Kayak Koz

After reading through everyone's replies and advice, I decided to go with a side scan unit. After looking at all of the prices and options out there I decided since this was my first fish finder I didn't want to spend a ton of money to find out that I didn't like it. So on the Lowrance website I purchased a reconditioned HOOK² 5 with TripleShot Transducer and US Inland Maps for just under $300. I also bought the cover for it, and now I need to add the other items. So I don't have to run a bunch of wires everywhere or worry about battery placement I'm going to get the YakAttack CellBlok. With that mounting location I'm going to get the Dakota Lithium 12V 7Ah LiFePO4 since it weighs only 2.2 pounds unless someone can point me to a lighter battery in that price range that will fit in the CellBlok. It also looks like I need the Yakattack Feelfree Unitrack Adapter. I'm still concerned about the choice of the arm with the longer triple shot transducer, and YakAttack says their Switchblade Transducer Mount Deployment Arm will work with that transducer. Better safe than sorry - or having to do a return. I am a bit concerned that some reviews say this is a flimsy unit. I figured I might as well round it out with the YakAttack Fish Finder Mount with Track Mounted LockNLoad. The Lowrance unit has already been ordered, but if someone has better options for the battery, arm, and fish finder mount that will work with the CellBlok I'm all ears.

This area is new to me be it on the bank or in my kayak. I spent 16 years living and fishing on the lagoons of the SC Lowcountry. Then back in February I moved 3+ hours away from there to the Lake Oconee area in GA. The only bank fishing I have done here is off the docks of my hotel, We're in a narrow cove where there are mostly dink bass and panfish. I honestly don't know why I don't see more people fishing there other than farther south near the dam is where most people fish. Then again, I've caught mostly smaller hybrids and striped bass along those areas. Those were teh first areas I targeted from my kayak.

We have an abundance of baitfish in the areas that I fish. I mean, it's a ridiculous amount of small bluegills and shad. Normally it's find the baitfish and find the bass. Now it's "there are so many baitfish here where the heck are the bass?"

My kayak has the Uni Track system. I have no idea if that's exclusive to the Feel Free brands or others use that type of system. Which begs the question, why isn't there a universal standard for tracks? Does every vendor really need the extra $30 for a specialized mount? I've been looking at things like the Yak Attack Cell Block or the Lowrance Kayak kit to handle the battery and the mounting. But if I use something like that and stack the items or separate them on one or both sides, I need to first get some measurements and rough out the width and height that it will occupy on the track. I want to see how it will impact casting, working the rod when landing a fish, standing on the deck, and any other ways it could impact fishing. I would hate to buy a bunch of gear, set it up, and find out that it impeded my ability to fish. By the way - thanks to everyone this is turning into a very informative thread for myself and others looking to mount electronics in their kayak. There are a lot of good ideas and options being discussed here. Thanks again, and I hope others find this useful in the future.

We're post spawn now by two months. Regarding fishing pressure, there really is none in this part of the lake. We get some folks fishing the main lake area for stripers, a handful of residents or my hotel guests fishing off of docks, and the occasional bass boat pitching the docks. Almost all of the boat traffic is pleasure boaters. Other than my hotel guests, I'm the only kayak out there. The section of the map I displayed is near my hotel and one of the small arms of this 20 mile long, 30 square mile lake. This specific area is shallow, as the main channel of the lake gets up to 90 feet deep. From what I have been told, most of the anglers are fishing the southern part of the lake (we're mid northern) near the Wallace Dam. Perhaps it's the areas with more varying depths that are more suitable for the bass. To me, this lake is also odd because there's no vegetation to be seen at or near the surface. None. We have rocks and a few small areas of flooded timber where I fish. When I add electronics maybe I'll find some. The water is also perpetually stained in my area, with visibility never more than 12". It very well could be this area doesn't contain a lot of bass, despite the abundance of bluegill and shad. I've had some decent outings before, but maybe that was peak LMB fishing for my section of the lake.

The ABN Universal Kayak carrier turned out to be not so universal. I'm sure it's great for narrower and lighter kayaks, but it has been a struggle to use on my kayak. I have to navigate a twisty concrete path from the hotel to the water. Going downhill isn't too bad, but pulling 130 pounds of kayak and gear uphill on a trolley that doesn't seat well is a giant pain. I ordered a CTUG that gets here in a few days. If you look at the photo, where the path disappears there's a steeper drop that curves to the right and down to the docks and my launch area. The other day it was hot and humid, and after spending 4 hours on the water I thought I was going to have a stroke pulling it up that hill.

Pedaling with one hand on the rudder and the other holding my fishing rod wedged at my side or between the seat and the deck.

That looks interesting, but I don't have access to the inside of the hull. There are no compartments in this kayak. It's interesting that some of you out there are spending more money on your fishfinder than your kayak. I'm not ready to make that kind of leap yet. I'm looking in the $400-$500 range plus the battery and mounts.

My concern is that if a big striper hits the bait while I'm trolling that I'll end up losing a rod and reel.

I occasionally troll with a spinnerbait. The other day I had a Jackhammer tied on and trolled with that. I should probably bring a heavy rod with me one time and troll with a Yumbrella rig.

I love my mew kayak, but I miss bank fishing on the lagoons. I spent fours hours on the big lake (Oconee) tonight and didn't sniff a bite - even with a beetle spin. Attached is a map of the area where I have been fishing. The yellow boxes are where I have fished, the green boxes are where I have been catching fish, and the red boxes are where I plan to target next. Fishing the main body of the lake can be a pain because there's a ton of high speed boat and jet ski traffic. I've had zero luck targeting under and near docks. The same goes for flooded timber - nothing. Everything I have caught has been along rocky dam areas (along the main road) or bass hanging out under trees. Baitfish are everywhere. I've thrown some diving crankbaits and lipless crankbaits in open water and I've seen a fair amount of decent sized fish activity in open water, but I'm guessing those are mostly hybrids and stripers. I don't mind catching stripers and I've caught a few small ones on spinnerbaits near Greensboro Road, but my primary target is still largemouth. Oddly enough, the biggest largemouth I have caught was a 6 pounder while fishing off the dock of my hotel at 1 in the morning. Off the kayak, I've managed some two pounders and dinks. So, looking at the map, if you didn't have electronics where would you fish? I don't have electronics on my kayak yet, and I'm beginning to think that's a huge disadvantage when fishing on a big lake. From the surface, lots of spots look like they should be holding bass. But I think I need to narrow down those places by seeing what kind of structure is under the water.

Do they have arm units that can support the large side scan transducers? I'm no expert, but it doesn't look like there's a good place to mount one on my hull. There might be an area to do a scupper hole mount forward of the pedal unit. I'm not sure if there would be any interference mounting a downscan behind the pedal prop. There are no compartments to mount it through the hull.

While a side scan unit is appealing, I think I may run into some mounting issues. My Seastream Angler has a pontoon style hull, and I'm not sure there's a good place to mount it. Honestly, I haven't really looked much underneath so I will have to check that out. Are there mounting arms that can handle a transducer that large like say, the Lowrance Tripleshot? Plus, it's got to completely clear the bottom of the hull to be useful, and I imagine in choppy waters there will be some interference if it's hanging over the side.

I don't know, but all I can think about is someone should come up with a comedy about tournament bass fishing, call the movie something like Bubba Bass or Bass Holes, and the two main characters are names Skeeter and June Bug. They would be played by Larry the Cable Guy and Jeff Foxworthy. Their main rival and resident evil villain would be Greg Hackney. Play up every stereotype. It would be hilarious.

I'm old enough to get that play on George Thorogood. Fishing is one way that I decompress from work or if anything is troubling me, so most of the time I prefer to head out there alone. Whether I'm fishing from the bank or my kayak, my mind clears completely. It's like magic. If I didn't have that time alone on the water I'd probably be pretty grumpy.

For the past few weeks I've been debating whether or not to add a fishfinder to my kayak. What kind I get is not really the issue. It will probably be one of the 5" models with some basic mapping and plotting. Or maybe the Garmin 4" Vivid. But what I am looking for from other kayak anglers is how much they use it and if they find it useful. Are you actually using it to fond fish? Or do you mainly use it for mapping, plotting, water temperature, and water depth measurement? Are you on big lakes or small lakes or ponds? Lake Oconee is a big lake, but the furthest I have ventured out is about 4 miles from my launch point. I suppose if I spent all day fishing I would try as far as 10 miles from where I launch. That's a lot of fishable water to cover, and with all that water it's a lot different than lagoon fishing. Some days I find the bass, other days I get shut out. I'm wondering how much a fish finder will help as opposed to me spending more time on the lake and learning the rhythm of fishing this lake. Work keeps me busy, so lately I haven't had a ton of time to spend on the water. I might get 2 or 3 hours out there, so I'm usually within 2 miles of my launch point. I have been studying the Navionics maps lately and looking at a few different areas to fish next, but I'm wondering if electronics will help put me on the fish any quicker. Thoughts?

This is an old thread that resurfaced. Since then I’m quite handy with a kayak, especially with my pedal kayak. Thanks, but my car can’t support the load of a 100 pound kayak. And lucky for me I can just store it at my hotel.

I spent a while looking at different nets trying to balance price, net size, handle length, etc. I finally decided on the ForEverlast net and I haven't been disappointed. I can keep it behind my seat or up in front just ahead of the pedal unit, but it's much easier to grab when it's up front. I know some may prefer a longer handle, but let's face it - landing a decent sized fish on a kayak is usually a pain no matter what. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005OJQSQ2?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details

Rule #1 of bank fishing on ponds - be stealthy. If you can see into the water the fish can see you and your movements. Stand further up the bank and fish from there. Wear clothing colors that help you blend in to the background. Tread lightly on the ground. Start with that and let us know how it goes.

Here's our guest with his gar.

I bought a Seastream Angler 120 PD pedal drive last month. It won't fit on my car, but I keep it at the lakefront hotel that I run.

Supply chains are still in chaos across the country. I have a 6-8 week wait to buy linens and terry. Then Friday I found out guest room shampoo has a backorder of three weeks and I had to buy an overpriced substitute on Amazon. Staff wise I'm down 3 room attendants and a sales manager. But the restaurant next door has it much worse. They are a popular restaurant and when they are open they are packed, but have been limited to opening only 3 days a week. But it got worse for them this weekend. Despite it being a holiday weekend and having my sold out hotel next door, they kept their doors shut due to lack of staff. It's really bad out there, despite what some news stations may be saying.

I have only myself to blame. I knew it was going to be a madhouse trying to kayak to some of my favorite sheltered coves out there today. But what ticked me off is that the jet skiers were like a plague of locusts out there, even in the smaller coves off the beaten path. With all the traffic out there I was fishng the shorelines today, but on more than one occasion a jet skier was running near full throttle within 30 feet of the shoreline instead of out in the channel. More than once someone decided to do donuts in my vicinity as well. Next time I'm going to bring one more rod with a 1/2 oz lipless crank and the next time a jet skier buzzes me I'm changing my target species. But I'm also an idiot for going out there today. But I get so few days off, I had to give it a try. Lesson learned.

As many of you know, I'm the General Manager for a hotel on a lake, so of course I tried to find a way to make fishing part of my job. I'm trying to promote the "guest experience" at our hotel with different family friendly events. Friday night was S'Mores night down at our fire pit and tonight was Fish with the GM night at the hotel. I purchased some cheap Zebco spin cast rods, some soft plastic grubs, and some night crawlers and redworms figuring the best bet was to fish for bluegills, bream, and crappie and maybe luck into a bass or two. I even bought some pond fish food to help chum teh water a bit. Fishing at our docks has been lousy lately. The water level is normally 4-6 feet around the docks, but the water level has been down by a foot lately. Other than one guest catching a 3 foot gar on Friday I haven't seen anyone catch any fish and I've been fishing elsewhere on the lake out in my kayak. Tonight was also really, really windy out making it even more difficult to cast those little Zebco's. So I set up the rods with tiny little hooks and instead of having the kids cast I had them punch the button and just drop the line and tiny bobber off the dock. It was slow for a bit, but I chummed the water and the kids had a blast catching bluegills. There were even a few tiny bass and tiny catfish caught out there. Best of all, every kid and even the adults that fished all caught something. I had made up some "Certified Angler Award" certificates for the kids and put their names on them along with my official signature. The kids and the parents loved it. I spent most of my time putting worms on hooks, teaching kids to fish, and showing the kids how to release the fish, but I did manage to take a few casts with some bass gear and I caught - nothing. Zip. Zilch. I was hoping to catch a decent sized bass to show the kids, but it was not to be. The little girl in the picture below caught 5 or 6 little fish and she was just thrilled with her evening out there. It looks like we'll be doing this on a regular basis as the kids and parents loved the event. As for me, I made fishing an integral part of my job!

Congratulations! Before she goes the forensics tech route she may want to see how many job opportunities there are out there and the pay. The only reason I say that is I get a TON of applicants at my hotel who have gone that route and cannot find a job.