Off shore or near shore fishing on a PWC / Jet ski with trolling motor
HA! I thought I was the only one doing the swim fin maneuver :thumbsup:
I have 2 skis. One that I trust as far as I can throw it and 1 that I don't trust at all. They both run fine...for the moment...but you just never know with a ski. Taking proper precautions narrows down your chance of a break down significantly but hey...they are still engines, carbs, fuel lines, filters and gas...all on WATER.
I just came out of the hopper a moment ago and had a lightbulb moment thinking about putting a trolling motor on my ski to improve my chances while offshore in the event of a breakdown. Lo and behold, I find your post. I do like your thinking and know there is a good way of doing this. I also like the guy's idea of towing the kayak. All of this should be tried out on a nice calm lake first though to make sure you know what you are getting yourself into.
Last weekend I took my 2000 Sea Doo GTI out on Lake Livingston after finally fixing it AGAIN. I took a 10' tow rope, a long tow rope, my swim fins, 64 oz. of water and headed out about 1/16 of a mile from shore before cutting power and jumping in. Towed it back to shore with the swim fins just fine on a flat lake. I tried pulling it from the front, motoring it from the back superman style and lastly, sitting backwards on the swim platform and kicking like a paddle boat. All were very effective; however, I think I liked the superman style best but would feel the most vulnerable in that position with the boys hanging downward like that in the dirty salt water of TX. I want to get a good measure on 1 mile on the lake and try towing it in chop one day just to see how long it takes.
Alternatively, I am going to steal the other brother's idea and rig up 2 - 15' lengths of rope to tie to each of the rear left and right tie-downs, sleeve them with a 10' length of 1/2" PVC in the shape of a "V" and at the point of the V, there will be a small float and about 5' of rope that connects to the bow of my fishing kayak. Then, I'm certainly going to put my yak through the paces on it before heading out to the salt with the setup.
Lastly, I am without a doubt going to rig up a full-sized drycell battery in the front end of my STS900 with some alligator clip setup that runs back to a 40lb thrust trolling motor and see how far I can get on a full charge on the lake. When I do each of these, I'll take video and give a full report.
I completely disagree that a PWC should be confined to rivers, lakes and simple thrill riding. I have a 2007 tripple pontoon Harris Flote Bote SS230 with a Merc Verado 150 sitting in my boat house that I HATE fishing from. Every time I get out to fish, it is on the ski now. Bottom fishing, bass fishing, jug fishing etc. It is a BLAST. Best of all, I don't spend nearly as much on fuel. Last Jan a few buds of mine and myself hired a guide to go fish for Bull Reds on the Galveston North Jetty. $175 each (not too bad), but the next week when I went out there myself to the same spot, I used $5 in gas and $6 on bait and had WAY more fun with the exact same 45"+ bull reds on much lighter gear. I'm a fan of hiring a guide from time to time but they always seem to have massive gear that just horses the fish up. I want to let em' run and play when I'm not fishing for food.
Both of my skis have 16+ gallon tanks on them and if I'm not WOT the entire day, I get excellent economy in the 35 to 45mph range. A few weekends ago, my buddy and myself took our's up river on Lake Livingston and after the 23 mile day with mostly WOT, I only added 6 gallons of fuel to top it off up the pipe. Not too bad if you ask me. The key is knowing how your ski preforms on fuel, being properly equipped like many of the posts recommend (VHF, GPS etc) and if you can...hook up with at least 1 other person to go out with with similar off shore/near shore interests. Watch the weather and know your environment. Lastly, if you have a 2 stroke and have never been inside your carb, removed plugs, un-fowled a fuel filter or replaced your fuses on your ski...don't even think about going out alone on the open ocean. Most lakes (aside from the great lakes) could be survived on for quite awhile. The salt is a different story if you drift the wrong way :banghead:
I built the PVC fishing rack featured by Gator88 on ************** and modified it for my Kawasaki 900STS. Thing will haul more gear than I would ever care to carry. Next, I want to figure out how to connect the trolling motor to it for an emergency.
Sincerely,
Too much time on my hands in Houston
IMO you can have a well maintain and running machine and still break down.
I carry swim fins and swim pulling the ski, it's a good work out too.
I think a trolling motor and extra battery is a lot of weight. I would just find a good collapsible paddle and carry it along with the phone, flares, radio, etc.
