Radisson Canoe - Fully Rigged !

[shootermcbob]

Goose52, that is one sweet rig.

[Goose52]

Goose52, that is one sweet rig.

Thanks !

Had it out again today - 24 bass and 1 redear/shellcracker. No bass bigger than 15" today though...

[Lard_Bass]

Goose52,

Nice rig.  I am glad that I was able to give you some ideas for the canoe.  I need to register mine and get mine back in the water.  You'll find that once you get off the bank, you'll never want to shorefish again.  I bought a boat last year and love it.  I still want my canoe for the smaller lakes/ponds.  If I do any more mods to my canoe, I'll keep you posted.

One last thing, watch those rod tips.  As Rhino pointed out, those tips could easily get caught up on some brush.  Regardless if the rods were stored horizontally or vertically, they always found a way to get into some brush.  I see yours are hanging out the back, be careful.

Fyi, one last thing I found to work nicely in the canoe was to fish facing the back of the canoe while standing up.  I was able to control the trolling motor easier and it gave me the feel as if I were fishing off the front of a boat.  Just my .02.

[Goose52]

Thanks. It came together pretty well. As of today, I've had it out fully-rigged 13 times and have caught 136 fish out of it. So, I've had a lot of time on the water to "prove" the systems.

Rod storage is the big issue but the aft carriage looks like what I will stick with. I can have as many as 5 rods pointed aft, plus the "ready" rod in the Scotty rod holder next to the seat. I DO indeed have to be careful of the rod tips. I'm not usually near any brush except when I follow creek channels ALL the way to the back until I'm literally in just inches of water. In those cases, I can't turn around, and I have to back out of the channels.

Noteworthy things that work well are:

• The Scotty rod holder next to the seat - this is primarily for when you bring a fish into the boat - you leave enough line out for the fish to be on the deck in front of you and you have a place to put the rod (instead of just laying it against the gunwale).

• The anchor lock - another Scotty product - works great.

• The transducer arm - the length ended up being just right to have the transducer fully submerged - but not lower than the bottom of the hull. So, you're not likely to bang the transducer off a rock or whatever. The transducer arm is hinged and swings inboard when launching or beaching the canoe.

• The "dashboard" - homemade out of oak - carries the sonar, transducer and transducer arm, and another Scotty rod holder. This "plugs" into the oarlocks. It's basically a self-contained mounting for the sonar. I can run with the dashboard or leave it home if I don't think I need the sonar.

• The electrical conduit - this carries the 6 ga wires from the trolling motor up to the battery - keeps the cables off the deck and out of the way.

• The motor mount that attaches to the outrigger crossbar. A discontinued product from the makers of the outriggers - I called them and got their last one (their prototype). Works great and now the outrigger crossbar multi-tasks by carrying the outriggers, trolling motor, rod rack, and anchor system.

• The aft-mounted outriggers - this keeps the 180 degree arc in front of me clear of obstructions and makes landing fish much easier.
  

There's still a couple of things that I may still improve. I'd like to have a crank system for the anchor line instead of just coiling it up and stowing it in a metal coffee can next to the seat. I could use more storage forward of where I sit and I may remove the other canoe seat and move the battery farther forward. Otherwise, things are working well !

Another photo taken today: