Done!

[ronaultmtd]

Yesterday, Bill and I were fishing the Piney Point area of the lower Potomac searching for a cow...we were side by side trolling the 30 foot curve for a while talking...I remarked to Bill that I was totally satisfied with everything about my boat- the electronics, rod holders...everything- nothing to do but enjoy fishing out of it...

How about it? Did your rigging your yak satisfy everything you want in your yak?

[MDFishin]

Glad to hear you got everything right! Im still in the rigging process, and I figure out new needs every trip. I look forward to making mine as comfortable as yours.

[OBX_RAT]

I've had my new tarpon for 3 years now and I dont think Im done rigging yet. I'm always adding and taking things away and moving them around. But for the most part I think I have everything where I need it now, but that might change again after this season.

[MetroMan]

Just Gotta rework my camera mount, and that's it. Everything else is perfect for me

[chex]

Ron, whenever I have fished with you, you definitely seemed to have tamed that yak. Everything you do seems effortless.

I've still got some things I want to improve, but I'm being really picky, because 1 year ago, before I even had a yak, I never would have imagined that any of this was even possible.

Mainly, my fishfinder install still needs some work. My dry-well duct putty solution is sub-par. I have to turn my sensitivity all the way up to see what I want to see, and so my battery dies too quickly (not 100% sure about that theory). And even at full blast, there's a lot of stuff I'm not seeing. Also, the DI doesn't seem to work well like this. Wet well is my next attempt.

The second thing is secondary to actual fishing, but I'd like to get it figured out. Photo taking. I finally found a waterproof camera with a water proof remote control that I can mount up front for Bill-style shots. Problem is the battery only lasts 3 hours on standby. I don't want to have to scoot up to turn it on and off to have it last longer. I'd like to figure out how to plug in an external power supply that can last the entire trip.

3rd thing is to install a fish attracter. Something that will make all the fish come to my yak.

Like I said, I'm being picky.

[tufnik]

Not done on my Outback yet (looking at cam mount, anchor trolley, etc.). Main thing is I'm so glad I got the yak last Fall. Too much fun.

[edwonbass]

This is my first season in my Ascend FS10. I have owned or fished out of just about everything but kayak fishing is new to me. I wanted something that could get me around on just about any water I wanted to fish. So far the biggest drawbacks I have experienced are the limited space and being low to the water. It changes the way you cast and retrieve for sure. I might actually start using a spinning reel for some stuff. I do like that I can back up to the bank and have the kayak off the roof and into the water in under 5 minutes.
As far as rigging goes, I guess I still have to fish it for awhile to figure out what I need. My old HB portable FF is self contained (batteries and unit in a single case) and just tucks up under the front bungees so that isn't an issue. The front rod holder is fine but the two rear holders worry me. I really have to be careful not to snag a rod when casting.
I started lurking this forum to learn about kayak fishing and there is a lot of good info here so thank you all for that. I still need to figure out what to do with that back storage area where most of you have crates. I'm not sure I can safely reach back there without turning her over.

[ronaultmtd]

This is my first season in my Ascend FS10. I have owned or fished out of just about everything but kayak fishing is new to me. I wanted something that could get me around on just about any water I wanted to fish. So far the biggest drawbacks I have experienced are the limited space and being low to the water. It changes the way you cast and retrieve for sure. I might actually start using a spinning reel for some stuff. I do like that I can back up to the bank and have the kayak off the roof and into the water in under 5 minutes.
As far as rigging goes, I guess I still have to fish it for awhile to figure out what I need. My old HB portable FF is self contained (batteries and unit in a single case) and just tucks up under the front bungees so that isn't an issue. The front rod holder is fine but the two rear holders worry me. I really have to be careful not to snag a rod when casting.
I started lurking this forum to learn about kayak fishing and there is a lot of good info here so thank you all for that. I still need to figure out what to do with that back storage area where most of you have crates. I'm not sure I can safely reach back there without turning her over.

I sit side saddle to get things out of my back storage area- Even though the Outback is stable enough, I am not physically comfortable bending around like that- and sidesaddle lets you shift around and keeps your butt in good shape-

[Southerly]

i like my anchor/trolley set up = done.

i like my crate = done.

but i think securing it about 10" behind the seat instead of directly behind the seat will make a new place for some stuff (like small cooler or jacket) w/o compromising access to the crate = needs a little experimenting.

i like my side image wet well, but it's starting to leak = needs redone.

i like my camera mounting system but i should have been more careful getting stuff plumb, and i know another improvement = needs redone.

so everything works ok. and in real life that winds up being good enough. but i'm camera shopping now and if i get a new one and redo camera mounts, i'll try to post something coherent because mine's as cheap as it gets, and is pretty flexible for getting good shots.

[ictalurus]

I wouldn't mind upgrading to a down-imaging sonar with GPS, but that won't be in the cards for a while. I sometimes think about adding another rod holder to the front, but I have yet to troll two rods without tangling them.

I haven't done much to my Tarpon at all. I'd like to get a fish finder for it, and install a Scotty flush base to the center console. It's a low priority, though, because I really don't use it that often.

edwon--I always keep the rod holder behind my casting arm empty, even it if it means shuffling around two or three other rods. I figure what rod I'll be using most of the time and place that one behind my casting arm when I'm setting up before launching. Doing that cut down on nearly all of my rod on rod fouls.

[CB kayak 02]

Only thing else I plan to add is my scotty Rocket launchers on the mounting plates for trolling.

Add a cam cleat for my anchor trolley.

And maybe get a small yeti cooler for behind the seat.

[ronaultmtd]

Bill- that would be so cool, but I think I will wait for the CHIRP technology transducers to come down in price- right now CHIRP transducers are running well over a grand
The CHIRP Difference
Traditional marine fishfinders operate at discrete frequencies such as 50 kHz and 200 kHz, use relatively short-duration transmit pulses, and use narrowband sonar transducers. In contrast, CHIRP (compressed high-intensity radar pulse) uses a precise sweep pattern of many frequencies within a long-duration transmit pulse from a broadband transducer, so the equivalent sound energy transmitted into the water is 10 to 1,000 times greater than a conventional marine fishfinder. The echo energy returning to the transducer, superior to that generated by a conventional transducer, is then processed by the fishfinder’s DSP (digital signal processing) computer and displayed in ultra-sharp detail on the display. The combination of CHIRP, a broadband transducer, and the fishfinder’s DSP, results in dramatically better fish and bottom detection, superior depth capability, and significantly better performance at speed.

[edwonbass]

I sit side saddle to get things out of my back storage area- Even though the Outback is stable enough, I am not physically comfortable bending around like that- and sidesaddle lets you shift around and keeps your butt in good shape-

I could see that working on a SOT but I don't know if I could pull that off in a sit in. I'm just now getting to where taking off my sweat shirt isn't a major event. I guess I would like to figure it out so I can start carrying a little more tackle and possibly a small cooler. I could carry them now but they would be useless if I can't reach them.

[Redfish12]

I still have a lot of work to do to mine. I am going to finally install my fishfinder (permanently instead of just wires through the hatch) and install a rear rodholder for trolling. I have have been trying to get away from using a crate, but I do like the rod storage space and them being vertical between the gunnels. I also need to figure out a camera solution. I won some rails from YakAttack so I am going to test that out.

I think there are probably a few other things I want to do but that would get going for now! We'll see though, time rigging is time I could be on the water.

[Shady]

I'm pretty happy with my yaks... for now, they both serve their rolls pretty well. The main thing that is on my radar right now is an extra battery for my torqeedo to extend my range even more. Peddling is great but the past two trips I've been wooped... However I probably wont do this anytime soon because those batteries are spensive! As far as general rigging, I'm pretty happy, I just added the tall panfish camera pole to my crate and that may need a little tweaking, but other than that, its all good.

Edwonbass,
I have the Ascend FS10 as my extra or skinny water kayak and I think its a great kayak for what I use it for. I use the same crate on the FS 10 as on my outback. Once you get used to the fact that the kayak is pretty stable, you will get more used to reaching behind you. That being said, I usually bring a smaller plano tackle box to hold everything I will use and it wedges pretty nicely next to the seat inside the kayak.