Hummingbird PiranhaMax 170 Install

So, I took the plunge and bought a Hummingbird PiranhaMax 170 for my kayak.  I really don't want to over-rig my kayak but I have been fishing a couple of lakes lately that have some pretty deep waters and I thought having the ability to see depth changes and structure would help me at the very least eliminate some water and maximize my time on the water.

Now, there are some folks out there in the kayak fishing world who can install just about anything and make it look like factory equipment.  I'm not one of them.  It's not that I'm not handy, it's just that I no longer possess the patience I once did so my work is functional, just not always beautiful.  Anyway, I know there are a ton of installation "how to" articles and videos out there but one more isn't going to hurt.  Right?

I was trying to keep a balance between being cheap and being lazy so I had a few decisions to make.  The cheap side of me wanted to make everything from hardware store items to save the money but the lazy side didn't really want to.  Plus, I figured some of it looked easier than it probably was.  So initially, I was going to order the Scotty mount specifically designed for the PMax fishfinders.  But then the cheap side of me didn't want to pay $8 to have a light piece of plastic shipped to me so it was off to the hardware store. 

The 1/2" pvc fits well in the Scotty mount to hold the whole thing in place.  The cap pictured gets glued to a coupler which attaches to the top of the pvc and the round outlet cover gets mounted to the cap.  Like this.

Then I painted it black with some Flex Seal (for reasons I'm not sure of) and it mounted like this.

Then I got a bit ham fisted when drilling the holes for the fishfinder base and broke the outlet cover.  This was one of those lack of patience moments.  I should have taken it off instead of trying to drill it in place.  Then I remembered I had a piece of cutting board left from the fish board project so I cut that pretty close to the shape of the base painted it with flat black paint (much better).  I actually like it a lot better.

Then I needed to decide how I was going to pass the wires through the hull.  I didn't have a lot of confidence I could pull off the rubber stopper method and make it look good so I looked around for a fitting specific to the purpose.  I again struggled with the cheap side of me and decided I couldn't pay $8 shipping for an $8 plastic part so I looked everywhere locally and finally found something that would work at a local marine shop.   

One tip here.  I'm not sure if you can tell from the pictures but the location I chose to install the fitting made it very difficult to fit the drill inside the foot well to drill the hole.  I ended up drilling at an angle and it worked out but it could have gone wrong so I recommend checking out the space first.

Ok, so now for the battery box.  I had a waterproof box already that I was using for salt water hooks but I liked the size so I recruited it for battery duty.  I drilled a small hole in the end and installed a rubber grommet.  Notice how easy I made that sound?  That little grommet was probably the hardest part of the install. 

I used velcro to secure it to the bottom of the hull but there are different ways to go about this.  Some people will install a pad eye on the inside of the hull so they can hang the batter box to keep it out of any water that may collect on the bottom.  I also used an 8AA battery pack from Radio Shack and plan to use rechargeable AA batteries for my power source.  I also installed an inline fuse on the power wire and placed it inside the box to keep it dry.

I used duct seal putty to place the transducer inside the hull.  There are many, many options for how to install the transducer and valid reasons for whichever option you choose.  I chose this method because it was cheap and easy but I also liked the idea of keeping it safe inside the hull as opposed to exposed on a mounting arm.  Plus I seem to really like the gunnels of the boat to be as clean as possible for retrieving lures or fish.  I just don't want extra gear out there to get tangled on.  So it looks something like this.

I just cleaned and dried the hull really well and made about a golf ball sized ball of the putty.  The pressed the transducer into it.  It can be removed or moved any time as the putty doesn't harden.

I used marine silicon where the wires pass through the fitting and also the rubber grommet on the battery box to keep things as dry as possible.  The included mount was then attached to my homemade mount, the wires plugged in and we are ready to go.

I was able to slip out for a short time the next weekend to test it out.  And my first impressions are very positive.  I took it to a pretty clear lake so I would be able to see some of the depth and structure changes and see how the unit reacted. I cant say for sure if the actual depth was accurate or not but it certainly appears to be relatively correct. In other words, it was consistent across similar areas and definitely registered changes in depth.

I was also able to see when the bottom changed from sandy or lightly covered to a think layer of mat. I could see when something extended up from the bottom but it didn't necessarily draw an accurate "picture" of the structure. I didn't find this to be a problem though.

It did mark some fish also. I didn't know how I was going to use that information at first but I noticed a couple of cool things. At first, it was marking fish at about 5 of 6 feet in 8 to 10 feet of water. That allowed me to know about what depth to work at. I never targeted marked fish but started working that depth and caught a few fish. It also marked some fish on sharp drops in depth. It would go from 6 feet to about 18 feet and the fish would be a foot or two down that ledge. It was way too windy to park and fish the ledges and I didn't bring an anchor because I was really just looking to get used to the unit. So I used the wind to troll me over those ledges a few times and picked up a few more fish that way. I caught about 6 small fish in 2 hours and 4 of those I would not have caught any other time I have fished that lake.

Very well worth the expense and effort to install.  And honestly, it wasn't a very difficult install. 

DIY Fish Measuring Trough

There are many different versions of do-it-yourself boards, troughs, or rulers to measure your catch.  There are also some commercially available products and all work fine.  This is just one I came up with and it has worked out great for me.  Because I fish fresh and salt water, I wanted something that would be wide enough and long enough to handle most anything I might catch.  This is how I did it.

I started with a scrap piece of 6" pvc pipe.  I used a level as a straight edge to mark the lines down the outside of the pipe.

I used a jigsaw to make the cuts and it worked out fine but use whatever you have as long as it is safe.  I just eyeballed the width so I don't have a specific measurement.  I actually cut it a little too wide at first and ended up cutting about an inch off.  Keep in mind the longer and wider it is, the heavier it will be.

Then I used a piece of cutting board to create an end cap.  I stood the trough up on end on top of the cutting board and traced the U-shape and then just drew the rest.  A little warning - I don't recommend using a jigsaw on the cutting board as it will heat up the plastic and it will melt.  I wont tell you how I know that.  Ok, once cut, I used marine glue and stainless steel screws to attach the cap to the end.

Then I just applied a stick-on fish ruler from 321Fish.com and cut to length.  I went with 36 inches but it obviously can be cut to any length.  I guess if I routinely start catching fish larger than 36" I'll consider building a longer one but again, the longer it is, the heavier it is.

In action.

That first fish is about 7 pounds so she fills it up pretty good but the cupped shape really helps to cradle the fish.  The second fish was maybe 3 pounds or so just as a reference.

Another word of caution - this trough DOES NOT FLOAT!  I recommend attaching something that will keep it afloat or at least attach a leash.  I drilled a hole and tied a length of nylon rope or parachute cord and I attach it to a pad eye with a carabiner.  Another option is to add a bungee to keep the fish from flopping off while you are getting the shot.