After fishing with Frank the last couple of months and seeing how his custom equipment mods really enhanced his fishing experience, I finally put grab handles on the Scupper Pro to make lifting much easier, and attemped reduced the water drag the fish finder transducer creates.

I had been mounting the portable fish finder’s transducer with a suction cup that was intended to be out of the water but the deck of the Scupper Pro was too rough to hold the suction cup.  By sticking the suction cup under the water line I was creating an incredible amount of resistance that felt like I was pulling a small bucket on that side of the kayak.

Ended up using a small Ram Mount and recycled the blank of a fishing rod to make a very streamlined, above water mount.  By barely keeping the transducer below water level I hoped to reduce drag  by 75%.

Next significant modification was to replace the stock treble hooks off my various lures with 4X Owner hooks and Owner inline single hooks.  It sounds like the serious guys that go after larger fish upgrade their hooks.  The photo at above left shows how the stock Owner 2X hooks opened up on a large fish. Here’s what had happened.  The photo at above right shows the Owner 4X belly hook, 1 size smaller than the original treble, and an Owner inline single.

I had tested various combinations of replacement 4X trebles and inline singles and the singles seemed to let the lures swim more freely but often were too loose in turbulent water and the lures came in leaning on the side. The 4X treble in the belly seemed to stabilize the lure.  I tested the modified lures from shore and the kayak and had only hooked 1 roi, which was hooked on the belly hook.  I didn’t know if I was just unlucky or if the modified lures no longer swam as well.  Not sure if the roi was pregnant or had just swallowed a fish but it sure was plump for its length. I dispatched it on the beach and threw it back to feed the ecosystem.

Next up: Take the kayak out to test paddling range and strength of hooks against big fish!