Kayak Electronics

Yaks are getting pretty sophisticated these days. What kind of setup do you have?

I have an Old Town Predator PDL, a Micro Power Pole, and a Lowrance Gen3 HDS7 (with a Navionics+ card). Is there a certain piece of equipment that you cant live without?

Yeah, a paddle! LOL

I do have a basic fishfinder for depth and water temp.

Humminbird piranhamax 4. Has everything I need for my Old Town Predator 13. I have a minn kota trolling motor. I made the trolling motor mount myself with an angled aluminum bar and a piece of wood. I made my own scupper hole transducer mount with parts from Lowes. Both for under 10.00. The company that sells them (Not sure the rules allow me to name the company) wants 89.00 for the scupper transducer mount and 149.00 for the trolling motor mount. Both are very simple designs that were cheap and easy to fabricate.

CaptainSolo said:

Yaks are getting pretty sophisticated these days. What kind of setup do you have?

I have an Old Town Predator PDL, a Micro Power Pole, and a Lowrance Gen3 HDS7 (with a Navionics+ card). Is there a certain piece of equipment that you cant live without?

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I have a Predator 13, with a Lowrance Elite 7 Chirp, but I'm considering the same FF you have. I'm concerned about issues with mounting a transducer that large. Would you post pics of how you mounted yours?

chriswkbrd said:

I have a Predator 13, with a Lowrance Elite 7 Chirp, but I'm considering the same FF you have. I'm concerned about issues with mounting a transducer that large. Would you post pics of how you mounted yours?

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I too had an issue with mounting a transducer once I moved over to the PDL from the MK, which had easier options for mounting a transducer.

I cant offer any pics right now since Im not around my kayak for a few weeks, but I can say that I highly recommend a thru-hull option. In my PDL, I used 5200 (tried silicone but it wouldnt hold) to epoxy my transducer to the hull below and behind the seat (right inside the hatch below and behind the seat. I then routed the cable through a hole I drilled under one of the mounting plates. I finished it off by covering the hole with a clam shell to finish it off nice. You could avoid drilling any holes if you like by just routing the cable through one of the access hatches, it just doesnt look as clean.

Just make sure there are no bubbles or gaps between the 5200 and the transducer.

I think you will like the HDS unit. A bit more spendy, but if you try the new SonarChart Live capabilities available on the new software updates, and you get to make realtime maps of uncharted lakes........you will be pretty stoked on the investment, as well as it just being a better unit.

Hope this helps.

chriswkbrd said:

I have a Predator 13, with a Lowrance Elite 7 Chirp, but I'm considering the same FF you have. I'm concerned about issues with mounting a transducer that large. Would you post pics of how you mounted yours?

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Keep in mind I DO NOT have a totalscan transducer. SideScan is not really important for me on a kayak, as the image really isnt good unless you maintain a speed of 4mph to 5mph. I have the HDI Transducer which has DownScan but not SideScan. Thru hull is my recommendation.

That was very helpful and cleared some things up for me, thanks.

Humminbird Helix 5 SI.

None! I like the simple approach,which was the reason I sold my Triton. I like not having to worry with a trailer,motor,batteries,electronics,and gas. Just a paddle,a fishin pole or two,stringer, small tackle bag,bag cooler,and a couple cans of Vienna's and I'm set for a day on the creek.

Saltwater or Big Water Lakes - Jackson Big Tuna, Lowrance Elite 4 HDI, Penn Rigs, conventional and spinfishers, DIY rod rack... With the Big Tuna, the stability, deck space and bait tank make it a superior offshore fishing kayak. Being able to catch bait with a sabiki line and keep them alive in the tuna tank makes big game fishing easy.

Rivers & Ponds - Vibe Kayaks Yellowfin 100, Lowrance Elite 4 HDI... I don't need a monster fully rigged kayak to fish a pond or river. I'll take a kayak that i can pick up with one hand, put on my shoulder, and walk off with any day. The YF100 is a small kayak for me. I'm 6'2" 230lbs. The framed seat is comfy, allowing me to spend more time in it.

Harbor Freight sells a basic fish finder for $40 ($32 w/ 20% coupon). It has a floating transducer. Perfect for the kayak

duckbill said:

Harbor Freight sells a basic fish finder for $40 ($32 w/ 20% coupon). It has a floating transducer. Perfect for the kayak

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I tried one of those about eight years ago, and took it right back. It was very slow to register depth changes--way too slow to use for fishing. It would have worked for tracking level in a storage tank, maybe.

There's a good chance they've changed/improved it since then, but keep your receipt.

What batteries are yall using? I bought a rechargeable 12 v Berkley battery and it won't even last 2 hours.