Newbe checking in...

Greetings all,

Not only am I a newbe to the sight but I am a newbe to the sport of kayak fishin. I am very excited about the up and coming fishing seasons.

After the Springer season closed last year I got into fishing off the rocks and jetties on the Oregon Coast, I spent most of my time at Boiler Bay state park catching Lings, Bass and Cabezon. I had also taken a couple of Charter trips and did well and had a great time. One day I saw a couple of guys heading out of Pacific City and thought that that was the way to go, so when a gal I know said she was selling her sea kayak, I said "sold".

So with the help of all you old salts, I hope to get my yak decked out so I can go out and enjoy my time on the water.

Thanks,

Jason

Welcome EveryDayJay,

Where are you located?  Chances are there are probably a few other members nearby these days.

If you have any questions feel free to post them. I'm sure you'll get lots of good answers.

Brian

Sorry, I live on the East side of the West side. Raleigh Hills. I wish I had more time to post all of my questions.

My first topic: Fish finders...

1) What fishfinders/GPS/depth finder have you used and what are the Pro's and Con's of it?

2) What is the best way to mount the unit once I get one?

Thanks everyone in advance.

Jason

Hello edj,

Welcome to the forum.  Check out some of the product discussions on the board for ff info.  I'm working on getting mine done too (hopefully soon).  Good luck - Alan

Sorry, I live on the East side of the West side. Raleigh Hills.

Nice another Portland area member.

As for fishfinders... they're all pretty good and like most things you get what you pay for.  That said, I find the fish finders in the $100-$150 range a good price point.. good enough to see bottom structure and cheap enough that you don't have to worry so much taking it out on a kayak.  It would be nice to have a $500 high resolution color fish finder, but I'd worry about it too much.  Some fish finders also have the GPS built in and those tend to cost a bit more.  Several members really seem to like their Eagle Cuda 250's which include GPS features.

As for fish finder mounting?  Are you referring to mounting the display or the transducer.  Generally, the transducer can be mounted inside of your hull such that it "shoots through" the bottom of your kayak.  There is no need to cut a big whole in you kayak for the transducer to work.  As for mounting the display, they usually come with a basic mount and if you can find a nice flat surface on your kayak in a location that is far enough away that it doesn't get in the way, yet isn't so far away that you can't access the controls.

Brian

Welcome aboard! 

Some key things to keep in mind:
Safety - Dress for immersion.  Treat every go out as though you're going to Huli (flip/fall out)
- Anything you wanna keep should be secured to your yak
Keep anything that's not waterproof in a dry bag
- Spend some time learning to re-board in still water.  It will be time well spent
- If you're going to fish the ocean, spend some time playing in the surf.  Learn to push thru waves, ride them back in and practice reboarding in the surf.


Fishfinders:
In addition to what bsteves said, you can mount your fishfinder on a RAM or Scotty mount so that it's removeable.  This is handy for transporting and for keeping it secure during surf launches/landings.
Do a search on the site and you'll find lots of info. on mounting a fish finder.  For hardware ideas try: http://www.kayakfishinggear.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=13

Good Luck and Happy Yak Pimping!