-”After my wife Jeanne caught on easily on her first trip we decided to head to big water in beautiful door county Wisconsin on Lake Michigan. We faced almost record cold temps for this time of year, highs in the fifties and light showers.”
-”We didn’t venture out the first day but I snuck a little fishing in the second day on the mink river off of Rowley’s bay, lake Michigan. I had a little action with smallmouth bass and perch on leeches and a splitshot. The second day was all about taking in the scenery at cave point.”
-”Calm weather on that side of the peninsula allowed us to take in the beautiful scenery and take a little break, We did land up answering a lot of questions about the w kayaks from the on lookers at cave point state park.”
-”Something tells me that more orders from Wisconsin are going to be pouring in…
That evening on the other side if the peninsula the wind calmed down also.”
-”We headed to Ephraim bay and enjoyed glass like conditions and a wonderful sunset.”
-”We had a great trip thanks to our new w kayaks which made it enjoyable, comfortable, and safe.”
-”I also learned a lesson. The water may be calm, but don’t loose sight of the big picture, especially on the great lakes. I was standing at Cave point when a rogue wave snuck up behind me. I didn’t have a chance, the swell propelled the w forward and I went backwards. It was a clean dismount and the w did not flip. It was totally my fault and not the boats. I forgot for a second that I was on the big water. Always be aware what is going on around you knew before we headed out though that the water was a tolerable temperature, or of course I would not have been standing at all. Jeanne was entertained and I told her to snap some photos while I found a spot to empty the w kayak and get back in a wiser man.
Have a great fourth!
John and Jeanne”
-”We just got back from Huntsville State Park, about 45 minutes north of Houston. It is home to Lake Raven, a beautiful, serene and clean lake. We camped overnight there (warm night) and went kayaking this morning. Here are a couple of clips. We tried fishing, but it’s so much fun paddling & trolling that it’s mostly what we did. I even stood up while trolling and got a few stares.. At least 7 people asked me “What is it?” and I told them…”
-”This 4th of July weekend, we will be going down to the coast to try it in the bays. I can’t wait to see how it does in the surf & small waves/wakes from boats and oh, maybe do some fishing.. Will keep you posted. Noel”
Robert Fisher is a kayak fisherman from Texas who bought his first W kayak in 2007 - It was a W300 model in today’s terms. A few weeks ago Robert ordered a second fishing kayak for himself, and this time it was a W500. Here is what Robert wrote us:
-”I have had my new W500 kayak out 4 times. The first time was just to see if there was a difference from the older Wavewalk, the next three times it was used to go fishing.”
-”The new W kayak seems to move through the water easier at higher speeds and in a straight line than the old one, it is more stable and easier to stand up in. The extra room is a welcome advantage.
I am 66 years old and am retired, so I use it to go fishing in 2 to 3 times per week.
The only negative I have found is it’s turning radius is larger than the old Wavewalk, this is probably due to the extra length of the W500, but I think with a little more use, that will become unimportant.
It is my opinion that more seniors should look at the W kayak as a source of exercise and entertainment. It is a great source of recreation.
Robert Fisher”
-”I am enjoying both of the W kayaks, but I really do prefer the W500.
I am taking the W300 to Indiana to leave with my son for my use while I am vacationing there.”
Noel put his design engineering skills to action, and came up with this perfect motorized W500 fishing kayak:
-”Problem solved with the trolling motor steering. I rotated the handle 90 degrees outward, turned around in my seat, so now the trolling motor is in the back. With this setup, you can turn at will, see the (cellphone) pics & video.”
-”My son Rainier also took it out for a spin and he’s very comfortable with it too.”
-”Sorry about the video quality, will have to do better…
Also getting more used to the weight/balance of the boat; standing is almost natural now and the boat does not feel tippy, unless I take my son in it with the trolling motor mounted. It then becomes a little top heavy. 1 person is best with the motor/battery mounted.”
-”The motor mount consists of a 2 ft long treated wood, 1×6 base & a 2×4 upright mounted with stiffening brackets from Lowes. Used 4x 1/4″-20 bolts x 3″ long with fender/spring washers/nut. Drilled 4x 3/8″ holes in the hull to allow for flex, then bolted from inside using another piece of 4″ wide 1×6, thus sandwiching the thickness of the HDPE hull between the pieces of 2×4. This, I hope, will prevent the holes in the hull from tearing out. I’ve run aground twice so far at the bank at v. low speed and it held without any problems or getting loose.”
-”Check out the anchor mount quick release set up, I don’t fish shallow water so this comes in handy. I don’t usually let the anchor hang as shown in one of the pictures, as it creates additional drag; I just pull it into the boat; it’s a 3.5 lb folding anchor.”
-”For the paddle holder, I took closet hanger wire and bent it to fit, it works great; simple solution.
-”I can’t say enough good things about the WW. When I washed it down yesterday, I flipped it over to get the water out of the hulls, and fully expected that some water would remain in the cockpit rim, but sure enough there was none; and then I noticed the drain hole in each end…also the hulls are sloped so that all the water will drain out of the boat when flipped over on the grass! As a design engineer, I appreciate those little thoughtful features that Wavewalk has incorporated…most excellent!”
-”Had an awesome father’s day on the water with the family and the WW.”
-”My son Rainier is a natural kayaker, and is paddling standing, sitting, fishing sideways, turning in circles, reversing, stopping, actually landing at the launch point where we put in, he is already well on his way.”
-”We had a lot of people watching today, taking pictures and passing cars were honking as they went past, it was great!”
-”I mounted a trolling motor, anchor, battery box and crate with fishing rods.. See the attached pictures.
With the trolling motor mounted in the front (I reversed the trolling motor handle to point towards me), at the 3 setting, it was moving along pretty quick. On the 5 setting, I was leaving a good size wake! Steering was a different matter though, as I kept doing S-turns or going in a circle no matter what I did with the trolling motor. I think it has to do with the flow channeling effect and the prop wash between and against the hulls. The reverse on the trolling motor is very poweful, so I’m just going to turn around in my seat & operate it like that for now. That will negate the hull effect, as I was able to steer very well in reverse.”
-”The battery location is critical. On the saddle, it makes the WW top heavy, esp. with 2 people on board and stability/balance became tricky. I moved it to the right hull, moved the anchor itself to the left hull and it stabilized. After that it was smooth trolling!
In between tryouts, my wife Nini happened to notice a Mayfly next to her, so I picked it up & took a picture.. now that’s a perfect fly fishing picture.. a mayfly & the WW!”
-”I played around with the moving (side mounted on pulleys) anchor trolley this morning again and could not figure out a way to easily stop the rope once the anchor hit bottom (and still be able to operate the trolley), so I bought an anchor stop & mounted it between the hulls in the rear, it works great, as I can release the anchor & haul it up real quick, and I have full control of the rope. I bought this in the boat section of (all places) Walmart.”
Ben Ciliberto is a kayak carp fisherman from Pennsylvania, who got his first W300 last year, and this year ordered two more…
Ben doesn’t like to sit at all in his kayak - He prefers to stand up as much as possible, and that’s why he designed and built this amazing stand-up fishing rig.
Says Ben: -”The rig is great for stability, getting in and out, a rail to grab if you get tipsy, and holds everything - I’ve completed it on all three W kayaks now—third one in half the time.”
Norm Craig, a from Rhode Island, had serious back surgery only months ago, and realized he couldn’t go fishing in a canoe or a regular kayak. He became the first fisherman to use our new W500 for kayak fishing. He wrote this fishing kayak ‘mini review’ immediately after taking it on water for the first time, and today he sent us his second impression:
-”Beautiful morning with the big W:
Friday, I went fishing this morning. The fish weren’t biting but the weather was beautiful and I spent over 4 hours in the kayak. I can’t believe I lasted that long. I was a little sore but not bad. Until today I thought that standing and paddling was a neat trick but now it is my preferred way of paddling. I’m getting very confident, and it feels great on the back.
I’m Working on a few new gadgets for the kayak. Had some great ideas today.
Saturday; Went fishing and the fish were biting. I had one of the best fishing days days I ever had. Lost track of the bass and pickerel I caught. Being able to stand and look into the water you can see the fish strike the lure sure is a thrill. I spent about 3 hours on the water and again the back was not a problem considering I had a spinal fusion 5 months ago.
Yak works fine, no problems. I noticed a little noise from the wake when I paddle fast. — Norm”
Craig Masterman, a Massachusetts W kayak fly fisherman who contributed a great review of the W kayak last year, sent us fresh stories and rigging ideas:
-”Hey Yoav!
I just returned from my first trip to SW Florida since I got the W last summer. We drove the pick up all the way down and back from Massachusetts with the W on top secured with just two heavy duty web straps. It rode absolutely securely on 4 foam blocks sold by several outlets for just that purpose. I figured out a way to stop the straps from loudly humming like guitar strings on the highway I thought others might find useful. I simply cut some one inch diameter foam pipe insulation to fit over those parts of the straps that angle down from the top of the kayak to the vehicle, which silenced the hum caused by the wind rushing past the taught straps. Problem solved for about 4 bucks! But that’s not the main reason I’m writing you.
As we made our way around SW Florida with the W on the truck, we were followed, stopped and questioned by at least twenty people about the “really cool and unique looking kayak”. It actually started in South Carolina and continued throughout the two week trip. By the end I had my speech singing the praises of the W pretty well memorized. I gave out the website to all of them after describing the W as the ultimate fishing platform. Most were surprised at the fact that it is only 25 inches wide. They were also surprised to learn that I was not a sales rep for the company, but just a satisfied customer! I had guys climbing up on the tailgate, taking pictures of the cockpit “saddle” and the 9 foot paddle. I would be happy to put a decal of the website on the boat. It would certainly generate some inquiries, and give my voice a rest!!!
A much time as I spent talking about the W, I actually did get a chance to fish out of it too! I was fortunate enough to land several fish on the flyrod. The boat performed beyond expectations and felt solid under foot as I stood and made cast after cast to sighted fish on the flats and under the mangroves. One day, I paddled a total of six miles casting to and prospecting for fish. By day’s end I was understandably a little tired, but not at all sore or stiff owing to the comfort of the cockpit and the ability to change paddling positions at will. I can’t wait to get the W in the water again later this spring on Cape Cod!
It’s the third W fishing kayak review we get from Wisconsin, which strengthens the notion that while northern fishermen have never fully adopted traditional kayaks (sit-in and SOT) as fishing platforms, they can see the advantages offered by the W kayak over other popular fishing crafts, such as canoes, dinghies and Jon boats.
When you read John’s review, please notice that he remembered Wavewalk’s instructions for first timers, and that made his learning curve short and effortless.
Jeff sent us this new movie from sunny Florida. He and Jeff Maron are scouting for fish in low tide.
Jeff paddles his W fishing kayak standing up, and as he explains, by doing so he’s able to see far enough to find a way through the maze of channels and oyster bars:
The W fishing kayak’s superior stability is not just proven - it is spectacular, and anyone who watches our demo movies is amazed by what they see.
In a nutshell, our patented stabilization technology consists of a number of unique factors working together to assure maximal stability - far more than any other fishing kayak can offer, including the widest sit-in and SOT fishing kayaks, and even fishing kayaks featuring outriggers (stabilizers).
These key stability factors are:
Maximum use of the kayak’s buoyancy: All the W fishing kayak’s buoyancy is located as far as possible from the kayak’s center line, where it’s the most effective in stability terms. This W kayak’s ‘catamaran’ feature gives it a powerful stability advantage. In contrast, in a monohull sit-in or SOT fishing kayak most of the buoyancy’s stabilizing capability is wasted by the fact that it’s located mainly along the kayak’s center line.
Maximum effective leverage: In the W fishing kayak you stand up with your feet ‘planted’ on the bottom of the hulls, that is below waterline. For example, a 200 lb W kayak fisherman stands or rides his W kayak’s saddle with his feet as low as 5.5″ below waterline. In contrast, a SOT kayak fisherman who tries to stand up on the deck of his SOT kayak has his feet at least 2 to 3 inches above waterline, with little or nothing to support and hold them in place when the kayak is tilting. This poor initial stability coupled with poor stabilization capability makes it extremely hard to stand confidently on other kayaks.
Maximum resistance to rolling: The W kayak features twin hulls that act as double ‘hard chines’. A chine is the area where the hull’s side meets its bottom. If a boat’s chines are rounded the boat would ‘roll’ more easily than if its chines were angular. Kayak designers would give a kayak hard chines when they try to improve its resistance to rolling, or in other words when they try to increase that kayak’s ’secondary stability’. This design principle is utilized to the maximum in the W-kayak’s twin hulls that offer twice the resistance to rolling and maximal angularity.
Max response time: Stabilizing yourself in a small watercraft such as a kayak is easier if you have some extra time to respond to the destabilizing event. Much of the overall instability in mono-hull sit-in and SOT fishing kayaks is caused by their poor initial (primary) stability. Those kayaks’ low effective (side) buoyancy causes them to tilt faster than stabler boats such as the W-kayak. A sudden, ultra-fast and strong change can leave you too little response time. In contrast, the superior initial stability provided by each of W-kayak hulls’ position and buoyancy makes them tilt less in terms of time and distance (depth). Therefore, each time you get destabilized in a W-kayak you benefit from some extra split seconds, as well as from a better body position, so you can react more effectively and regain control more easily.
Maximum ‘grip’ and safety: The W fishing kayak’s patented, 14″ high saddle adds two important things when stability is concerned, especially in the Riding position, which is the most effective paddling and fishing position in kayaks. First, the saddle gives you perfect grip through your legs, without using any straps. Second, the saddle offers you good safety in case you lose balance while standing up, because you can instantly and effortlessly ‘drop’ on it, and ‘grab’ it with your thighs and knees in the riding position. Other fishing kayaks are unsafe because they offer you no such ‘plan B’ in case you lose balance while standing up.
Stand up paddling capability: The W fishing kayak is designed specifically for stand up paddling and fishing, while other sit-in and SOT fishing kayaks are simply too wide, which makes them ineffective for stand up paddling due to bio-mechanical problems and poor tracking.
And what’s a kayak fishing blog nowadays without a movie? This movie is played in 4X slow motion in order to enable the spectator to appreciate how the kayak doesn’t tip over while a large size guy is jumping up and down and from one leg to another in it:
It seems like all fishing kayak manufacturers these days claim that at least one of their fishing kayak models lets you stand up and fish from. Some of them even go as far as say ‘in confidence’.
The problem with those claims is that they aren’t true, and the sure way for you to know that is by asking yourself a basic, simple and essential question:
-”What if?”
-What if you lose your balance for any reason, just because stuff happens?
And as you probably know, stuff does happen - and in fact it’s practically unstoppable… It’s usually small stuff, like a gust of wind, a motorboat’s wake, someone calling your name which makes you turn your head, a fly, a bird, a moment when you let your thoughts wander, your kayak drifting and hitting the bottom or a submerged log while you’re focusing on your line, or just a fish… Yes, some fish can be quite strong, especially those fish you’d like to catch - certainly strong enough to make you lose your balance when they bite and start vigorously pulling on your line, and most likely not in a direction that would make it easy for you…
Any of these things can destabilize you, and sooner than later it will. And then what? You’ll tip over and fall overboard, because that’s the only solution all those wishful-thinking stand up SIK and SOT fishing kayaks have to offer you. And when that accident happens you’ll get wet, and some of your precious gear and tackle (or all of it) would get lost, and that’s too bad. You might also catch a cold, or something else (read this article about the Wet Ride ).
And let us not forget that all those pseudo stand-up fishing kayaks are not stable enough to begin with: The very form and structure of those monohull kayaks is inherently unstable (read article about kayak stability). It’s helpful to remember that all of them were developed out of the native Inuit kayaks, which were supposed to enable performing the ‘Eskimo Roll’ - if you’re sitting inside… Not a practical option for the great majority of kayak paddlers, and not a solution for anyone attempting to fish while standing on top of a kayak. Understanding this is a matter of common sense - You don’t have to be a kayak designer to realize that a kayak that’s barely stable enough for you to feel fully at ease while fishing sitting cannot support a full size, adult fisherman standing on top of it, and still be safe.
BTW, none of these facts has ever prevented any kayak manufacturer from hyping their kayaks as being ’stand up fishing’ kayaks. People want to stand up while fishing, and they want small, portable and inexpensive boats like kayaks. Naturally, kayaks manufacturers want to satisfy this demand, at least verbally….
There is only one fishing kayak out there that has a real, dependable, tested solution: Our W-kayak.
To begin with, it’s the only watercraft out there that was invented and designed specifically for stand up paddling in all types of water: flat water, streams and surf. We have a US utility (invention) patent on it.
Each of the W kayak’s twin hulls offers sufficient lateral buoyancy to support strong and sudden shifts in load, which is what happens when you lose your balance. Your feet are planted at the bottom of the hulls, below waterline - exactly where you can tap the hulls’ buoyancy to the maximum.
The W-kayak’s 14″ high saddle is positioned between your legs, which is exactly where it would be the most helpful to you when you’ll need to lower your center of gravity both suddenly and intuitively in order to regain your balance and keep your kayak from tipping over.
Bottom line: Marketing hype won’t make you stabler if you try to fish standing from an inadequate kayak platform that’s bound to send you overboard sooner than later. Having no plan B when your plan A is too shaky is a strategy that you’re bound to regret.
You need a specially designed, real-life tested and truly dependable fishing kayak for stand up fishing, and there’s only one such kayak that can answer these requirements: the W.
And if you want to see it’s not just theory, here’s a three and a half minute demo movie you may like to watch:
“I went out yesterday with a couple of the fellows from JaxKayak. We hit the Pellicer area around 8:45AM and had a heck of nice day despite the lack of landed fish. Saw huge schools of redfish in some cases smaller groups of 6 to 8 fish would swim by within inches of our kayaks. The weather was beautiful and the area magnificent with it’s scenery. The water was like gin and in the deeper sections blue in color. I’ve attached a couple of shots I took when we landed for a quick lunch. That’s my friend Jeff Moran sitting in the W getting his waders off. It was the only place to sit comfortably where he could do that. His little [SOT fishing kayak] was not the place to try wrestling waders off, you need to sit upright for that and the W was the only place. I spent quite a bit of time standing and paddling the W searching for reds. It’s times like that you appreciate a kayak you really can stand in and paddle. I was stable, balanced, and quite comfortable, something any of the sit on top boats could not be said of.
One of the fellows I fished with had a sit on top [brand name] kayak. When we got out for lunch I noticed he was wearing rain pants on a bright sunny day. He said he had to wear them because his seat was always wet. Looking at his kayak, no kidding! He had nearly 4 inches of water in the seat well that kept coming in the front scupper holes and running back to fill the seat depression. Got to wonder what the designers were thinking. Of course I made the comment about how dry my seat was all the time. We even got into the discussion of comfortable seats in a kayak. The name [brand] came up and they do indeed make a wonderful seat. But that means you buy a boat and still have to add another nearly 200 dollars to find comfort. I of course mentioned how the W already has the best seat in kayaking and it comes as standard equipment. We are planning a trip Tuesday to Mosquito Lagoon, it’s always best if you can to go there during the week.
This is Jeff’s new, experimental movie that shows him paddling through grass beds in shallow water - first in the riding position, and than standing up, so he can scout for fish.
Advertisers often cross the line between fact and fiction, and sometimes they cross the line between true and false.
For example, a well known kayak fishing store has recently advertised on its website that one of the brands it offers* for sale is (quote): “The only kayak to truly let you stand & fish with 100% confidence”.
By doing so that store made a number of significant mistakes:
First, they openly admitted that all the other brands they have advertised for years as being suitable for stand up fishing in fact do not offer to stand and fish with 100% confidence. This is exactly what what Wavewalk has been saying all the time.
Second, that store is misleading the public to think that particular kayak is safe, while it is far from being so since its outriggers are positioned at the stern, and therefore leave the standing kayak fisherman with no extra buoyancy at all to support him on the sides of his kayak’s middle and front parts, where he’s likely to tilt his boat when fishing. Anyone can see that.
Third, if a kayak fisherman standing on that SOT loses balance, as he’s expected to do sooner or later, he has a metal frame to hold on to, but nothing to fall down on - Assuming that fisherman is holding his fishing rod with both hands (common practice…) he’s likely to fall overboard, as he would from any other SOT or sit-in kayak. In fact, holding on to the metal frame increases leverage on the hull and makes it easier to tilt sideways and overturn.
And last but not least, that store’s statement is obviously false since the only fishing kayak that really offers fishermen to stand up and fish with 100% confidence and safety is the Wavewalk, as anyone can see by watching these movies at the bottom of the article discussing stability in kayaks.
* a sit-on-top kayak equipped with folding outriggers
Here’s another one of those spectacular (goofy?) demo movies we produce from time to time. It shows a rather special stand up paddling technique involving hopping while paddling…
Totally useless in terms of kayaking or fishing, but it’s the best workout I can imagine.
Earlier this year, Craig Masterman, a W kayak saltwater fly fisherman from Massachusetts contributed some innovative rigging ideas in hisfishing kayak review. Craig recently emailed me the following report from Cape Cod:
-”The fishing has been only fair along much of Cape Cod this season. That seems to be the consensus of many anglers I have talked to. There are fish around, but you have to work hard for them. I have taken the W out in Pleasant Bay twice and on the Brewster flats in Cape Cod bay once, and I caught fish on each outing with the fly rod. The rigging for the rod and paddle worked out really well. I did add a small cleat on one end of the boat right over the W logo to tie off the anchor line as I had planned. The first trip on Pleasant Bay found me paddling up onto a beautiful white sand shallow flat next to a deeper trough of water on a falling tide. I was able to stand and slowly pole/paddle along the edge and sight cast to visible stripers edging onto the flat to feed. I hooked a 26 inch fat fish on the third cast! Just perfect! …I love the boat and will keep you updated as I tweek the rigging over time. Craig”
Thanks Craig, we look forward to more reports, rigging ideas and pictures!
Will keep you posted. Noel”
