When it comes to fishing from boats, Gary knows what he’s talking about:

-”Being a native Minnesotan, I was exposed to boating and fishing at an early age. My first experience sailing was at age 8, and it has been my passion ever since. I have captained many a charter on large catamarans in the Caribbean. Fishing has also been a large part of my life. I lived in the Florida Keys for a while, where I was a commercial fisherman and diver. Our families are fortunate to have owned lake cabins in northern Minnesota for 50 years, so fresh water fishing and boating is also in my blood. Many boats have come and gone in my life, and I am so very pleased to have added the W500 to my fleet. It possibly will be the last boat I will own (unless I buy another W500 for my wife!).”

Gary is an expert on outfitting fishing kayaks, including with powerful outboard gas engines, and he loves to fish out of his kayak. He and his team expect anglers from Minnesota and other parts of the Midwest, as well as Canada, to come to the show especially to see the W fishing kayak.

Visit MinnYaks, W fishing kayaks’ dealership in Minnesota >>

Eric, from Walk on Waves, a fishing kayak distributor in Norway and Sweden, sold a W500 about a week ago.
Why would such small news be worth mentioning? Because Norway is a cold country, whose latitude is pretty much the same as Alaska’s, and there’s no navigable water to be found in there this time of year, unless you venture in a part of the Atlantic Ocean known as the North Sea, but that’s a totally different story, involving serious safety issues, hypothermia, etc…

Being situated that far North inevitably means that spring comes later in Norway, even in comparison to cold regions such as the US Northeast, Midwest and Northwest.
This is to say that Norwegian kayak anglers need much patience…

So why would a Norwegian angler buy a W kayak in January, or in February?
Assuming kayak anglers are sensible, and they don’t take a kayak in the ocean and fish in in extremely cold temperatures, the answer would probably be that it has to do with either some extensive rigging projects, or simply with hope: That person wants to sit in their home, surrounded by deep snow, look at their W fishing kayak, and imagine all the fun they’d have with it as soon as the snow goes away, and the ice covering the rivers and lakes melts; The fishing trips, the rigging, maybe camping, or even hunting?

Hope, Patience, Imagination, and the Love of Boating, Paddling, and Fishing – A simple story, yet a significant one.

Until recently, these advanced kayaks were sold only factory direct. Since then the manufacturer recruited several local dealers, and interestingly, they sell only this brand, and no other fishing kayak brand.
Wavewalk has dealers neither in Ohio nor in Pennsylvania, but it makes the W fishing kayak available for anglers to see before they buy in two new locations: The W500 is on display in Kent, Ohio, not very far from Akron, i the northeastern corner of the state.
In Pennsylvania, the W500 is on display in New Berlin, in the central part of the state.

More information about seeing this fishing kayak in Ohio and Pennsylvania >>

Here’s a recent article on this subject: Hvorfor Wavewalk og ikke S.O.T.(Sit on top) i nordiske strøk.
The author is Eric Overdijk, a Norwegian outdoorsman, kayaker and fisherman, ,who happens to be Wavewalk’s distributor in Norway and Sweden 

Coincidence? There are few real coincidences in life -
For many years, Eric used to paddle traditional sea kayaks and touring kayaks, until he realized his back wouldn’t let him do so anymore – The pain was no longer tolerable. Eric discovered the benefits of W kayaks first as a paddler and a camper, and then as a fisherman.

Kayak Fishing in the Northeastern United States

The Northeastern region of the United States offers both freshwater and saltwater opportunities, and it’s considered one of the best regions in the world as far as fishing is concerned. But since the northeastern climate is colder for the most part, it’s not as good for kayak fishing as the climate in the south. Therefore, you’d find less kayak anglers in this region.
When fishing out of W kayaks is concerned, many anglers in the Northeast have been switching from canoes, common fishing kayaks, and motorboats to this new type of kayak that offers more advantages than any of this watercraft, both inland and offshore.
This section features numerous trip reports, reviews, pictures and movies, rigging tips, and more, from the region’s finest kayak anglers.

Kayak Fishing In The Midwest – A Breakthrough

So far, Midwestern anglers have been reluctant to adopt kayaks as a fishing platform. The reasons for this are many, and they all seem to come down to one word – COLD.
Yes, the climate in the Midwest is not as warm and nice as it is in the southern states, where kayak fishing is the most popular, and sit-in, SOT and hybrid kayaks don’t offer much to protect their passengers from capsizing, or from cold weather and water.
But kayak fishing in cold water and weather now has a kayak that offers both much more stability than the other kayak types can, as well as better protection.
This magazine, Kayak Fishing Unlimited, has a permanent section dedicated to Kayak fishing in the Midwest – trip reports, fishing kayak reviews from Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio” Kayak Fishing in the Midwest. This section features trip reports and fishing kayak reviews from Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio, as well as reviews of rigged fishing kayaks, and even some information about hunting from kayaks, and stories about motorized fishing kayaks.

Developments in Kayak Fishing in Northern Europe

Many North Europeans like to fish, but unlike Americans and Canadian anglers, they fish predominantly from shore, as motorboats are relatively more expensive to purchase and maintain in Europe than they are in North America. Kayak fishing is still unknown to most European anglers, although some progress is being made in some European countries. However, when it comes to fishing from a boat, most European anglers still prefer the traditional platforms, such as motorboats, canoes, dinghies, or belly boats.
There are kayak fishing clubs in some European countries, but the participation is still small, especially when compared to the participation in the southern US states, and and in other warm regions, such as Australia and New Zealand.
Recently, W fishing kayaks have become available for sale in Norway and Sweden, and in the Netherlands. Anglers from other countries, such as the UK and Italy, still order these kayaks directly from the factory in the USA. The advent of new solution for motorizing fishing kayaks will certainly help many European anglers to switch from traditional boats to fishing kayaks.

Kayak Fishing in Canada

The climate in Canada is cold, and so is the water in this vast country. These climatic facts do not encourage anglers to venture on the water in kayaks for the purpose of using them for fishing. Canadian anglers still prefer canoes, dinghies, and motorboats, when it comes to fishing.
However, now that they are beginning to learn about W kayaks, and the advantages these special kayaks offer when fishing in cold water and weather is concerned, Canadian anglers are becoming increasingly conscious of the new possibilities they face. This is especially true in view of the fact that W kayaks can be easily outfitted with motors, and thus offer a much bigger range of exploration and fishing than non-motorized kayak offer.

Kayak Fishing in the Northwest

Kayak fishing has its fans in the Northwest, although it hasn’t been booming as in the warmer parts of the West Coast.