You know, I have to just add one criticism here - I think you forgot "the kitchen sink" here! ha! Man, that was the most complete and thorough setup video I've ever seen. And your camera and audio rigs would rival anything the Discovery Channel uses. Nice job dude.
In general, the TI units are faster in response to inputs. This is seen when quickly switching between sonar, downscan, chart, and split screens ru-vid.comUgkxeAxH15LxhjGlg5-CRYqjTGTEH0tbY4vk recommend The Hook units will show some lag on button pushes and screen switching. The big ticket item though is maps. If you install a mapping card such as Navionics or the free C-Map Genesis which has a lot of map detail, then moving around the map with the cursor or when running down the lake can lag significantly on the Hook units, but is seamless with the TI units.
They're great kayaks! The only thing I'm not wild about with the newer ones is that they got rid of the center hatch. I like to stash a bunch of stuff in there where it's easy to access on the water.
Probably one of the cleanest, well edited videos I've seen on RU-vid. Nice work and thank you! I just bought a Feel Free 11.5 Lure Kayak and I need to start dressing it up.
That is quite the setup. Very impressive fabrication on the go pro mounts. Videos like this inspired me to get a fishing kayak last week and so far I have caught more bass out of it than all of last year. I got 5 big boys in 15 minutes this morning, that yak was well worth the money.
Just saw your video for the first time. I'm brand new to kayak fishing, so these ideas mean a lot. Have to tell you, really appreciate your innovations and the way you make so much from such a small craft. Big cudos to you, VERY nicely done! Thanks for taking the time and effort to put this video together for all of us. Any more ideas will be welcome with open arms.
Thanks! There is a more recent setup video of my camo green Tarpon 120 too. That video is a few years old now but other than adding a power pole mount on the back it’s still set up the same.
Thanks! These camera rigs worked great and even my new kayak has a rebuilt version of them using carbon fiber tubes and all black plastic and hardware. They look awesome on my camo Tarpon!
Dude, you're rigging is great!. I especially like the way you powered both of your GoPro's feeding power to them. Nice work, well thought out and quality construction. Thanks for sharing.
Nice update ND! When I was debating between a OK Trident 13 and a WS Tarpon 120 I came across your first review and it sold me on the Tarpon. Been extremely happy with my choice ever since. You've made a few changes since then and it looks good. But you must be an electrical engineer or something. lol The way you rigged your camera and stuff is genius!! I'm still working on my camera rigging. Great stuff man!
Awesome kayak! You wouldn't happen to be an engineer by trade would you? Your ingenuity and ability to fabricate these modifications is awesome. Can't wait to see more videos from this fishing season!
I watched the 2011 Kayak set up last night and the 2014 this morning. The 2011 version is more to my liking (needs) clean and simple. I don’t intend to film or use a fish finder. I will be sight fishing in skinny water. The thought of using a fish finder still lingers in my mind so time will tell. Some of the 2014 and your current set up video is so over my head yet still fascinating. If you opened a kayak outfitting service you would be booked solid for years to come. The 2014 front camera mount is a thing of beauty. I want one just because it is so beautiful. The 2011 rear light is so clever yet simple, something I can use. I checked the weather in Fargo last night. Daytime highs ranging from 50 to 70 degrees, can we expect a new video soon?
I’ll have to do a new setup video this year. I’m planning on building a new crate with more room for rods and minus the camera mount since I use the hat cam most of the time. Plus I added the power pole after my other two setup videos. The warm temps should be melting the ice off the lakes. I’m hoping to find some open water later this week.
Awesome! You sure do have plenty of options. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm going to add a LTB rod now. I don't have a kayak personally, but I do have an excellent old town osprey canoe that lets me get away with a longer rod. I've also been looking at the 6' 8" mxf, seems like a good choice. It's either that one or the 6' 10" MF. Lately I've been thinking about going for a ML option for light grubs and weightless plastics. So many option! Can't decide!
Really excellent the way you've powered your cameras. I use remotes to turn my two cameras on when I get a strike...and lose fish when I take my hand off the reel. I have to do that because I don't run them full time as you do.
ND, you have got the best yak videos EVER!!! I'm rigging my T160 and I'm always coming back to see how you rigged your Tarpon. Way cool. And Topwater Strikes! I've watched about 6 times.
I enjoy your videos ND. I live in the midwest as well so I have a love for the same species you do. Your Yak is set up top notch and you've thought out every addition on it. I just got into Yak fishing and and I picked up a used SOT Bass Pro FS128T. I haven't set it up yet but I will take some of your ideas and implement them to my situation. My Yak is a bit of a tank but I will use it for a year and see how i like it. Keep the videos coming and good luck in 2015!
*****You've really put in a massive amount of effort with those cameras. You could almost do a video just on those. I'd actually be really interested. What kind of cost was involved in that camera set up?
by far one of the coolest kayak fishing setups on youtube! mainly because of how extravagant the gopro mounts are too. hopefully you never tip this kayak
I loved the way you did all that. You must have a machine shop. The only thing that would not work for me is the electrical connections. Because we fish a lot of saltwater. And that corrodes everything.
Wow that camera setup is awesome!! You should just do a basic guide on how to make something like that would love to have one of those for when I eventually get a go pro and start recording
Great clean set up. I'm working on doing something like this for my Predator MX fishing kayak. I really want to figure out exactly how you set up the external battery for the cameras. I can't believe I thought Id be stuck changing those small batteries every 30 minutes or so. Glad to see there is a much more efficient way. I'm in the middle of binge watching all your videos from the start. Amazing adventures!
Lithium power banks weren't available, or at least affordable back when I first put these camera rigs together. That's the way I'd go if I was to rebuild something like them. I think most if not all of the lithium power banks have a 5v usb output so there's no need for any voltage converter, just a usb to mini usb cord for the older GoPro's or a usb to I belive it's a type-c connector cord on the newer GoPro's, then you just run the cord from the power bank to the input on the GoPro and it will charge as you film. These days I do most of my filming with the hat cam for a better point of view when I stand up or hop out of the kayak. The Hero 5 I use has pretty decent battery life, at least in warm weather. It will usually run about 90 minutes on 1080/30 before I have to swap batteries and I have about a dozen of the generic 3/$20 type you can find on Amazon. I also chopped up the frame case the Hero 5 comes with so I could epoxy a small part of it with the mounting tabs to the top of the GoPro. This allows me to swap batteries without even taking the hat off, rather than removing the whole thing from the hat, then removing the GoPro from the case to access the battery door. Less time messing with the camera and more time fishing!
Thanks! I have a more recent video showing my new camo Tarpon too although it's set up almost identical to this one. A few minor changes and some better building materials but as far as function its pretty much the same.
The light is great for shooting video at night! The S10-L2 is the new version of this flashlight, 500 lumens vs the 320 I had here. They're awesome flashlights, I have another one as my EDC light.
Hey man! Top vid. I really enjoy watching your mod ideas, I use my T120 for inshore fishing on the west coast of Ireland. Hope to use some of your ideas on my yak, don't think I could manage the tech stuff tho :-( thanks again.
Any particular reason you went from one Tarpon 120 to another Tarpon 120? I'm eyeing the Tarpon line for my first kayak and leaning towards the 100 because of space, money, and ease of transport. The 120 is probably more future proof, but I'd to spend some money rigging it up. This setup is ridiculous though - I watched your video on the newer one also. The new green color is excellent.
great video!! I'm super interested in learning more about your camera setups. more how to wire them and using the converters. battery's all that stuff. maybe send me in a direction to learn more about your setup and how to do it. thanks for sharing
you just earned yourself a new subscriber! I am trying to get into filming my fishing and things and this setup is wicked!!! Hopefully, I can figure something out for a similar setup!
Thanks! I've been extremely happy with how the camera rigs worked out. I actually rebuilt them a couple years ago when I got my camo kayak and used a carbon fiber pole and all black ABS and HDPE plastic to make the parts. They function exactly the same but they look a lot nicer and only weigh about half as much as the ones shown here.
NDYakAngler how do you machine these parts you make? are they special tools you own? I did see that video also, that setup looks even more professional!
I have a drill, dremel, jig saw, and a cheap drill press I use to make everything. Most of the parts with a flat edge I'll cut and dremel sand them as good as I can get, then I lay an old 9ah fish finder battery on a piece of sandpaper and hold the plastic piece against it while sanding to get a nice 90 degree edge. For all the round parts I'd cut them as close as I could get then drill a hole in the middle, screw a machine screw into it, then pop it into my drill press and use it like a lathe with a sharpened nail or a small file to remove material. I used King Starboard for a lot of the parts. It's a marine grade version of HDPE plastic although regular HDPE (cutting board plastic) also works fine. I used some pvc fittings for the project too but even those had to be modified in one way or another.
No problem! It took me well over a month to build both the camera rigs last time. A lot of that time was spent just brainstorming how to tackle the next step in the building process. I used lots of double sided carpet tape to temporarily hold plastic pieces together while drilling holes for screws and for making duplicate parts. HDPE is easy to work with but doesn't bond with glue well so pretty much everything has to be screwed together. One thing that would make the rig a lot easier to build would be instead of having the electrical connector pins internally like I do, keep the power supply in the milk crate but have a cord from it long enough to wrap around the pole and up to the camera once it's in place. Honestly if I ever ran mine into a tree and had to rebuild that's probably how I'd do it.
Thanks Veronica! I might do a basic how to power a gopro video at some point, really all you need to make it work is a car usb charger, Gopro cord, and a 12v battery.
I like your videos. I just started getting into kayak fishing and your setup gave me some ideas. Just a note, to solve your rod issue why don't you just turn the middle holder around?
Great video! I have the problem with my GoPro dying on me all the time so I have to ask how exactly you have it set up and wired so you can charge it while your out on the water!?
Hey man great video, I was just thinking of buying a fishing kayak and I was looking at the Malibu stealth 14, I was just wondering what your thoughts where on this kayak and if you could please give me some feedback, cheers 👍🏼
This is hands down the best setup video I have seen! I love how you have creatively fabricated your equipment! Very impressive! You have inspired me to purchased the tarpon 100 which I plan to take on its maiden voyage this weekend. Currently I am working on the crate and anchor trolley system. What kind of crate did you use with your tarpon 120 and did it fit without modfiying? Do you find the dual trolley system is best or would a single trolley/full length trolley be fine? Thanks for the inspiration! Love the videos!
Tom Wallis Thanks Tom and congrats on picking up a kayak! I found an awesome spot today on the river to do a setup video with my new Tarpon so I'll be getting that edited and uploaded in the next week or two. Overall its set up pretty similar to this one. I use a standard size milk crate with a couple modifications. I had to grind down the two vertical edges along the front facing side so they slanted downward toward the bottom for it to fit flat against the front of the tank well. I also added a plastic piece on the bottom along the front so it would lift it up to the same height as the two ridges that run most of the length of the tank well, that way it sits nice and flat. The main problem I always saw with full length trolleys is keeping the ropes from creeping up over the side. The dual trolley on this kayak worked great, although I never really used the front portion so on my new kayak I only did from the center handle to the back.
Excellent review and awesome setup! Very innovative and fun to listen to how you set things up! Is that a salt water super spook jr. in your box? lol Enjoyed it, thanks for sharing!
Hey man, awesome video as always. That's one hell of a setup you've got there! I know You've said it before, but what are the specs for your favorite rods? You're a St Croix fan, like myself, but I can't remember the power, length, action, etc. I'm thinking of adding a LTB to my arsenal and would love your opinion on them. I'm leaning towards a lighter power since I've got a couple Avids in the M and MH range. I need something for light stuff (grubs, senkos, poppers).
Thanks for posting this video. I like the simplicity of your lure selection. Is there a particular reason why you don't use spinner baits for river smallmouths? They are very popular here in eastern rivers, but they are a problem to carry because they take up so much space. Thanks again.
Thanks! Sorry for the delay, your comment ended up in the spam folder somehow so I just noticed it. That's one reason I don't use them much, they take up so much space in my tackle box. I guess I've just never had much luck with them either. I prefer a Reef Runner Cicada or a Spook for working large areas of water. Most of the time on the small rivers I fish its easy to look along the bank and see spots where smallies will likely be hiding so throwing a jig in front of their ambush spot will usually get them.
