A quest for the perfect bass fishing kayak: Comprehensive review by a New York fisherman

Posted on February 23, 2013 by northernkayakangler

Some fishermen are perfectionist, and they won’t stop trying to improve the rigging of the boat they fish from, or look for other fishing boats if they’re not fully satisfied.

This is the story of Michael, a bass fisherman from eastern New York, who has owned and tested a broad range of motorboats including a skiff, a jon boat and even a bass boat, as well as motorized canoes and kayaks. Eventually, he found what he was looking for – a W kayak, and needless to say that he took the time to test it before he bought it.

Interestingly, after a successful and pleasurable fishing season, Michael decided to become a local dealer for this brand that he’s learned to appreciate for its unrivaled stability, comfort, dryness, mobility, range of travel, ease of transportation and overall ‘fishability’.
The review he published on his website is particularly interesting for anyone who’s used to fishing out of small motorboats, and may be reluctant to downsize to a kayak, for obvious reasons.

Read the entire fishing kayak review entitled ‘The Journey’ >

kayak bass fisherman from eastern New York

Michael holding a 22 inch long bass.

Another good size bass caught by Michael

Posted in bass, fishing kayak ergonomics, fishing kayaks, kayak dealership, Kayak fishing, Massachusetts, Motorized Fishing Kayak, New England, New York, Northeast, SOT kayak | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Kayak fishing in North Dakota – indeed

Posted on January 2, 2013 by northernkayakangler

Does North Dakota sound like a cold place to you? Well, it’s not particularly warm, and because of this fact, it’s certainly not a place where too many people fish out of kayaks.

Motorboats are the craft of choice in these cold waters, but owning a regular size motorboat involves the hassle of towing it with a trailer, and not being able to launch, go and beach everywhere. As for common fishing kayaks, those are not well suited for fishing in cold water and weather, because they don’t provide passengers with adequate protection from the elements.
Mike is a avid bass fisherman, and both he and his wife didn’t feel like getting a motorboat, so they purchased a W500 -

Says Mike -
“I’ve listed some items that make the Wavewalk wonderful:
The ability to move your leg position at will
The ability to stand and stretch when needed
The ability to lay back and relax when the mood strikes you
The way you can rig the Wavewalk to your own liking.
The peace and quiet of a day on the water without a motor
How easy it is to launch and beach the Wavewalk
How easy it is to paddle into the lily pads and ambush largemouth bass with topwater lures!”

 

Posted in bass, fishing kayak ergonomics, fishing kayaks, Kayak fishing, Midwest, North Dakota, Northern Fish Species | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Motorized Fishing Kayak or Versatile Personal Microskiff?

Posted on September 22, 2012 by northernkayakangler

Northern anglers are not particularly fond of kayaks, to say the least. Due to climatic conditions, the idea of fishing out of a kayak is even less appealing to them then it is for southern anglers.

Northern anglers fish out of motorboats, period, and the overwhelming majority of them would not even consider fishing out of a kayak, because they perceive kayaks to be unstable, uncomfortable, wet, lacking sufficient dry storage, and not offering enough range of travel.  This is true for all fishing kayaks out there, whether SOT, sit-in, or hybrid (canoe-kayak), and it’s not true when W fishing kayaks are concerned, especially if you outfit one with a lightweight outboard gas motor.

But northern anglers don’t know much about the fundamental differences between W kayaks and other types of kayaks, and although a growing number of them are starting to use W kayaks, with or without a motor, the majority is still totally committed to traditional motorboats: skiffs, Jon boats,  bass boats, dinghies, etc.

But owning a fishing motorboat doesn’t come cheap, and handling one isn’t easy either. To begin with, you need to transport the boat with a trailer, and you need room to store the boat and the trailer. Then, you can launch only from boat ramps, and that might not be the most convenient thing to do. These boats don’t lend themselves to human powered propulsion, except maybe the smaller skiffs (a.k.a. ‘microskiff) that offer poling in shallow water. As far as mobility goes, bigger and heavier boats don’t travel well in shallow water, fast streams, seaweed infested water, or near rocky beaches… and obviously – you can’t use them in no-motor zones (NMZ).

A motorized W fishing kayak provides solutions to all the above problems, except the psychological and cultural one of its name: Kayak… For this reason, Wavewalk created the Personal Micro Skiff concept and website, which present the noticeable advantages that Northern anglers have to gain from using this craft for fishing: www.microskiff.us

And this is the demo video presenting this new fishing micro skiff:

Posted in Alaska, bass, British Columbia, Canada, fishing kayak ergonomics, fishing kayak paddling, fishing kayaks, Fishing kayaks, Fly fishing kayak, Iowa, kayak fishing, Kayak fishing, Korea, Massachusetts, Michigan, Midwest, Motorized Fishing Kayak, motorized kayak fishing, New England, New York, Northeast, Northern Europe, Northern Fish Species, Northwest, Norway, ocean kayaking, Ontario, Scandinavia, SOT kayak, Sweden, Wisconsin | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Motorized Kayaking with Oceanographic Equipment in Cape Cod

Posted on August 6, 2012 by northernkayakangler

Here are some more pics of my Wavewalk kayak, and a blog from the projecthttp://blog.iod.ucsd.edu/RIVET/

We keep talking about turning the W fishing kayak into a robot..autonomous surface vehicle..so I don’t have to drive!…haven’t done it yet but will let you know when we do. We have lots of robotic underwater vehicles here so on the surface is easy.

Hope all is well with you and you are having a good summer.

-Peter

More about motorized kayaking >

fishing kayak converted into oceanographic research boatNote this kayak is outfitted with two motor mounts – The one in the front serves for mounting scientific gear
2hp outboard motor mounted on fishing kayakWide wheel cart for transporting the heavily loaded kayak over long distances on sandy beaches

motorized fishing kayak ploughing the waves with scientific gear mounted in front

motorized fishing kayak ploughing the waves with scientific gear mounted in front

motorized fishing kayak ploughing the waves with scientific gear mounted in front

Read more Kayak Fishing Articles >>>

Posted in fishing kayaks, Massachusetts, Motorized Fishing Kayak, motorized kayak fishing, New England, Northeast, ocean kayaking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Small Mouth Bass Fishing with Rox, CT

Posted on August 5, 2012 by northernkayakangler

July has been a slow month for me.
I was wading the Ct River for some awesome Small Mouth Bass fishing, and was rewarded with some fine Bass.
The only problem with fishing the river is slippery bottoms, especially around the ledges. I lost my footing after a long morning of wading, slipped off a boulder, and wedged my left ankle in between two rocks…
I didn’t break anything, I don’t bounce like I used to. But I had some bad cuts from the rocks’ sharp edges…. and the car was three miles down river…
I walked back, went to the ER, and they cleaned up my cuts, but the 4 1/2 lb Small Mouth Bass I caught before the fall, made the whole trip worth it.

I didn’t get back out till just last week, I was going stir crazy with no fishing since the 3rd of July.

Here are some pictures from the wading to the old yellow W300 fishing kayak pond hopping, and from a fishing trip with my buddy to Congamond Lake in Massachusetts.

The Battles were fast and furious, Med/Hvy rod with 40lb Fireline braid made quick work pulling the bass out of the lilies and weeds.

Rox

large mouth bass caught in old fishing kayak

big bass caught by famous kayak angler Rox 07-2012

Posted in fishing kayak paddling, fishing kayaks, kayak fishing, New England, Northeast | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Clint Catching Large Mouth Bass From W Kayak, NY

Posted on July 23, 2012 by northernkayakangler

Clint, from New York, promised he’d send us more pictures from his kayak fishing trips, and this chunky large mouth bass is his latest catch:
young kayak fisherman holding large mouth bass

Note the simple and effective paddle holder on the kayak’s side – It’s ready to take Clint’s paddle instantly, and allow him to cast at fish he sees while he’s paddling.

Posted in fishing kayak paddling, fishing kayaks, kayak fishing, New York, Northeast | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Adirondack Kayaks, New W Kayak Dealership in Upstate New York

Posted on July 19, 2012 by northernkayakangler

Last year, Greg Parmes, a kayak fisherman, turned into a W fishing kayak fan, and now he decided it’s time for him to open a W fishing kayak in his hometown, Theresa, in Upstate New York.

Visit Adirondack Fishing Kayaks >

Posted in fishing kayaks, kayak dealership, kayak fishing, New England, New York, Northeast | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off

W Kayak Rigged with Photography Equipment, IO

Posted on July 16, 2012 by northernkayakangler

I’ve had the kayak out a number of times now and am dialing in my photography setup. I found that splaying the tripod across the top of the cockpit is much better than having the legs inside. This way, I have more room for my own legs and cargo and I can slide in nice and close to the camera. I added some hooks to the inside so that I can keep the tripod nice and secure given the weight and expense of the photo gear. I can control the kayak and casually paddle while facing the camera with ease. I just lay the paddle across my legs while shooting which works well. If I have a long distance to cover and don’t want to take the setup down, I’ll turn the other way to avoid striking the tripod while paddling more aggressively.

Things are working out well! I’ve got some great photos of herons and pelicans already – much better than the past years of trying to get close by foot.

stable kayak for wildlife photography

camera with telescopic lens mounted on stable kayak for photography

This review first appeared on Minn Yaks, W kayaks distributor in Minnesota >
More Kayak fishing articles >

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Kayak Fishing for Bass in New York

Posted on July 12, 2012 by northernkayakangler

I own a [brand name kayak distributed by a nationwide fishing gear chain store].
I tried out my son Clint’s Wavewalk  fishing kayak and caught this 6 lb-4oz largemouth flipping jigs in the heavy weeds. I have arthritic knees and the stand up fishing in the Wavewalk kayak is awesome, so I ordered one for myself.

Don

fisherman holding 6.4 lbs largemouth bass he caught in W kayaks

Posted in fishing kayak paddling, fishing kayaks, kayak fishing, New York, Northeast | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Michigan W Kayak Dealership Opens for Business

Posted on July 7, 2012 by northernkayakangler

Thom and Julie Martin from Ann Arbor, Michigan, got a W500 fishing kayak last year, and they loved it. This prompted them to take the decision this year to become Wavewalk’s local dealers in their area.
Thom and Julie named their new business Great Lakes Wave Walk, and their motto is “We’re bringing Wavewalk Kayaks to the Great Lake State!”

Posted in fishing kayaks, kayak dealership, kayak fishing, Michigan, Midwest | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off