KAYAK FISHING: Tips on Rigging a Sit-on-Top for Fishing

I received my new Ocean Kayak Scupper Pro a few weeks ago at Alder Creek in Portland, Oregon. I was pleased to see it was sparsely rigged; I wanted to outfit this kayak for fishing the way I thought proper. My fishing kayak needs to be more nimble than stable, and something I can have a bit of fun in the surf with.

So far I've installed two flush-mount rod holders behind the cockpit with rivets, neoprene foam gasket, sealed with mondobond


To cut the holes for the flush mounts and the day hatch, I traced the pattern onto the boat and then cut on the inside of the line with a sharp drill bit. There are better tools available, but it's what I had available. I did use a grinder to bevel the edges of my rough cut drill work.

I added neoprene foam seating, cut with scissors and attached with more mondobond. The gray foam back pillar positions me a bit further forward in the boat. My thinking is that this will balance out the voluminous bow compartment and the narrow stern. The redistribution of weight further forward in the boat will loosen the stern, making it more responsive to edge control, or "playful" as it's said.


The gray foam also pushes me away from the high back rest, allowing for better torso rotation, more efficient paddling, and great boat control.

In the previous picture, you will notice a valley day hatch positioned in the flat rise in front of the seat. With the addition of this hatch, I can safely bilge water from the hull without fear of taking on more water from crashing waves through the huge
hatches on some sit-on-top kayaks.

In front of the day hatch, I riveted in several pad-eyes and ran bungee in a cross pattern to secure a bilge pump, and a few other small items.


Moving towards the bow you will see that I've bolted in a scotty deck mount rod holder. If needed I can add the 8" extender that scotty makes in order to position the rod holder closer to the cockpit.


I riveted a few more pad-eyes around the boat and added reflective perimeter line around the length of the boat. The perimeter line makes the boat easier to carry, increase visibility at night, and gives me a way to hang on to the boat should I come out in rough water or surf.


Finally, I clipped on some NRS thigh straps. The thigh straps give me more control over the boat and keep me from getting bucked off (sometimes) in surf.


To complete the sea worthiness of the kayak, I am working on installing a 3-4" closed cell foam bulkhead directly behind the front hatch. Before installing the bulkhead, I will stuff 10 or 12 foam pool noodles along the gunwales all the way to the stern. With the pool noodles, bulkhead, and day hatch for pumping water out, taking on water should not be an issue. I believe the bulkhead will also add strength to the structure of the boat, possibly preventing blown scuppers earned after smacking the hull on the backside of a big wave.

My plan for internal rod storage is to run two five-inch PVC pipes through the area in front of the footwells, through the bulkhead, and into the front hatch area. I'll seal the pipe end in the hatch, and have a screw lid with o-ring exiting in front of the footwells. This gives me the ability to store two piece rods with reels inside the boat for surf launches, without the 30" x 8" gaping hole in the boat.

At this point, I believe it will be the most seaworthy sit-on-top kayak that I have ever seen. Manufacturers take note; The design features and modifications published in this post are the intellectual property of Jason Self. If I start seeing the bulkhead/tube storage ideas on the market, we will chat.

Until next week,

Jason