It took about 5 minutes of getting used to the balance of sitting up so high on the center saddle, but after getting used to it, I was fine! I weigh 265, now I can start working out a bit again, paddling.
It was a May Grey day and windy as heck, but I went all over the lagoon anyway. No problem at all except my large profile acts like a sail going straight into the wind, so I leaned forward and that helped a lot!

I couldn’t stand up in the w kayak in the rough windy center of the lake, but when I got in the calmer waters near shore, I could! The fact is, I just don’t have that good of “sea legs!” I even had trouble standing on the back deck a big fishing boat in Alaska last year when the water got rough.

I took most of these pics myself so angles are weird, especially standing shots as I could only shoot straight down, but right at the end of the day, I talked a guy on shore into taking a few pics of me doing a short spin out in the water. It had brightened and got calmer by then too!

I’m NOT a guy that likes to just paddle around for fun. Now that I know how easy this thing is to use, I’m going fishing from now on! The guys in the float tubes just drag 4 to 6-inch plastic worms while kicking along (I saw about 5 fish caught), one about three lbs.
I have the two built-in rod holders in my W kayak, but their angle seems better for holding spare rods then for trolling, so I’m going to try the clamp-on holders. I’m going to paddle around slowly dragging a worm myself, and fish!

The bass are way bigger in this little lower lake lagoon than in the upper lake they said.

I’m back IN THE GAME NOW. That lower lake lagoon was off limits to me with my big bass boat. No power boats allowed except small boats powered by electric. It’s only 30 minutes away…so with launching, it’s only about 45 minutes to world class bass fishing. I’m taking advantage.

Next time I’m going to fish!

Mike Hancock
South California Fishing Kayaks, Simi Valley

We started selling W fishing kayaks in Australia about two years ago, factory direct. This meant that until now, our Australian clients had to import their W kayak individually, all by themselves, which isn’t easy for someone living on the other side of the globe.
For this reason, we were slow to introduce the only fishing kayak worthy of this name in Australia, which is the world’s second biggest market for fishing kayaks, after the United States.
But this unfortunate situation has changed now that Steve Phillis founded a new business named Aussie Kayaks, which is the distributor of Wavewalk fishing kayaks in Australia.
What drove Steve to order a W kayak for himself in the first place was his lower back problem, which prevented him from paddling old-style sit-in and sit-on-top kayaks. -”No back pain since I got my W kayak!” says Steve.

Steve and his partner Dave, together with Steve’s wife Melissa and Dave’s wife Heather, form the Aussie Kayaks company. Together, they will spearhead the next phase of the evolution of kayak fishing in Australia.

Aussie Kayaks is located in Bendigo, north of Melbourne, in Victoria, a state in the southeastern tip of the Australian continent, and facing the island of Tasmania. In the north, Victoria is bordering New South Wales, Australia’s most populated state, and in the west, it borders another state named South Australia.

Steve and his team would be happy to assist Aussie anglers in rigging their W kayaks for fishing, as well as motorize them.

Steve happens to love sailing too, and he already contributed a review of the W kayak under sail.

Ted is a fly fisherman who practices sight fishing: He paddles his kayak standing, and scouts for big fish (e.g. redfish, tarpon). He wants to stand as high as possible, since this extends his range of vision. Once Ted spots a fish, he instantly casts a fly at it.
Many fly kayak anglers and reel anglers sight fish while standing comfortably in their W kayaks. However, Ted wants to stand higher, so he can look further.
Unlike Kevin, who fly fishes the flats standing on top of his W kayak saddle without using outriggers, Ted added both a pair of outriggers and a frame to his W500. This setup puts him about 15″ higher than he would have been if he stood on the bottom of his W kayak hulls, and he’s perfectly stable.
The drawback of paddling from such a high level is that you lose some leverage on the paddle, so you can’t go very fast. However, if the water is shallow enough, you can push pole, like Kevin does.

Safety:

Standing as high on top of such a small vessel as a kayak means that sooner or later, the fly fisherman is going to lose their footing, or lose balance, or both – It’s a statistical fact, and every experienced angler knows that “Stuff Happens” is the rule out there, on the water.
So the real question is not “What if” but “What happens when” (-get the subtle difference?…) -
When you stand up on top of a conventional fishing kayak (SOT, sit-in, or ‘hybrid’), you need to somehow manage to fall on your knees, or on your butt, and regain your balance instantly. Good luck with that! Although it never hurts to try, you’re more likely to find yourself in the water.
But things are different when you’re standing high on top of a W fishing kayak, as Ted does: He can drop on his kayak’s saddle, with a leg in each hull, and stabilize himself while he’s in the Riding posture, which is similar to riding a jet-ski, a snowmobile, an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) – or a pony. In other words, it’s the most stable, and most powerful position you can hope to be in when you’re trying to regain balance and control in your kayak. When Ted wants to switch from standing to sitting, it’s just a matter of hopping down -

We cannot fish in Connecticut until 3rd week in April.
Have done more work on WW: Some CT lakes & ponds are elec motors only, so I have set the boat up to work with gas or elec. Had to make piece to raise the height of the motor mount for the elec. Made it out of teak & s/s.
Installed Fish Finder, Compass, Radio. Racks to hold paddle & push pole.
Put another bolt in each side of motor mount, it’s more stable & rigid.
I also installed a very small seat from a rowing machine. It’s in the best place for me.
Also took an old plastic cutting board and made a platform for my jiggers. It’s overkill, but it’s what I want to fish.
I plot out the lakes before I fish them, marking the outline of the proper depth for my type of fishing with buoys on my GPS screen. Got a couple more local & one in MA to do in the next few weeks.
Russ

Cutting board used as platform - the batteries are in the kayak's hull tips

Close up on batteries at the bottom of the hulls, for the trolling motor and jiggers

Front deck, depth finder, platform with fishing tackle attached on both sides

Fishmonger Junior, Russ' fishing kayak, next to Fishmonger - his other boat

Preparation for the jiggers

Jiggers installed - rear view with electric motor, jointed tiller extension, and seat

Long shaft electric motor, transom mount with additional piece, and security cable

Rear view of Russ' high tech fishing kayak. Note the motor shaft is secured with a bungee 'W style'...

Fishmonger Junior viewed from another angle

Front view of Russ' high tech fishing kayak. Note the eyelets on the hull sides are part of the 502 configuration, and that's where it's possible to attach XL flotation modules

Fishmonger Junior and Fishmonger. BTW, Jr. has a Honda motor too, although it's much smaller...

We decided to race back to the dock on our way in. I took the lead but eventually looked up to see Dad passing me up. He had the long W paddle with him which allows you to stand up while paddling the W kayak. I couldn’t believe he won! Of course, I had to take my kayak back out for a second just to see what an advantage paddling while standing up would give a person.

The Wavewalk kayaks are very easy to load/unload, and maneuver in the water.
I was very comfortable while fishing, and I loved the fact I could stand up if I needed to.
I can’t wait for some more adventures…

Jeremy

Tennessee Fishing Kayaks