Jerry Kushner, 80 Year W300 Kentucky Kayak Angler Fishing in the Gulf of Mexico
Jerry Kushner is a winemaker from Kentucky, who purchased a W300 fishing kayak early this year, before the W500 became available.
Here is Jerry’s review of his W kayak:
“I planned to fish some of the fast flowing rivers with my Wavewalk kayak.
After I got it I tried it in my pond, and at first it felt tippy but once I got my balance I found it easy to paddle and maneuver.
Finally, I got to use it in the Gulf of Mexico. I installed a pair of fold up outriggers that I purchased from Paddlers Hideaway (I found them on e-bay).
The first time I took the kayak out the waves in the surf were one to two feet high and even when broadsided by a wave the system was solidly stable.
I felt real secure, and for an almost eighty year old this rig is ideal for fishing offshore.
Jerry Kushner”
Tags: fishing kayak, fishing kayaks, kayak angler, kayak fishing, Kentucky, offshore, outrigger, outriggers, saltwater, senior, stability, surf, W300
December 3rd, 2009 at
That’s a powerful statement, and an encouraging one too!
Marco
December 3rd, 2009 at
Reading this kind of things puts a smile on people’s faces, and makes them optimistic. Thanks Jerry!
April
December 3rd, 2009 at
Great to see an 80 year old fellow is out there fishing. Of course you have all the advantages of knowing lots more than us younger folks. If we paid more attention to the more seasoned anglers we would catch a bunch more fish.
December 3rd, 2009 at
Inspiring!
Blue
December 3rd, 2009 at
Awesome!!!
Congrats on your trip and enjoying those big waves.
I almost welcome a big wake when I’m out, just for the fact that I know how stable the W’s are.
Congrats on a great Trip, and at 80 years young…You are the Bomb!!
Happy and Safe Paddling All.
Rox
December 3rd, 2009 at
Hey Jerry, outriggers are for beginners… Once you get used to the waves you won’t need those outriggers any more
KW
December 4th, 2009 at
I wish I’d be paddling and fishing in the gulf at 80!
December 12th, 2009 at
Jerry,
You’re a lot more adventuresome than I am with your W300, and I’m only a ‘kid’ at 69 years of age! I’ve yet to get out on a really big body of water with my 500 however, but I’m hoping to do that in 2010 after the ice melts. One question though: I’ve got a lot invested in my W500 with a trolling motor and battery, fishing gear, etc. and was intrigued with the outrigger set-up I found when I googled the PH website. I’ve already got a couple of those rodholders installed, so adding the outriggers wouldn’t too costly. If you get a chance sometime, I’d like to see how you attached the outriggers to your 300.
John Z
December 12th, 2009 at
John,
Those kayak outriggers are made from lobster buoys. After seeing how you rigged your w500 I’ll bet you could come up with something better, although I’m not quite sure why you’d want to add outriggers to a w500.
Leif
December 13th, 2009 at
John,
I mounted the out riggers on top about 16 inches in front of the cockpit. They are mounted in front so as not to interfere with the back stroke when paddling. This also makes the outriggers accessible for folding up.
You may want to put a backing plate under the rod holder mount to minimize flexing of the hull.