Kayak electronics

[bassturds]

I’ve been kayak fishing for years. Stripers and bass mostly. I now have a 13 foot open saltwater kayak. I used to have a 10 foot sit in kayak. It’s a paddle kayak. Wish I could afford a pedal system I want to rig the new kayak up for saltwater fishin. Fluke, tog, stripers blues you know the drill. 
 
What fish finders do you have.how do you rig it up.  Any other advice or must haves? Yes I always wear my PFD. 

Edited April 6 by bassturds

[Fishbucket]

I run a 385 CI/DI . it's an older unit but works good for me. 

 

 

I did have it installed in a Hobie Outback with the Transducer glued down to the bottom.  But since moved to a Canoe.

 I worked up a piece on aluminum to clamp the transducer to the side and use a ram mount for the FF. 

a small 12v. 7ah. battery in a watertight box sits on the floor behind me.  

 with it this way I can pull all the pieces and store when the canoe is on the roof.  
I'll try and get some pics of it tonight for you.

 

[Fishbucket]

Think about getting a handheld marine radio.  
 I have mine strapped to my Life jacket. I can hear it easily that way and can just raise my hand to push and talk. 

 And a Knife... dive type/ corrosion proof , in a sheath. also strapped to the Vest.  

 

 

[dbjpb]

If you have a smart phone get a dry bag for it. You can put some apps on your phone to help you if you get lost. Phones are expensive. Dry bag and a tether for it  could save you some coin.

[CharlieB]

I use a Lowrance Elite-4 HDI. I like the GPS/mapping features. I switch it between 2 Hobies, so I picked up an additional transducer and power cord. It goes on the gear track, with the battery in the round hatch (rear hatch on a Revo, front hatch on a Compass). VHF radio is definitely a good idea.

[jeffreyrichard]

What is the make and model of your kayak?

 

I have a Hobie Compass, which is made to install a Lawrence unit with minimal mods. I put a Garmin Striker 4 CV on my unit. This is a decent FF without charting/mapping ... you need to decide if that feature is something you want/need. Google Best Fish Finders for a kayak and it will lead you through the makes/models/features.

 

Prior to purchasing my Compass, I had 2 paddle yaks ... Future Beach Angler 160 and a WS Tarpon 140. My first FF setup was a Hummingbird Piranhamax 4 ... very basic in Black and white. Gives you depth and contours, basically structure. I mounted the transducer inside the hull with goop and a foam mold. Worked OK when it worked ... wires rot quickly and need to be replaced annually. Battery was kept in a DIY rubbermade container to keep relatively dry.

 

My 2nd setup was/is (still have it) an all-in-one setup using a Cellblok Battery box that fits onto rails mounted on the top of the kayak where you want the FF display unit to be. The transducer hangs off the box into the water using an arm mounted to the box. The display is mounted to the top of the box. The battery sits inside the box. Pros ... all in one so there are not wires all over the place, wires stay dryer than wires that are installed inside the hull and will not rot as quickly, and you can swap it out between different platforms. Cons ... a bit clunky and can be in the way of your kayak operation if you don't plan out where to mount it, the transducer/arm produces drag on the kayak. However, it is an overall good option

[bassturds]

Not sure what make and model. My buddy gave this to me when he upgraded to a pedal system 

[computeruser]

We had a lot of conversations about FF topic in this forum. This would be equivalent to ask which car do you drive so you can get the same model. You need to define several parameters among which the first one would be the budget. The maximum price you want to pay  would probably reduce the number of units to 3-4...screen size somewhere between 4" to 7"...5" being the sweet spot... brand Lowrance, Hummingbird or Garmin...and that is it. After that is easy...good luck.

[Mmart]

I have the Garmin striker 4 CV on a Scotty mount with a Nocqua 4Ah battery pack.  I picked it all up over the winter so I don’t have a performance review yet but it’s a pretty compact light weight setup. 

[YakAnglerNJ]

After a lot of research, I ended up going with a Garmin Styker 4 with a Nocqua 10ah battery and it has served me well.  Nice compact setup for my Hobie Compass.

[CBFish]

I have a Humminbird HELIX 5 CHIRP DI GPS G2 (new models are the G3), with the transducer mounted on the plate on my Old Town Salty PDL. The GPS is nice for marking spots. Have not used the DI that much compared to the standard sonar. Wish I had paid for the side-imaging one.

 

My only complaint is that the the "angler" mode removes the menu controls for water-type and depth. Have to set it at "custom" to get to those on the water. Was messing around on the water for too long yesterday trying to get the settings right. Not that it mattered on the Great South Bay; no fish.