Generally I like to keep my add-ons to a minimum (simple is better, IMO). However, there are a few modifications that I have made to my Coosa that make it more suited to my style of fishing.

The anchor system is probably the most significant. Since I fish a lot of  rivers in the coastal plain with clean sandy bottoms and steady current, I use a lot more drag chain than most people. Typically it is a 40″ length of 3/8″ logging chain doubled over. The bulk of this setup caused a clearance problem with the rear grab handle on my Coosa, so the idea was to create a little more room there.  To do this I removed the factory installed screws and replaced them with some 2″ stainless machine screws. I used a couple of short pieces of 1/2″ CPVC as spacers to keep the handle from sliding down the screws.

As you can see, I now have plenty of room for the chain to pass under the handle without hanging up.

Next I wanted to add a front anchor. I find that they are indispensable for a couple of reasons. Most important is in paddle up situations, so that you can keep the bow facing upstream when you come up on a spot that you want to stop and fish. Second for minimizing the weather vanning tendencies in windy conditions. Just dropping the anchor 6″ or so makes a tremendous difference.

In order to route the anchor line out of the way of the front hatch and rods, I used a couple of stainless eye bolts, washers, and expanding nuts.

What I did was drill out one of the rivets on two of the deck loops that the front hatch bungee runs through, and replaced them with the eye bolts.

Next I removed the front screw securing the front grab handle and replaced it with another eye bolt that I threaded into the existing brass insert. In this pic you can also see the front anchor that I made using two 2.5 lb plate weights ( found in the Wal-Mart Sporting Goods section) and an eye bolt.

I don’t use the rod holders on each side of the standing area and the 24′ dog leashes that I use for anchor line do not fit inside the side grab handles. So, I drilled out the rivets holding the bungee hooks and again replaced them with eye bolts. Then I used the short pieces of bungee from the same rod stagers to secure the leashes to the eye bolts.

The next addition I borrowed from my good fishing buddy, John Robbins. It is half of a cheap rod holder system made by “Berkeley” used to secure my rods. When they are in place and the butts are secured in the bungee under the seat you don’t have to worry about them going anywhere, no matter how rough the ride. As you can see it is very simple to mount on the front hatch using the existing bungee cord and removes easily for stacking boats for transport.

The last thing that I wanted to address was paddle staging. I like to keep my rods on the deck between my feet so the molded in paddle stager doesn’t work for me. Plus I don’t like to bend over while standing to pick up the paddle when I need to make a quick stroke to adjust boat position.

My solution was to remove the seat cover and drill a hole in the frame to accept a peg board hook. Then I slipped the cover back on and used a heated ice pick to make a hole in the cover that lined up with the hole in the frame. No more bending down to pick up the paddle!

I hope you guys find this post useful and if you have any questions feel free to drop me a line at robertdanielbell@yahoo.com