Transducer Mounting Ideal Seal

[rol716]

Picked up my new kayak on Sat morning and wanted to get out on the water quickly so after doing research on several sites, decided to forgo the epoxy or the goop to eliminate drying time and tried out using electricans putty. 1 lb cost $2 and I used 1/4 of it. I have a Cuda 350s I got on ebay and stuck the transducer right behind the mast pole in a wad of putty. I have no idea how to do the settings for the fish finder but all of the dept readings seemed to come out accurate and the set up time for the fish finder was 10 min. Have any of you guys tried this method? Anyone have a Cuda 350 and know settings for the bay? I have no frame of reference when it comes to fish finders so I'm not sure about the whole fish id thing. Looked like there were fish everywhere. Not sure if I had bad settings due to the electricans putty or if worked great. How can you tell if the settings are right and if the tranducer mount is right? Is there a tell tale sign if either are working properly vs improperly?

Thanks!

Roland

[DOGFISH]

DF

I don't use a CUDA, but all of those fish may have been bait fish, namely menhaden. I have never heard of using plummers puddy, but hey, if it works. However, you may want to go to a more permanent mounting when you get the chance. When alot of small bait-fish ball-up and are very close to each other a depth-finder may read them as one larger fish. Depth finders have gotten better over the years. Generally, small fish closer to each other than one inch may read as a larger single fish. Don't worry so much as if you actually see the fish your going after. If you are in an area of good bait fish, reading on the graph, you may very well also be in an area with gamefish. The gamefish generally follow the food. Target structure and drop-offs along with the bait fish. Now when the rockfish school up that is another thing, that will read differently. You'll acquire an understanding of differing fish.

On most fish finders there is a menu tab or button. That will bring up options such a gain, filter and differing views. You can adjust your unit by those type buttons. When all else fails, read the manual. If you were getting alot of shades of grey or color, you may have been getting some interference. Seems as if there is a good chance of an air pocket in plummers puddy. If there is anything metalic in the puddy itself, that will cause problems. When you get some time, the epoxy or goop solution works fine.

The question is, did you catch any fish on your outing?

[rol716]

Thanks for the feedback. It wasn't plumbers putty, it was electricans putty or duct seal. Plumbers putty isn't as tacky and doesn't adhere well to either the boat hull or the transducer.

I was chasing schools of bait fish around but didn't have much luck with spoons and bucktails so I just bottom fished around some structure and drop offs. No luck with hard crab. Just got the bait stolen. Used Berkley Saltwater gulp sandworm and started catching croakers. Ended up catching five 10-12" croakers, a small spotted sea trout, a 12" blue and I think what was a small white perch.

I was fishing around Courtney's Restaurant in Ridge, MD and fishing in Calvert Bay in the middle of the day. Really just messing around and getting comfortable on the kayak. I live in Baltimore city so I figure I'll be going out around Hart Miller most chances I get to go out fishing.

[surfdog]

dont use the fish ID it burns the life of the batt.and can give fasle readings learn to read the arches they will be the fish. changed my transducer mount to the vaseline method, silicone a sponge with a transducer hole cut out of it then fill it with vaseline and stick the trany in i straped the wires so it will not move. worked great this weekend finally no more ff problems

[DOGFISH]

Depth finder

I agree with Surfdog, the fishID is misleading. The arches are the way to read you fish finder. This is aside from the battery drain, thats an added issue. The fishID has always baffled me, with those little fish icons. It always seemed to be too easy. It is sort of like lures, "there are lures that catch fish, and there are lures that catch fisherman." I think that is the thing with fishID. The little fish icons must catch fisherman. At least it will keep you interested, while you see all of those fish (icons) swimming under your boat.

One other adjustment that is important is the chart speed. I suppose this is a possible adjustment on the CUDA. It will adjust the speed of the image on the graph as it is laid out on your screen. It will give you a more current reading as to what is under you kayak. Most folks keep their chart speed too slow.

[rol716]

Thanks for your help. I hope to try it this weekend around hart miller. Guess I'll bite the bullet and read the manual front to back. I've always been a shore fisherman and usually know the layout of whatever body of water I'm fishing pretty well so I know where the fish are. Now with a kayak, I figure I'll be able to go places I've not been to before and it will help me get a good understanding of the underwater layout instead of guessing. Again, thanks for your tips.

[MDSmith370]

I use the straight goop method for mounting and I haven't had any problems but I have been tempted to try the foam/vaseline method. I would caution the use of the two-part epoxy and the same problem may exist with the electricians putty. It dries too hard. Kayak hulls flex with movement and temperature changes. Everytime I've used epoxy it eventually came loose especially when stored outside over the winter. Goop dries pliable which allows for the flex of the plastic hull. This is assuming you mounted in-hull of course.

[rol716]

http://www.stripersonline.com/surfta...d.php?t=750193

This is where I origninally got the idea from. Then just googled for more info on transducer and electricians putty, duct seal, etc. It stays tacky, used in wet locations, etc. I may switch to goop this winter when I'm done fishing for the year. I'll just keep messing with the settings and trying to get familiar with using the GPS/Fish finder.

[Redfish12]

I did the vaseline foam block thing for awhile and I got a great reading... but it made a mess. When Vaseline heats up it can get pretty runny, I should have used a higher block of foam goop'd down.

I got the scupper transducer on sale from humminbird and it's the quad beam one. My current fish finder isn't all that great (565) but this will be good for the future should I get the gps/color one.

I've heard good things about the electrical putty and I put some in my ditch bag in case the vaseline messed up on a fishing trip. If you go the goop method, make sure you pour/push down smoothly and place a heavy object on it overnight. Bubbles in the goop will give you a poor reading.

[eastonkayaker]

I used goop, made the mistake of not leaving something heavy on transducer overnite, it points a little to the right, fortunatley didn't form any bubbles. Interestingly having the transducer a little to one side may have helped me catch some fish. Might be the same if transducer is level but I seem to see more fish on the right, about two feet from side of kayak, especially in shallow/rivers 5-10 ft of water, because I fish on the right when I want to I can drop my line where transducer picks up lure/weight, drop to exact level of the fish, many times I have dropped right on them and caught the fish, on the other hand I am probably missing fish on the left side! Winter project is to re-align.

[surfdog]

I did the vaseline foam block thing for awhile and I got a great reading... but it made a mess. When Vaseline heats up it can get pretty runny, I should have used a higher block of foam goop'd down.

I got the scupper transducer on sale from humminbird and it's the quad beam one. My current fish finder isn't all that great (565) but this will be good for the future should I get the gps/color one.

I've heard good things about the electrical putty and I put some in my ditch bag in case the vaseline messed up on a fishing trip. If you go the goop method, make sure you pour/push down smoothly and place a heavy object on it overnight. Bubbles in the goop will give you a poor reading.

thats why i used a thin sponge to keep the vaseline in place, hopefully

[ictalurus]

If you have a Hobie, you can use SilGlyde from NAPA. It's some sort of brake lube, I think. I put a little on the transducer, place the transducer down behind the mast tube, and use a hose clamp to secure the transducer bracket to the the mast tube. It sticks pretty well, even when transporting the yak upside down in the summer. It doesn't run in the heat, either. I might have to reset it once a year, if at all, and a little goes a long way for insuring a good covering. I'm reluctant to attach it permanently because I figure I'll get bubbles with my luck.