I started out, by not liking the hatch on the back of it.  I knew that I needed to access behind the seat, and also keep a fishing crate on board.  So I started drawing lines with the sharpie.  Once I had all of the lines connected, squared off, and where I wanted them, I started drilling.  I drilled some pilot holes in order to get my hacksaw started.  You can see in the picture below, some of the sharpie marks are still visible.

I tried to follow the lines of the kayak, to make sure everything fit right.  Once I was finished, I had a burred up mess of plastic.  I emptied the shavings from the kayak, and grabbed the air conditioning pipe insulation.  This stuff fit perfect.  Use some duct tape to secure it underneath, and use a lot.  You don’t want this coming off.

On to the front of the boat now.  I had to literally climb half way in through the hatch to get anything that made its way to the end.  This is impossible when you are on the water, obviously.  So, being me, I chopped up the front as well, using the same procedure as I used on the back half of the boat.  These 2 modifications increased my storage space and accessibility by 10 fold.  It looks like it was meant to be there too!

There you have it, volume 1 of Pelican Potomac Fishing Kayak Rigging.  Stay tuned for more posts, as we increase the comfort and fishability of this budget fishing kayak!

The first thing you can do, is cut a couple of holes in it.  These will allow you to access to storage in front of the hatch, and behind the seat.  If you don’t do this, you won’t have the necessary storage space to take needed safety gear, fishing equipment, and food with you.  This is easily done with a hacksaw, and something like some “trim” to go around the edges to make them smooth again.

The next thing to turn it into a fishing kayak, is add some rod holders.  You can get some flush mount angled ones at walmart for $7 a piece.   Put 2 of these in behind your seat, and you will have good trolling rod positions.  These are also a must have, you can’t store rods between your legs in the hatch.  It is very uncomfortable.

Another necessity for rigging and modifying a sit in fishing kayak is an anchor trolley.  There is a very detailed post on how to install an anchor trolley on your sit in fishing kayak on this site.  These are needed to keep your boat in position while you are in current or the wind.  These 2 things will irritate you while you are trying to work a bait slow.

The last thing that I would say is an absolute must have for your sit in fishing kayak is a rudder.  These cheaper kayaks are usually shorter in length.  This means that you can’t use a powerful deep paddle stroke to get the kayak in a forward motion.  The back end of the boat will wiggle back and forth, and you will spend more time making correcting strokes, than forward momentum strokes.  The rudder keeps this from happening, allowing you to put more power into going forward.  You can get up to a nice clip in a small kayak using a rudder.

Stay tuned, as we will teach you sit in kayak fishing modifications that will improve the fishability of your kayak.  They aren’t necessary, but I recommend them!  Until next time, from yours truly at Kayak Fishing Stuff