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Two evening Willard trips kayak trolling - Printable Version

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Two evening Willard trips kayak trolling - JArner - 06-30-2020

I fished two evenings at Willard 6/26 and 6/29. The 26th was hot and water was around 76 IIRC. I departed out of pelican beach swim area while the Mrs. and her friend went paddle boarding. My plan was to hit freeway bay for walleyes. I had my first on the line before I cleared the trees, but it self released 20’ from me.  Went quite a few minutes and passes before finally getting another walleye on the line, this one made it to the deck and onto the stringer. Had one other on the line that went the way of the first and let go around 20’ away. On a kayak the waves from pleasure boats can get interesting, took quite a bit of water over the bow, but nothing to worrying. 



The 29th was chilly, don’t recall the water temp but air temp was around 60. I got out of the north marina and a line in the water at 8:05pm. A lot later than I did on Friday. The chop was nothing compared to the boat waves, so only concerns were the Angry looking clouds to the north. It took me 40 minutes to troll out to the middle of freeway bay, and no bites. It was getting dark enough that I needed to make the return trip quick. I started my slow turn and my outside rod started jumping. Shut down the motor and focused on getting the fish in, it turned me around and had a good 5-7 minute fight. Pulled up a healthy 20.5” wiper. Time to book it back to the marina. Pulled in the lines and cranked the motor to the number 5 position, made it back with some light to spare.

[Image: 238-B5-FEB-7987-48-E3-9-B39-8-A28-CE12482-C.jpg]

[Image: 9-C0-E85-A1-EB18-4013-83-EC-A90-ED51370-DF.jpg]

RE: Two evening Willard trips kayak trolling - Jig-fisher - 06-30-2020

Anytime you you finish at Willard and don't smell like skunk is a good day.  Nice wiper!  Way to go Jim!

RE: Two evening Willard trips kayak trolling - JArner - 06-30-2020

(06-30-2020, 05:52 PM)Jig-fisher Wrote: Anytime you you finish at Willard and don't smell like skunk is a good day.  Nice wiper!  Way to go Jim!

Thanks, agreed. I've gone home many a time with the skunk stinking up the truck  Undecided

RE: Two evening Willard trips kayak trolling - thatchergreg - 06-30-2020

I thought skunk was the official aroma of Willard Bay.
Nice job!

RE: Two evening Willard trips kayak trolling - wiperhunter2 - 06-30-2020

Thanks for the report and pics. What kind of electric trolling motor do you have on your Yak and how do you have it mounted?

RE: Two evening Willard trips kayak trolling - JArner - 06-30-2020

(06-30-2020, 07:09 PM)wiperhunter2 Wrote: Thanks for the report and pics. What kind of electric trolling motor do you have on your Yak and how do you have it mounted?

I have an old 30# minkota that I’ve for years. It has been modified to fit a mount manufactured by https://kdkayakmotormounts.wordpress.com. 

[Image: 384742-F9-5-C58-4-D2-E-BF6-D-92-FC3-F1-BBBCC.jpg]

RE: Two evening Willard trips kayak trolling - wiperhunter2 - 06-30-2020

Well that's cool setup, with it cranked up to 5, how fast does it push you?

RE: Two evening Willard trips kayak trolling - JArner - 06-30-2020

(06-30-2020, 07:53 PM)wiperhunter2 Wrote: Well that's cool setup, with it cranked up to 5, how fast does it push you?

I saw speeds between 4.0 - 4.5 mph on the GPS.

RE: Two evening Willard trips kayak trolling - wiperhunter2 - 06-30-2020

(06-30-2020, 09:00 PM)JArner Wrote:
(06-30-2020, 07:53 PM)wiperhunter2 Wrote: Well that's cool setup, with it cranked up to 5, how fast does it push you?

I saw speeds between 4.0 - 4.5 mph on the GPS.

Wow, that is really good with a smaller motor like that. If you don't mind me asking, how much did the mount cost and what size battery do you use?

RE: Two evening Willard trips kayak trolling - JArner - 06-30-2020

(06-30-2020, 09:23 PM)wiperhunter2 Wrote:
(06-30-2020, 09:00 PM)JArner Wrote:
(06-30-2020, 07:53 PM)wiperhunter2 Wrote: Well that's cool setup, with it cranked up to 5, how fast does it push you?

I saw speeds between 4.0 - 4.5 mph on the GPS.

Wow, that is really good with a smaller motor like that. If you don't mind me asking, how much did the mount cost and what size battery do you use?

The mount was $295 with the actuator. That didn't cover the $100 in material for the control box ( this could be done a little cheaper I imagine, but at the time we were in quarantine so I just ordered it all from Amazon ). For a battery I started out with a regular group 24 deep cycle I had on hand but they are heavy. Now I am running 2 x 30Ah Li-Fe Po4 Amped Outdoors connected in parallel. For a trip like last night I could have just used one, but for a full day I'd need both. I think they weigh 7 lbs each. They are pricey, but I'm happy with the final results.

There is a Facebook group for motorized kayaks where they cover a lot of different modifications. One that I plan on in the future is to run a PWM ( pulse width modulator ) so that I can dial in the speed I want instead of relying on the 5 default settings. On position 4 it runs around 2.0-2.4 mph, but for the walleyes that's a touch slower than I'd like. Position 5 is too fast especially in boat wake choppy waters.

RE: Two evening Willard trips kayak trolling - wiperhunter2 - 07-01-2020

Wow, those batteries are pricey;
https://ampedoutdoors.com/products/30ah-lithium-battery-lifepo4-replaces-20ah-same-size-and-weight

RE: Two evening Willard trips kayak trolling - a_bow_nut - 07-01-2020

My friend was asking about this battery. It must have good plates instead of lead inside.


[Image: IMG-20200630-220407.jpg]

RE: Two evening Willard trips kayak trolling - Jmorfish - 07-01-2020

Did you misspell that one word..'good plates'? Did you mean 'gold plates'?....instead of lead inside...that IS pricey...

RE: Two evening Willard trips kayak trolling - a_bow_nut - 07-01-2020

Yeah. I meant gold.

Stupid fat fingers on a phone. Lol

RE: Two evening Willard trips kayak trolling - RockyRaab2 - 07-01-2020

Lithium batteries don't have gold - or lead. They have -- wait for it -- lithium.

Not only are they MUCH lighter but the charge doesn't "decay" slowly like lead/acid ones. Lithium batteries give out either full voltage, or none at all. That's good and bad, of course; you get full power all the time, but you can get surprised when everything suddenly dies like a switch thrown.

RE: Two evening Willard trips kayak trolling - fish_digger - 07-01-2020

(07-01-2020, 11:52 AM)RockyRaab2 Wrote: Lithium batteries don't have gold - or lead. They have -- wait for it -- lithium.

Not only are they MUCH lighter but the charge doesn't "decay" slowly like lead/acid ones. Lithium batteries give out either full voltage, or none at all.  That's good and bad, of course; you get full power all the time, but you can get surprised when everything suddenly dies like a switch thrown.

I have been running a lithium iron 50 Amp/hr battery on kick boat for the past two years and I love it.

Cost is the only downside.

Upside:
  • 17.6 lbs, replaced 60 lb AGM lead battery.
  • Takes up half the space on the back of my Scadden craft.
  • Charges much quicker.
  • Can be fully discharged. Lead batteries suffer permanent damage when discharged below 50%. You need a 100 Amp/hr lead battery for the same safe run time.
  • Even at full discharge, I will get 2-3000 charge cycles. With lead you only get about 500 if lucky.
  • Built in short circuit protection. You can't arc weld like you can with lead.
  • No out gassing or fluids to spill
The discharge curve gives you much more power right up to end. I have no problem noticing when the end is near. I can fish for 2 full days with my setup before I run dry.

Note the battery in a black bag, located just in front of my 200 hp outboard Tongue .
[Image: WIllard-Bay-Perch.jpg]
Photo credit: Tube Dude

RE: Two evening Willard trips kayak trolling - MWScott72 - 07-02-2020

Wow... that is a stud perch!!

RE: Two evening Willard trips kayak trolling - JArner - 07-02-2020

Lithium batteries definitely have their advantages, the cost is unfortunately a downside. That 36v 65Ah battery is pricey but not overly so if you take into consideration that it would take 12 of the same battery as I have to make it equivalent.

The thing that makes them so resilient is they have a BMS ( battery management system ) board that doesn’t allow you to over discharge or overcharge the individual cells, and keeps them balanced. You can damage/abuse lithium cells and this typically ends in a fire. LiFeP04 (Lithium ion) is much more stable and resilient than the Li-Po (lithium polymer) cells found in your smart phone.

RE: Two evening Willard trips kayak trolling - Jmorfish - 07-02-2020

(07-01-2020, 11:52 AM)RockyRaab2 Wrote: Lithium batteries don't have gold - or lead. They have -- wait for it -- lithium.

Not only are they MUCH lighter but the charge doesn't "decay" slowly like lead/acid ones. Lithium batteries give out either full voltage, or none at all.  That's good and bad, of course; you get full power all the time, but you can get surprised when everything suddenly dies like a switch thrown.
Aaahhh -- that was a joke, son...