This Boating Life

[Shark Poker]

"Thanks for the photo. When I zoom in on the photo to look at how the transducer's mounted it gets a bit distorted. Looks like you've fitted the tansducer on the transom on a small block. Is this block glued (silicone) to the transom or screwed? Did you also run the sounder power off the jetski battery or did you fit another battery?"


image.jpg

This is is a close up of the alum block.
The block is essentially two plates of 3mm ally.

It is 'stuck on' with a piece of double sided tape either end, and adhesive sealant.

So, no holes drilled into the back of the ski, which would all have been under the waterline. The transducer screws onto the outer plate only.

The biggest hole in this installation is for the plug end of the transducer cable. It required a hole of something like 15mm. (There was no way I was going to make a hole that size at the back of the ski, below the waterline.)

I should also point out that most Sea-Doos have a thru hull transducer mount inside the ski. Mine is on the port side.
I first tried to use it, and fired thru the hull and it works just fine. So you may not need to put your tranducer out the back after all.

My only real hassle was a poor choice of a Lowrance Elite 5DSI, and it was later pointed out that it is not suitable for thru hull applications.

Further, the lowrance control buttons on that unit are on the stb side, and that is a real pain.
As my Seadoo throttle grip is on the stb side of the ski, I basically have to stop the ski to adjust the depth control or map settings.
If you reach across with your left hand, your hand is blocking the screen.....

So choose a sounder with the controls on the correct side, and a transducer that can work from inside the hull.

[Shark Poker]

This photo shows where the power/transducer cable comes out.

An additional battery is a good idea, some people say you should not need one, and this has proven to be true. But being alone offshore.....


I chose to put a small spare battery in the fwd storage area. And connect the spare battery to the main battery with an Anderson plug to disconnect them. That way I can easily add extra power if needed.
Plus it makes charging at home easier.

Some of the other guys on here have different set ups on their skis. I would certainly ask Seahorse (Greg) as well.

And by the way, I removed the icebox set up on my ski. It turned out to be a safety hazard.

[jkhbay]

Can you elaborate on "And by the way, I removed the icebox set up on my ski. It turned out to be a safety hazard". What was the bad experience or issue.

This photo shows where the power/transducer cable comes out.

An additional battery is a good idea, some people say you should not need one, and this has proven to be true. But being alone offshore.....


I chose to put a small spare battery in the fwd storage area. And connect the spare battery to the main battery with an Anderson plug to disconnect them. That way I can easily add extra power if needed.
Plus it makes charging at home easier.

Some of the other guys on here have different set ups on their skis. I would certainly ask Seahorse (Greg) as well.

And by the way, I removed the icebox set up on my ski. It turned out to be a safety hazard.

[Shark Poker]

A fish box set may limit your ability to climb back on to your jetski, especially in a choppy sea. (It certainly did for me)

I would suggest anybody who is considering a fish box on the back, should practise jumping off and climbing back on to their jet ski in rough water and then try it without using the back platform.

Some times its just way too cold to be in the water at all. I have spotted sharks under the bait schools in the bay, including one big hammerhead aggressively chasing mackeral on the surface (this was February - ask Madmackeral about it) and as I like to jump in with a spear occasionally, well you need to be able to get back out easily.

Last December I got knocked off the ski in a busy channel. You can assume none of the boats approaching have any respect for a jetski rider. So I had to swim over, get back on and start up and depart the channel very promptly.

Am now using an insulated fish bag and put a couple rod holders on the back.

[Si]

hey Fat Bouy!! Kinda intrigued why you only want involvement in ausfish through this thread? Just curious is all.

[Shark Poker]

Hey!, Andy H
How are you?

[Andy H]

I'm bloody tired mate... been up since 4:15, on the water at 5:15 and out half a day for only one spotty.
I really need to learn how to catch fish as this drought is starting to bring me down.
But that's enough about me. How are you?

[Shark Poker]

One spotty is all you need. Can send you a great recipe.
You must be doing OK to get a day off with a young family. I love this time of year on the water (April-May-June), the afternoons are wonderful.
Seen better reports in your area though. Were you using lures, pillys or livies?

[Andy H]

Yeah I'm really lucky my wife lets me out to play. I do miss my son in the mornings though... it's the best time for playing. We also got him his first life jacket the other day. 6 months old and he's already 8kg, I think he's gonna be a big boy like his daddy!
We were using pilly's this morning as we didn't come across any bait. We went out through the seaway and headed on down to Mermaid with the rest of the flotilla. Out of all of the boats there we only noticed one other fish landed. Around 10ish we strapped on some x-raps and a skirt and went for a troll for not a sniff. I think I need someone to show me how to use my sounder properly and how to catch fish off shore. Most of my fishing has been done off the bank or done the pin. I really love being off shore though, it's so peaceful.

[Shark Poker]

Andy,
with your sounder, it normally comes down to playing with all the settings until you have a better feel and confidence.
Having said that, I am amazed how many very experienced guys look at a huge show of fish and mutter "... yeah..bait" without further interest.

You should probably try burleying. One of our former (banned) members went out thru the seaway last weekend anchored and got the burley going. Then sat back waiting for the fish. Below is a photo of his catch.

988842_10152126715741137_2061163850_n.jpg Good luck next trip Andy.

[Shark Poker]

Recently I have been interested in refining a burley system to improve my fishing. I have come across too many uncooperative and disinterested fish.
I thought it would be good if the burley sank rather than floated on the surface like tuna oil does.
Also, it would work more effectively if it dispersed slowly and evenly over a say, half hour period.
All the usual ingredients from the bait freezer were used, plus a few particular additions to help it mix, sink and disperse slowly.

While working at the marina this morning, I decided to test some of it. At first, nothing.....

[Shark Poker]

After a little while, as expected, the little Bream started to show up. Then some a little bigger.
At first, every time I tried to approach them to take a photo, they would scatter.
But later, maybe half an hour later, they were confidently feeding and ignored my proximity. (See second photo)

Later, it was still all happening. The 300-400g of burley had entertained over 20 Bream (there were way more than the photos show) for over an hour plus whatever other species lurked down beneath.
There was no residue on the surface, the burley all slowly sank.

Now to try it offshore.....