Robert
Young
Wavewalk Kayak Saltwater Fisherman,
Western Florida
-"It's been over four months since I got my W kayak.
I live on the West Coast of Florida. Since I fish in very shallow water next to the mangroves I get to enjoy the many birds flying and fishing around me.
Yesterday I had a mother and a very small baby Manatee surface within a couple feet of the boat. I see them all the time but I had never seen a new born!
Although the tides here are not dramatic in a small boat, in a narrow mangrove opening the current can get pretty challenging. Ah well, these narrow passage ways are usually lined with razor sharp oyster beds..."
-"I have been out a dozen times since last year. For night fishing I use portable battery operated boat lights."
-"I have experimented with various paddle mounting devices, and the best so far is seen in the pictures... 4 holes on each rail and a 3/8 clear tube snaked through them. This holds the paddle firmly, without noise, and the paddle is always easy to grab."
-"I took a bogey board and cut the outside 6 inches of rail and glued them to either side of the wavewalk kayak. This gives me the extra stability I need, and some more floatation."
Wavewalk Kayak Saltwater Fisherman,
Western Florida
-"It's been over four months since I got my W kayak.
I live on the West Coast of Florida. Since I fish in very shallow water next to the mangroves I get to enjoy the many birds flying and fishing around me.
Yesterday I had a mother and a very small baby Manatee surface within a couple feet of the boat. I see them all the time but I had never seen a new born!
Although the tides here are not dramatic in a small boat, in a narrow mangrove opening the current can get pretty challenging. Ah well, these narrow passage ways are usually lined with razor sharp oyster beds..."
-"I have been out a dozen times since last year. For night fishing I use portable battery operated boat lights."
-"I have experimented with various paddle mounting devices, and the best so far is seen in the pictures... 4 holes on each rail and a 3/8 clear tube snaked through them. This holds the paddle firmly, without noise, and the paddle is always easy to grab."
-"I took a bogey board and cut the outside 6 inches of rail and glued them to either side of the wavewalk kayak. This gives me the extra stability I need, and some more floatation."
Bottom Line: -"I don't believe there is anything else out there, in this price range, with the capability of this craft." |
It seems like Robert is either a very talented fisherman, or he may have found fisherman's paradise, or both:
-"My fish count is: 30+ catfish, 50+ Trout, 5 10-12lb jacks, 5 Snook (2 keepers), 2 20 lb shovel nose sharks, 5 Red fish (all keepers), and one 4ft diameter Leopard Ray - I was afraid he was going to knock me out of the boat."
How Robert does it:
-"To catch these great game fish I must get up before dawn and load my Wavewalk on top of my car and everything else inside. I drive to a local fishing pier, drag my cooler on wheels out on the pier and with my 6' cast net I catch some live bait.
I have rigged my cooler up with a bubbler and it can keep five dozen minnows alive all day! When I have enough (sometimes one cast ...sometimes many) I drag my cooler full of live bait back to the car.
It is a short drive to where I launch the boat. I tow a live bait well behind the Wavewalk and go paddling for Snook. These fish spook easily so one must be extremely quiet. That's why I took so much time in getting the paddle holder just right.
Second, I can stand and paddle now, and it makes it much easier to see the fish."
Some beginning W kayakers have it nice and easy, and some, like Robert, have a rather extreme 'first time' story to tell, with a moral in the end:
-"The first time out was very foolish and tough, since I was totally unprepared:
I was so excited about my new fishing machine I didn't install the rubber paddle holders that came with it.
That day I was juggling between the paddle and the fishing pole... I was reeling in a nice Lady Fish when I dropped the paddle in the water and it floated off!... and of course the current immediately started pulling it away.
I leaned strongly and tried to reach for it, and missed, and fell into the oyster bed.
I was wet, cold and frustrated.
The most valuable lesson here is try your new W kayak empty for at least an hour, in wind, in current and in waves before you do anything else!
I haven't fallen out of my W kayak since my first outing, and I also tethered the paddle to the kayak with a sturdy cord that's long enough to not interfere with paddling, and can be released if necessary during big fish fights..."
About using storage space:
-"I would like to see all four ends filled entirely with foam. It would seal up a lot of unused space, and add floatation."
About steering:
-"I've gotten used to the W kayak steering like nothing else..."
-Robert Young