Wavewalk Kayaks

Dan C, a Vermont resident, always wanted to fish standing up in a kayak. He tried all kinds of kayak designs that promised ’stand up kayak fishing’, just to find he couldn’t really stand in them and fish in full confidence - and not even at a reasonable level of comfort.
Earlier this year Dan bought himself a 2007 W fishing kayak, and this time he got exactly what he expected: He can stand up and fish comfortably and confidently even when some wind is blowing, and in the presence of eddies, and he can easily paddle standing.

Read Dan’s W Fishing Kayak Review. It shows some cool things that Dan did with his kayak in terms of rigging it for fishing.

These are pictures Dan sent from his latest fishing trip in Lake Champlain, Vermont.

Jeff’ McGovern’s new kayak fishing article is called ‘Good As Live Bait?’. It’s a review of the Fishbites and Gulp lure brands.

Jeff writes: -”The brands I’ve been using are “Fishbites” (Carr Specialty Baits, St Augustine, Florida) and the more widely distributed “Gulp” (Berkley). They are very different in composition, but achieve the same purpose for me: live bait results without the hassle of storing or keeping bait alive in my W. Whenever I’m fishing saltwater flats, both products are onboard and ready to catch fish.”



Paddling and just drifting down a river standing in your W is a new and exhilarating way to travel and fish.
The river and scenery are experienced differently than when you’re sitting or riding in your kayak, and fishing is altogether different.
First of all, you can see more of what’s around you, whether it’s the water or the banks that you’re interested in. Wildlife and vegetation are more visible, and fish can often be perceived in the water when they wouldn’t be from a lower position.
Paddling down river is always easier than up river, and when you paddle standing you can paddle and steer at the same time by applying canoe-style J strokes on one side of your W kayak. If the stream is fast enough to carry you at a good speed you can just stand and occasionally dip your paddle to correct your course.
You can also paddle fast - both on one and two sides of your W kayak. Even speed is sensed differently when you paddle standing - Imagine going down a snowy mountain slope sitting on a sled and then standing on skis… The difference is comparable, although going on snow is faster in both cases.



The older W kayak models enable sitting in the Riding-Over position outside the cockpit - on their hull tips. The New, 2008 design offers to ride over the cockpit as well, due to its lower spray deflector.

Riding-over is basically a static position offering you to dip your feet in the water in case you want to cool down, and try yet another position in case you feel like changing. It’s practical for fishing, and since you can ride over the hull tips it enables establishing a bigger distance between two fishermen working from the same W kayak.You can paddle in this position, as well as correct the kayak’s location.



The 2008 W Kayak offers two new positions: Side-Saddle, and the Riding-Over.

The side-saddle position is a stable and comfortable but static position for fishing or resting while your feet are cooling in the water.

It’s possible to paddle in this position, although not in fast moving water or for long distances. You can paddle on both sides of the boat: The one you’re facing and the one behind you. It’s not particularly difficult, and takes little time to learn. Paddling in this position can be useful when you’re fishing and you need to reposition the boat.

The new side-saddle position adds another option to choose from when you feel like changing positions and relieve your fatigue, and it’s fun!

“I got about four hours of water time with the 2008 W again this morning. It was predicted to be a windy day so I headed out early. There were a number of cyclists heading over to the coast this morning and I spoke to some of them at a convenience store on the way over. Of course the W drew a crowd and created some interest with the upright riding position.
As with the other trips so far this boat worked very well. Being able to slide back and forth really helped to hold in the wind on the sandy areas as I fished.
An interesting note is how easy this boat is to paddle into a strong wind. Not real fast of course but you don’t wear yourself out making progress.
When I paddled in around 10:30AM there was a group of kayakers getting instruction from one of the guides at the fish camp. They were facing me on the water and his back was turned to me as he spoke and demonstrated paddling techniques. As I got closer I noticed them all craning their necks looking past him at the W. He went on not seeing he had lost the interest of his crowd. As I came in and then pulled the W up the stairs from the beach they just stared. The silence was broken when one of the folks stated “we want to rent one of those kayaks, they look like fun”. Ahh very nice moment. Had I been paying better attention I should have pulled in standing up…
–Jeff”

-”Went out for the fourth time yesterday- getting my W outfitted for sight fishing carp with a fly rod in the flats.
I stand almost the entire time now, great line of sight on the fish, and it’s also easier to fight the fish standing.

I have a stake out pole for anchoring in shallow water, and a 3 lb dumbell for dropping anchor.

Steering is easy by dipping the paddle on the side I want to drift toward. I installed a notched foam paddle seat on each side so i can quietly set down the paddle and make no noise or slippage.

Yesterday I caught a real nice Common Carp– about 26″ and 7-8 lb. He ran me around for 15 minutes, and was released healthy after pics!

I also hooked a monster bass (thought I was throwing to a carp) but I lost him when I got too much line slack.

The W is a delight- easy to load, my back is feeling good, and I’m catching fish!

–Ben”

The logo on Ben’s hat says “Delaware River Kayak Fishing”.

The following text was copied from an article published on a kayak fishing website:

“This next statement is important. Kayaks are not boats. Let me repeat that, kayaks are not boats. There’s a lot of room in a boat so you can move around. Even a very small boat has much more room then the largest kayak…. -Let’s look at the situation. In a kayak you’re pretty much restricted to staying in the seat area. You’re going to be most comfortable here and this is where the stability is. “

(The author of this article is unknown)

Why is this passage interesting? -Because it reflects reality as perceived by all people who fish from SOT and SIK kayaks: Restricted space, limited mobility in the cockpit, clutter and eventually discomfort - although the anonymous writer refers to the seat area as being the ‘most comfortable’ for the kayak fisherman to be in, which makes sense only because there is practically no alternative in SIK and SOT kayaks…

Technically, sit-in (SIK) kayaks are boats: They are small, hollow vessels stripped down to the minimum functionality in terms of load capacity, speed and functionality.

Sit-on-top (SOT) kayaks are not vessels - they are boards, which can be completely filled with foam and contain neither passengers nor cargo. This is why it makes more sense to classify them as ‘not boats’, as the writer did.

W kayaks are boats, with all the characteristics of boats. They even offer enough internal space and stability for the passengers to change their location within the passenger compartment called ‘cockpit’.

The author of that article quoted here was probably unaware of the existence of W kayaks when he/she wrote it.

W kayaks even offer passengers to stand up while propelling the boat, and when fishing from it, and that’s a feature that not all bigger boats can offer.

What SIK, SOT and W kayaks have in common is their small size and light weight that offers their owners the possibility to cartop them and carry them along considerable distances on shore. This small size and light weight are essentially what differs fishing kayaks from fishing canoes, which are usually bigger and heavier - although some of the bigger fishing kayaks are as heavy as canoes, and may require a trailer…

“Well it’s over for 2008. The Kayak Classic was yesterday, it was a blast to participate. I of course had the 2008 W in all her glory. The W performed like champ. The lower cockpit gives you a cooler ride in the sun and I’ve got to say if you make a recommendation in hot areas for color go with the lighter color.
My fish measuring board works great with the new rim. It holds the board and because of the height I’m at riding I can easily shoot a picture of a measured fish. Try doing that in a sit on top while seated and it’s a bit of a juggling event. The only thing I need to do it cut a measuring board just for the W and round the rear corners to fit inside the hull better. It’s a 10 minute job on one of the ones we have now.
Another W advantage is that you can just pull in the fish (provided it doesn’t have to many teeth) and dump it in the hull while getting the camera and board ready. I did it a few times yesterday as a test and it worked fine.
Wish I could say we caught winning fish but not this time. The red tide from last fall is still affecting our numbers and it takes almost a full year to recover. I did boat a number of lady fish, jacks, and undersized sea trout. ”

A 21″ ladyfish being measured for the 08′ classic

Wayne T’s W fishing kayak is an interesting project from a number of aspects:

He first outfitted it with a pair of large size outriggers because he wanted to enjoy more stability at his advanced age (68). When Wayne is in his boat the outriggers barely touch the water and generate just little extra drag.

Wayne also outfitted his kayak with a pair or oars, with the oarlocks attached directly to the cockpit rim. He explains that the reason he did it is because it gives him better control over the boat than a paddle does.

“This is the best one man fishing boat I’ve ever used and I have tried them all…” He says, and judging by his catch he has evidence to back his words:

When he paddles it he uses a canoe paddle made from his Mohawk paddling kit.

It looks like Wayne used a pair of oars and oarlocks he took from a small dinghy, and all he had to do was to reinforce the kayak’s cockpit rim before attaching them to his boat.

Wayne also chose the simple and easy way to build his outriggers, and you can read more about what he did in this boat review.

Altogether, Wayne’s boat shows that with some planning and no big effort, kayak fishermen can literally transform their W fishing kayaks into a very different type of boat while preserving most of the advantages the original design offers.

Riding over is yet another position enabled by the new 2008 kayak design.

It’s basically a static position, for fishing, resting, chatting, shooting pictures, cooling your feet in the water etc.

You can paddle while you ride over your W kayak, but you won’t go very fast…

Photography: Jim Green

Brandon from Cape Cod made this ingenious instant release anchor system for his W kayak.

He writes:

-”Here are some pics of an anchor system that worked really well for me last season. The key is to be able to release the Wavewalk kayak from the anchor line in an instant to chase and fight a big fish.

The Genius Carabiner opens at an angle so only one hand is needed. The float allows the angler to find the anchor system after the fight and start fishing again from that productive spot.
Commercial fisherman use a similar (yet much beefier) system to hook, fight and land giant bluefin tuna here on Cape Cod.”

Read more about Brandon’s Fishing Kayak

‘Plastic’ kayaks is a term that refers in most cases to rotationally molded Polyethylene kayaks.
Polyethylene (HDPE, MDPE, LDPE and various commercial names) is by far the preferred resin in the kayak industry because of its superior performance when it comes to shock resistance, durability and overall reliability, but it is known to be quasi impossible to bond. This is because Polyethylene’s surface tension is low, which doesn’t allow for significant chemical reactions to occur, including bonding. The upside of this feature is that Polyethylene has superior resistance to strong solvents, acids, radiation etc., and indeed it is used for making fuel tanks and containers for active chemicals.

When an adhesive’s label says it bonds plastics it normally doesn’t mean Polyethylene.

3M is offering a an adhesive called 3M Scotch-Grip TM 4693 H Plastic Adhesive, and the company states it works for various plastic materials, Polyethylene included.

We tested this product and found that indeed it bonds with Polyethylene, and apparently better than other adhesives we know.
However, in our opinion the bonding is not sufficiently strong to allow use in structural repairs or for attaching accessories to a Polyethylene kayak, except maybe a fish finder, a decal etc., which are not required to support weight or resist even weak pulling forces at any time.

This adhesive could be used to seal rivet and bolt holes above waterline (E.G. with carry handles, rod holders, eyelets etc.). We would not recommend using it for sealing holes below waterline because we’re against drilling holes in kayak hulls below waterline in any case…

We would not recommend to use it for fixing cracks anywhere in the hull, and as far as filling gashes (such as those created by oysters) we don’t see the benefit of it, and we don’t see how the adhesive would stay in its place if it had to resist abrasive forces.

In sum, this adhesive cannot replace ‘hard’ methods such welding, riveting and bolting, but it can be useful in other ways.

Here is what Ben C. a W kayak fly fisherman from Pennsylvania emailed us:

“Hi all,
Second time out in my new Wavewalk kayak tonight- caught my first ever Mirror carp (large scales)! And my back still feels good! Carp pulled me around the pine run reservoir for 15 minutes - caught on wooly bugget- 6/7 wt fly rod, 2 lb tippet.

Blast”

Congratulations Ben, this is a beautiful, mighty fish.

We look forward to more pictures,

Yoav

Sometime it’s nice to go paddling with passengers on board your W Kayak. It can be fun to combine such an excursion with fishing, camping or bird watching.

Storage space is not a problem since the W kayak’s hull tips offer ample storage space, and you can attach additional gear on top of its hulls, but in case you need to take two passengers with you in the cockpit you’d better plan ahead. In such case canoing style paddling presents certain advantages over kayaking style paddling since the shorter, single blade paddles are less prone to hit each other.

Roles should be well defined and understood, in order to facilitate tracking.

The paddler at the stern should be the one responsible for the entire crew, since he/she can see the two others and can apply long J strokes that would help steering and tracking.

The paddler in the front can switch sides more easily than the two others - in case an additional blade is needed in the water on the other side of the kayak.

In case you use kayak (I.E. double blade) paddles, it’s important that the front paddler set the pace and the other two follow his/her paddle in parallel, otherwise the paddles will hit each other.

Like most things related to paddling - practice makes perfect.

This is a picture of Jeff’s new 2008 F2 Model W Fishing Kayak, fully rigged for fishing:

The rigging includes an the anchor trolley on the side, a milk crate with a battery of three rod holders, and Jeff’s new DIY paddle holders. Note one of the two flush mount rod holders that holds the fishing net’s handle.

You may be asking yourself “What about a fish finder?” Well, Jeff is the kind of kayak fisherman who prefers to use his knowledge and instincts rather than electronics. -”I don’t use electronics too much because the depth can be checked with my paddle.  In some cases I actually see the fish before they see me.  Kayak fishing like it was years back in my canoe allows me to slip into the areas the fish are holding without alerting them to any danger.  So long as you keep as silent as you can and watch your shadow on the water fish will keep tight to the area they are feeding in.” he explains.

And by the way, as a dedicated sportsman that he is, Jeff practices ‘catch and release’ unless he has instructions to bring a particular type of fish back home for dinner…

Jeff drags his W fishing kayak on sand, pebbles, gravel, dirt and grass with all the gear still in place, and since the W Fishing Kayak is a true ‘Toss’n Go’ boat, Jeff simply hauls it onto his pickup’s truck bed, attaches it, and drives away.

It saves him a lot of time and work…

Being a kayak fisherman or a regular paddler you may be interested in improving your stand up paddling skills and technique. This is a short movie that shows how paddling standing in the W kayak is done on flat water:

The video also shows some ‘warming up’ exercise: Jumping up and down in the cockpit.

This image taken from the video clearly shows the W wave created by the W Kayak bow:

As always, Jeff’s kayak fisherman’s mind keeps finding improvements and new ways to rig his W kayak.

Here is Jeff’s latest:

-”I was cleaning up my office this morning and came across this simple plastic TV tray. Hmmm I wondered and headed out back to the W. Not bad this might be something. Without the tall tackle pack in it the thing actually locks in place nicely under the rim providing a broader flat work surface, not to mention handy side pockets.”

As simple and elegant as ever…

Before…
After…

BTW, that kayak is Jeff’s 2008 model.

And in the same spirit, it’s fun to remember a somehow similar idea conceived a couple of years ago by John Earle, a photographer who worked on the cover of the inaugural issue of the MIT Sloan Magazine:

Jeff McGovern did it again: This time he found what seems to be a perfect DIY solution for flat water, ‘drop-in’ paddle holders. It’s so simple and elegant - just a pair of bathroom door clothes hooks attached to the cockpit rim with plastic straps, using the factory-made holes that are already there…

The hole came with the boat, and it’s there exactly for this purpose: Enable the kayak fisherman to easily attach his tackle and gear to the kayak.



Jeff McGovern elucidates this complex and sometime confusing issue in a new article entitled Choosing a Bait Caster.

In his article Jeff methodically explains and advises the new kayak angler about different rods, reels and lines, and helps see more clearly into the huge product offering available today in the field of fishing tackle.

The article includes pictures.

By the way, Jeff serves as adviser to tackle manufacturers, and last time he counted he had three hundred fishing rods in his collection…