Fishing Kayak setup ideas

Cupie · Guru

Fishing Kayak setup ideas

Izabarack · Guru

I have carried a SIK for a lot of years now and fish inland lakes and rivers and the odd estuary. Where once I had lots of stuff hanging off the kayak and me, now it's reduced to one rod, a holder, small tackle box, an iPad holder, and a sounder. I love to catch a fish, for dinner, but being out there is the biggie for me.

I am looking seriously, again, at fitting an electric outboard. I now have a very portable 50Ah Lithium battery available that will sit behind the seat.

Cupie · Guru

Izabarack wrote:
I have carried a SIK for a lot of years now and fish inland lakes and rivers and the odd estuary. Where once I had lots of stuff hanging off the kayak and me, now it's reduced to one rod, a holder, small tackle box, an iPad holder, and a sounder. I love to catch a fish, for dinner, but being out there is the biggie for me.

I am looking seriously, again, at fitting an electric outboard. I now have a very portable 50Ah Lithium battery available that will sit behind the seat.

Iza ...

What sort of set up are you looking at for your SIK? Some sort of outrigger?

My Viking Fisherman SOT has a re-enforced rear end with holes for the attachment of a transom. I have a very old motor that had been found in an old farm shed. I used it for several years until the 50AH Deep Cycle Lead Acid battery died, perhaps due to my lousy battery management!

It was fantastic for tripping around lakes & estuaries. A favourite was motoring up the river at Kingscliff ready for the outgoing tide. I'd go up past Salt Resort & then snorkel back to the mouth with the yak tied to my wrist. A fantastic way to see lots of fish. Fortunately no Bull Sharks. When I knocked up, I'd tie up & have a snack & cold drink. Good on Lake Wivenhoe Dam too, to get across from Lumley Hill camp ground to Capt Logan Creek & then quietly paddle up to the limit of navigation. OK when the dam is full. Perhaps one day I'll get a replacement battery & enjoy it once again.

I too have reduced my tackle to the one rod and a small tackle box with a few ready made rigs that I can quickly tie on. I carry a small first aid kit that includes a multi tool in one of the hatches. I put my electronic devices inside two zip lock bags but should buy a purpose built dry bag.

-- Edited by Cupie on Saturday 2nd of February 2019 02:35:26 PM

Izabarack · Guru

Cupie wrote:
What sort of set up are you looking at for your SIK? Some sort of outrigger?
I put my electronic devices inside two zip lock bags but should buy a purpose built dry bag.

Gave the outrigger idea away and have mounted a simple transom for a little WaterSnake. I do Wivenhoe and the Brissy river from the spillway to Koholo a lot. Multiple wraps on the shaft and an anchor trolley type setup for steering gets me a long way in a mostly straight line, effort free. The 50 Ah Li only weighs 6.5 Kg. The iPad goes in a sleeve good for 3 metres and half an hour and I can operate the GPS through the cover. iPhone is in a similar cover and kids have installed Find your Phone app if I do not check in once an hour.

Sunburn is a problem for me. I now wear long, light coloured bike Knicks and white nylon socks. Long sleeves, sun gloves, Polarised glasses, cap and Buff ensures no skin is exposed to the sun. I can be on the water for hours in that setup and come home burn free.

Have recently started getting up into the mangroves at the top of the tide so leave the electric off for that activity. Only get 15 or 20 minutes in the mangroves but amazed at the number of whiting on clear poppers get to come home with me in that 15 minutes. Also get big lizards in inches of water on soft plastics. A Yak without much in it is easy to drag through the shallows, in and out of the mangroves. Have recently stopped this practice up around Bloomfield, north of Mackay. Came across a couple of flat dogs looking at me for their lunch.

Iza

Cupie · Guru

Izabarack wrote:
Cupie wrote:
What sort of set up are you looking at for your SIK? Some sort of outrigger?
I put my electronic devices inside two zip lock bags but should buy a purpose built dry bag.
Gave the outrigger idea away and have mounted a simple transom for a little WaterSnake. I do Wivenhoe and the Brissy river from the spillway to Koholo a lot. Multiple wraps on the shaft and an anchor trolley type setup for steering gets me a long way in a mostly straight line, effort free. The 50 Ah Li only weighs 6.5 Kg. The iPad goes in a sleeve good for 3 metres and half an hour and I can operate the GPS through the cover. iPhone is in a similar cover and kids have installed Find your Phone app if I do not check in once an hour.
Sunburn is a problem for me. I now wear long, light coloured bike Knicks and white nylon socks. Long sleeves, sun gloves, Polarised glasses, cap and Buff ensures no skin is exposed to the sun. I can be on the water for hours in that setup and come home burn free.
Have recently started getting up into the mangroves at the top of the tide so leave the electric off for that activity. Only get 15 or 20 minutes in the mangroves but amazed at the number of whiting on clear poppers get to come home with me in that 15 minutes. Also get big lizards in inches of water on soft plastics. A Yak without much in it is easy to drag through the shallows, in and out of the mangroves. Have recently stopped this practice up around Bloomfield, north of Mackay. Came across a couple of flat dogs looking at me for their lunch.

Iza

Wow ... You're well ahead of me in terms of touring & fishing too.

I got a set of maps ready to do the spillway to Koholo but never got to do it .. no one to go with & now at my age & level of fitness, perhaps a bit past it.

A yak north of Mackay in the mangroves is pushing the boundaries. But good for the adrenalin flow. A bit like what I used to do many years ago, alone with my dog and a knife chasing big wild pigs.

PeterInSa · Guru

Iza, re ( have mounted a simple transom for a little WaterSnake.)

Any chance of a Photo, I have a small watersnake and a 100 Amp lithium battery ex my 2.7m inflatable boat ( now have a 3.3 HP Merc motor) for possible fitment to my Yak.

Peter

Cupie · Guru

PeterInSa wrote:
Iza, re ( have mounted a simple transom for a little WaterSnake.)

Any chance of a Photo, I have a small watersnake and a 100 Amp lithium battery ex my 2.7m inflatable boat ( now have a 3.3 HP Merc motor) for possible fitment to my Yak.

Peter

Peter ...

Found this commercial product that may not be too hard to replicate

https://www.railblaza.com/blog/kayak-motor-mount-bracket-custom-made-to-suit-all-kayaks/

Found another where the guy rambles on and on, but his approach was to insert suitably sized conduit into the rear rod holders & bolt a bit of timber to them that protruded over one side of the yak as a mounting point. A bit rough but doesn't require any drilling of the hull.

trouto · Senior Member

I have a 12ft Fisherman twin hull kayak
And I have gone the other way from you guys
I have made a console that holds 3 tackles boxes (lure fish only )
On that console sits 4 Railblaze mounts 2 for rod holders and 1 for fish finder( depth sounder )
The other one has a Railblaze extension bar to hold the transducer that can be lifted up out of the way
Also there are 2 navigation ( red and green ) lights on the console
I have a Watersnake Kayak Electric Motor and Watersnake Electric Motor Bracket
That sits / bolts behind the seat
There is also a Railblaze extension bar with a white LED light behind the seat that lights up around the yak
I have 2 builge pumps fixed to each side on the floor to pump unwanted water out
Removable 35ah deep cycle battery that sits in the front
And everything just plugs into that battery
Now in saying that the Electric Motor and battery are the only things that comes off
Before busting a gut to get it on top of my 4x4
It has to sit the right way up so I also had to fit 2 bung plugs so while it's on the car
And it rains at least the water can get out
One last thing I have just found a extension bar that clips to my roof racks with a pole
That goes down to the ground
So you clip this on lower the pole lift the front of the yak onto that bar then just lift the back onto the car
The do the same with the front , put the extension bar away tie the kayak on
And your good to go
Auto Barn sells the extension bars so I'll have to have a look this week
Tight lines
Trouto

PeterInSa · Guru

Thanks Cupie am also looking at the unit below, do not know if the rod holders are strong enough and having the motor on the side rather than the stern, how much that impacts forward progress.

www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/brisbane-city/kayaks-paddle/motor-mounting-bracket/1208572174

Trouto re (One last thing I have just found a extension bar that clips to my roof racks with a pole
That goes down to the ground
So you clip this on lower the pole lift the front of the yak onto that bar then just lift the back onto the car)

Thats what I do, have a extension tube about 1.5m that slides into my roof rack about 60cm the 90cm section is inside a pool noodle, the end of the extension tube fits into a rectangular tube 1.8m with a hole in it to fit the extension tube, the bottom of the rectangular is on the ground. I put a clip in the extension tube to stop it falling out of the vertical rectangular tube.

Then lift one end of the Yak to the extension tube( mat under the other end to stop scraping on the ground) then the other end of the yak to the front roof rack. Slide the rear of the rack onto the roof rack, Then Tie down.

Similar on the other side of the Cruiser for SWMBO's yak.

The roof rack round tubes are enclosed in a pool noodles as well.

Peter

-- Edited by PeterInSa on Sunday 3rd of February 2019 03:50:23 PM

Teo · Senior Member

Good to see some kayak chat here on the forum.
I have a fairly standard 10 foot sit on fishing kayak and love to fish (with mixed success) or just paddle in some of the wonderful rivers and creeks along our east coast.
The little boat works well for me and I dont have any trouble being on the water for 2or 3 hours. Heat is usually the thing that cuts the day short.
I guess the main lesson I learnt early on was to work the winds and tides. Quite hard to paddle against both.
Its good to read how guys modify their yaks. There are a lot of them out there, but I wonder how often some of them come off the roof.
See you on a river some day.

Teo.

PeterInSa · Guru

I think if I caught a very big fish, I would cut the line, just in case it was a shark, in this case was a big fish

www.facebook.com/yakhuntersaustralia/videos/364043617500121/

Peter

Cupie · Guru

Wow, what a catch.

That's where a Hobie with its pedal powered Mirage Drive is such an asset.

I just drop the anchor* if I'm using it at time of a big hook up, holster** the paddle & throw the legs over the side to create more drag. And hang on for the ride.

* The anchor cord (which itself floats) has a float attached so that it is easier to locate & recover after having been dropped. At least that's the theory. I suppose it's arguable that retaining the anchor & manipulating the anchor trolley is a better strategy

** I have a stretch cord along the RHS of the yak that holsters the paddle, which itself is always is secured by a leash, just like the rod is.

In that water I would have expected a bull shark. Don't know what he thought that he would do with the piddly landing net. But then who carries a gaff in that area. He certainly wasn't using light gear. But in any case, a job very well done with what he had.

I got a monster flathead once when out looking for whiting. With nothing to lift him out of the water with, I just grabbed a wet towel & holding that under the middle of his body, with the assistance of the line, flipped him into the large & deep front well of my Fisherman kayak & then dropped the wet towel over him to keep him quiet. The head extended over one side and the tail over the other side. So sorry, no pictures. As I raised its head to the waterline at the side of the yak before I landed it, it looked like a crock LOL.

-- Edited by Cupie on Tuesday 5th of February 2019 11:12:23 AM