New member question

[Nova1]

That's completely up to you. I can justify anything...if I really want it. Then I'm not left with the "what if" I had shelled out more cash for the fancier piece of gear. I'm much more of a cheap skate when it comes to tackle, I can't justify a $15 lure, or $300 rod-reel combo when a $4 lure and $80 rod-reel put fish on the boat without issue.

Looks like I have a lot to think about. I can always justify anything.... if I try hard enough haha. I tell my self I'm not cheap I'm just very frugal. And I'm with you on the rod-reel, as long as it catches fish and doesn't break I'm happy.

[DonV]

Yes, rethink the GPS. I find I use it as much or more than the depth finder. It puts me right back where the fish are, some days it is literally the exact same spot where I keep finding them and a couple of feet either way will not do the trick. Knowing how fast I'm trolling and paddling is also a big bonus and having exact coordinates gives me a certain peace of mind just in case anything bad happens. Helps greatly also with planning trips as I can easily see exactly how much paddling I have done and am capable of and can base upcoming trips realistically. It's also nice to be able to follow your track back if you happen to get twisted around in any marshy/grassy areas, they can become a bit of a maze. I get home and save export my trips to Google Earth. Really helps with seeing patterns and planning future trips and I just get a real kick of keeping a record of my trips, seeing exactly where I have been and where I have caught fish. Can also go the other way find something interesting on a chart, export or type it in to the FF and paddle right to it. Sometimes I plan trips with multiple interesting destinations and just follow along by the GPS.

BTW for those that forget to drop a mark, I can usually tell just by my track where a fish was caught. Usually a pause in the track and some drifting around that is easily seen.

I have the Mark 4 and have been happy with it. I can't say that I wouldn't like a larger screen but at the same time space is limited and it fits nice and takes very little space. I have no personal experience as it is the only fishfinder I have used but did see some reviewers claiming the B&W is easier to see in bright sun than color. If you do get the Mark 4 or other similar Lowrance, careful with the flap that covers the SD card slot. It seems to be a weak spot for water infiltration, it does not stay in place real well. I wrap a rubber band around mine to hold it shut tightly and fill the SD card slot with dielectric grease and have't had any problems even after a dunk once without the rubber band on it. Paid $169 for mine after rebate and would probably pay the same again even with the quirky SD flap, $129 sounds like a steal.

[Nova1]

Yea after much rethinking, gps sounds like a must have now. I have read reviews about all the lowrance models with the SD card slot being a problem. But like you said a bunch of dielectric grease and rubber band/tape seems to work for the most part. You think they would have fixed that by now. Over all the mark 4 seems to be what I am after. I think pretty sure that's what I'm going with, but I'm going to sleep on it first. It only takes a few feet to be off from the fish and knowing where I last caught them would be helpful for sure. Appreciate it DonV.

[DonV]

Yea after much rethinking, gps sounds like a must have now. I have read reviews about all the lowrance models with the SD card slot being a problem. But like you said a bunch of dielectric grease and rubber band/tape seems to work for the most part. You think they would have fixed that by now. Over all the mark 4 seems to be what I am after. I think pretty sure that's what I'm going with, but I'm going to sleep on it first. It only takes a few feet to be off from the fish and knowing where I last caught them would be helpful for sure. Appreciate it DonV.

Not a problem. I had the same thought process as you when I was considering FF's but after having GPS I wouldn't consider one without it. Like I said I don't have any experience with any other ones but it does the trick for me. I can watch my lure and have seen fish come up and knew when the bite was coming, kind of neat. I don't know always what the hell I'm looking at sometimes and do envy some of the real life images I see on other FFs but at the same time I didn't spend a lot and if I happen to trash mine I'm not going to be heartbroken.

[Nova1]

Wow I didn't realize I would be able to see my lure. That is pretty awesome. The price is a big part. Like you said just in case I trash it I won't be out too much. I pretty rough on fishing equipment so I usually dont spend too much because of that. I'm glad to hear that you have to same model and that your happy with your purchase thus far. Thanks

[Cowpokey]

Wow I didn't realize I would be able to see my lure. That is pretty awesome. The price is a big part. Like you said just in case I trash it I won't be out too much. I pretty rough on fishing equipment so I usually dont spend too much because of that. I'm glad to hear that you have to same model and that your happy with your purchase thus far. Thanks

You can see your lure, if you are dropping it directly under your boat. You won't be seeing your lure while you're trolling, it will be outside the cone your transducer sees behind the boat.

[Nova1]

Oh ok gotcha. That makes sense. Still pretty neat though.

[Mark]

Nova1,

First, congratulations on your Revo. I have a Revo 13 and many fish have come over its gunnels. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine.

I fished with it for 2 years before installing a FF this spring. My hesitancy was the fact that Revos have narrow gunnels not readily conducive to gear tracks or rod-holders or other attachments. Space is a premium. Additionally, rudder cables run directly under both gunnels. I was concerned about interfering with those cables, or worse yet, cutting them when I drilled. Thanks to support from Snaggedline member John Veil, and after speaking to Dennis at Backyard Boats I got the courage to take a drill to my little fishing machine.

I found the best place to put my FF ergonomically was on the right gunnel in front of the "rudder down" handle using a Ram diamond mount. I was careful to avoid hitting the rudder cables which actually run forward to a pulley before heading to the rear of the boat. See photo for my FF placement:

A.jpg

I can reach it easily there and yet it remains out of the way of my pedals, my (seldom used) paddle and most important, my fishing rods.

I believe your 2015 boat already has "through-the-hull" wiring nodes. Mine did not so I had to purchase and install one behind the FF. See here:

B.jpg

Those nodes make a nice watertight installation. Yours will indeed come in handy.

Your boat has a slot for the transducer already. That's a great feature. I used a through-hull-mount in the front hatch.

D.jpg

Lastly, I used my rear hatch for the battery with the help of a Hobie battery holder designed specifically for hatches. That's a good spot for my battery because I never used that hatch anyway. I did have to buy some extra marine electric cable to reach the back hatch.

C.jpg

Now concerning GPS, I have undoubtedly used that function more than the sonar or down scan on my trips so far this year. I especially like the "trails" function that shows where I have been on a map. That's very useful when trolling if I want to revisit a track of water that was recently productive.

Also I like to keep track of the distance I pedal on each trip. That doesn't help me catch fish but it tells me how hard I work for those I catch. I think you'll be surprised how many miles you actually travel. I certainly was. Your GPS will tell you that. On my last outing I traveled almost 7 miles in a 50 acre lake.

GPS also gives me speed info. In truth I haven't noticed a pattern that links fish caught to speed while trolling yet. But I suspect that may come in handy someday.

So again, good luck with your Revo. You have a very nice boat. I would encourage you to purchase as much FF functionality as you can and you'll enjoy that boat even more. You'll glean more from the variety of information GPS provides than you can imagine.

[YakCapn]

Wow I didn't realize I would be able to see my lure. That is pretty awesome. The price is a big part. Like you said just in case I trash it I won't be out too much. I pretty rough on fishing equipment so I usually dont spend too much because of that. I'm glad to hear that you have to same model and that your happy with your purchase thus far. Thanks

As with many things in kayak fishing, I learned this the hard way too. I was jigging underneath my kayak and thought I was on the honey hole because the fish finder was lighting up with fish. I got frustrated because none were biting. After a few minutes I felt pretty silly.

[Nova1]

Wow I can't get over the warm welcome with all of the very informative answers to my questions. It's much appreciated. I have decided to go with the mark 4 (thanks to your help) which is on sale.

Mark,
Thanks for the pictures you have a very clean/streamline setup you have there. Unfortunately the 2015 revo's don't come with the lowrance transducer hole in them only the outback and pa do to my knowledge. It's unfortunate they don't but not a big deal I'll just do the duct seal method with hobie's battery holder like yours. I'm a little nervous bout drilling my first hole so I may try a rig something out of pvc in the mean time. Possibly in the left cupholder or the sail mast until I decide to make it more permanent.

Yakcapn,
Haha hey at least you figured it out by your self right. I'm sure there will be many of those moments in my near future but that is part of the fun with kayak fishing.

[Mark]

Nova1,

I apologize. I thought Hobie put the transducer mount on their new Revos also. I know they have "through-the-hull" nodes for wiring. I saw a new Revo with them at Backyard Boats. They will save you some drilling.

I had queried the crowd here for Revo mounting ideas before doing my installation. Many place their FF on PVC in the mast holder near the front hatch. I liked that idea for its simplicity and most of all because it required no drilling. But my arms would not easily reach that far in my boat to make FF adjustments on the water.

As for my front hatch transducer "dry" mount, I've been very pleased. The sonar and down scan work fine, but I cannot get an accurate water temperature, of course. I just turn that feature off.

Good luck to you,

[Cowpokey]

Unfortunately the 2015 revo's don't come with the lowrance transducer hole in them only the outback and pa do to my knowledge.

That's weird, I thought all of the Mirage Drive kayaks had the transducer pocket, apparently the Revo 11 is the only one that does not...that would be enough for me to buy different model. All of the other Hobie pedal kayaks have the pocket.

[Nova1]

Mark,

Happy to hear your dry duct seal works well. I hang my kayak upside down, Do you think the duct seal will stay put or will it constantly be falling off? Maybe the revo 13 has predrilled wire holes but unfortunately the 11 doesn't. Yea I am not to worried about temps either. I'll just put my hand in the water to see if it's cold haha. Maybe I'll try the mast with pvc or pvc in the cup holder. Either way if it doesn't work for me know harm no fowl, at least then I'll get an idea where I would like to mount it. Thanks

Cowpokey,

Yea there is no pocket there. Instead they put a Venturi type drain in the same location. I agree It made me rethink the revo a lot. But I am very limitited with storage space living in a town home in northern Virginia. Under my deck would only allow 11.6 foot kayak, literally anything more would hang over which I couldnt get away with. All in all I'm not disappointed with the purchase just because of that but I would consider a new boat if I ever buy I new house. Now i wonder if I could turn the little useless drian into a transducer pocket..... Thanks

[Mark]

Nova1,

I store my boat right side up. So I don't know if the duct seal would hold if I stored it upside down. It adheres well. I've bounced around in choppy water and the transducer hasn't moved. The transducer is not heavy. My guess is that you'll be fine. Clean the area of the hull where you apply the putty with rubbing alcohol. That will help you obtain a tight seal.

[Nova1]

Great thanks Mark. We'll see how well it holds. Its seems it remains pliable anyway so even if it does come loose shouldn't be to hard to reposition it.