never thought of using one of my plastic pretzel jugs for my cell phone and such.

but  for my rod holders i got an old milk crate and 4 pieces of 2"X 18" pvc conduit and some zip ties and attached the conduit to the milk crate at slight angles. will hold 3 rods and yer net and yer tackle boxes  without everything getting underfoot. you can also put yer small boxes or your waterproof jug for the cell and stuff in it. i use milk crates in my truck to keep everything from finding its way to where i can't find it or get to it. i also use a plastic 5 gal. bucket to put my anchor line in then sit the anchor on top so the line don't get everywhere. I have an old homemade trailer for my jon boat but it is really hard to see the boat/trailer out of my saturn so i am thinking of bending some 3/4 in. tubing to attach to the trailer and flying my jolly roger on the tube so it will be more visible both going down the road and backing down the ramp. what do ya'll think of my weird ideads as my wife calls them. might not be pretty but is functional and cheap

First off, I think the pretzel jar is a great idea.  You can reach in easily and see everything.   I was using a plastic ziploc bag.  The tubing Idea is good too.  What type of Saturn do you have?  I have a Saturn Vue and am getting ready to fix up a jon boat. It is tough to see out the back while baking up so I'll be flying my freak flag.  Also, I need to get a hitch, that's why I asked about what Saturn your driving.

I also have a vue, a new one, and it came with a reciever hitch, but no insert and ball. What a ripoff! Anyway, way back when, I had a volvo wagon and would open the tailgate(it went up)  to see what I was doing when backing up with my boat trailer. No boat now though, but I'm a hopin'!

                                      GOOD FISHING GL

Thanks,  Does your new Vue Hitch have a brand name on it??  I'm curious if A Saturn dealer could install one.

I have been told they make a custom hitch.  I have seen some on E-Bay.  Pep Boys has one designed for a Vue as well. I want it to look like it belongs there, not just sticking out like a sore thumb.

Thanks OGA,  I'll check it out.  Did anyone ever install one of these themselves??  Some people say they are simple, but others said they had a hard time removing bolts that were already on the car or truck, that need to be removed to make room for the new hitch bolts.  I'm not the most mechanical kind of guy, but I can surpise myself sometimes.

Stealthfisher,

       I think my hitch is factory installed. It has a plug for the wiring harness and is very neat. Hope you find a good one, Uhaul might be a place to check.

                                        GOOD FISHING GL

man i'd love to throw a small downrigger on my canoe, it just is not cost efective right now($90 for the cheapr one not including weight or clips), if i ate alot of fish i would do it.... does anyone use the small boat downriggers? if so how's is it? on what kind of boat? what kind of fish? 

i do troll with pole in hand and i am always looking for more helpfull tips on that too... i try back trollin & just run threw deep sections of water searching but not much luck yet( a few hook ups )... once i git the canoe in the striper hole or one of are better trout holes it will be on like donkey kong! 

if anyone uses a small fish finder the  info would be nice in here to...? recomindation and the +'s & -'s for  the brand you purshaced would be great, i know each one has it's good's and bads, i'd love to hear it all! 

another float in camp tip~ bring that old BBQ grill grate throw it accross some rocks and make it stable enuff to boil a pot of water , it's light weight, & if it's a spot that  you camp at  alot but others dont' know about hide the grill grate and it will be there for your next outing...maybe?

Here's something to bring along in case you hit something and get a big hole in your boat, canoe, or kayak.

   You can sometimes find different size ones at the dollar store.  Stuff this in the hole and it will stop a leak temporarily.  It's one of those thing you hope you'll never have to use except when you let the kids or your friends  throw it around the parking lot while your packing up.

hey D~rat sorry i never pm'd you back but i did git it! i'm doing good in CA but still lookin to move to ARkansas, it seems like it will take longer now with the housing cost drop...but someday?

how are you doin, in tx, right? save some good spots for me! and if you ever git this way again let me know, I always want to meet more members!

tip of the day: if you bring another person fishing don't put 2 trolling motors on your boat, you will just go in circles, LOL

ibt, thats alright i keep forgeting how to get into my pm's on this site. 

yup, central tx. we are having our meet later this month and i will be there. even if ya do move to AR. come on down we have a lot of fun. 

i'm also thinking about adding a solar charger to my boat to help keep the battery charged. I saw one at bass pro today but i found one at homier.com and its about 15 bucks cheaper will have to see which one is cheapest after frieght chgs. or if i can find one of their sales in my travels........

This was a previous post:

I used it on my kayak.

The " Fishin Buddy".  Made by Bottom Line.   That's the one I bought ( and immediately returned)

They have 2 models. almost identical execpt one is 120 something pixels and the other  I think is 160 pixels.  I would NOT recommend the "Fishin Buddy".

That handle snapped right off. ( A poor design)

OLDG , a hole in your boat????  i think the cuda comes with a suction cup attachment? not sure totaly!or if you have a trolling motor you can use a hose clamp to attach it that way... a mounting bracke for the tranducer should be easy to make, i would try to make a  PVC braket that hangs over the boat but clips on or clamps down...

jig-n-pig (paul) did recomend the cuda to me for the money! i am sure there are better ones availabe, with cost being the main factor in to how much you want to spend.......or on a bad day canoe`n how much you want to sink?

you may need a portable finder that takes small batteries, instead of one that requiers a 12volt  bat. so duoble check what the power supllie needs to be....... all thO` you can use power wheels batteries(you know the kind of battery in those drivable kids cars) and wheel chair batteries witch are way smaller than most 12volts and they last along time!

With my canoe I use a Bottom Line Fishin Buddy if I am paddling or a Humminbird PiranhaMax 215 which I have a transducer attached to a trolling motor and powered with a deep cycle battery.  I also would not recommend The Bottom Line Fishin Buddy, I also had the handle break off and if I have the transducer pole in the water while I'm moving in the water it tends pop off the clamp.  The new Fishin buddy line is sold under Humminbird appears to be redesigned, I don't know if it is improved over the Bottom Line version after all they both part of johnsonoutdoors company.  I have had no problems with hte PiranhaMax 215, there's also a portable version of it.