Category: Diy

Kayak Fish Finder Installation Guide

10/11/2019

A handy guide covering the essentials of choosing a fish finder and installing this to a fishing kayak. This guide takes a detailed look at fish finder technology, mounting a fish finder to a kayak, the different ways to fit a transducer to a kayak and the options for powering a fish finder. Install a fish finder to your kayak and start catching more fish!

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Lithium Battery Box for Kayak Fish Finders

21/1/2019

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Waterproof Lithium Battery Pack for Kayaks

I have used a standard Sealed Lead Acid battery for several years to power my fish finder without issue, however these batteries do have one downside.... they are heavy! Lithium batteries offer a much lighter option but lightweight comes at a cost, and lithium batteries must be fully waterproofed to use safely on the water. This is how i made a Lithium battery with waterproof housing for my kayak...

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Waterproof Battery Box for Kayak Fish Finders

21/7/2018

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DIY Waterproof Battery Box for Kayaks and Fish Finders

Fish finders are a common accessory that anglers add to their fishing kayaks. As standard, fish finders run off a 12V power supply and on a kayak this will have to be provided in the form of a re-chargeable battery. This blog post shows you how to make a waterproof battery box to keep your power source dry whilst you are on the water....

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Fitting a Rod Rest to the Hobie Revolution 16

12/4/2017

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Fitting a Rod Rest to the Hobie Revolution 16

I have been using a rod rest on my fishing kayaks for the last few years. It is a really useful piece of kit, and perfect for keeping rod tips at a low level when bottom fishing on the drift or at anchor. It makes for a handy place to rest a rod whilst tackling, baiting up and unhooking fish too. I would now struggle without one on any of my fishing kayaks so here is how i fitted my DIY rod rest to the Hobie Revolution 16....

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Installing a Raymarine Dragonfly 5 Pro on a Hobie Kayak

10/4/2017

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Raymarine Dragonfly 5 Pro Fish Finder installation on a Hobie Kayaks

Next up on the Hobie Revolution 16 rigging list is the installation of a fish finder. I have been using a Raymarine Dragonfly 5-Pro for the last couple of years and it's great, so it was time to fit this to the Revo 16. This blog post runs through how i installed the 5-Pro using the 'Lowrance-Ready' fish finder installation system that comes as standard on the latest Hobie Kayaks.

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Installing an Anchor Trolley on the Hobie Revolution 16

1/4/2017

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Installing an Anchor Trolley on the Hobie Revolution 16

An anchor trolley is essential for the safe anchoring of a kayak. It allows you to set the point along the kayak at which your anchor line enters the water, usually the stern. It can be fully operated from the seating position for ease of use. I often fish at anchor for numerous species so i an anchor trolley is a must for me. This is how i installed an anchor trolley on the Hobie Revolution 16....

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DIY Kayak Anchor Reel

30/1/2017

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An anchor reel is a standard piece of equipment in an anchoring system, you need somewhere to store your anchor line! By using some form of reel, your anchor line is stored neatly and in an easy to use format. There are no 'off-the-shelf' dedicated kayak fishing anchor reels so many people use either a divers reel or some form of homemade reel. This blog post outlines my method of anchoring and how i made an anchor reel for kayak fishing.

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Rigging the RTM Rytmo Angler For Kayak Fishing

3/8/2016

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Rigging the RTM Rytmo Angler for Kayak Fishing

It was time to rig up the new RTM Rytmo Angler for fishing! This blog post details the equipment i have fitted to the kayak including: a Fish Finder, an Anchor Trolley and Anchoring System, a Rod Rest, a Storage Crate and more....

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Sealants & Adhesives for Kayak Rigging

1/8/2016

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Sealants and Adhesives for Kayak Rigging

I often hear of people being afraid of drilling holes into their kayak to install various fittings and attachments. Providing that the fitting is above the waterline and decent sealant and/or adhesive is used then there is really nothing to be afraid of! So on that note lets take a quick look at some recommended sealants and adhesives for kayak rigging....

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Making Soft Plastic Lures: Part 2 - Homemade Lead Heads

27/2/2016

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After the success of making split belly shad bodies, the next step was to make lead heads. Ideally an aluminium mould would be used but these are expensive to have custom made. After some research and helpful advice i decided to create a mould using high temperature resistance RTV silicon. This blog post outlines how i created a two piece RTV silicon mould to make homemade lead heads for the split belly shad bodies created in Part 1.....

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Ram Mount Rod Rest for Kayak Fishing

27/10/2015

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Most kayaks come with rear facing flush mount rod holders and these are great for trolling a lure or storing the rods whilst paddling. Some kayaks come with forward facing flush mount rod holders and these are useful for when fishing at anchor or on the drift, however they position the rods at quite a steep angle. I find this annoying when bait fishing in chop or swell where the sharp angle tends to bounce the weight on the bottom instead of gently dragging it across the bottom. I needed a rod holding solution that positioned the rods at a lower angle. The use of a rod rest has recently become popular so i decided to make a fully adjustable rod rest system that i could easily transfer between any of my fishing kayaks. This is how i done it.....

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Making Soft Plastic Lures: Part 1 - Split Belly Shad Bodies

25/10/2015

Lure fishing has brought me great results this year. It is a fantastic way of fishing but there is one problem..... lures are expensive! I have been aware that the moulds and kits are available to pour your own soft plastic lures for some time so I took the plunge and brought everything i needed to pour my own lure bodies. It is surprisingly easy to do and it will save a lot of money replacing lures that have torn or have been chewed to a rubbery death. Here is a run through of how to make them....

Installing a Lowrance Elite 4x-DSI Fishfinder

10/7/2015

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My Lowrance Elite 4x-DSI was installed on my Abaco until i replaced it with the Raymarine Dragonfly so i decided to install the Lowrance unit on the Tempo. Here's a run through of how i installed it including:

Making a waterproof battery box
Making a battery box holder
Mounting the head unit
Installing the transducer in-hull

As with the Raymarine Install the process can be applied to virtually any kayak and fish finder where the transducer needs to be mounted inside the hull.

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Fitting an Anchor Trolley and Reel to the RTM Tempo

17/11/2014

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An anchor trolley is a fairly essential part of anchoring up whilst fishing. It allows you to position the point along the kayak at which your anchor line will enter the water. This allows you to position the kayak in a comfortable and, more importantly, safe position relative to the wind, swell and tide......

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Fitting an Anchor Trolley and Reel to the RTM Abaco

11/4/2014

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Fitting a fish finder on the RTM Abaco

11/4/2014

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It was time to fit my Lowrance Elite 4x DSI Fish Finder to the Abaco. I had fitted it temporarily for the first couple of sessions out but wanted to make it a more permanent fixture. I also wanted to rig it in a way that would allow me to transfer it between kayaks should i want to use it on my tandem. This would mean no wires passing through the hull thus allowing the complete set up to be removable.

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Fitting a camera/go pro pole to the RTM Abaco

11/4/2014

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Last year i made an extendable camera/go pro pole which fits within a flush mount rod holder but this limits the scope for filming angles. I occasionally like to grab the pole and jump in the water to get up close and personal with the local wildlife so require the camera pole to be removable. At the same time i want to be able to put the camera pole in lots of different angles for filming and photography.

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Accessory mounting board for slide tracks

11/4/2014

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Slide tracks can be fitted to many kayaks for mounting various accessories onto. The RTM Abaco 4.20 luxe comes with slide rails factory fitted either side of the footwell. Some accessories such as the Yak Attack screw balls or purpose made Ram ball slide track mounts will fit directly to the rails. I was planning to mount a scotty base onto the slide track but wanted a solid board on which to attach it to. Slide track mounting boards can be purchased but seem very expensive for what looks like a simple strip of plastic so i planned on making my own.

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Creating storage on the RTM Abaco

11/4/2014

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The RTM Abaco comes with plenty of storage space. There is a large front hatch with removable basin, a sealed centre storage area with rod tube and a huge rear tank well. The front hatch is perfect for storing a C-Tug whilst out on the water with the basin removed, with the basin in place it makes a great space to store clothing or other smaller items. The sealed centre storage area is great for storing tackle and a spare lure rod. The rear tank well provides the largest storage space and is the perfect width to take a storage crate......

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DIY Extendable Go Pro/Camera Pole

21/12/2013

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Ive been using a fairly crude makeshift pole on which to mount my Go Pro HD Hero 2 for the last year but have finally got round to making a more suitable and versatile pole for the job. The idea isn't new with a few kayak fisherman having made their own so thought i would have a crack at making one suited to my needs - for use on the kayak and for use when snorkelling.....

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