9/27/13 - Anderson Reservoir - Morgan Hill

Took the kayak out to Anderson to test out the fishfinder install.  For the first 5-10 minutes, it seemed to be working OK, but quickly degraded to useless.

The install I did was very similar to this one:
http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15136
Which involves the use of a 3" PVC Cleanout Trap and some petroleum jelly.  There was one point where I was about 30' from shore, and it was telling me I was in nearly 430' of water:



I gave it about an hour before pulling up onto shore, scooping the vaseline out, and filling the void with water.  I launched again, and noticed an immediate and drastic change in the results.  Things were starting to look a much more normal, and I started marking fish.



Unfortunately, I didn't catch much of anything...



It sure was a beautiful day out there, though.  And since it was a weekday, there weren't many skiers or wakeboarders out there.

What tends to happen, I believe, with the "jelly" method is things tend to slip & slide in there.  All it takes is a slight gap/bubble between the transducer face & the hull.  I found that water works better.  I tried jelly first & had similar issues.  Glad you got it resolved.

I've never had great luck at Anderson either

What tends to happen, I believe, with the "jelly" method is things tend to slip & slide in there.  All it takes is a slight gap/bubble between the transducer face & the hull.  I found that water works better.  I tried jelly first & had similar issues.  Glad you got it resolved.

I've never had great luck at Anderson either

I was actually targeting panfish (mostly Crappie). I've done real well there in the past, but I probably won't be going back anytime soon - since now it costs nearly $20 to fish there, and there are signs all over warning you not to eat any of the fish caught there due to the high mercury levels.  It's been quite a few years since I'd been there.

Most of the local lakes have signs posted not to eat the fish due to the very high Mercury levels. 

Most of the local lakes have signs posted not to eat the fish due to the very high Mercury levels.

I guess that just shows that most of my fishing has been in saltwater for the past decade or so.

Way to give it a try.  Was thinking about hitting Anderson this weekend too but decided to go for some stripers at the Delta instead.  Last I heard, the bite at Anderson is heating up.  Thanks for the report. 

Btw, check this thread on installing transducers.

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=43577.msg487051#msg487051