fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Trolling in deep water at great depths for any kind of fish is always a thrill, especially when fishing from a kayak! This past Summer an Old Town Sportsman 136 Autopilot kayak found it's way into my garage and all I can say is "what took me so long" to add a motor to a kayak!

This rascal is becoming an all time favorite for me and saves a ton of horse power that I normally had to generate by hand paddling to operate a heavy downrigger set up.

A 12 pound "fish profile" cannonball, run deep by an electric Big Jon downrigger unit strung up with 200 lb. braid has made bringing up lake trout and salmon from great depths as easy as pie. With the Min-Kota spot lock feature the ability to sit still and jig has also been made much easier.

My only regret is that with our local seasons now closed on lake trout, and the salmon runs all but over, I'll have to wait until next Spring to get back out on the waters!

A modified "Thule" roof rack system cut down in size for creating the support arch to attach the downrigger to. This unit runs off a separate 20 amp hour lithium battery so as to conserve power for the electric motor.


A little 4 pound mackinaw (lake trout) from Lake Michigan. Struck a rotating flasher and fly combo in 100' of water about 80' down.


Thank you Yeck tackle Co. for this cleverly designed downrigger weight that provides a little less resistance than traditional round weights. I thought about using a "pancake design", but I am partial to fish shapes!


One of my "go to" rigs for bringing lake trout upwards when they are hugging bottom. A Luhr Jensen ghost colored dodger with a mid sized Spin-N-Glow lure.


Nine pounds worth of feistyness...


I could hardly believe my eyes as this 3 lb. smallmouth bass was caught off guard while lurking 80' down in 85' of water! Before the release I whispered in it's ear that dinner Gobies can also be found in much shallower waters!

Fredfish Loc: Prospect CT.

Awesome new Battleship you have there Yaker. I have admired the Old Town for a couple years, and even the Ascend 133x for a starter. I have decided that I don't have the balance any longer, or the lower back to fish from one, but they're great rigs. Good luck, and be safe out there.

DVTracker Loc: Harrisburg, PA.

I like your kayak setup and nice fish too Fishyaker. Good catching! Thanks for sharing.

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Thank you Fredfish! I have watched this Old Town model for a while too...and finally decided to make it happen. The fuse was lit when my wife approved the idea and encouraged me to get it going ASAP.

At first it was a daunting step to take for me after having spent so many years with a paddle in hand. The learning curve was short, but I still need to read the manual on the GPS unit so that I can take advantage of the numerous features...such as recording a troll track and then repeating it, along with navigating to way points!

Although it seems very stable for standing, I still enjoy sitting when on the water so the comfy chair is a welcome improvement over the hard fiberglass seat in the sea kayak! I did end up having to obtain a small boat trailer to haul/store and launch with because it is too heavy to man handle...but it is quite petite and does not take up much floor space in the garage!

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Thank you DVTracker! I have enjoyed making a few customizations to this new kayak...but honestly,I would say that the folks at Old Town did a fine job of thinking it all thru already so it was pretty much ready to go from day one!

My next quest is to perfect a way of slinging fish into the rear ice filled cooler while staying in my seat. Not sure yet about how that will work out but it is better than having a stringer floundering along as I continue fishing!

NJ219bands Loc: New Jersey

Nice 👍

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Thank you NJ219! I am enjoying the new kayak and features that are brand new to me...like having an electric motor do the paddling! I kidded my wife and told her I might have to bring out my fly tying vise on the kayak so I could keep busy in between fish bites!

plumbob Loc: New Windsor Maryland

You have me rather jealous on the new craft for sure yaker. Impressive set up and looking forward to your future catches as well as the stories.

As for slinging your bounty to the rear cooler, I have been doing it since day one on my first yak. A good fish gripper in the lip with the lid opened in advance and sling from front to back in one motion. Opposite hand on the cooler lid and don not release the fish gripper until the lid is on top of the fish gripping hand.

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Thank you Plumbob! I'm sure that the novelty will soon wear off, but for now I must admit that being under "power" has opened a new dimension for me for deep water trolling. So far I have been running the downrigger and a leadcore set up that worked out in the old sea kayak...but now moving forward is effortless. I have also done some shallow water fishing for bass and miscellaneous species and that has been greatly simplified too.

We only used our boat once this past season, so I look at this rig as a "mini boat" that will accomplish the same kind of fishing for me. I spent well over a hundred outings in a kayak...so you can tell where my priorities are when it comes to which watercraft I prefer!

I like your suggestion about how to get fish into the cooler behind the seat. My plan is to sit close to shore and practice the process until I feel comfortable. I might put a drawcord on the cooler lid to make sure it stays open during the sequence and then close it with a flick of my elbow. Good to hear that you have easily mastered the routine!

plumbob Loc: New Windsor Maryland

Yaker, I was fortunate to fish a few days with Andy B at Bald Eagle in our yaks. I must admit the thought did cross my mind watching him effortlessly maneuver his powered yak. So never say never and let a few months of cooler weather ( winter ) work on my mind and weigh out the pros and cons on yak # 3 for me.

Good idea in shallow water test of the sling. Width of the yak and height of the cooler has a lot to do with stability of it too. My cooler size rough #'s are 18" x 12" x 8". Big enough to hold the limit of what I would target. Any larger a stringer was on board. Sadly never needed the stringer

Only difficulty was keeping the lid open and trick there was a longer hatch cord on it so it tilted back further.

Good luck with sea trials and hope the water is warm just in case.

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

You may recall that a few years ago I acquired a pedal styled kayak (Perception Pescador 120) as a way of doing something different on the water via a kayak, but after a few seasons of use, I determined that it was just not a good fit for me.

So...I looked around the garage and decided to part company with several "boat rigs" that collected more dust than they deserved. A drift boat, pedal kayak and a canoe all hit the "for sale" category and that allowed me to apply the proceeds towards this new Old Town unit. The whole process freed up some garage space and made 3 "new owners" very happy to have acquired some second hand equipment!

I never thought that I would move into a motorized kayak, but for me it made a lot of sense...particularly due to my enjoyment of deep water trolling with a heavy weight from a downrigger. Now I can keep my gear deployed pretty tight to the kayak and when sharing the water with lot's of other boats doing the same thing the odds of getting line tangles is minimal! I still only run one rod when doing this...just for simplicity.

As I mentioned to somebody else previously, I have to compliment Old Town for designing such an awesome kayak.

plumbob Loc: New Windsor Maryland

Yes, I do recall. We do what we must when there is something we want.

I tried twice this past year running 2 rods with Port and Starboard holders and when I got spun 90* from a striper, the tangle didn't happen, but quite obvious a little more right and left of Mr fishy it could have been a loss catch on my part.

My NC BFF that got me hooked on yaking had an Old Town that he let me try and my first was a Bonafide. The raised seat and the 36" width was the selling point.

And now I will just think the next one through.

saw1 Loc: nor cal Windsor

Nice rig. Do y'all have to register it with the state and get CF#s when you put a motor on it. We do in California. Just wondered. Beautiful fish. Congrats.

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Good morning Saw1! "yes"...we do have to register any watercraft that uses a motor for propulsion here in MI. It is only about $5.00 per year and the permit/registration sticker is issued in 3 year intervals. You also are obligated to affix boat ID numbers on the bow so for us it is the "MC" number. It looks a little funny having all the stickers/decals on a small kayak, but that's the rule!

Trailer is set up like a tiny "boat" hauler. Four 5 foot long under bunks and a pair of 2' short side bunks to assist with getting it loaded straight.

scaledown72 Loc: North Georgia

If you have to use a trailer to haul and launch a "tricked out" kayak, why not just use a regular boat with a motor ?
It would probably weigh less, plus you can carry more, plus get up and move around in it.
To me, the main advantage of a kayak would be portability, but most kayaks I see are Definitely not portable !