Depth / fish finder for the yak

[shootNscoot13]

Getting ready to buy my second kayak, I have a Wilderness Systems Tarpon 120, I'm switching over to the new ride 115 x. Does anyone recommend any depth / fish finders to put on the yak? I like to keep things simple , I don't think I need one that can do every little thing, but just one that can tell me the depth, water temp and possibly where the fish are lol!

[M_Duong60]

Lowrance x4 is good.

[IWanaGoFishing]

I put the Lowrance Elite 4-HDI on my 115x. It's a great unit. I'm using a 8 amp hour battery and it'll go all day. Just be aware that the console is a bit small to fit all of the cabling. I ended up having to remove some of the factory foam padding, and the screws from the mounting bracket are at risk of chafing the cramped cables. Also, the transducer sticks out below the hull, so make sure you pull the console when launch and beaching.

Overall, the concept of the 115x is great, but the console is poorly executed. Considering that the design is supposed to be a collaboration between Wilderness Systems and Lowrance, it's pretty disappointing that the console is 1) too small to fit a battery and the cabling from what is arguably Lowrance's flagship kayak friendly model; and 2) that the transducer hangs below the boat where it is at risk of damage when beaching and launching.

[Cowpokey]

x2 on the Lowrance Elite-4 HDI. I didn't expect to use the GPS "all that much", but I end up adding waypoints all the time so I can go back over productive spots. It's amazing how far off you really are when you think you're fishing the same place you just were a few minutes ago.

[shootNscoot13]

Is there a way to set the transducer a touch higher in the hull? Saw a guys online , didn't know what one he was using but the transducer was protected good

[M_Duong60]

Not sure what you are talking about? But you can mount it inside the hull and I've seen some mounted in the stern.

[IWanaGoFishing]

Here are some pictures of a Lowrance Elite 4-HDI mounted on a Wilderness Systems Ride 115x. Sorry it took so long to get these up.

You can see how the transducer doesn't fit inside the hole. With the bracket provided by Lowrance, the transducer is too long to fit in the recess and the back of it hangs down to form the lowest part of the kayak in that area, essentially undermining the entire purpose of the design and creating a snag. If they made the hole a half inch longer or made a different bracket that would allow the transducer to mount further forward, there wouldn't be a problem.

Again, Wilderness Systems and Lowrance had a great idea, but it was implemented very poorly. The transducer doesn't fit in the hole and the cavity provided in the console is too small to fit all of the wiring.

[kevinfry]

That looks recessed enough to me.the ridge protects it. Same as stern mounted skimmer on a skiff

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

[IWanaGoFishing]

The "ridge" or keel leaves the transducer as the lowest point on the boat for about 1 foot, exposing it to damage if you drag the kayak up on a rocky beach (or up on a dock). You don't do either of those with a skiff. Moreover, the factory set up leaves the transducer angled forward instead of straight down.

I created my own bracket out of some aluminum and now it fits properly. I'll eventually have to deal with galvanic corrosion due to the aluminum and stainless combo, but this will work for now. Still pretty silly to have to make my own parts. The Wilderness Systems Ride 115x is marketed as compatible with Lowrance and even comes with a Lowrance sticker on it. It should work with Lowrance's top of the line small footprint GPS/sonar combo.

Here's the bracket for anyone else needig to do the same:


And this is how it should fit: