Friday, December 16, 2016

Installing a Lowrance 7TI on a Hobie Outback

Hey guys James Snyder here with the Headwaters Fishing Team. I recently upgraded to the Lowrance 7 ti want wanted to give a detailed how to on what i used and how i did it.

Parts used-
Lowrance 7ti
http://www.lowrance.com/en-US/Products/Fishfinder-Chartplotter/elite-7-ti-en-us.aspx

Heavy duty Ram Mount 1.5 ball
 http://www.rammount.com/part/RAM-101-LO11

Yak Attack 1.5 ball
 http://www.yakattack.us/SB15_12_p/sb15-12.htm

Yak Attack Gear tack - cut to fit
http://www.yakattack.us/GT90_08_p/gt90-08.htm

Berley Pro total scan transducer mount
 https://www.berleypro.com/product/totalscan-ready-transducer-mount-suits-hobie/

12v 22ah battery
https://www.amazon.com/Rechargeable-Replacement-KEYKO-KT-12220-Terminal/dp/B01LXNS894/ref=sr_1_9_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1481936088&sr=8-9&keywords=12v%2B22ah&th=1

water proof quick connector
https://www.amazon.com/Huicocy-Waterproof-Electrical-Connector-Marine/dp/B01DILSJ0A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481936117&sr=8-1&keywords=12v+waterproof+connector

Ring terminals
 https://www.amazon.com/Gardner-Bender-10-106-Terminal-Yellow/dp/B000LNOJYY/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1481936143&sr=8-8&keywords=ring+terminals

silver soldier
https://www.amazon.com/Kester-83-4000-0000-Solder-Pocket-Diameter/dp/B00068IJNQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1481936172&sr=8-4&keywords=silver+solder

heat shrink tubing
 https://www.amazon.com/JawayTool-Assortment-Electrical-Connection-Diameters/dp/B018G6CQAG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481936194&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=heat+shrink&psc=1

Hobie through hull kit
 http://www.austinkayak.com/products/12509/Hobie-Thru-Hull-Wiring-Kit.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping:%20ACK%20PLA&scid=scplp292988&sc_intid=12509_10705_1&gclid=CI3C39GD-tACFQ6Zfgod9ikMIA

Hobie Multi wire through hull kit

soldiering iron
phillips screw driver 

after unpacking everything i took my quick disconnect and the fuse holder provided with the fish finder and tinned the ends 
useing the silver soldier i prepped the wires by adding soldier to the wire tips (tinning)
i heated both of the wires to allow the soldier to become fluid and joined the two wires together and let cool

pro tip: apply heat shrink to the wires before soldiering-
i then soldiered up the power cable to the other side of the quick connector in the same way

add ring terminals to the positive and negative wire and test fit on the battery.

i had a lowrance elite 4 hdi allready installed and needed to remove the power and transducer from that unit as well as the old ram mounting system

unscrew the 3 mounting screws on the lowrance transducer cover

this is what happens when you dont clean out your transducer correctly

remove the wireing from the old transducer

you can see here why a berley pro transducer mount is required

sorry its upside down ill fix later- full kit from berley pro- extremely well made!

attach total scan transducer to the mounting plate using supplied screws from lowrance kit

reinstall transducer mounting plate and traducer cover with original screws and screws from the berley pro kit. 

using the Hobie through hull kit run  the wire from under the kayak through the kayak

run all 3 wires from inside of hull using the Hobie 3 wire through hull kit and install ram mount with yak attack 1.5 ball

the lowrance 7ti mounts easy on the ram mounting arm 

hook up the battery and connect connectors to fish finder and turn on

this unit is very popular for kayak fisherman!

the lowrance 7ti is a fairly easy install with the kit i have assembled here and i hope this helps you in your future fish finder installs. i will follow this up with a review on the system after i have a month or 2 of using the unit and have first hand knowledge of how it works. thanks for taking the time to read my install guide and if you have any questions feel free to hit me up on Facebook or Instagram
Facebook - James Snyder
https://www.facebook.com/james.snyder.739?fref=ts
Insta- Yakin_James

also look for more awsome how toos and product reviews here on our team blog and dont forget to give a like to
Headwaters Kayak shop
https://www.facebook.com/headwaterskayak/
Headwaters Fishing team
https://www.facebook.com/Headwaters-Kayak-Fishing-Team-303065546417594/?fref=ts
and follow us on you tube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYodbaugFoQAvGL2StgQ3tQ


thanks for checking us out! - James Snyder Headwaters Kayak Fishing Team





Thursday, December 15, 2016

Winter Jigging for Bluegill By Matthew Guthrie

 On December 11th and 12th I got the chance to head out to Village West Marina in Stockton. I originally went out to catch bass and striper but they didn't want to cooperate, so I went in the marina and started looking for crappie or anything else that would bite. I started seing clouds of fish on my fishfinder and proceeded to drop my lure right on their heads. They didn't seem to like the crappie jigs or my little trout worms so I started jigging my kastmaster and immediately hooked up with a nice bluegill. I couldn't keep them off it!
Average to large sunfish on a golden kastmaster
 I was using a 1/16 oz kastmaster to tempt the feisty fish in about 10ft of water. I started with a gold color, witch they ate, but I switched to a silver and chartreuse and started catching a lot more fish. Jigging it up and down worked really well, but I also found that if I got a bite and missed it, to just drift with it and the slow flutter drove them crazy. The average size of these fish were between 6 and 8in with some of the bigger ones pushing 11. There are no shortage of these fish in the marinas.

These little fish are a ton of fun when everything else has stopped feeding from the cold. So pick up some small shiny lures and hang on, Bluegill put a awesome bend into an ultralight rod and when you are fishing little baits like this you never know what you might hook into. Hope this puts some fun into your winter, Happy Fishing!