Kayak clothing/ rigging question

[RobC]

Hi,
Just bought a 12' Riot Escape SOT for fishing and being new to kayaking I have a couple of questions about clothing and rigging for the kayak. Do you typically wear waterproof gear when fishing, and if so, what kind? I have wading pants - would these work or just be more dangerous in the event of a spill?
I'm also looking to add a fishfinder- is the battery likely to get wet? should I go with a portable and regular disposable batteries instead of a 12V? Sorry if the questions seem moronic I'm a complete newbie to this type of fishing. Thanks for any advice, great board!   

[GeorgianBay MessageBoard]

[Canuckbass]

12v sealed battery should be perfect, if you can put in plastic box and cut hole to run wires out would be best solution.

[The Kayaker]

I simply wear track pants in the cooler days...as long as your pants shed the water that might hit them.
I have have even put on my thinner ski pants. They keep me warm and dry!
Waders, in my opinion might be heavy but will keep you warm - might even make ya sweat a little.

My fish finder has the sealed gel battery that comes with the portable type. I bought a waterproof pelican box and drilled a hole in it to run my wires through. I then siliconed the hole so the wires wouldn't move. This forced me to buy an extra set of wires to modify them permanently in the box. I'll take some pics and show you my set up.

Jon

[RobC]

many thanks for the great info guys!
Next up is a roof rack for the car, can't wait to try the kayak out. Would you recommend leashes for the paddle and fishing rod? Do you normally carry a spare paddle?

[The Kayaker]

RobC,
Here is the set up for my fishfinder...

This is the waterproof box with silicone in the corner. I used a 4 pin trailer connection that I spliced in and heat shrunk to keep out the water.



This is the open box pic, the wires have been siliconed in and the blue blocks are there to prevent the battery from jumping around in transit. I spliced in the pos. and neg. connectors into the other end.



This is a good view of the entire setup - the head unit and the battery pack.



This is to make evident that I permanently fixed the base to the cutting board. I also spliced in the 4 pin connector.



Only the head unit gets moved when I switch from soft water to ice fishing. I picked up an extra base and wire set to not have to move everything around when the season changes.

The only thing I would change at this point is to use a different type of connector; the wire is starting to break off at the connector. When it lets go, I will pick up a better (softer) connector that isn't so difficult to connect and disconnect.

As for leashes, I use one on my paddle tied to me and on my rod tied to the boat. I don't bother with an extra paddle - not much real estate on/in my kayak...

[RobC]

thanks for the detailed pics on the fishfinder setup and advice on basic setup- I think I'm really going to enjoy customizing my new kayak.
Thanks again guys!

[Canuckbass]

I will be rigging my yaks up soon, I am a proud to announce that I am with Scotty as prostaff and will adding some bells and whistles to my yaks over the next few weeks. I will take photos or videos to show what I have done. If anyone has any questions towards rigging with Scotty products I can take certain photos and walk people through install.

[Mariebople]

Im shortly to embark on some kayak fishing so it would be nice to have other people to go out with. Where is Five bar gate or what area do you fish?Thankslyn