I bought a 12' Heritage Angler and have taken it out twice and have a few questions.

The Scotty rod holder that is mounted between my feet is so far forward I can't reach a fishing rod if I set it in it. I know I am older and stiff, but has anyone else had this issue? Any suggestions on how to make it useable? I need to mount an anchor trolley and get an anchor and stakeout pole. I can't reach my tackle box when it is strapped down behind me, do y'all carry a few lures in a vest pocket or some small box in the seating area or am I the only one who can't get to my stuff when I want to swap lures?

Help an old man out! I love being out in it. I did a lot more get "get out and wade" fishing this last time to give my legs a break, and had no trouble getting in and out.

Any suggestions for a complete newby?

Set it up and get in it on land and work at reaching for items so you know where you can place things

The Scotty between feet is prob best used in the summer. Straddle the yak feet in the water. Use the kayak for a little bit and figure out what you want then play with location, I like to mount things on gear tracks.

There is a 6" extension that you can get. Set it up with a longer bolt and a spring in the base; you can push it over to disengage the teeth and rotate it back easily and quickly with one hand. Piece of cake.......

I also cannot easily reach behind me so I have tried different approaches for my tackle. If I am not sure what I will be using I carry a large watertight dry box and keep it between my legs. If I am using specific tackle I normally carry a smaller watertight box. I use leashes on them to help in case the kayak tips but also to help pull them to me if they get kicked out arm's reach.

As others have mentioned you can use extenders on your Scotty mount to bring it within arm's reach but you may end up with it interfering with your getting in/out of the kayak.

Thanks for the suggestions. I have an old belly tackle box for fly fishing I think I'll adapt for use in my Kayak. When you open it up it has a "shelf" that lays out with a wool patch for flies or lures to hang on. I need to see if maybe I can put some kind of extension or offset to the rod holder. I need it about 5" further back.