Installing a Fish Finder on a Kayak

Fishing from a kayak brings many advantages over traditional boats. Kayaks are small, very maneuverable, and can float in even the shallowest waters. Additionally, collapsing kayaks can be separated and carried by hand or even in a backpack, enabling fishermen to easily travel overland in quest for the best fishing spot. In any case, kayaks are not known for having the capacity to accommodate a great deal of extras.

The restricted on board space, not to mention the single body and closeness to the water, mean that attaching any accessories is somewhere close to difficult and unimaginable. Be that as it may, that doesn’t mean that a fisherman should abandon utilizing a fish finder to enhance his fishing knowledge, only that he should pick a fish finder suitable for the job.

benefit from any of its more advanced features.

Mounting a fish finder permanently, or even semi-permanently, on a kayak is difficult at best. While the absolute modern kayaks do incorporate a mounting point, most don’t. Additionally, most fish finders require an external power source, usually a 12V battery – something that doesn’t exist on a kayak. Along these lines, before considering the installation of a fish finder, it is important to discover one that is suitable for mounting on a kayak.

Various fishfinders on the market today are ideal for kayaks and other small, human-controlled watercraft. Such fish finders are totally waterproof and intended to withstand the knocks and scrapes they will probably experience on the water. With independent batteries and over-the-side or free-floating transducers, many fish finders oblige almost no installation. Indeed, even those with semi-permanent installation may require minimal more than boring a couple gaps and driving in a couple screws. This makes installing them (and expelling them afterward) easy.

For such installations, guarantee that the kayak won’t be harmed. A few kayaks, especially collapsing kayaks, are liable to tearing or generally having structural damage if openings are penetrated. Additionally, fabric secured kayaks don’t really have any great place to mount a stationary point, regardless of the possibility that it will be expelled when the kayak is not being used. In this way, a fish finder with a strong mounting point ought to only be utilized on a kayak that is intended for it, ideally one where the architects who outlined it put a place for accessories to be mounted.

Be certain to check the instructions for both manufacturers the kayak and the fish finder to guarantee that you are penetrating in the right place. Utilize a template before penetrating the openings for the hard mount, and make certain that no hard bits of metal or plastic stretch out inside the kayak without being secured, as this can make contact with your pants or legs and can cut them while you are kayaking. Also, make sure that you can easily expel the mount when it is not being used, to counteract it being broken in storage. If this won’t be an issue, it may be shrewd to utilize an adhesive to permanently secure the mount, since this eliminates the need to bore holes

Fortunately, there are many alternatives to these hard mounts. Many units now have suction containers for easy mounting and removal, although this is not as much as optimal in chilly conditions or when traveling over harsh water where the gadget may break free at an untimely moment. As such, when choosing such a mount, it is important to consider regardless of whether the gadget will break free, and if along these lines, regardless of whether it can be attached by a few means to shield it from going overboard.

One major advantage that kayaks have over traditional boats with regard to fish finders is their thin frames. The thin frame eliminates the need to install a transducer beneath the boat. Instead, it can essentially be mounted safely inside the boat, and allowed to produce and get sound waves through the body. This is particularly valid on account of collapsing kayaks and fabric kayaks. Alternatively, many transducers can basically be placed overboard and allowed to keep running as you fish, and because of the moderate moving nature of kayaks when compared with motored craft, it is even conceivable to continue utilizing these gadgets when the kayak is in motion.

Advances in innovation have eliminated the requirement for a mounted unit altogether. Different companies now create fish finders intended to float freely outside the boat, usually on a line, and then communicate remotely to a wireless or other handset in the boat. While this necessitates a waterproof case should you utilize your phone as the receiver, it means that the only “installation” is recalling to attach it to your boat so it doesn’t float away. While these transceivers do have a tendency to have less resolutions than more powerful, permanently mounted units, they offer all that anyone could need for kayakers who need to see what is beneath them for fishing.

A big factor in buying a fish finder is deciding whether to install it yourself or pay someone to do it for you. If you have never installed a fish finder before this article will give you an overview of the general process. It is not intended to be a step by step guide for any particular fish finder but it will give you an idea of whether you have the right skills to tackle the installation yourself.

Getting Started:

You can purchase fish finder installation kits or assemble the components yourself using off the shelf products. The kit usually comes with some or all of the following components:

• A rubber grommet or water seal (for feeding the wiring from the transducer to the fish finder display unit).
• Some extra wire a waterproof battery pack and battery pack bag
• A foam block (for mounting the transducer in the boat)
• A heavy-duty marine sealant such as Marine Goop or Lexel

Your fish finder unit may or may not come with an installation kit, but at the very minimum should contain:

1. Fishfinder display unit
2. A Ram mount
3. Mounting bracket (to attach the fish finder display unit to the boat)
4. Transducer
5. Power cable

Mounting the Fishfinder Display unit

Determine where you will mount the fish finder. Choose a location that makes it easy to reach while navigating the boat, and out of the way of any obstructions. Some installation mounts have back brackets which must be screwed on for stability. This type of mount requires you have access to the part of the boat underneath the mount so you can tighten the screws. You will need to drill holes for the mount and attach it securely. You can then insert the ram mount and fish finder unit.

Installing the Fishfinder transducer

There is more than one way to do this and it depends on your preference and on the type of fish finder you purchased. Mounting a transducer inside the bottom of the boat involves cutting out a hole in a foam block designed to cushion the transducer. You attach the foam block using a good quality sealant and then insert the transducer in the foam block. The sealant must be applied carefully avoiding gaps and bubbles for the transducer to work correctly. An outside mount may require drilling a hole in the boat. You can use a rubber grommet or a water seal and plenty of sealant to make the hole watertight. Alternatively you can mount the transducer on the hull, at a point high enough to be in the water but out of the way of rocks or obstacles.

Wiring up a Fishfinder to the Transducer.

This step involves routing the power cable from the transducer to the fish finder display unit and may involve drilling another hole to keep the installation neat and tidy. Again, a grommet or water seal may be needed.

The last step is Wiring up the Unit to the Battery Pack.

You may need to add additional lengths of wire depending on where you plan to stash the battery pack, the size of your boat etc. The batteries must be sealed in a waterproof container, such as a waterproof battery pack bag.

These are the basic steps required for installing a fishfinder. After you follow the four steps above, you can tidy up any loose wires with tie wraps and tuck them out of site. If you are handy with a drill and pair of wire crimpers it is easy enough to do but if the idea of drilling holes in your boat and crimping battery wires doesn’t thrill you it is well worth paying someone to install your fish finder for you.

The Advantages Of Installing a Fishfinder on a Kayak

If you have not yet moved into the fish finder technology then chances are that you have not seen everything that they can do for you. Making use of a fish finder can make an enormous difference in your fishing experience. It’s not a substitute for your knowledge and skillfulness, but it’s an easy to use tool that can enhance your experience and aptitude. No matter how skilled you are with the reel and rod you have to admit that there’s something rather evolutionary about being able to see where the fish are concealed.

Nothing takes the place of know-how when it concerns fishing, but knowing how to correctly use a fishfinder can make a big difference to your results. Learning how to calibrate the equipment and understanding the readouts that you get are the key measures in using this piece of modern technology to your advantage.

A fish finder depends on sonar to find the fish that you are looking for. The sonar emits sound waves to gauge depth. When the sound waves bounce off an object or the base of a lake, the distance can be calculated and objects can be observed on the screen.

In order to be sure the echolocation has a clear path you will have to refer to the recommended mounting placement. You cannot get exact readouts if you don’t have the equipment mounted properly. When you adjust your sensitivity settings you should also refer to the directional manual. It is not uncommon for each different fish finder to have its own setting guidelines which will vary according to the regions you fish. If you tend to go from bay to ocean or ocean to bay you might want to mark your settings when you find them.

Often new technology takes a little bit of getting used to. You will occasionally make a few mistakes along the way and find yourself fishing for a rock, log, or debris that looks a lot like fish on the screen. Once you spend a bit of time making use of the fish finder, though, you’ll be able to spot the difference right away.

The improvements and enhancements that have been applied to this technology are actually quite astounding. You can frequently see things like the tiniest school of fish to the kind of fish that are circling your lure. It is a fantastic device that can still be used in conjunction with your gut feeling, if you prefer.

Merging the old and the new can make for a greater knowledge base when it concerns fishing. You do not have to entirely forsake the old ways in order to take up the new experience of using a fish finder to enhance your pleasure.

Tips For Purchasing A Fishfinder

If you are looking to purchase a fish finder then your choice is going to be heavily dictated by one thing, and that is price. Once you establish what you are willing to spend on a fish finder, you can start looking at which types of models are within that price range, and what types of features you will be benefiting from. Something that you need to establish from the outset is that out of the various features that you find on fish finders, some will actually assist you in catching more fish, whilst others are sheer gimmick.

If you are a beginner then the advice here would definitely be to opt for one of the more simple fish finder units that are on the market – you can move onto something more advanced when you become a bit more seasoned and a bit more aware of what you are doing. Besides, certain features on a more advanced fish finder unit will only make sense to you when you have the sound aggregate knowledge that only experience affords you. It makes no sense to pay for an expensive fish finder unit outright, when you are not going to benefit from any of its more advanced features.

A feature that dictates the price of a fish finder is the screen. Whilst a more economical unit will have an LCD (liquid crystal display) screen, more costly finders have CRT (cathode ray tube) screens. Whilst CRT screens are the better of the two, they require far more power and add nothing to a fish finder’s ability to locate fish. Therefore, if you can afford the outlay and the cost of running it, then by all means get a fish finder with a CHT screen, but as a beginner or an average weekend fisher an LCD unit will more than suffice.

Also, important, in terms of the screen, is finding a unit whose screen is visible in direct sunlight. Believe it or not, there are units out there that are extremely tricky to see in direct sunlight, which is surprising, given the fact that a fish finder is a device that is specifically for outdoor use. One tip, though, should you opt for an economy finder with a screen that is affected by sunlight, is to purchase light-reflecting film. This is available online and in specialist technology/electrical appliance stores, and is made specifically for digital screens. It will stop sunlight from impeding your view of the device’s screen to such an extent.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you must know what type of fishing you are going to do, because this will dictate the frequency of the fish finder that you choose. Frequency is measured in kHz, and whilst high frequency finders tend to work better for smaller bodies of water, lower frequency finders tend to work better in larger bodies of water. So before you buy a unit, make sure you know where it is that you are going to be doing the majority of your fishing. Most people tend to start with a medium-frequency fish finder, so that they get good all-round usage. When you have been fishing for a while, and you have settled into a certain type of fishing, such as river fishing, for instance, or sea fishing, then you can upgrade to a unit with a frequency that is set specifically for the size of bodies of water that you fish.