I am soon going to buy a Perception Carolina 14, I’m going to be using this yak on flat water lakes and rivers and would like to add some stuff for fishing. Does anyone have any suggestions or pictures of how you have rigged a sit in yak for fishing? I know I’ll add a couple rod holders in the front, maybe a couple of flush mounts just behind the seat and maybe even rig a milk crate over the rear bulk head.
Suggestions and pics would be appreciated.
Set it up - to flip over
– Last Updated: Feb-19-14 12:11 PM EST –
Fishing kayaks can and do - capsize -
Just prevent the yard sale with your gear going everywhere
http://youtu.be/WlpbOsLYZb8
Perhaps this is useful to you for rigging the boat
- scroll down the page to see the full setup
http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/community/showthread.php?t=146329
Some Issues
Snelled hooks and webbed nylon or neoprene are not good friends. If you have any bungee or webbed rigging on the deck, avoid snelled hooks and lures. Single hooks are less likely to be an issue than treble hooks. I often fish where treble and snelled hooks are outlawed, anyway, so I usually just crimp down the little barbs.
Rather than buy/use rod holders, I usually grab a short length (4-6 inches) of PVC pipe that is close to the size of my rod handle. I run a bungee cord through the pipe, hook the bungees to the deck rigging, and jam the rod handle into the pipe when I’m not holding it. It will not come out without a pretty strong pull and I’ve never had the rod come loose.
If using bait, a bait board can be useful and held in place with the rigging or ties (pull ties to the rigging work reasonably well and are rather inexpensive). You may wish to drill small holes in the cutting board (either plastic or wood work, but I use plastic or nylon boards).
If using lures and the like, you need to be able to handle them and switch them without a great deal of fuss or the threat of losing your lure box over the side. Again, pull ties, twine, or other short ties are best and one can even add a small lure box to any cutting board you may have added to your deck (this helps avoid getting hooks into any rigging).
I keep the bulk of my gear (in tackle box) inside the boat and only use a small lure box on the deck. Some folks I’ve seen have actually glued a small box to their cutting board.
It is nice to occasionally have access to a knife. I use a dive knife, but any sheathed knife can be added to the rigging. I like the dive knife because it is designed to lock into the sheath without coming out. Some have lanyards, which can be useful, but mine doesn’t - so I don’t use it when I may need to use the paddle to deal with wakes and the like.
If anything major occurs and I need to deal with a lot of issues (reel failure, for example), I either haul out on shore or rig a pontoon system by attaching paddle floats to each end of the paddle and attaching the paddle to the boat. Very stable and even allows me to stand in my 22" wide boat.
I don’t have pictures to support any of this since I don’t have a lot of use for cameras, so sorry about that.
Rick
removable rod holder
– Last Updated: Feb-19-14 1:03 PM EST –
I like this style:
http://veada.com/boating-accessories/adjustable-fishing-rod-holder.html
mounted just in front of the cockpit. Think about what you will fish for and put together a small selection of tackle in a small flip top box. Get one that is hanging on a hook in the store and tie a loop of elastic cord through the hole used to hang it on the the hook and you can clip it to the post of the rod holder. You also need a pair of fish grips and pliers. I have the cheap plastic floating ones from BassPro. They work fine if you are just after "normal" size fish.
This makes fishing fairly easy to do without making the kayak into a pure fishing boat. If you want it to be a pure fishing boat, you really should look at an SOT. I have a sit in that I fish out of; I am not against the idea at all. But if I wanted to go milk crate, multiple rods, etc, I would go SOT.
Definition of “snelled”?
– Last Updated: Feb-19-14 9:46 PM EST –
A read the beginning of your post several times and couldn't make any sense of it. Finally it occurred to me that it appears that you are using the word "snelled" instead of "barbed". Could that be the case?
Snelled hooks are no different than any normal hook, and pose no additional snagging hazard in your boat that wouldn't be present with the others.
"Snelled" only refers to the method of tying the line to the hook - it's a method that's stronger than any of the normal fishermen's knots, but also more difficult and time-consuming. Most people who use snells buy them ready-made rather than tying their own.
I sort of see your point about de-barbing hooks, but I generally go years at a time without sticking a hook into something accidentally, and haven't stuck one in clothing or any other place where the barb would be an issue since I was a kid. I don't fish out of a kayak, but a little awareness and common sense go a long way in preventing hook accidents.
Yes barbed
which for some reason came out snelled when I was struggling for words yesterday.
As for “…I generally go years at a time without sticking a hook into something accidentally…” it isn’t a matter of sticking the hook into anything. If you have an active fish on a hook and extract it from the water, trust me, the barb (not the hook point) will find something to grab onto. I don’t put hooks into anything accidentally, either, but I’ve had a large bass (treble hook on a lure) on the deck of my boat and somehow manage to get the hook tangled into the bungee rigging.
If you are in a closed cockpit, you have a limited number of hands for managing all that must be done. The paddle, rod, reel, fish, and line all have to be managed at about the same time when the fish is beside the boat. I found it rather difficult to do, but maybe you have a prehensile tail that I lack. Open boats tend to lack deck rigging and are less likely to have exposed nylon fabric where hooks may grab.
Single hooks are less of an issue and are what I use when fishing from the kayak since the hook is pretty well covered by the fish in most situations. Treble hooks often have at least one tine exposed when you bring in a fish and will catch on any exposed mesh on the boat.