WAVEWALK FISHING KAYAKS BLOG » children

Dad and Toddler in W Fishing Kayak – South Korea

W kayak — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 14:49:48 +0000

Here’s a funny picture I found on Sungjin’s website:

I guess the title for this picture should be -”Yes honey, the kid is perfectly safe, and he’s not afraid, and we won’t paddle too far from shore!”

Learn more about kayak fishing in South Korea >>

About Kayak Fishing In Tandem…

W kayak — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:42:42 +0000

Whether we recommend kayak fishing is not an easy question to answer.
Essentially, kayaks are solo boats that do not lend lend themselves easily to tandem applications -
In principle, tandem kayak fishing is possible, since many kayaks are big enough to take two passengers on board. however, from a practical standpoint, having two anglers fishing out of a small vessel such as a kayak is problematic with regards to several aspects that require preliminary consideration, as well as constant attention:

First and foremost, kayak fishing in tandem involves a Safety issue, because two passengers moving about in the cockpit or on the deck of a fishing kayak in an uncoordinated manner can easily destabilize it. in such case, it’s enough to have one passenger overreacting to cause the kayak to capsize. Obviously, having fishing rods, lures and sometimes even fish flying around in all directions in space that’s so severely restricted isn’t a good recipe for safety. In fact, it is dangerous.

The second problem to consider is Convenience – Every angler wants and needs to have an unlimited range of motion around them, to allow them to perform basic things such as casting, reeling in, landing the fish, unhooking, and so on. Anglers must have a comfortable workspace for tying knots, attaching lures and bait, and doing other technical work involving handling of fishing gear, including sharp objects such as fishing hooks, and knives, which is hazardous in itself, without adding the fact that the angler is sitting in a small vessel, with a fishing partner a few feet away…
Besides, when you’re fishing in tandem, the last thing you want to deal with is your fishing lines getting entangled with those of your partner, and you certainly don’t want to be part of an accident involving someone getting poked in the eye by a misguided fishing hook, etc.. -The possibilities for a disaster are so numerous that it’s practically impossible to list them all in this article, but we assume the reader gets the point…

Kayak fishing in tandem is more complicated, and more difficult than tandem kayak paddling, and we don’t fully recommend it, unless the crew is composed of one experienced adult kayak angler and one junior kayak angler, such as a child, who needs guidance and often even technical help with handling their fishing gear. In such case the obvious choice for a kayak is the W500 that features a 6 ft long cockpit, and a longitudinal seat that makes it possible for the two anglers to sit separated by a long span, but also to approach each other effortlessly and safely when they need to do something together, such as in case the experienced angler has to instruct the novice, or help them hands-on perform a fishing related task.
A small sized angler such as a child may get confused, or overexcited, but they’re unlikely to cause a severe balance problem that the second, bigger, and more experienced will find impossible to deal with.
A large size angler getting into some kind of trouble that would cause them to lose balance and tilt the kayak sideways is a totally different problem that the second crew member might not be able to correct, especially if they’re caught off guard.
This movie was shot by Jesse Martinez in his W500, during a fishing trip in which he took his two small kids on board:

More information about kayak fishing with children >>

Kayak fishing standing in tandem is even more problematic, and should be practiced only after both anglers have practiced tandem kayak fishing before, as well as stand up kayak fishing. Needless to say that the kayak used for this type of fishing should fit for such such activities. Note that vendors’ claims about their kayaks’ stability are often exaggerated, and should be viewed with both caution, common sense, and healthy skepticism. Before getting hooked on the idea of kayak fishing in tandem, remember that it’s you and your fishing buddy that are going to be sitting in kayak out there in the real world, and not some guys who got paid to demonstrate a fishing kayak in front of a camera.

Kayak fishing offshore in tandem is even more difficult, and hazardous, and we do not recommend it, unless both anglers are lightweight and very experienced with fishing together out of small boats, such as dinghies and canoes. Fishing in tandem out of a kayak equipped with a powerful motor, such as an outboard gas engine adds yet another level of risk, and in such cases you may consider outfitting your kayak with a pair of large size outriggers, such as this South Korean couple is using on an offshore fishing trip >>

Sam Wire & Sons Kayak Fishing And Camping In Northern California

W kayak — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:49:05 +0000

I’m finally getting around to sending you some pics of our latest expeditions. We’ve spent a couple weekends camping and fishing in the months of September and October. In Sept, we went to Lake Del Valle, just south of Livermore, CA. Great time, but no fish caught out of the kayak that weekend. In Oct, we took the kayak to Lake San Antonio. This lake is located northwest of Paso Robles. The next two pics show my two sons taking the kayak out fishing at sunrise into one of the coves at Lake San Antonio. The steam rising off the lake is due to the air temp being colder than the water temp that morning. Made for an interesting photo. The last photo is a pic of my temporary milk crate rigging. I say temporary as I haven’t built up the courage to drill holes in the boat for the Scotty rod holders I intend to use. The milk crate is wide enough to span the two hulls and I strap it down with bungees. While I don’t intend to keep this milk crate setup, I include it here for your other customers who may also want a beginner fishing setup while they are deciding what works best for them long term. I know it has helped me learn what I like and what I don’t.
I am loving this vessel and my sons are as well!

Cheers,
Sam Wire
San Jose, CA

Read about the first kayak fishing and paddling adventures of Sam and his 2 boys >>

Lake Del Valle, N. California

Lake San Antonio, N. California

Sungjin And His Daughter Paddling The W500 Kayak, South Korea

W kayak — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 09:06:01 +0000

It’s been raining for months in Korea, but finally, the sun came out, and Sungjin took his daughter for her first W kayaking trip.

More about kayak fishing and paddling in South Korea >>

‘First Impressions’ W Kayak Review, By Sam Wire & Sons, California

W kayak — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 00:32:43 +0000

I took my kids on a day fishing trip to Calero Reservoir yesterday. Fantastic day! My oldest son told me it was the best day of his life. We didn’t even catch any fish! He just loved paddling around in the boat.

I have two sons, one 10 and one 8. I put one of them on one end of the cabin, myself in the middle, and the other son on the other end of the cabin. The one sitting behind me faces the opposite direction so he can fish out the back of the boat. When we weren’t casting into the weed beds, we were trolling around the lake. I was the trolling motor and my kids each would put a pole in the water on opposite sides of the boat. This boat is just roomy enough for me to fit myself and the two kids in the boat so we can all go fishing at once. It is incredibly stable. This particular lake is a water ski lake so we often had boat wakes to deal with. Boat wakes make me nervous in a traditional kayak, but they are no concern in the W500.

I took it out for it’s maiden voyage last weekend. I went to Manresa State Beach just outside Watsonville, CA. Anyway, the plan was to go fishing but surf was quite large that day and given my inexperience with the W500, I was worried I’d lose my tackle. So I left all the tackle in the truck and just took the W for a joyride. My 8 year old and I dawned our life jackets and paddled out to sea thru 4 foot waves! The waves were going over the top of our heads. But keeping the W500 pointed straight into them, I was able to safely paddle out thru the waves. I had some water to bail out of the boat but we got thru the surf just fine.
Coming back in, we weren’t so fortunate. We made it all the way to knee deep water (really shallow water) when a wave dumped us. In retrospect, I should have jumped out of the boat sooner. But, practice makes perfect.
Your product proved to be superior to anything else out there. I just needed to learn how to use it.

Sam Wire

Update: Read Sam’s story about his recent fishing trips with his 2 sons >>