Seeking Alaska "Expert" Opinions on planned Outback Modifications

My Outback should be here in April and I want everything I need pre-ordered
The plan is right side gear/left side fish wrangling. With no metal topside so upside down car topping still an option.

Lowrance 5x Elite Ball mount in Indent forward of cup holder Right Side Diamond mount
Flush Scotty rod mount placed in built in rod holder location Right side to hang over left side.
    Have Most questions on this (Rectangle/Circle?) (Will it even work)
    Theory says no need to drill just 4 screws, Will I miss the vertical rod holder ability?
Scotty Zooka tube with the extension unit
Long Term Plans: Geartrac on right/Left side aft cup holder indent for pot/anchor puller or downrigger, Possible 4" aft for safety flag

Anyone currently geared Alaska ready see any gotcha's for Salmon/Halibut chasing
Also trying to figure out how to keep Harpoon/net and leave space to hold fish and best place to hold fish/gear.
Any Lessons Learned/Regrets I should avoid?
All opinions welcome

A good place to start for many of your questions would be Rudy's YouTube page. 
https://www.youtube.com/user/guidesak

I'm sure that the Ak Master himself will be here shortly to guide you.

-Mark-

LOL I think I have been you tube stalking Rudy since last September when I thought "I need a kayak to fish from next year"

You guys crack me up. If anything, my advice would be don't do what I do. Seriously. I tend to be an early adopter of concepts but too lazy to fix or upgrade. Example. My downrigger.  I like it right behind me. But after seeing all of the other builds, I plan on doing something different next time.

I like the rod holder mount in the cup holder or factory mounts. 4 screws vs a gaping one inch hole. I did it on my second outback.

Get a folbe or try the new Scottie orca holders. You can't muscle a rod out of a kayak without risking balance issues. Love my folbe rod holders.

My net/harpoon is on my right behind me. Spare rod behind me on left side. I net  fish on the left side. Harpoon on the right side mostly.

I don't use a flag. But if I did Id just stick something on top of my spare rod or harpoon.

Glad to see Ya on the boards!!!  Let's fish!!!!!

Square or circle Scotty flush mount?

Square or circle Scotty flush mount?

Uhhh....circle...I think...

Square or circle Scotty flush mount?

Uhhh....circle...I think...

Yup...circle.

i second Rudy's Folbe rod holder suggestion. And, if you go with their holder, look to see if you can get similar mounts from them. I have scotty mounts I'd installed before buying the Folbe rod holder, and I swear the two aren't a perfect match.

I do wish I'd gone with the holder in the pre-fab areas instead of drilling an extra hole. Not that I've had any issues, but it makes sense.

In fact, this summer, down in Hawaii, we fished big local fish and the guide (a Hobie sponsored fisherman) didn't have anything drilled into his boat. We used the pre-fab rod holders, and they seemed fine. It was the first time I questioned whether the drilling we do here is actually necessary...or just "inspired" by early devotees of kayak fishing who didn't have rod holders similar to the Hobie holders.

-Jeff

Regular rod holders work fine if you aren't addicted to watching your rod tip. Even if I had a bell or something, it'd drive me nuts or strain my neck looking at the rod trip. I know because I've tried using them after losing my rod holder...

Scotty orca rod holder with gearhead extender and the slip discs, sailing mast ram ball mount for FF, and round rod holder mounts that fit in the cup holders.   All of this will keep everything from sticking up above the lines of the kayak when removed.  Makes it easier when loading/unloading from rooftop.

Also consider some type of container/milk crate behind seat for extra tackle, fishing rods, and fish storage.

The biggest piece of advice I have is to fish in the yak before you drill.  Its hard to undrill plastic

Here's my Outback, just for comparison. Couldn't be happier with the setup... But those Orca rod holders do look pretty slick...

Will you miss the vertical rod holder? Probably not. But I do use it sometimes while rigging up, etc. It's just a quick spot to set your rod down for a second. I never leave it in there while I'm fishing.

Square (rectangle) vs. round flush mount? I think the rectangle spreads the load a little wider, but I'm sure both would work just fine. Whichever you choose, make sure to use a backing plate (chunk of plastic cutting board works great) and stainless steel hardware.

I do have a RAM ball sticking up on my port side rail, but it's in a position that doesn't interfere with car topping on racks. The rack lines up right between the ram ball and the Yakattack DR mount rails. Slightly annoying while loading up, but no big deal...

My two cents on your questions, after taking some of Rudy's advice setting mine up.
 
 - Scotty flush mount (round) Rod holder in forward rod holder - just had to drill the screw holes, works well but I haven't the halibut experience that Rudy has, but I had the scotty on hand so working with it.
 - Lowrance is in the exact spot you mention, see pic.  I was able to bring the cables through the new Hobie cable ports, had to cut the NMEA cable back short to use the hobie rubber grommet inserts, but I dont use NMEA anyway.  I also had to extend the power cable to my battery mount under forward hatch.  I tried Rudy's wiring with the cables coming out the hatch, didn't like it, but with them coming out forward of the handle recess, I need to be careful when loading onto rack as they don't stow away inside anymore.  Looping them with the drive retention bungee seems OK to keep out of the way. 
 - Battery mount is forward, battery tye-wrapped to a small board to center it, the board tye-wrapped to forward interior post and to two self-adhesive tye-wrap mounts to keep it centered. 
 - So, basically all gear items right, fishing = keep left. 

Hope that helps - see pic for finished rod/FF rigging.

AKRider

Lorwance 5hdi, Scotty Orca,  Rod mount extender,  locking Scotty mount in rod holder..,  ram mount for finder.  The transducer required removing some of the mounting plate to fit in the Lorwance ready cubby 50/200, 400/800 hdi. The round ball mount required filing to fit but everything works great.  Appreciate all the advice.
Upside down photo sorry