Installing the fish finder
After doing the sales paper research and finding a fish finders that I could afford I went out and researched the heck out of them. Looking on-line and also at the units in the local sporting goods store and having the opportunity to see them run in demo mode I decided, for better or worse, to go with the Eagle Cuda 300. I hate seeing the little arches and wanted a fish id option on the unit of my choice.
This little gem worked great first time out. I kept making changes with the settings until I had it so out of whack that I had to reset to factory but once I got it back to where I wanted it I left it. It just takes some time to get it set correctly to suit your needs.
When mounting a ff in a kayak you have one of two options.
The first option is to rig it outside the yak so that water temp can be read and you get a very clear reading from the unit unobstructed as you would through the hull.
In fishing the river I decided the second, more commonly used in a yak, option would be mounting the unit inside and shoot through the hull. That way the transducer would be protected should I have to scrape over rocks in fast moving water and not worrying about snapping it off.
Location, Location, location!!
I sat in my hot work shop with fans blowing the hot air around for a good 30 minutes moving the ff connected to the mounting bracket until I found a spot that was relatively out of my way but easy to get to in order of making adjustments or to just turn off. (the butt of my fishing rod works great as a remote if I’m in a lazy mood.)
I followed the steps already listed in the following link. Follow these instructions and I will post my finished product below.
Thank you so much Ted Mackel for your instructions. You really made this an easy install.
So I decided to mount the ff on the right side of the yak in front of my foot wells. It’s easy to see and it is out of my rod holder’s way when using it to troll around.
I had to drill four holes for the mount. The center one was large enough for the ff connecting cable to slip through with slight force and also the three holes for the bolts to mount it with. I filled all gaps with a marine grade sealant that I thought would not drip but it did. Have to clean that up later.
Next came the fun task of finding a good spot for location of the transducer. I decided I didn’t want it directly under me and since I have a pretty high water line on the side the bow would be in the water under every situation I could think of. As per Ted’s instructions I sanded the bottom of the yak and then “tried” to mount a cup that I could pool up the “glue or sealant” for the transducer but it would not stay in so that is the white ring you see. I put in a copious amount of sealant and put the transducer in with the rear going in first and rocking forward while pushing down to get all air bubbles that may have been created out of the way. Then I taped it down and but a 3lb hammer on it to keep steady pressure. In 24 it was ready to fish.
For the battery a quick trip to Radio Shack got me going with an 8 AA cel power supply.
Good Lord look at the wires!! What am I going to do with all this. LOL So I take an extra eyelet I had laying around and put it on the inside of the yak and coiled up all the wire and zip tied it on that eyelet. Tucked safely out of the way.
It works great. With a 3/8 oz jig with zoom trailer I could see the jig rise and fall on the screen of the ff. Loving it so far now just need to get the skunk off.
Good luck out there and God Bless.
Brett
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