Fishing out of a kayak?

The seat risers are shown from an above angle. You can see how the tackle box can now slide under. These are made by someone with a 3D printer and one has cracked on installation but has yet to malfunction. I still wish I sat higher while casting. I will figure it out some how. I have installled these same risers twice because I moved them from my first Compass to my second Compass. The instructions included are thorough enough. It requires simply drilling 1 hole in each of the top of the posts.(easy part) One stainless steel machine screw and nut for each post. The hard part was reaching in through the center hatch to hold the nuts for the screws to thread onto. I removed the center hatch ring to give myself an extra inch of reach. I also glued the nuts to my fingertip to keep them there till I had them on the screw.
I also showed a pic of the Engel dry box/cooler that comes with the rod holders. The way it sits behind the seat, and allows the bungees to slip over the rod holders couldn't be more ideal for convenience of on/off. It was only about $60 from Amazon. These 4 rod holders and 1 mounted up front are what I use. I don't use the factory rod holders because I don't want my rods angled out like outriggers to snag on seagrass or dock pylons.

 

oh, thanks. i think am going to try those. we could all use an extra inch! just getting a box under the seat is worth the cost of admission.

 

How do you like the H-Bar? Do you use it much?

 

Never used it. Haha. I bought this kayak used, two months old from an older guy who ended up never using it. I’ll probably pull it off and sell it.

 

thanks for the heads up. If I lean yak on its side I can reach in and touch that rear seat rest easily. I just tried it.

 

This is pretty much why I own a Tacoma. I wanted a pickup to haul the Hobie around. This was my first outing with the new setup. I bought the Yakima Hitch extender, rather than the T-Bone extender. They are both good products but Yakima offers more adjustability. I want to improve the padding on the cross bar and add one more strap to the bed. I ordered a C-Tug cart to replace the cheap junk cart I'm using now. I am making a rod holder to properly transport the rods in the bed. I made a rolling storage cart rack also. The cart rolls the yak out of the garage, with all gear on shelf below. It lets me slide the Hobie onto the bed, and then off again. My garage space is improving, now that I can sell the kayak trailer.

 

You ever think about the Toyota OEM Roof rack? I use it for my Hobie and it gets the kayak away from ‘rear Enders’. It holds the kayak just fine.

 

I use the Boondox. I love the thing. Rearenders? Ahhh, can’t worry about that. I checked; my insurance would cover it. I’d upgrade to an Outback and have a backup pedal drive! Besides , I’d assume my truck would be wrecked as well.
What I need a a piece of that fade proof, weather proof Sunbrella fabric to make a red safety flag. Mine is wearing thin. It’s a cut up shopping bag from that Asian bakery 85deg C. It’s a good bag, not a great bag. I do still have the other half of the bag for one more flag.

Im tempted to put on rain gear to head out again today. I am so bored.

 

I'm about a 45 minutes from the boat ramp that I frequent. I'm not worried about rearenders. I like it easy and convenient. My kayak rolls out of the garage, off the rack, into the bed. I keep it rigged with the cooler and a few other items onboard, which adds to the weight and the clumsiness, so the roof would be more difficult. I'm adding a few more mods to make the loading more secure and efficient.

 

You guys got some wild budgets bro. I'm over here with my $250 Lifetime Tamarack Angler that i got from Walmart

 

My belief is that budget is secondary. I bought an entry level sit in and gradually modified it to suit my needs. The most important focus should be on your angling abilities and attention to detail. My fishing buddy has a Predator with all the bells and whistles and I out fish him significantly. Yes, he has fun but he isn't nearly as serious and focused on fishing. I'm not bashing the high end rigs but you don't need them to be successful......

 

Love fishing out of my Wilderness Systems ATAK 120, very stable to stand and cast....but can be a chore to paddle in certain conditions.

 

I do alright fishing little local kayak bass tourneys in my “kayak”

 

that is a good fish!!

for arguments sake..your kayak is geared up way beyond my kayak. that is a spectacular setup. but we all draw our own lines in the sand with regards to our own set ups..

"The most important focus should be on your angling abilities and attention to detail"...<-----i believe my god-daughter would call this a humble brag..hahha..

my fishing abilities are suspect, and my attention to detail is errr...developing.

 

Thanks. That little pond has produced some real bruisers.
Everyone rigs their yaks to suit their needs and taste. Sometimes I wish my yak wasn't so overly rigged, but at the same time I would miss those items. Attention to detail sometimes eludes me when I get lazy and all too often it comes back to bite me in the ass in some manner. I don't want to lose a fish of a lifetime by overlooking something simple. It doesn't stop being only about tackle. It's an awareness of everything.

 

Jackson Kilroy. Love it. Do lots of trips on the Susquehanna river, camp on islands. Great small mouth fishing. Love the yak too, you can stand in it and cast, it's not too heavy to put on the roof, and lots of space to stash camping equipment and rods.

 

To Florida folks. When I was stationed there in the mid 70’s the gators were coming back strong. Seems they are darned near everywhere now.

The question is how do they react to kayaks? I did some canoeing around Eglin AFB and the gators would usually just ignore you.

 

Night fishing for largemouth bass on the Colorado River.

 

I have a Kilroy also!

This year, I plan to fish out of it.

 

Gators generally leave you alone, unless some idiot has been feeding them. Gators learn quick that a human can be an easy meal. But a gator can chase after a splashing fish, that is one thing that will attract them. You definitely need to be careful if you happen to get near a gators nest. Usually you can hear the babies grunting. But its wise to get the hell out of that area.

Fishing in a more remote areas is actually better as far as gators go, since they haven't been exposed to very many humans. My record is having 14 gators around my kayak. Who knows how many were under the water. However, most were small, under 6 feet.