Kayak Tournament - fish finder or not

[crankbait2009]

I've been bouncing this idea around for the past 2 years or so.

I go back and forth on whether I want to pursue a fish finder on my kayak.

Then the more and more I think about getting in to kayak bass fishing tournaments, more and more the need for electronics enter my mind.

 

Has anyone here ever competed in a kayak tournament WITHOUT a fish finder?  How did you do?

Would you be foolish to enter a tournament without one?

[J Francho]

I have fished several without, but I knew the waters well.  That lake wasn't a "find the bait, find the bass" lake though.  I do think a graph with at least traditional sonar and GPS is a huge advantage.  Though, if you know the water well, and consistently catch fish there, you aren't foolish to try a tournament.  At the very least, you'll see how you stack up against other anglers.

[crankbait2009]

I thought about that side of it too.  This lake that the tourney is held at is a lake that I fish every weekend.  I am quite familiar with it BUT, I'm usually by myself and don't have to compete with other anglers in order to fish.  I have my areas of the lake I always fish.  But if there is someone fishing in these locations, I'm kinda lost at that point.  Short of just casting and hoping for the best, and not sure where to go.

 

Since BKFT (Buckeye Kayak Fishing Trail) teamed up with KBF, there are a lot more tourneys in my area.  So I was hoping to hit some of them up.

[J Francho]

The KBF tourneys up here aren't all that expensive to get into to.  Definitely worth a try.  I bet you'd do just fine.

[Hawkeye21]

I fished a tourney at LaCrosse, WI last year where I had my fish finder on for practice then just took it off for tourney day.  I didn't need it at all since I was fishing shallow the entire day.  The only thing helpful it would give me at that point was water temp.  There are very helpful but not always necessary.

[YoTone]

I fished and won with out a fish finder and it was my first time fishing this body of water. Im sure it can help but sometimes you waste too much time staring and deciphering stuff rather than fishing. 

[928JLH]

I placed 2nd my first tournament, big fish second tournament 5th place, and top ten this weekend. Currently 2nd in points for AOY with no fish finder. That being said I'm getting one ASAP. It's a must have and it's terrible not having one. I like to fish deep. Crucial in locating deep structure, bottom composition changes, grass lines ect. If you plan on getting serious with it go for it. KBF has some awesome trail events.

[Hower08]

I just got Into kayak fishing last year and love it. What I think I am going to do for a graph is just buy an extra transducer power cord and mount for one of the graphs on my bass boat so I can easily use it on my kayak as well. 

 

The way I see it is I can fish a high end graph on my kayak for about $200 instead of $500+  and all I have to do is loosen two set screws on the mount. Something to think about if you already have a boat rigged with graphs

[Jleebesaw]

On 3/18/2019 at 11:17 PM, Hower08 said:

I just got Into kayak fishing last year and love it. What I think I am going to do for a graph is just buy an extra transducer power cord and mount for one of the graphs on my bass boat so I can easily use it on my kayak as well. 

 

The way I see it is I can fish a high end graph on my kayak for about $200 instead of $500+  and all I have to do is loosen two set screws on the mount. Something to think about if you already have a boat rigged with graphs

That's what I did with my graphs. I have a 14' "rowboat" with an 8 horse that I use on some restricted lakes and on the small river near me. I just take the front unit off my big boat and use it on the small boat. It was a little north of $200, but you have the right idea.

[WildmanWilson]

Depends on the lake. If you're a bank beater then probably don't need one. If you fish structure and drops and such its a big plus.