Kayak Rigging and Fishing

Bought this Wilderness Systems Ride 115 kayak late last fall and have been slowly working on getting it rigged up and ready to fish this spring. Here are a few pictures of what I have done so far.

When it was purchased

 

Nice rig!!! My river froze up again last night, warmer days should be here soon

 

Working on the trolling motor setup at this time. They want anywhere from $600-$2000 to buy a kit ready to assemble. I said no way and will have less than $250 in my whole setup. Built the mounting bracket out of Aluminum plate and it will have a 30lb Minkota on it. To steer the motor I have rigged up rudder lines and toe pedals so it will be hands free. All I have left for the rudder system is to drill the aluminum bar and install the eyelet bolts. I am currently in the process of running the wiring inside the boat and installing the speed selector switch. The battery will be mounted inside the front hatch to balance it all out.

I don't figure I will always use the trolling motor so I installed everything with quick detach in mind. It only takes a screwdriver and less than a 2 minutes and it's all off the yak.

 

Just picked up a Lowrance DSI/Sonar Combo and rigged up a battery box. Installed it all last night. A few shots of the screed in daytime and night mode. Once I get the electrical installed in the boat I won't have need for the battery box but I wanted to take the yak out this weekend to give the fish finder a try. The stuff to rig up a battery box was only about $5.

 

Nice set up. Please post future pictures.

 

This also includes fish pic's

 

Of course!

 

Just Remember I said I was fishing not catching!

I need to snap some pictures of the Zooka tube rod holders and my anchor trolley line system I set up for anchoring in the river.

 

haha you're going all out eh? My brother and I have yaks set up for fresh water bass fishing.
Paddle holder, Rod holders, anchor, humminbird smartcast RF35 fishfinder (discontinued watch type).
I prefer the exercise so no trolling motor but use the yak every season. I find the 7 ft baitcasters a little
tough to work but am getting better with practice. Have had these setups for 8 years now.
There's my brother in his WS pamlico, and my heritage featherlite on the racks. Have fun with yours!

 

Very Nice! I fished in something similar to that for a few years before switching to this kayak last fall.
I highly doubt the trolling motor will be used that much however there a few specific rivers I fish that I frequently find myself paddling 8-12 miles round trip. Last year I ended up 4 miles down stream from the landing and it got dark. paddled 4 miles back upstream at 9:30 in the evening after fishing most of the day. I'm guessing it it will be used on 10% of the trips or less. We are also planning on doing some night fishing on the river this year so it' s a nice insurance policy for if you are really tired. I actually pulled all of the trolling motor equipment off to go trout fishing tomorrow.

 

Certified, that seat looks really comfortable. I like that it is up a little higher off the bottom of the boat. Nice set up.

 

That is a nice setup. Here in Virginia you would have to register that kayak since it is motorized. You didn't used to for anything 12' and under but they took that away.

 

That seat is the most comfortable kayak seat I have sat in. It has lumbar and thigh support that are fully adjustable. Funny thing is that seat is considered the low seat on this yak. I am really considering ordering the high seat which is about 6" higher than that. This kayak is built for stability and I stand and fish from it all the time which makes it really nice to stretch your legs when you are out for long periods of time.

 

As stupid as it is you have to register every kayak and canoe in ohio even if it is powered by you. You can get a kayak registration but its only about $5 dollars cheaper and not valid if you put a motor on it. I went ahead and did the full boat registration when I bought it with the idea in mind I was going to setup a trolling motor.

 

They want $.

 

Couple of other pictures of my rod holders and anchor trolley line. f

 

FYI, PA requires a registration for a kayak on the majority of waters. At one time they were going to phase in mandatory vest use as well. Not sure if that has gone through. Pretty sure the motor would qualify the kayak as a standard boat here.

 

Any watercraft with a motor requires registration here in MA.

Certifieds yak is a sit on top which is why the seat is higher.
Mine is a sit in. I looked at both and weighed the pro's and con's
for my particular needs. Sit on tops are too heavy for me to
deal with. I've got an alum. 16 foot bass boat with all the goodies anyway,
but when I want lightweight and easy to load/unload I go for the yak.
36lbs and easy peasy to pop on top of my Jeep and go in five minutes.
I have and do spend up to 8 hours fishing in this thing and the seat
is awesome comfy.

 

You need to get that thing down to the AEP District. (Old Ohio Power District) 500 ponds.

 

Amish have really put a hurting on a lot of the lakes/ponds. I fish down in that area all summer, but I also work down around there almost everyday so I'm always checking out new ponds!