Getting Ready to fish

Last week I started gathering the equipment we need for fishing. Starting with the basics and will work my way up.

Three rods, locked and loaded......
One thing I am concerned about, is equipment falling or getting dumped out of our kayaks. To that end, I have been looking for some lanyards to clip the equipment to the kayak. I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for at a price I was willing to pay, so I made my own. Each one uses two S-Biners ( $1.97 each) and about 10 cents worth of rope. Total cost around four dollars, and better than most I have seen.

Home made lanyard.....
Lanyard on front rod holder.....
Lanyards on rear rod holders.....

One accessory that seems to be, at least to me, definitely required is an "anchor trolley". This is a line and pulley system that effectively allows you to move the anchor from the bow to the stern, and vice versa. This allows you to position the bow or stern into the current or wind.

All material for anchor trolley and anchor.....
Anchor trolley mounting hardware.....
1.5 lb. folding anchor and line.....

The anchor trolley system consists of: 2 Harken 29mm Carbo Cheek Blocks, 3 nylon clamps, 7 WellNuts, 1 carabiner, and enough line to connect it all together. Length of line depends on the length of the kayak. Below are some pictures of the completed anchor trolley system.

Stern cheek block.....
Looking toward the bow.....
Looking toward the stern.....
Bow cheek block.....
Anchor trolley system fitted with anchor.....

One kayak completed, one to go. Hopefully I will get it done today so we can test them tomorrow.

Next step, consolidating these into a "tackle box" system.