Keowee 2 Kayak set up for fishing

[Jim43]

Bought this kayak back 98 and the last few years decided it was time to make it more fishing friendly. Found this HSOforum about kayak fishing, mostly dedicated to offshore ocean kayak fishing but it gave many great ideas for starting out. It took a couple years before it all came together into what I wanted it look like. The Keowee2 is 2 man kayak and I take my son out fishing with it. He absolutely loves it. This is all

we use for fishing. Put my old Minn Kota trolling motor on it

to make it easier getting around, fishfinder and GPS.

Quicktime video of it in action on Sleepy Eye lake: 320x240 @ 7.5mb

Windows Media Player video of it in action: 640x480 @ 9.6mb

[image]http://www.xplanefreeware.net/jim/Jims/jpeg/Keowee2/100_2844.jpg[/image]

[image]http://www.xplanefreeware.net/jim/Jims/jpeg/Keowee2/100_2845.jpg[/image]

[image]http://www.xplanefreeware.net/jim/Jims/jpeg/Keowee2/100_2846.jpg[/image]

[Jim43]

any chance the forum admins can set up this forum to accept

urls and images.

[Cyberfish]

They have the UBB disabled on here, notice even the smilies are not working...

Sounds like a cool setup ya got there, guess I will have to rely on imagination to see what it looks like! :ooo:

[Duffman]

I'm looking into it guys.

Quicktime video of it in action on Sleepy Eye lake: 320x240 @ 7.5mb

Windows Media Player video of it in action: 640x480 @ 9.6mb

[Jim43]

Thanks Duffman

[Jim43]

[DigitalFisherman]

Jim,

How do you have your transducer rigged? I have a very similar set up in an Old Town Canoe and use a suction cup mounted transducer. It works well until I paddle over thick weeds in which in normally gets pulled off.

The rod holders are the best; just tie on a rap and take a leisurely paddle along the weeds... now thats fun fishing.

[Jim43]

I mounted mine to shoot through the hull behind my seat. Found an exellent way to make it work with a 3inch PVC tube using a lexal flexible watersealant to hold it down. Filled it with about 8 ounces of water and its still in it after 4 months. No evaporation as of yet and it works fantastic.

[Twinfisher1]

Jim43 - just wanted to thank you, I borrowed your transducer idea for my sit-on-top. I placed it under the front hatch where it's flat. Tested it yesterday and was amazed at how well it worked and no worries about going through the weeds.

[Jim43]

Quote:

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Jim43 - just wanted to thank you, I borrowed your transducer idea for my sit-on-top. I placed it under the front hatch where it's flat. Tested it yesterday and was amazed at how well it worked and no worries about going through the weeds.

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Cetainly glad it worked out for you. I to was amazed at how

it worked when I first tested it out. I had to reset the

depthfinder since its settings were all messed up from my

previous setup. siliconed it down, that was a joke. never

did dry.

But once it was reset, it was more like I was watching the

demo. to real to believe it could work so good. It put me

on the fish right away to. Had to turn off the fish alarm,

was driving me crazy with its beeping and my son asking what

it was.

[NorthWoodsGuy]

Hey Digital. Do you have any pics of the Mods you made to your Old Town? I'm looking to make mine more fisher-friendly and would love some recommendations.

Thanks!

[Jim43]

Since you started the idea, I uploaded all my mod construction

photos of my kayak.

My first project was deciding how to make that old trolling

motor make life easier for me. Had some leftover PVC boards

and fashioned them into what I felt would work as a motor

mount on my yak.

After getting the motor mount working I had to come up with

a roof rack for my van. Had lots of oak to work with.

That was just the start on the roof rack, then it was back to

working on the kayak deciding what sort of decking I would

use. Had some masonite panels leftover and cut them up.

After that, I wanted to get some deck loops mounted for

making a anchor trolly system. That way I won`t have to

figure out how to retrieve the anchor from up front.

Back to the roof rack, after staining it and finishing it up.

Did not take long for me to figure out the getting this kayak

up and down from the top of my van was not as easy I thought

it would be. After experiancing a slight shoulder seperation

and sore back, the roof rack gathers dust in my storage area.

keep reading for more later.

[NorthWoodsGuy]

Wow Jim. Those are some great ideas. I've been wondering how I should rig an anchor system so I don't have to go to the front of the canoe. I've also seen some that have a pulley system coming right of the bow but your idea looks like less hassle.

Do you run your depth finder off a motorcycle or gell-type battery? Did you build a storage area for that as well?

I have a square stern canoe so I don't have to worry about mounting an engine/electric but your idea is pretty ingenious.

Thanks for the visuals!

[Jim43]

Had to come up with new ideas to carry my kayak after finding

it to difficult to keep putting it up on top of my van. Had

this old homebuilt utility trailer my father had used for years for flea markets with my mother. Well, he died back in 93 and my mother didn`t drive so I was left with it. I looked it over after having used it for the past 10 years as a storage area. Came up with idea, why not cut a hole in the

front of it for my kayak to fit the nose through.

Used some pool noodles to line the cutout after sanding it down to protect the kayak.

Anchor trolly system completed.

Homemade kayak transporter made from old aluminum lawn chairs

and a set of cheaper wheels from Northern Tool.

Paddle clips made from cheap broom holders.

Rod and bait bucket holder made from old milk crate held

down with deck loops and bungie cords.

Rod holders made from 1.5 inch PVC tubes and cutouts for reel

Had to do something about that uncomfortable seat.

Adding the latest in electronics was a must

Decided to make quick connects for the trolling motor power,

wired the hull with cables to battery up front all with easy

connections. Its a snap to power up.

Completed the decking with rod holder, Tackle box holder and

electronics quick connects.

Found that John Deer yellow paint to match the hull worked great.

Bought a 12 volt battery from cabelas for powering the fish finder. Now inside its own box mounted under tackle box housing.

Test run on sleepy eye lake back in april.

Swivel mount allows my son to enjoy the action from the

electronics to.

All decked out at Clear lake.

The best method yet for mounting a tranducer to shoot through

the hull. Just a enough water to fill it and it will work

fantastic.

Feel free to try out some of these mods on your kayaks or

canoes. Have fun out there.

[Twinfisher1]

Thanks Jim43, looks like I'll be making another trip to the hardware store.

[Jim43]

Quote:

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Thanks Jim43, looks like I'll be making another trip to the hardware store.

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Yep, I practicaly live at my local hardware stores. And

my occasional trip over to Cabela`s. My sons favorite store.

He wants to live there.

Oh yes, this is where I learned how to do all these mods.

Kayakfishingstuff.com

Check them out. many great idead to be found in here.

[NorthWoodsGuy]

I really like your anchor system. Like TwinFisher, I better get to the hardware store. Seeing all of those mods has really got my mind a buzzin'.

[Jim43]

Hey guys, show us your mods when you get em done and share

them with us. Its always interesting to see.

[live_2_fish]

I have one question. How do you keep it balanced with the trolling motor on the side like that.

[Jim43]

It rides perfect in the water, no lean at at all. Only out

of water will you notice it when on a flat surface. Balances

out great with my weight and my son included. Along with all

our junk we take along.

Oh yes, the trolling motor is only about 10 to 12 lb. I

shortened the shaft on it by 12 inches. And the Keowee 2

is the most stable kayak made back then, heard of many users

standing in them while fishing. Not this guy though. I`m

not that brave.