Posts Tagged ‘poling’

John Brown’s Fully Rigged W300 Fishing Kayak – Alabama

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

John Brown, from Alabama, got his W300 fishing kayak in March.

Since then he’s rigged it to perfection:
-”It’s a great boat, and I love it. I got what I call the wavewalk-tan on my knees from paddling it so often… I do a lot of stand up paddling and poling. It works for me.” Says John.

Fully rigged fishing kayak - Alabama
Front view of John’s fully rigged W300 fishing kayak.
-”I just purchased a Hummingbird fish finder, but haven’t put it on yet.”

Kayak fisherman paddling standing in fishing kayak, Alabama
John paddling his kayak standing – scouting for fish.

Storage bag on top of rigged fishing kayak, Alabama
John’s variation on the front storage solution.
The tube rod holders are RAM-301 (top) and RAM-119 (bottom) .

nchor trolley installed on fishing kayak, AL
John’s anchor trolley system – a useful device for certain types of shallow water kayak fishing.

Rigged fishing kayak cockpit - Alabama
Close up on John’s W300 cockpit. Note the anchor attached to the anchor trolley, and how well the space is organized.

Paddle holder made from foam - Rigged fishing kayak, AL
John’s version of paddle holders made from foam noodles. It’s as silent as it gets.

Milk crate on top of rigged fishing kayak - AL
The classic milk crate used for attaching extra rod holders, and for more storage.



Poling Your Fishing Kayak In Shallow Water

Friday, February 27th, 2009

Sometimes it makes more sense to pole your fishing kayak rather than to paddle it. This can be a necessity when you’re paddling and fishing in shallow water, especially in the presence of weeds, reeds, tree roots, underwater rocks and etc., and when launching or beaching in shallow, sandy or muddy beaches.

You’ll find that poling your W fishing Kayak is easy, but you’d obviously need a longer paddle for that, and preferably one that’s sturdy enough, such as the Wavewalk PSP, which stands for paddling standing and poling.

You can also use the 9′ Mohawk paddle for poling, but you need to bear in mind that while the Wavewalk PSP has a strong, wide-diameter, pultruded (pull-extruded) fiberglass shaft, and composite Nylon-fiberglass blades, the Mohawk paddle features a smaller diameter, two-piece, aluminum shaft that can support less abuse.

Therefore we recommend to pole more gently when using the Mohawk, and preferably not use it for poling.

If the bottom is composed of deep and sticky mud your poling paddle might get stuck in the mud while you lose grip unintentionally and let your fishing kayak keep going forward… Having your paddle stay behind you may sound like a rather silly accident, but stuff happens, especially to those who have a tendency for daydreaming, or get easily distracted. So, you may want to leash your paddle, or at least stay focused on your poling while you’re at it.