The one and only Jeff McGovern produced these two new kayak fishing movies.
In the first one, Jeff shows a nice sea trout (a keeper), which is his first catch of this year.
In this second movie, Jeff has a guest on board: A Redfish he thinks he recognized from a previous kayak fishing movie he made last year 
The first unofficial Wavewalk group fishing outing in Florida was held December 14, 2009 at Crystal River, Florida. Gary Rankel, Ed Wheeler and I participated, fishing out of the new 2009 W500 fishing kayaks. Ed and I were in our bright yellow boats and Gary was in his green “Packer Yaker” (the name of which I understood only after asking him about it–seems he is a life long Green Bay Packer fan with as much passion for the team as he has for fishing.)
We started the day at our usual breakfast place right on highway 19 in Crystal River the day with a hearty meal for the task ahead. We hit the road in heavy fog, heading over to the Ozello area for launch from the parking area of a local seafood restaurant. They have a great kayak and canoe launch directly off the lot and, as long as you park well away from the patron spaces, you are fine. Besides, nothing beats a fried grouper sandwich at the end of a day of fishing and, since you are already there, why not partake?
We launched into water that was as smooth as a sheet of glass in the fog. It was wonderful. The temperature was ideal and only a few of the flying teeth (sand gnats) were bothering us. We headed out on a falling tide using a large culvert to take us through to the other side of the bridge. That saved us at least a mile of extra paddling while heading to Gary’s favorite fishing spots that he was anxious to share. Our trip out was aided by the tidal flow, so each stroke was easy and effortless.
We began casting as soon as Gary indicated we had reached his spots. I started right off with a small sea trout and soon after, Gary landed a really nice one. I also managed to land a number of lizard fish on my lures. These fish are not considered a game fish and serve only to keep the fish I really wanted from getting to my baits.
Our rigging was standard inshore Florida style. We used both bait casting and spinning gear. Ed and Gary used superlines, while I relied on mono for my bait casters and reserved the superline for my spinning tackle. We used both fluorocarbon and mono leaders as the presentations dictated. For lures, top waters are always a good choice in the Crystal river area. Gary preferred the IMA Skimmer, a very thin pencil style top water from the Japanese bass fishing market, while Ed and I stayed with our proven Spook Jr’s and Mirrolures. The baits all managed to produce hits, but the actual hookup percentage was low that day. That’s why we call it fishing and not catching.
The entire day was memorable– both for the company and the adventure. We saw lots of new water in a different way and enjoyed the antics of both birds and dolphins. At one point, while we relaxed wading near a small island, two dolphins decided to share our fishing spot. They were in a deeper cut a few feet from us, just ripping into schools of mullet. Times like this show who the really talented anglers are– the ones that swim with the fish, to be exact. Sure they ran off our quarry, but watching them is always fun. Besides, who knows, maybe we can pick up a thing or two from the real experts in these waters?
We ended our day around 2PM and headed in back through the same culvert we used first thing in the morning. With a slightly stronger incoming tide, that short ride was fun with the W500 shooting right through the center, using the paddle only to keep from hitting the sides. A really remarkable thing that struck me about this whole day was the comfort we had fishing from these boats. None of us are young men –I am the youngest at 55, both Ed and Gary are the 70 year old range. Between us there have been back issues ranging from simple sciatic problems to major surgeries. To a man, the W500 is a boat we could use easily and comfortable. In any other fishing kayaks, our range would not have been as great and there would have been many more stops to get out for unkinking. This trip was only the start. There will be many more to come, fishing the waters off Florida’s west coast in the world’s most comfortable and fishable paddle craft.
Jeff
Jeff did it again: Now he takes us on a video tour of his new W500 that’s fully rigged for saltwater fishing, yet features no milk crate!
And if you happen to wonder what fish are inside that blue bag at the bottom of the kayak’s hull, here’s, one of them - a nice, tasty looking sea trout:
Ed Wheeler and Jeff McGovern, two Floridian W kayak fishermen made a trip to Crystal River with their W500 fishing kayaks. Jeff tells:
-Our fishing adventure went very well as did the time spent in the W500s. Ed is handling the boat like a champ now.
We spent five to six hours in the boats with one short break on shore where we shot a video. Ed found the W500 more comfortable and fishable than his pedal drive fishing kayak model.
Certainly handling the W500 in and out of the pickup and just getting ready to go is much easier than the longer heavier kayaks. Thanks to some incoming storms we did not have a chance to get the W’s into the Ranger Banshee for some mothership testing but that will be the next adventure.
Ed has spent some time customizing his W500, and he already added a cooler placement on top of the saddle.
Being upright to cast adds so much to the ease with which the W fishes over any other kayak on the water. The other thing is your stored items can be accessed on the water without having to head to shore to retrieve them. Nice when you are looking for a cold drink out of the cooler or making an adjustment to your tackle. By the way this was Ed’s first fishing trip in his new W500 and he managed to slime the boat with a nice sea trout that was let go to someday become a big trophy sized fish.
As a long term user of the W series I was very impressed with the ease he handled the boat. This is a boat anyone can use successfully the first time on the water. The learning curve we have discussed in the past is just that, in the past.
It’s also a boat that becomes a tinkerer’s dream. You can use it as is and be very happy, or you can add any number of modifications to suit your own personal angling style.
The larger hull space of this new boat allows even long flats fishing rods to be placed inside the hull for the drive.
Our two W500s fit easily side by side on Ed’s full sized GMC truck.
–Jeff
Here’s a new report from Gary Rankel:
Was out for 7 hrs yesterday in hot weather and sun.
Ran into lots of redfish yesterday, but most were pretty spooky.
I did manage to get this beautiful 10 pounder on top water just as the sun was coming up.”
Also got a few sea trout and jack crevalle.
I just missed my “West Coast Slam” as a nice snook shook my topwater lure while airborne about 20 feet from the W (sorry I couldn’t snap a picture of that).
I also ran into a visitor who was really interested in your new W 500 (I think he thought he had just found the perfect mate). He entertained me for a good 20 minutes, repeatedly coming right to the side and of the W to get a good look.
So far as yesterday and fishing - Again large numbers of ladyfish, but I did manage a 1/2 dozen trout and one sculpin. Tackle wise I took one of the Emmrod spinning rods out to play and that was a riot.
The fish lately have been preferring smaller baits so the 1/8oz Cotee jigs with 2 inch Gulp shrimp did the trick. I was glad to get the trout since they represent a resurgence of gamefish. The so called trash fish, blues, ladyfish and jacks are fun but not so great as table fare and won’t win in any prizes in a tournament. When staked out in an area the W is really a fishing platform as much as a craft. Since it allows the angler to move around so much comfort is not an issue and you can really spend more time working out catching fish and not dealing with cramps. –Jeff
-”I made it out yesterday for a few hours in the W. Finally warmer weather without those really cold winds. We had a couple of days here this past week with subzero temps that wreaked havoc with the citrus growers and slowed the fishing way down. A much time as I now have with a stake out pole the W is tailor made for one. I did manage to catch fish and had the makings of a really nice sea trout feast but of course let the fish go back to get bigger. By the way the attached shot is one of the sea trout from yesterday.
For detail purposes, 1/8oz CAL jig in chartruse with a white three inch Fishbites paddletail. Total catch was 4 little redfish well below legal size to keep but the 5 trout were in the legal slot. Beyond that a handful of little bluefish who exist just to tear up tackle but are a riot to catch.
–Jeff”
