 weeks I've done a little cardio once or twice a week, but the biggest change was giving up sugar, and that has a huge ripple effect. I look at every label when I shop. Occasionally there might be something with 2g or less of sugar. For example, when I fished a tournament last week I grabbed a protein bar with 2g of sugar. An occasional piece of bread might have a gram of sugar. And of course, many foods have natural sugars that you can't get away from. As for what I eat, it's things like eggs, chicken, pork loin, and steak or burgers along with rice and lots of vegetables. I made a pizza the other week but I made my own dough and sugar free sauce. If I want a snack it will be a handful of almonds, cashews, or pretzel bites. But here's the thing - since cutting out sugar I don't get the urge to snack. As for what I drink, I don't have sugary drinks anyway. Water, milk, Diet Lipton Green Tea Citrus, and a sugar free Red Bull now and then. The result? I've dropped a lot of weight. How much, I don't know because I don't have a scale. I was too afraid. I put on a pair of jeans this morning and they slipped off my rear end. I'm using belt holes that I've never used before. Overall I'd say I've lost 3-4 inches off my waist in a month. I also feel better and sleep better, although it must be noted I also started taking vitamin D and complex B vitamins when I cut out sugar. Another interesting aspect is that I don't crave sweets. Heck, the other day I helped out in the hotel kitchen as we had to bake dozens and dozens of chocolate chip cookies for a function. They looked and smelled great, but I wasn't tempted. In the past I would have tried one, but not now. I feel I'm at the point where this has become a habit instead of a trial run. Whereas in the past I'm the type of person who throws things together to make a dinner, I'm digging on to picking out some recipes to broaden my taste buds while keeping sugar at bay. Moving forward, I don't have any goals and I still haven't purchased a scale. I may plateau at this wait or keep losing weight. I'd like to drop another inch or two from my waist, but it's not the end of the world if I don't. I won't beat myself up over it. But the big takeaway that I want to share with others is that it's not as hard as you think to cut almost all sugar (and definitely all added sugars) out of your diet. You'll notice changes by the end of the first week. And once you start looking at labels, you'll see the ridiculous amounts of sugar in most of the foods we eat today.

I used to love hockey. Having family from Canada will do that to you. I grew up playing pond hockey, but didn't start playing organized hockey until I was 12. I was a goalie and ended up playing both HS and college hockey. In HS I was pretty hot stuff, but college was a whole ne game. I hung on as the #2 goalie and started about 1/3 of the games but blew up my knee midway through my junior year and I was done. That was almost 40 years ago and I haven't skated since then. I probably couldn't even name one guy playing in the NHL today.

That's what I'm deciding on right now. I was looking at putting in a center bar console, but since I mostly sit and fish I worry that the head unit will be too high and interfere with fishing. Yesterday I sketched out some plans for a u-shaped console that would have tabs that bolt to the rails and then the console would drop in the cockpit close to the deck. This way you could angle the head unit bracket towards the seat when sitting, then tilt it upward if you are standing and fishing. Initially I could build it out of wood for just a few bucks. If I find that it works well I could pay someone to fabricate an aluminum one for me.

I found a package deal with the LVS 34, a 93sv head unit, and a 52ah Lifepo battery for just under $2,800 that might be an option. But my old eyes might be better of with a 10 inch unit. This is also the game I play when it comes to big purchases. I talk it out and think it out for a while rather than make an impulsive buy.

After seeing a lot of comparison articles and videos, most people seem to prefer Garmin. But I will probably pass on the Garmin simply due to the cost. Right now, the Humminbird Mega Live is discounted $500 through 3/31/24 bringing the cost down to "only" $999 while Garmin Livescope+ is $1,699. My Humminbird Helix 7 does not support Livescope, so I'll opt for a compatible Helix 9 or Helix 10. There's good news there as well because Humminbird has a $500 rebate on those through 3/31/24. FWIW, the original Lowrance Active Target is also $999 and Active Target 2 is $1,699. So if I'm going to invest in FFS, saving $1,000 is a pretty big incentive. Plus, I still need to invest in a pole mount and that's at least another $300. I also need to figure out where to put the head unit. One thing that I don't like about my Autopilot is that the tracks are pretty far forward. That can be tough on my aging eyesight. With my Seastream pedal drive I could mount the head unit right next to my seat. So I'll probably start off with the head unit on the rail of my Autopilot, but I may end up fabricating or buying a center console bar.