2fly's construction is underway

Many months of waiting and planning have past. In February I visited Yellowfin to finalize the build sheet. Shortly after that, our Yellowfin 24 Bay went into the mold and 2fly was born.  Yellowfin is very good at keeping the customer engaged throughout the process. They provided me with some photos of the boat shortly after she came out of the mold.


Shot #1 is taken from the bow. The guy working on the boat is sitting inside the bow storage compartment.  On the left side of the hull you can see the where the three rod tubes will be installed.  He's installing a tube on the right. His feet are down inside the trolling motor battery compartment. A bank of three batteries sits down there-- out of the way and low center of gravity.  You can see some of the stringer system in the hull.  Interior of the storage compartment is a very light gray.  Also of interest, the hull next to mine on the left shows the seacocks and through hulls in the stern for the livewell plumbing.  In the background you can see the deck of a 24 waiting for installation. Could be mine?

Installation of the bow storage into the hull

Shot #2 is centered on what will be the sole of the cockpit just in front of the leaning post.   On the left is the bow storage area. Top you can see one of the rod tubes.  The stringer in this area is fully visible.  There are two aluminum tanks. The one of the left (forward) is the freshwater tank. The one on the right is fuel.  You can see how they foam the fuel tank in.  If I recall the fresh water capacity is 17 gallons, and fuel is 77.

 

Freshwater and fuel tanks

Shot #3 shows the bilge from the stern. Now you can see the entire fuel tank, which will be under the console.  The black hose is the fuel line. You can see the seacocks and through-hulls for the livewells and raw washdown sitting on the stern, not yet installed.  This is a great view of the stringer system. The iPhone is an optional accessory. ;)

Bilge from the stern

Shot #4 shows the hull. Not a great photo, but it's blue!  You can just see a bit of white peaking out at the stern where the engine bracket overhangs the running surface. You can see how they move the boats around on dollys.  Sitting on the ground is the Power Pole, still in box.   

It's very excited to see the boat coming together. The build process makes the anticipation even greater.
The closer we get to delivery, the longer the remaining wait seems. Time compresses and shifts.  All in the buildup to our delivery in April and the spring run of striped bass.

Pencil to Paper

A possible rendering of the boat name, courtesy of my talented wife. Not bad, eh?

Changes afoot

Winter is typically a quiet time for saltwater fishermen in this part of the world. Sure, there are holdover stripers in the coastal rivers, trout to be had in tailwaters like the Farmington, and ice fishing for the truly hardy. My mind turns to other pursuits during the cold months. Winter provides its own joys that need to be enjoyed because the good days of skiing, sledding, or ice skating never stick around for long.

This year is different, and my fishing is taking a significant change.  In 2014, we will be exploring the Mudhole by boat.  I look forward to sharing some of that adventure and the learning curve that goes with fishing central Long Island Sound and beyond.

A deposit for our slip just went out in the mail. Calls with the builder are increasing in frequency as we get closer to the date our boat goes into the mold. The number of decisions to be made between now and then is a bit daunting, but the most difficult part is waiting.

Installing a Lowrance Elite-4 FishFinder on the Ocean Kayak 4.3 Ultra

The Ocean Kayak Ultra 4.3 is one well thought out boat. The mounting points for all kinds of gear are easy to use. Threaded sockets embedded into the hull make it easy add hardware or move things around. (Assuming you have a source for stainless M5 size bolts... I had to order them online.) 
One other thing they did wonderfully was make it easy to install fishfinders. Poking around online provided some good information on how to install a Humminbird. Both brands are owned by the same parent, Johnson Outdoors, so naturally they would like to support each other.

Ocean Kayak made it easy to install virtually any fishfinder on this boat.  After digging around for a tutorial, I drew a blank.  In the hope of contributing something back to the online community of kayakers who helped me, I've tried to document some of the steps that are required to make a nice, clean installation. It's not hard!

I chose a Lowrance Elite-4 as a reasonable balance of cost, size, and features.  It's a combo unit that has both sonar and GPS capabilities. The color screen is nice particularly for navigation. The fishfinder is really best for identifying structure in the water that I've used it. The one feature it lacks that I would have enjoyed is some kind of trip counter so you could see not just the 'breadcrumb' trail of where you paddled, but also get stats like time, speed and distance. Ok, you could argue it's time to put the technology aside and just go fishing, but I do kind of enjoy it.

Here's where we're trying to end up. 

The installed Elite-4

Transducer viewed from the side

What's nice about the OK Ultra 4.3 is how clean you can make the installation. No cables are exposed to snag. The transducer is tucked away, protected from damage if you bump across rocks while launching. Pretty cool!

Out of the box, the transducer looks like this:

The Elite-4 Transducer

The installation itself is pretty straightforward. There is one tricky part, however-- threading the large plug through a small hole.  I had trouble finding any information on this.

How do you fit this thing through that tiny hole?

In the end it wasn't that tricky. The photos and descriptions below focus on this. The remainder of the installation process is pretty straight forward. Here we go!

Turn the boat onto its side so you can work on the bottom. Ocean Kayak gave us a nice recessed pocket to install the transducers into.  Notice the two threaded sockets in the pocket. They're sized perfectly for the bracket included with the Lowrance transducer.

Recessed transducer pocket

From the bottom, thread the cables through the scupper hole above the recessed transducer pocket.

Next, we want to remove the cover for the hatch. Flip the boat right side up. In the photo below the hatch has been removed. You can see our transducer cable coming out of the scupper hole and out of the left side of the photo. 

Notice the stainless steel  "T" piece that hinges the hatch cover.  This unconnected piece slides into the hatch. This is the hole that's too small to get your big transducer plug, through. Here's where the Ocean Kayak designers did a nice trick. The "T" is a full tube for the hinge portion (running top to bottom in the photo). However it's an open 'C' channel piece running left to right.  This is where our cable is going to go.

The trickiest part of the whole job is getting the cover off the hinge.  Flip the hatch open as in the photo above.

First, you need to remove the plastic cover for the recessed cable storage area in the hatch cover.  It's held in place by seven screws. This is where you'll eventually hide all that transducer cable. The photo above shows the hatch cover with the cable storage cover removed. The photo below shows the cover itself.

Your cover won't have holes in it yet. Those come later when we install the combo unit mount.

Once you remove the cover, you'll see where the "T" hinge enters the hatch cover. It's held in place by a plastic bushing and a metal lock ring.

Removing the hatch cover

This takes a pair of needlenose pliers or similar. It's a pain, and I'm not ashamed to say I bloodied my nuckles trying to remove it with a screwdriver before realizing they were the wrong tool for the job. This is the worst part of the entire process, and other than that locking ring it's really not bad. Remove the lock ring, remove the bushing, and slide the hatch cover off the "T" hinge.

Now you install the transducer to the bottom of the boat.  This fixes the length of your cable so you can tidy things up above the waterline.

Transducer

Using two M5 bolts, install the transcuer into the recessed pocket on the bottom of the boat.

In order to prevent the cable from moving around, I tied it around the "T" hinge. Highly recommended. Give it just a little slack so the hatch cover can move free without putting pressure on the cable.

Securing the transducer cable

The transducer cable runs down into the scupper hole. You'll notice the smaller cable going into a hole in the plastic on the side of the scupper. This is the power cable. I "installed" the battery in the boat (by which I mean I duct taped it in place to see if I liked that location, but then rejected it), but I think it would be better to move it to the stern. The cable's not long enough, so that's another project for another day.

Unsatisfactory battery install in the bow compartment.

Now you need to thread the transducer cable through "T" hinge and the opening in the hatch cover, as shown below. First, lay the cable into the "C" channel of the hinge. Then push the cable's terminal end through the hole in the hatch. Finally, lay it into the plastic bushing that holds the cover in place.

Running the transducer cable into the hatch cover

Push the cover back onto the "T" hinge. Push the bushing back into the hatch cover. Then re-install the lock ring. In this photo the bushing has been pushed in, and the lock ring is resting in the cable storage area.

Reinstalling the hatch cover.

Next you are going to modify the cable storage area cover. (Remember those holes we pointed out before).

Cable storage area cover with mounting holes for the Elite-4

The fishfinder's base screws directly to the cover. Ocean Kayak gave us a blank canvas to work with so virtually any fishfinder will work. Put the base on the cover, mark the location of the holes, a start drilling. I put the Elite-4 pretty much dead center.  In the end we have 7 small holes around the edge to reinstall the cover to the hatch cover, four small holes to mount the Elite-4's base, and one large hole through which we run the transducer cable. If you use a different unit, make sure the location you pick will allow you to rotate and close the hatch lid with the fishfinder installed!

Install the fishfinder base to the cover and set it aside. Sorry, not photo.



Now we finally get to do something with all that cable.

Storing the excess cable

Coil, cram, and wedge it down into the recessed storage area.  Thread the connector out the large hole you made in the cover. You want to give yourself enough slack to connect and disconnect it to the fishfinder so you can remove it for transport or storage.

Now reinstall the cover on the coiled cable using the seven screws. Click the fishfinder into it's base.

Install the fishfinder head unit

This photo shows the final install. all that remains of the cable is the portion running into the scupper hole and the the slack I left on the connector end. Neat and tidy!

Completed installation

Hopefully you find this useful. Total time, including head scratching and monkeying around, was a little under an hour.  Enjoy!

Family vacations, fishing and groveling

tap

Family vacations and fishing are a tricky mix. 

Time pressures are complicated, but it's very different than the usual work grind with days loaded with commitments and little time to accomplish things between. On vacation, the agenda is as intense-- or not-- as you decide. However, there's a general expectation on the family vacation that, as parent, you be present.  That does complicate fishing. 

Tap

On the other hand, these escapes from our normal lives can bring us to wonderful places. This is never more true than for a fisherman in New England on an island surrounded by the sea, promise of bountiful bait, and of course fish to catch. 

Tap.

The solution is time management. Which is really to say, in order to get an extended time away for the family fishing, you either fish early or fish late. You become a vaguely nocturnal creature, seen in the day as a wane wraith, a shadow of yourself made grim with circled eyes and stubbled chin. You manage to stay cheerful and smile because you must. Family is the priority. Sleep deprivation is just the cost of fitting in one more objective.

Tap!

That's how I found myself this morning at 5:15 standing by my car, hot coffee in hand, prepped for a morning of chasing albies and stripers around in my kayak. The rods were strung with bay anchovy flies pre-selected. The kayak was on the roof, ready for the quick ride to my launch point. A light west breeze gave the air a crisp bite that would burn off as the sun chased the chill away. In my hands I held all the promise and excitement of a great morning's fishing. 

Unfortunately what I didn't hold were my keys. 

TAP!!

I enjoyed the sound of the surf and the increasing streak of pre-dawn glow for a while. The last sip of coffee was now cold. I screwed up my courage and decided to face the wrath of my wife. I texted. I called. I knocked. 

And that's how I found myself this morning, throwing pebbles at the bedroom window. 

TAP!!!

There's going to be some groveling. 

Unrequited love

To catch you need to fish. Despite hearing mostly complaints about a lack of false albacore, or virtually any other target species for that matter, I decided to be a sucker try my luck with fools friends Patrick and Jon. For our adventure we loaded kayaks on cars and headed to a few locations in eastern Connecticut, launching just as night turned to dawn.

Still life of kayak paddle.

The best part about fishing from a kayak is that if the fish aren't cooperating, well, at least you're kayaking.  Sadly-- for the fishing anyway-- that was the case today. We tried our luck in the Niantic and Groton areas. This was an area I've spent limited time in, and it's worth exploring. Although it's still part of Long Island Sound, it is much more of the sea than the water local to the Milford Mudhole. Our waters tend toward brown, while here it's green. Sea temps are noticeably lower. We get mung weed, here the bottom is covered with kelp and eel grass. In the Mudhole, points of structure are spread further apart. Here virtually every shore is a boulder field worth exploring.

The weather was spectacular, but all we could find were some schools of very small blues harassing scattered schools of bay anchovies. While eager to take a fly, they're not particularly exciting to target.

Second launch of the day.

So, other than a few tiny blues, the catch of the day was lobsters from the local seafood purveyor's tank. The albies will wait for another day.

Ocean Kayak Ultra 4.3, loaded and ready for anything.

The beginning of my downfall

Certain fish form addictions faster than others.  I caught my first false albacore in 2011, and the hook was immediately set (in me).  The excitement I experienced chasing them and the frustration I felt failing were almost maddening.  Here's my tale of that experience.


Back from Block Island after having had a great time with family and friends. I thought I would share a brief summary of the week's fishing.

My mission for the week was simple: to catch a false albacore. On fly if possible, but there were no rules. I brought fly gear plus two spinning setups. Whatever it takes. Needless to say, we were well equipped.

Geared up

To make the most of the time available, I opted to spend the week fishing the early shift. The girls would be up around 7:30 to 8am, so my window was 5-8. My friend Patrick joined us for the first two days, and together we hit the dawn shift.

Dawn

Before dawn we cast to schoolie stripers in the shallows, but the bait was so plentiful that we didn't find takers. Getting a fly to stand out was a tough sell. As soon as the light crept into the sky, the stripers vanished and the hunt for albies began.

From Saturday through Tuesday, I plied the shore game. Saturday we watched as birds blitzed bait on the far side of the Coast Guard cut. It was well out of reach, and eventually the action stopped. We explored some of the area.

 

No birds, no players. All was quiet. We retired for the evening to make a plan, and to tie a few flies.

The next day brought change. Friends Jim and Lori had taken the ferry over to join us for a couple days. At 5am Patrick and I met Jim at the foot of the stairs. “I’m taking the first ferry home. Lori having contractions.” Sure enough, their little daughter joined the world the following day.

So, without Jim we arrived at the water at the same time-- o'dark thirty. Again the schoolies teased us, and again the bite shut down at dawn. We fished the Coast Guard cut. Suddenly we heard a ruckus from the Salt Pond. Cormorants were flying in, landing in waves of two dozen. There were hundreds of birds, frantically searching the water. Then all hell broke loose. Miniature tunas flew from the water, bait surged from the water in great sprays trying to escape the twin deaths from above and below. The fishermen were whipped into a frenzy, but like frustrated teenagers on a date, the desire was strong but we couldn't close the deal. The fish never came within 200 yards. We watched in awe as the frenzy lasted perhaps ten minutes, and then was gone. The only thing that remained was a few cormorants hopeful for more, and the dull ache in my casting arm from futilely hurling 100+ foot casts in the direction of the blitz in the vain hope a straggler on the edge of the school would find my offering.

This was a game of chance. A lotto ticket. Be in the right place, at the right time, with the right offering, and maybe you'd get lucky. Maybe.

I went back on Monday. This time I was in the right place and right time. A small blitz blew up 20 feet away. I fired a cast. And another. Three more. Then it was gone. 8 anglers present and one hookup. And then it was done.

Fish madness starts to set in. I've fished three days without so much as a tug. I wanted that albie. I thought about doing the night shift for bass, but that wasn't going to do it. So, with my figurative lottery ticket in my pocket, I went back on Tuesday.

Block Island Coast Guard Station

It is an interesting group of anglers that lines the Coast Guard cut. Everyone understands the game is a waiting game. Some think it is tide driven. Others prefer dusk and dawn. I think it's both. And a lot of random chance. And a huge helping of madness.

Tuesday we again had one very brief blitz from shore, but it was brief and never came close to me. Then it was gone.

But worse than gone. The fish moved into the harbor, and for over an hour I watched as pods of albies chased bait straight into the sky and into the mouths of waiting gulls. By 8 am I was sitting in my truck, shaking hands on the wheel. This could truly cause insanity if it went on for too much longer. I needed a solution. A comment Patrick made early in the week came back to me.

Roto-molded Salvation

I spent a good two hours on Tuesday trying to hunt down a kayak. With many of the businesses wrapped up for the season, it felt a bit like a drug deal. You need to speak to Gabriel. She has Tory's phone number. Tory runs the boats for Charlotte. Be there at 2:30. I pull up. Someone runs out of the back of the restaurant kitchen next door. Cash is exchanged. I drive away with my score. I'm a junkie and I'm hoping this is my fix.

It takes me a while to get sorted out for fishing from a boat. I find cord to tie my rods and paddle to the boat. I sort through my gear to get spinning and fly gear down to one bag. Pre-dawn, I drive down to a beach in Cormorant Cove and rig up in the darkness. I'm slow, I'm late, but I have my solution.

It's not to be. I'm in my boat along with one other kayaker. A center console patrols the area. Fishermen line the shore. We're prepared. The albies aren't. They decide not to show today. Madness continues. Tomorrow is my last shot.

I'm back at dawn.

Today is my shot. Today the winning ticket is mine. I paddle to the Coast Guard cut. I'm the only boat. The sun rises. All is quiet.

Birds!

I paddle!

They're gone....

 Again! Birds! Paddle! Gone...

This repeats itself. If nothing else, I'm getting my exercise.

Then it pays off. The boat isn't a magic solution, but I'm getting shots that I wouldn't otherwise. The wind is up, about 15 mph. Screw the fly rod, I'm using my spinning rod loaded with a Deadly Dick.

Whatever it takes.

I fire casts into the Blitz but there are no takers. Guys from shore are getting in the mix, too, when the fish are close.

Another blitz! I fire a cast. The braided line is taken by the wind into a long arc away from the lure, when... disaster! The braid catches a flying cormorant and snaps. The bird croaks in disdain and then flies on toward the carnage of bait and leaping albies. I'm left holding my spinning rod, contemplating how long it will take to tie on a new leader and lure. I tie off the braid and pull out the fly rod.

My range is short. The shots are fewer because of that. But the offering is right. On the third cast I get a satisfyingly solid pull back as I strip in a small surf candy.

Albies are known for their fast runs, and this one didn't disappoint. Line quickly spun off the reel.

I quickly discovered that fighting a fast fish from a kayak can get a little interesting. It ran back at me, under the boat, and then shot off the opposite direction. The pull was impressive. I gained line and saw leader. Then it sounded.

The rod bent to a U as the fish went straight down. A standoff ensued. For a few minutes I gained lined a couple feet at a time, levering the rod bod against the fish. Again I saw leader, and again the fish was off. A few more runs, and then the end game began.

The end game with an albie from a kayak is a challenge. The fish circled the boat, and I did my best to avoid letting the rod tip contact the bow and stern. First attempt to tail it failed. Second, failed. Third time I went for the leader, dropped the rod into the boat, and tailed the fish.

Euthynnus alletteratus

The photo doesn't do this fish justice. The colors are gorgeous. The skin is perfectly smooth. The tail seems impossibly skinny (makes a great handle). The shape is perfect for speed and ballistics.

Heart pounding, I fired off a couple shots and then released him back to the water.

The sun was coming up from behind the trees. The blitzes continued a bit longer and then shut off. The heart pounding insanity of the chase, the cast, and the fight began to fade. I had one break off and landed an 8-pound blue. I pulled the 'yak and called it a day.

Albie, on the fly. Mission accomplished.