Scotty Laketroller Revo

I recently purchased a Scotty Laketroller for my Revo 13. I have looked throughout the forum and have seen a lot of different setups, but am wondering if anyone has mounted one in the mesh pocket on the side of the kayak? This location would be ideal for me because it's within reach, and doesn't make it any harder to car top. My other thought is to mount it behind me on the side of the Kayak, but this seems uncomfortable. I like what pmmpete did with his cannon down rigger, but I like having my cup holder available for an ice cold beer. Does anyone have any ideal locations I'm not thinking of?
Kevin


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Are you thinking of mounting a geartrak there and using a mightmount or using the scotty mount and attaching directly?

The safest place to mount a downrigger on a kayak is behind you. This keeps your cockpit free from obstructions when you need to reenter your kayak after falling off. It also keeps you from getting wrapped up in lines if your kayak flips.

Great point rawkfish! I didn't even think about the safety side of things. I will be mounting directly to the Scotty mount with a backing plate.


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I had a Laketroller on my first Revolution, mounted it on a board and put 1inch dowels so it would ride in the holes for the dolly wheels.  Was stable etc but a pita when you got something, had to twist around and crank horizontally, was a drag (literally ) with a 6lb weight. And if you mounted it farther outboard for easier access,  it tended to pull the boat to that side, so I sold that unit when I sold the Revo, and went to using a Delta Diver.  There's a new diver --the Torpedo that is supposed to get down to 100ft, at 2 mph here's a link:

https://www.torpedodivers.com/scart/product_details.asp?ItemNum=J0010

http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/gallery/331_15_02_09_4_40_31_2.jpg

I originally set mine up behind me on top of my milk crate. I found it too difficult to reach behind me and control the downrigger, while managing my rod and pedaling at the same time, especially with the wind blowing me around. There is probably a better way to mount it behind you that would be easier to reach, but now I have mine mounted in the cup holder/mesh pocket on the right side and it works awesome. I have my rod holder on the opposite side, so I can reach them both easily while pedaling. This will make it harder to re-enter the kayak, like Rawkfish said, so if you arent confident in your reentry skills you might want to mount it behind you or at least leave the opposite side clear if you mount it in front. I fabricated my own mount that slides into the cup holder and mesh pocket, but I plan on adding a cup holder to the mount so I will still have one.

I recently purchased a Scotty Laketroller for my Revo 13. I have looked throughout the forum and have seen a lot of different setups, but am wondering if anyone has mounted one in the mesh pocket on the side of the kayak? This location would be ideal for me because it's within reach, and doesn't make it any harder to car top. My other thought is to mount it behind me on the side of the Kayak, but this seems uncomfortable. I like what pmmpete did with his cannon down rigger, but I like having my cup holder available for an ice cold beer. Does anyone have any ideal locations I'm not thinking of?
Kevin

There is room to mount a Scotty deck/side mount on the vertical surface inside a mesh pocket on a Revolution, but if you mount it there, you'll be constantly bumping and brushing your leg against the Laketroller as you pedal your kayak.  So I wouldn't use that location.  I definitely wouldn't mount the downrigger behind your seat, as that would be extremely inconvenient and hard on your shoulder.  And the tops of the gunwales of a Revolution are too narrow for a Scotty deck/side mount or a flush mount.

You didn't say what year your Revolution is.  But consider this option: Mount a Scotty Flush mount on the angled outside surface of the gunwale of your Revolution in front of one of the handles.  The Laketroller would be positioned at a 45 degree angle in a location where it would be easy to crank the cable reel and operate the hand nut which locks the cable reel.  If you positioned the Laketroller in the flush mount with the boom pointing straight back, the cable would be only a couple inches from the side of your kayak, and it would be easy to grab the weight and clip your fishing line into a Black's downrigger release (my favorite release) mounted on top of the weight.  And you might be able to hold the cable reel in place or let the weight descend slowly by leaning the side of your leg on the cable reel.  The downrigger would interfere with the paddle mount, so you'd need to mount the downrigger on the opposite side from your paddle mount.  Because the inside surface of the outside of the gunwale is curved, I suggest that you back the nuts you use to bolt down the flush mount with fender washers.  You might need to bend the washers to fit the inside surface, or trim off one side of a fender washer to avoid an obstruction.

You could mount the flush mount behind one of the handles, but it would be harder on your shoulder to crank the cable reel in this position, and you might have difficulty reaching across your chest with your other hand to operate the hand nut.  Before you decide to mount the downrigger behind one of the handles, sit in your kayak seat while wearing warm clothing and your PFD, and be sure you could reach across your chest to operate the hand nut if the downrigger was mounted behind the handle.  It's a pain in the ass to use the same hand to both crank or hold the cable reel and operate the hand nut, and if you mount the downrigger behind the handle, you won't be able to hold the cable reel in place with the side of your leg while you mess with the hand nut.

Standard flush mounts are sealed on the bottom.  Last time I checked, locking flush mounts are not sealed on the bottom, and water can enter your kayak through the locking mechanism.  So definitely do not use a locking flush mount.

Before you start drilling any holes for a flush mount, reach inside your kayak and feel the area you are considering to determine if the flush mount would interfere with any cables, to determine if there are any obstructions which would interfere with bolting down the flush mount, to determine if it will be convenient to tighten the nuts which hold down the flush mount, and to determine if there is enough room inside the gunwales for the flush mount's tube, or if the tube would hit the inside of the pocket.

Yes - Downrigger mounted on a scotty 241 base in the left mesh pocket of a 2011 Revo13.

I recently purchased a Scotty Laketroller for my Revo 13. I have looked throughout the forum and have seen a lot of different setups, but am wondering if anyone has mounted one in the mesh pocket on the side of the kayak? This location would be ideal for me because it's within reach, and doesn't make it any harder to car top. My other thought is to mount it behind me on the side of the Kayak, but this seems uncomfortable. I like what pmmpete did with his cannon down rigger, but I like having my cup holder available for an ice cold beer. Does anyone have any ideal locations I'm not thinking of?
Kevin


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When I was first deciding where to put my down rigger I thought about how much I would use it. That helped me on placement.i also hate drilling holes in my kayak unless it's a necessity.i decided on mounting it behind me on a milk crate.i have used it 2 times. one for a demo run and a kokanee day.im happy with the choice. Just my .02

Thanks for all the ideas! My revo is a 2013 model. I think I'm gonna have to sit in it and see what is comfortable for me. Lots of great options though.  Yaktastic, what are you using to keep your milk crate bolted down?


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Thanks for all the ideas! My revo is a 2013 model. I think I'm gonna have to sit in it and see what is comfortable for me. Lots of great options though.  Yaktastic, what are you using to keep your milk crate bolted down?


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I'm just using the stock rigging budgie that comes with the revo. here's a pic.not great but helps show it. Plus the homemade rigger is worth the chuckle  .when I built it I put the reel over center to the right side so it wouldn't want to tip as bad it that was the case and the boom is gives about 1½" of clearance so it is pulling down close to the hull.no tipping issues left or right.with the break system I made its setup so you can crank and set the break with one hand.if I was using it more I would mount it like Pete does but I don't think it's uncomfortable to operate behind the back.

Well, I tried a few suggestions out and decided that I like it best in the mesh pocket on my right. Tested it today on lake Shoecraft and it worked great. Caught a few trout too! Next week I'll be camping at Baker lake for some sockeye fishing. Thanks again for all the advice!


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