Ocean Kayak Prowler Trident 13 rigging plans

My lovely wife surprised me with an unexpected Christmas gift: a brand new yellow Ocean Kayak Prowler Trident 13 that she bought on sale from kayakfishingstuff.com (marked down from $899 to $529 in a pre-Christmas going out of business sale). I love my Native Ultimate 12, but I’d wanted a sit on top kayak for times when I fish open water on the Chesapeake Bay. I’d also wanted a 2nd boat for times when my wife or a kayak-less friend wanted to head out with me. A win-win proposition.

So now the rigging fun begins. First thing I plan on doing is installing the rod pod upgrade. For the money you save getting the non-angler version of the Trident, I feel like it’s honestly easier just to buy the rod pod upgrade and install it yourself. Having access to the interior of the boat through this space will help with the installs of the fish finder, anchor trolley, and rod holders down the line.

To me, another positive from buying the base model Trident (aside from cost savings) is that it didn’t come with the flush mount rod holders behind the seat. The reason I don’t like the flush mount holders are because I prefer adjustable holders for when I’m fly-fishing. It’s nice to be able to adjust the angle of the rods stored behind me for my back cast.

The plan for rod holders is to mount Scotty flush mounts with adjustable rod extenders and power lock holders. I should be all set with rod holders between these Scotty rod holders and the triple rod holder I plan on mounting on a Plano 1612 dry box that fits in the space directly behind the seat.

A nice feature of the Trident model kayaks is the transducer compatible scupper. I’m hoping that this install – without a Goop or Lexel reservoir to fuse the transducer to the hull – will improve the signal to the fish finder unit. This modified scupper is compatible with the HumminBird XTH-9-20-P transducer.

As far as a fish finder itself goes I have two choices: buy and install a brand new Humminbird model, or purchase a matching mount and transducer for the Matrix 12 I have installed on my Ultimate so I can swap the unit out between boats. Not 100% sure which way I’m going but right now I’m leaning to just buying a new unit like a PiranhaMax™. From a cost standpoint both options are around the same dollar amount – might as well have two fish finders for the cost of maintaining one.

I don’t plan on installing much up front. I imagine you can’t reach up past the rod pod too easily from a seated position and I really don’t want any rods poking out front for the times I’m fishing bridge pilings.

Much of my rigging plan is based off of Lt.FireDog’s OK Prowler (from the kayakfishingstuff.com forum). The no-drill anchor trolley is a brilliant use of existing deck mounts and the Scotty rod holder set up behind the seat is an elegant way to conveniently store rods.

From kayakfishingstuff.com: Lt.Fire'Dog's Prowler 13 Setup - Scotty flush mounts with adjustable arms and power lock rod holders.

I also want to give credit to Ben Newman in California for his idea of mounting a rod holder to the Plano dry box that fits in the tankwell recess behind the seat. This keeps the rods closer to me so I don’t have to reach so far behind me as I would have had I mounted the rod holder on a milk crate.

From kayakfishingzone.com: TACKLE STORAGE DONE BETTER – Often, commercial products can be improved or combined for added and space-saving usefulness. Ben Newman’s tankwell tackle storage is a prime example. He paired a water-resistant Flambeau 1408 dry box with a West Marine 3-pole holder. The extra U-bolt serves as a bomb-proof tie-down and leash mounting point.

I’ll post more info as I move forward with the installs.