WAVEWALK KAYAKS

Bruce Young, from Laser Lure, sent us a couple of action videos showing him standing up in his new W500 Super Fishing Kayak… and using his Laser Lures, of course:

They say that rescued fishing lures catch more fish…
Here’s Jeff McGovern, a good citizen of the Florida waterways, standing up in his w500 fishing kayak, in a tidal current, and rescuing a lure stuck high up in a tree:

Photo: Nina Green

The operation was a success, and here is Jeff resting in his fishing kayak if full southern comfort -

Note the tons of stuff Jeff carries on board his yak…

Here are a few shots from yesterday at the Highbridge area down in Flagler country FL about 43 miles from the house. The waters are where last year we caught hundreds of snook but today there were none. The season has been closed this year so far because of the severe cold this past winter killing so many fish.
Jeff

Photography: Nina Green

Bob lives in a small coastal town in Maine that’s famous for its fishing, as well as for other reasons. It was easy for Bob to drive down the Massachusetts to test the W500, and it was easy for him to decide to order one on the spot.

Here is what Bob wrote us after a few weeks of using his new w500:

I have been out with my wavewalk 500 almost every day, ocean, lakes and rivers, having a blast and learning its operating characteristics. I’d like to recommend this kayak to those who express more than a passing interest.
I have been wanting to send you pictures, but I find it a bit challenging catching fish on the fly, out in the ocean, and taking pictures at the same time! Guess I need to just get better at this! Yesterday I caught 1/2 dozen stripers, some up to 30″, all on the fly, and , of course, all standing up in the wavewalk. Doesn’t get any better!
Will practice on my picture taking.

And here’s an email Bob wrote to the editor of his favorite fly fishing publication named the Angler’s Report, shortly after he bought his W500:
“Just read your recent report on kayaks…thought you may want to check out Wavewalk kayaks. Just purchased one yesterday after researching and trying out both the [folding outriggers "stand-up" SOT kayak] and the [tunnel hull, 'hybrid' "stand-up" canoe-kayak] fishing kayaks. Their web site is entertaining, especially all the videos. In my mind, this is truly the only standup kayak out there. You actually walk onto to it, sit down and paddle away. I was standing and jumping within 2 minutes (trying to simulate one of the videos I saw) much to the concern of Yoav, the designer and owner of Wavewalk, as he watched from the shore. Later, we even went out tandem in the kayak. No other kayak has this kind of stability. A fly fisherman’s dream. Period.

Anyway, I am not trying to “sell” you the kayak… just thought you may find it worthwhile to check it out.

Bob Smaldone”

The editor of the Angler’s Report published Bob’s letter. Thanks Bob!

We just got back from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for Jeanne’s family reunion. We brought all of the W kayaks along. Her family and friends had a blast and were impressed with them. It was fun for us sharing are love for the W kayaks with her family.

John

Here’s a movie sent to us by Bruce Young, from Florida:

Bruce Young is the inventor and manufacturer of the Laser Lure, and he loves fishing from his old W300.
Says Bruce: -”What I love about this kayak is that it’s the perfect fishing machine. It’s totally stable, and there’s so much room in it to carry my fishing gear on board!”

Brian Vickery, from California, is a fisherman and photographer who has special reasons to look for absolute, no-nonsense stability in his kayak, as well as total comfort.
Those of you who’ve visited our blog before already know that Brian has a genius and a passion for kayak outfitting and rigging projects-
Says Brian:
-”I have been away having left shoulder surgery, total replacement, so I am presently thinking of no more paddling for me at all. Dr says “mild” shoulder work in a few months PT time.
I put my W kayak in the water this morning and tried-out the folding amas. Wow!, when I tried my hardest to make it tip , I could not. Just like standing on a concrete floor. Solid, solid as I never thought it would be. That is saying a dickens of a lot, coming from me. I could not budge it at all.
I did find it was a tad hard to keep course though. Once the turn was made tho it kept good tracking. I think that with the two batteries and motor gone, it will sail well with a Genoa jib, and NO mainsail.
Cheers,, Brian”

More on Brian’s electric motor setup for his kayak >>

The W300 first appeared in April of 2004, and it was called ‘W boat’. Later, its name was changed to W-Kayak, and in May 2009, when we launched the new W500 series, we renamed the early series W300.

The W300 represented a breakthrough in paddling and fishing, from every aspect:

It introduced stand up paddling into the kayak world, as well as stand up fishing. To this date, no other kayak has shown such performance, except the W500.
The W300 also introduced the W saddle, and the Riding position, as well as the freedom to switch between a variety of comfortable positions – none of which is the infamous L kayaking position.
The W300 broke the records in kayak mobility and versatility, and was the first kayak to enable its operator to move fore and aft along the saddle, thus enabling to change the boat’s center of gravity (CG), and thereby gain the best control in strong wind, breaking waves, and fast current.
This was also the first kayak to offer leaning into the turn as means to facilitate turning – a feature that some kayak designers had argued was a fiction, until we proved it to be real in online demo videos

The W300 gained fans in 4 continents, among kayakers and canoeists as well and anglers, who outfitted it with electric motors, outboard gas engines, and sails.

The W300 made people happy, whether they were 80 years old, or 5 years old. It was used for both solo and tandem paddling, and I loved playing with it in the ocean surf.

The W300 enabled people with sore backs and other health issues to paddle and fish again – Without it they would have had to stay at home, or go in a motorboat.

The W300 took 3 years to design and build. Jo Mares, a boat builder and offshore kayak fisherman from Key West, Florida, said about his 2006 W300: -”…still thrilled with the W and not have been able to improve the basic concept without detracting from it in some other way. The W really is the best”
This was an important sentence for me, since it forced me to work harder in designing the next generation of W kayak – the W500 series. The challenge we took upon ourselves was to improve everything… and today, one year after we launched the W500, it’s possible to say we succeeded:

1. The W500 weighs just a little more than the W300, yet it’s much bigger and roomier.
2. The W500 is just 12″ longer than the W300, yet its redesigned hulls make it go much faster.
3. The W500 is just 3.5″ wider than the W300, yet it’s much more stable, without being harder to paddle.
4. The W500 is a true tandem kayak, yet small children and elderly people can control it very easily.

Customers who already owned a W300 and tried the W500 unanimously said that the W500 was much better. Some of them sold their old W300, and some kept them as ‘guest’ boats

New customers kept ordering the W500, and praising it, and the W300 became so much less popular in comparison to the new, bright star, that we finally decided to discontinue it. However, we’ve kept all the customer reviews on it on our website – for sentimental reasons  – We simply love this boat

I took my W500 out to Rainbow Reservoir in Windsor Connecticut on June 30th.

June has really kicked my butt, as far as fishing goes. I’ve caught plenty of fish, but nothing over 2 lbs.

But today, the Air temps were perfect, water was 77 degrees, from 82 degrees yesterday.
Windy, and it was a pain…
Started off with the Carolina rigged worm, with a 3/8 oz weight, fan casting all around me, but the only thing I was pulling in the boat was weeds.
Went to the deeper edge with a steep drop off from 9′ to 22′, started working the C-rig there…….NADA
Went back to my confidence bait, the yum dinger, Texas rigged weedless, and started working the wood.
Remember when I said wood is good.
Well it is, I started pulling in crappies, perch, smallmouth bass, and largemouth bass, but nothing with size.
Headed to a fresh tree that came down last week, and skipping my yum dinger, up and under the tree’s outside edge in 8′ of water – Let it sink, while counting to 10, as I reached 8, I felt a tick – Swung back and set the hook hard, Crap it’s Big and heavy, pulling my yak right into the tree.
I’m trying to paddle with one hand to back out, then the wind kicks up, like Gail Force.

I Worked myself and the fish out in front of the tree and ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ………… Back in she goes, towing my yak back into the tree once again.
Now I’m almost certain I must have snagged a crap, because this baby was yanking me all over.
I dig in as best I could with the Paddle, and backed the yak off a good 10′ with my bail open…………reel in the slack line, and she’s still there, I stand up and really put the screws to her -
This was the moment of truth, either she’d come out of the tree with my lure still in her mouth…………or she’d be gone. I felt the weight of the fish as she popped out of the limbs, and she gives me a big howdy doooooooooo with a tail walk.
I’m c—-ing my pants, grab the net and pull her towards it, and scoop her up.

BIG Large Mouth Bass – I Get her weight, 5.4 lbs, just a hair over 22″ long.
Man if she was fat she would have weighed a lot more. Long and skinny, and recouping from the spawn.

I thanked Rainbow Reservoir for finally giving up one of her Pigs.

Life Is Good.
Paddle Safe All.
Rox

Here’s another result from Craig’s visit here:

Craig is a saltwater kayak fly fisherman who’s usually fly fishing standing in his W300 kayak in Cape Cod and Florida. He got that fishing kayak back in 2008, and has contributed a kayak review about it, as well as interesting rigging ideas.
Now he’s come to test the W500, and guess what – he became an instant fan of it.

Craig is getting a yellow W500, and we can hardly wait to see how he’s going to rig it.

The movie shows Craig fly fishing standing in his kayak, paddling standing, and doing a bunch of other things that are amazing and amusing, including entertaining a guest on board, and testing a lawn chair as a seat add-on (just stick the chair in the cockpit…).
BTW, Craig said he prefers the kayak without any added seat, which proves the W saddle is a classic