Kayak with troller

[mschultz373]

I’m wondering what the general assessment is on the usefulness of running a trolling motor with a kayak. I have an 11’6” perception Stryker that has proven great for still waters, marshes, and bayous but I would like to try using it to access on bigger water like rivers.

so my first question is how safe that may or may not be even as an idea and what criteria I should know about the river height, speed to maybe determine that? The second would be, in any experience, does a troller make those bigger waters more navigable? And the final would be, does anyone know of a trolling setup that can attach to a round-back kayak as pictured?



Thanks for any help!

 

[Blacksmith]

You can buy or make a bracket for your yak to hold a troller to the side behind your seat. I use an F12 NuCanoe and yes a troller is way nice on bigger water. I'll get 200 # of carp in mine and it's difficult to paddle back across the lake in the wind. A small trolling motor is pretty fast on a yak. I wired my battery thru the hull and added a plug in the fore and aft to plug in battery and motor. It just kept it cleaner looking but if you use long cables to put the battery up front, it'll be better balanced. The Nu Canoe has a flat back for motor. It does work a little better in the middle of the stern than on the side but I've used it on the side mount. You Tube a Kayak Motor Mt. I guess it depends on the model but mine is very safe w/a motor

 

[Dmathews87]

for longer distance and big open water, trolling motors on a yak is a really good option. safety wise you need to consider several things:

-how wide is your kayak which directly relates to how stable your kayak is (you may need to add outriggers)
-what is the weight capacity of your kayak (the motor is going to eat alot of that plus the battery)
-if your kayak isnt designed to have a motor attached (like the nucanoe mentioned) then you're looking at DIY options which of course you do at your own risk.
- not many people know this but in La, it still needs to be registered with a trolling motor so you will need statement of origin and proof of sales tax...if you dont have any of that then you're going to be dealing with paperwork\notary nightmares. (is it worth that trouble to just paddle where you will be?)

I kayak fish and have for many years, feel free to ask me questions in DM, im sure theres more ive missed

 

[mschultz373]

for longer distance and big open water, trolling motors on a yak is a really good option. safety wise you need to consider several things:

-how wide is your kayak which directly relates to how stable your kayak is (you may need to add outriggers)
-what is the weight capacity of your kayak (the motor is going to eat alot of that plus the battery)
-if your kayak isnt designed to have a motor attached (like the nucanoe mentioned) then you're looking at DIY options which of course you do at your own risk.
- not many people know this but in La, it still needs to be registered with a trolling motor so you will need statement of origin and proof of sales tax...if you dont have any of that then you're going to be dealing with paperwork\notary nightmares. (is it worth that trouble to just paddle where you will be?)

I kayak fish and have for many years, feel free to ask me questions in DM, im sure theres more ive missed

I do wonder if I technically could evade the registration part since my kayak is under 12' long?

Title or Register Your Boat | Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is responsible for managing and protecting Louisiana’s abundant natural resources. The department issues hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses, as well as boat titles and registrations.

www.wlf.louisiana.gov

 

[Dmathews87]

I do wonder if I technically could evade the registration part since my kayak is under 12' long?

Title or Register Your Boat | Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is responsible for managing and protecting Louisiana’s abundant natural resources. The department issues hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses, as well as boat titles and registrations.

www.wlf.louisiana.gov

pretty sure you cant. Once a vessel becomes motorized, it has to be registered. I have the nucanoe frontier myself and have researched this to great extent and talked with LDWF about it...i bought mine used so i face the paperwork dilema as i dont have sales tax proof but do have the statement of origin. i could still be wrong but this is how its been explained to me. the 11.5\6' kayaks are also classified as 12' models same as where the 14' models are actually more like 13.5

you could always play dumb which may get you out of a ticket or 2 for a bit

 

[Exhumis]

Dang it I misread the title as “kayak with stroller” and I thought to myself alright I’m game let’s see where this goes. Carry on folks.

 

[Dmathews87]

Dang it I misread the title as “kayak with stroller” and I thought to myself alright I’m game let’s see where this goes. Carry on folks.

me and my 1yr old would have been on board...somebody's gotta figure this out....

 

[Blacksmith]

pretty sure you cant. Once a vessel becomes motorized, it has to be registered. I have the nucanoe frontier myself and have researched this to great extent and talked with LDWF about it...i bought mine used so i face the paperwork dilema as i dont have sales tax proof but do have the statement of origin. i could still be wrong but this is how its been explained to me. the 11.5\6' kayaks are also classified as 12' models same as where the 14' models are actually more like 13.5

you could always play dumb which may get you out of a ticket or 2 for a bit

In Ohio you can buy an alternate registration which is a small sticker to put inside your craft. If you motorize it you then have to buy HIN numbers and they go on the outside of the bow.

 

[woodsdog2]

Dang it I misread the title as “kayak with stroller” and I thought to myself alright I’m game let’s see where this goes. Carry on folks.

Me too!

 

[SNIPERBBB]

I have a behind the seat kayak mount from island hopper for my ascend fs128t. The opposite side of the trolling motor is counterweighted so that the you're not compromising stability. I think mine could be slightly heavier.

I've had my kayak fishing on the lil bay de noc(lake Michigan) and have trapped beaver out of it on small lakes. Trolling motor really helps for the latter because when it's under 40 degrees and 4-5 mile round trip, you dont want to paddle much.

Nucanoe does offer kits to mount trolling motors.

If you see white caps, you don't want to be on the lake/river with a yak. Or really any small boat.