Hi Dave

There are a couple of things that I like to do to a kayak being setup for fishing.

I make a large european style cockpit without any thigh braces or knee pads so I can move around more easily. Paddling is leisurely with no fancy maneuvers planned so the boat contact is secondary to comfort.

I prefer a clean front deck - no hatches or bungies so I put a hatch in the forward bulkhead for below deck rod storage.

For anchoring or drift control I use a loop of rope [setup like a clothesline] from the bow to the stern to which the anchor rope is attached that allows me to position the anchor [a couple of pounds of chain] or my drift "sock" [a small plastic bucket] anywhere I want. The loop is locked in place with one of those little cam locks that they use on sailboats.

The depth sounder is mounted on the front deck close to the cockpit and the transducer internally in the hull at the front bulkhead. The transducer sits in a cavity in a "plug" of resin cast into a hole in the hull. The transducer signal will not "shoot" through wood well.

Because I often fish in shallow water I like to paint a white bottom with a random pattern of angular green and silver shapes that breaks up the outline. Looks like the surface of the water when viewed from below. I have caught trout from right under the kayak using this "camouflage".

On the first kayak that I made I had fitted a "split" rudder that could be operated independently or together to help control drift and to act as "brakes" when I wanted to hold in a position. I may revisit that idea this summer.

This spring I am making a couple of Chesapeake 17 LTs specifically for fishing. I am seriously thinking of running wires below deck to a socket at the bow and stern that would accept those plug-in running lights. Kinda ugly on a 'yak but bass fishing at night on the local lake is good and I would prefer to be visible to those guys on the jetskis ;-)

I never bothered with rod holders because I found it convenient enough just to have the rod beside me [the cockpit is wide enough] and facing backwards. Fly rods, with the reel mounted at the end of the rod don't fit into a rod holder to well. A couple of pieces of ABS pipe flush mounted in the deck might be useful for spinning gear.

I found that a fly fishing vest was great for keeping tackle close to hand.

Hope this helps.

Hank