Torqeedo Install on a Jackson Kayak Big Rig HD

Recently I had the pleasure to work with Aaron Stiger and Jeff Little on a Torqeedo project for a local dealer. Jeff Little, the National Sales Manager for Torqeedo wanted a dealer in the Cincinnati market. I personally work very closely with the Jackson Kayak dealer here in Cincy so i quickly jumped on the opportunity to establish this relationship. The dealer was grateful of the opportunity and we were off and running.

Part of the dealer contract with Torqeedo is having a shop demo. The Torqeedo demo model was the 403 A. I was racking my brain on which kayak to put the demo motor on and Aaron had the idea to pair the 403 A with the Jackson Kayak Big Rig HD. This was definitely a win win as my local dealer had a gorgeous 2019 Jackson Kayak Big Rig HD in Rockfish as their shop demo. When i say gorgeous i mean GORGEOUS. This boat was stunning. We compiled a list of hardware we needed from Jackson and placed the order. Our idea, was to make a professional how-to install video on the Jackson Kayak Big Rig HD/FD
Jeff Little was very prompt on getting the dealer the demo motor. In fact we had it in 2 days. Aaron and i also need the Jackson Kayak Big Rig/Cuda/Big Tuna rudder cable kit from Jackson. Jackson had this to us in 2 days as well. So it was time to do the install. 

I loaded up the kayak and motor and started out on the 2.5 hour journey up north to film the install. If you never had the pleasure to work with Jackson Kayak Team Manager on a project you are missing out. He is great to work with. After a quick to Lowes we started filming. Filing lasted the entire day and i was back home later that evening. I had the weekend to get to know the motor and on the following Tuesday I had a film shoot with Jeff Little himself.

Sop Tuesday came around. Jeff and I met at the shop along with a few other guys. We were shooting an official video for Torqeedo Kayak Fishing. Really cool stuff. The river we were fishing on was the lowest it had been all year. The fishing was painfully slow. However we did manage to get on them and it turned out to be a multi species kind of day. What caught us by surprise was the thunderstorms that decided to make an early appearance. In fact, what was supposed to be 1 storm turned into 6 with full blown lightening and torrential rain. At one point i parked the kayak and ran up onto the river bank because the lightening was so bad. This was short lived however. Lightening had struck a tree behind me which absolutely scared the daylights out of me. I jumped in the air and rolled down the hillside into the water. Looking back that part was pretty funny.

Towards the end of the trip we all pulled over and took a break at the end of a pool but top of another riffle. We were wading and casting getting a few hits now and again. The shop manager for Loveland Canoe and Kayak, Nate, was with us during this trip. He was standing on his 2019 Jackson Kayak Mayfly casting out when a monster fish slammed his bluegill colored squarebill crankbait. He was fighting and fighting with this fish. He actually started to go down the riffle while standing and things got really panicky. Unsure what the fish was he decided to try and boat flip this fish in a last ditch effort before heading down that riffle. When the fish came out of the water it was a Walleye in the 10-12 pound range. All of our mouths dropped. I have been fishing this river for over 30 years. I have never seen a Walleye in this water let along a 10-12 pound one. So as Nate lifted the fish up out of the water his rod snapped in two cutting the braid and releasing the fish. We were all hooping and hollering and jumping around like fools. Jeff Little said that was the biggest river Walleye he has ever seen in his life. Our local river, to him, is now the 10lb Walleye river. The trip ended and we loaded up and headed for home.

The trip was an absolute blast and working with Jeff was a pleasure. Total film time was about 13 hours and we ended up covering 11 miles of water. The Torqeedo preformed flawlessly and was an absolute pleasure to have. For a full list of parts and to view how to install a Torqeedo 403 A/AC check out Aaron Stigers YouTube channel.

– Jason Ricketts