Great Article by Joe Hyde!

[Bear742]

Joe's current article makes a good point. You don't have to own a $50K bass boat to enjoy the advantages of sonar. But the drag of something like a transducer stuck on the hull of a canoe or kayak can spoil the fun.

"Shooting through the hull" solves the problem. From experience I know you can shoot through any hull including aluminum as long as there are no air gaps in the hull and you have a puddle of water to set your transducer in. Since sonar waves are sound waves, they pass through any solid material. Foam sandwich hulls could be a problem.

Joe built a nice custom cup for his transducer. It reminded me of what my friend Bill did with an item you can get at any hardware store. He removed the suction cup from a plumber's plunger, cut a hole in the top of the cup to fit snugly around his transducer, and epoxied the cup to the bottom of his jon boat. Once the boat was in the water, he added water to the inside of the cup and stuck the transducer in. He was ready to "shoot through the hull." No reason you can't do this in any canoe or kayak that has a solid hull.

[Joe Hyde]

Hey Mike,


Thanks for the info on the sonar signal passing through aluminum. Interesting, that the search beam can function when "shot" at a layer of metal; I'd have thought the ultrasonic beam would reflect. Shows what I know.

This is great news for those many thousands of people who own aluminum canoes. I hope they read your post, above.

Maybe some others will weigh in with results they've had while using "shoot through" rigs on yet other kinds of boat hulls.

What would be wonderful is if the basic rig works on EVERY kind of boat hull. I just have doubts this will be the case, especially with the sandwich hulls. (I'd love to be wrong, though!)


Joe
"Better small than not at all."

[Marco]

Hey Joe,
I don't even own a canoe BUT, I always enjoy reading your "stuff". Thanks for all your contributions .


Mark

[Joe Hyde]

Thanks, Mark,


You really ought to consider buying a lightweight canoe someday, outfitting it with the 2-anchor system and using it for fly fishing. Fish finder-equipped or not.

(I should have mentioned in my last story that I very rarely use my fish finder. After assessing the likely depth of the water below me by looking at the surrounding land terrain, I normally use my anchor drops to determine depth. The anchor lines are a low-tech foolproof depth finder, which makes it an easy decision to leave the fish finder at home most days.)

If you read the FAOL Panfish and Warm Water columns regularly, then you might as well become the newest fly rodder to join the Flotilla. Canoeists and kayakers, overall, have lots of fun outdoors; more fun than most people do. Just don't ever give up fishing from the bank, the shore, or the dock: sometimes that's all that works.


Joe
"Better small than not at all."

[FishnDave]

I rigged up the kayak I bought this summer with a fishfinder. The transducer is a thru-hull mount, and works great!

[FishnDave]

Hey, Joe! That picture of the big Redear Sunfish in this week's article you wrote is a GREAT PHOTO!! I love it!

[Joe Hyde]

Dave,


Man, that is one cool-looking rig you've got there. If you don't mind me asking, what is the do-dad that sits on the pedestal mount directly in front of your paddling station? I'll bet you had fun setting up your boat like that!


Joe
"Better small than not at all."

[FishnDave]

On the left side of the kayak (if you were seated in it) I will go clockwise...

-First, down in the "well" at my left elbow, is an adhesive ruler. Good spot to lay fish for a quick measure/picture.

-There's the "nalgene" water bottle, whose top can be seen above the fishfinder.

-Then, the fishfinder on a RAM mount. Its the Lowrance X-67c color fishfinder.

-In the middle/front of the cockpit is the pedals for the Mirage Drive system (this is a Hobie Outback kayak). One pedal is all the way back (looks like it's straight up), the other is pushed all the way forward. This allows the "fins" underneath the hull of the kayak to be aligned nearly flat up against the hull. Great for shallow water.

-Next, on the right side (as you would be looking from the seated position) is a Scotty fly rod holder.

Also, on one side is a lever that is the "Twist & Stow" control for deploying the rudder. You can see the rudder in the "stowed" position on top of the stern. The other side has a lever that controls the rudder direction.

You can see the 2 round waterproof hatches, and the large front hatch. Its a pretty sweet layout!

I still plan to install a 2nd rod holder up front, and an anchor trolley on the right-hand side (as you are sitting). The anchor trolley allows you to attach the anchor rope at the side of the kayak, then like opening a curtain, you can either slide the rope to the front or rear of the kayak. This is especially desirable when anchoring in wind or current, as it allows one end of the kayak (or the other) to point into the waves/current, rather than coming over the side!

This is also good if you want to anchor near a brushpile, for example....you can anchor away from it, let line out behind you as you let the breeze push you over the top of it. Then, when fish are hooked, they are less likely to get tangled in your anchor rope.