Wavewalk Kayaks

Any kayak designer, paddler or angler would tell you that a kayak can either track well, or turn easily, and that the longer the kayak’s hull the better it would track, but the harder it would be to maneuver, and vice versa. In the narrow and restricted world of traditional, mono-hull kayaks this is axiomatic, meaning that it requires no proof, since everyone already knows it to be true.

Wavewalk has already proven that its W300 kayak was a great tracker for a 10 ft long kayak, and did not require a rudder to help it track even under strong wind. The W300 also astonished quite a few kayak paddlers and designers by showing them that a paddler could lean it into the turn, and make very sharp turns - again, without a rudder.

Now we offer the W500 that’s much faster than the W300, and tracks considerably better. In fact, kayakers and kayak anglers compare its speed to that of a 14-16 ft long, fast fishing kayak, or a 12-13 ft long touring kayak.

The question that some kayakers and anglers have asked, and rightfully so, is whether this great tracker could maneuver easily without a rudder.
This demo movie shows how riding the saddle from its rear end changes the kayak’s hydrodynamics in a way that makes it highly maneuverable:

Leaning into the turn makes steering even more effective.

When tight maneuvers are no longer required, the paddler can go back to paddling the W500 kayak from the middle of the saddle. In that position, the W500 is perfectly balanced fore and aft, tracks perfectly, and can achieve its highest speed.

No rudder is required for either tracking or turning the W500 kayak. If you’ve used a rudder with your kayak you’d know it is really good news. This is because rudders cost money, they impede your kayak, and they have a nasty tendency to harvest seaweed and get stuck in the bottom when you’re paddling and fishing in shallow water.
In other words, rudders are pain…

By the way, aboriginal kayaks made by arctic circle people had no rudders, since the people who crafted and paddled them were better paddlers than we are.

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

I really like my 500 Wavewalk kayak.
Previously I had used a sit on plastic Kayak (which belonged to my nephew) only to rig hurricane lines to offshore moorings in order to keep my fishing boat off the seawall during storms. I would never have considered a pleasure cruise in that tipsy slow slug.
My nephew reclaimed his SOT kayak earlier this year, and with hurricane season approaching once again, I began looking for a replacement.
Although more pricey, the Wavewalk caught my eye, and since it arrived I’ve been taking near daily trips around the shallow water here in the Keys. I love the way it glides and tracks as well as it’s ability to go in real shallow water.
By the way, I can paddle standing up but don’t seem to make as good speed as sitting down. I admit to still feeling awkward standing, but love the view it allows of our shallows here.
I wonder if I shouldn’t be able to go faster standing up since I’m using my legs too.
I’m looking forward to refining my technique.
-Francis

Robert Young sent us his review of the W fishing kayak he got last December.

Robert is an avid kayak fisherman, who goes on kayak fishing expeditions in the mangroves of Western Florida. He has a lot to tell about his fishing techniques, which include fresh live bait and paddling standing while scouting for game fish.

Robert’s first time in the W fishing kayak story is particularly educating.

Says Robert about his W fishing kayak: -”I don’t believe there is anything else out there, in this price range, with the capability of this craft.”

He rigged his W fishing kayak with super-silent paddle holders, and other interesting devices.

Here’s a funny movie that Jeff sent us from Florida:

And this is a great view of a Florida sunrise caught by Jeff’s camera:

“Yesterday was the classic fishing day.  The sunrise, as you saw from the picture was simply beautiful.  Air temps started out with t-shirt conmfort at around 70 degrees and warmed into a humidity free low 80s by noon.  They was just enough of a light breeze to ripple the water just a tiny bit but not so much as to hamper casting in any direction you pleased. I figured with the upcoming Jax Kayak Classic it would be a good day to experiment.
I was very surprised by the lure that out caught everything else by a huge margin today.  Most of the newer baits we are seeing in stores have some type of wiggle, sound, or eratic action built into them.  That is the current fad and of course every lure firm has examples in their lineup of baits.  While I was prepareing my tackle Friday night I cam across three little lures long discontinued by by L&S Bait Company under their Mirrolure brand here in Florida.  These folks are known for their tough durable saltwater hard baits and I do have a number of them in my tackle stash.  What I came upon were three little Mirrolure 3M3 ultralight topwater plugs.  The first one I picked up had rusted hook tips so I dug through my hook supply looking for replacements.  I found two that would work.  One a standard #6 treble and the other a dressed #6 treble.  I swithced them out and tied the lure to my old Ugly Stick pack rod with one of my Daiwa 1300SS reels.  The line was 8lb test mono with a 15lb Flurocarbon leader.  This little lure has no rattles no particular wiggle or wild action.  It just glides along and does pretty much nothing looking to all the world like a tiny glass minnow just moving near the surface.

Sometimes that lack of obvious action is what the fish want.  I would toss it out and not all that far since it’s very light at 1/8oz and has the aerodinamic flight of a potato chip.  Once it hit the water I would just reel it in ever so slowly.  There were times yesterday it was a fish on each cast and the type varied.

I caugfht redfish on it, blue fish, sea trout, and ladyfish they all seemed to key in on the almost total lack of action.  My fear was on such light tackle I would loose the fish since the bait is so tiny.  But those nasty sharp little hooks held on and the fish came to net or hand.  I guess the moral here is just beacuse the lure is old fashioned and out of date don’t think the fish will ignore it.  At this point it might become my secret weapon.

I guess your website is even seen by seakayakers.  I was fishing next to a small island when a group of 10 sea kayakers went through bird watching.  As they glided past me I could hear the comments.  Words like “hey there is that boat I told you about”,” that is so cool”, and “I’ll bet it’s easier to get around than these things”.  I just waved and wished them well.– Jeff”

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

-”Today was an excellent day to be kayak fishing, especially from the W.  I started with a topwater plug called a Super Spook Jr it caught a number of bluefish before being ripped off the line when it was swarmed by a two or three of them at once.  The topwater action was fantastic with hits on every cast.  It was so good I stayed staked out in one spot for nearly four hours catching and releasing ladyfish, bluefish, and jacks.

Even managed three undersized flounder.  I’m sure if I had been in any kayak but a W that long in the boat in one place would have been nearly impossible. All of the topwater fish were caught using my little Rugged Flex Emmrod equipped with a Curado 200B casting reel spooled with 16 mono line.  I did add a short 20lb fluorocarbon leader since all of this action was with very fast toothy fish.  Once that Super Spook met it’s fate and was bitten off I tied on a Chug Bug and continued catching fish on the top.

Once the topwater water bite cooled off I changed over to another of my vintage outfits.  The rod was a first generation Ugly Stick four piece fly/spin pack rod.  I had it changed over to a spinning rod years ago and rewrapped with SIC guides.  Combined with one of my Daiwa 1300SS reels spooled with 8lb mono it’s just plain fun to fish with.  I used a short fluorocarbon leader just like the other outfit and for a lure used a small Cotee jig head and a 2 inch Gulp shrimp.  Once again fish after fish fell to that combination.
The day was an absolute blast.  The kind of day I wish I had someone along who had really never caught to many fish since today they would have had a ball.  You can never predict having days like this only keep fishing and hope they will happen.  I did not get any so called game fish, many would call today’s catches trash fish.  As far as I’m concerned the day could not have been much better.  It was loaded with action and by the time I headed in just after 2PM my arms hurt from all the fish fighting. –Jeff”

This is a new kayak fishing movie from Jeff, in which he shows the area where he likes to fish, in near the 206 bridge, in Florida. Jeff shot this movie at the beginning of the fishing trip he reported yesterday.

Jeff, the expert saltwater kayak fisherman from Florida, sent this new movies he shot.
He went on a shallow water fishing trip, looking for flounder.
The first movie is from the beach, before launching his W fishing kayak:

The second movie was shot by Jeff from the cockpit of his W fishing kayak, right under the 206 bridge. This is his favorite fishing spot in this area.

In Jeff’s own words:
-”The wind got pretty nasty at one point and would have been a royal pain for most kayakers. The W however time and again proves itself as a boat that handles the wind very well. I only got two flounder that were legal out of the nine caught so at least we have a start toward a nice meal. Maybe later this coming week I’ll have a chance to get out again. From a technical side the first fish hit a Gulp shrimp on a jig head. But then it stopped so I switched to a older style 1/8oz Cotee jig with a 1 inch Gulp crab. The next eight flounder crushed that as did two very tiny ladyfish.
–Jeff”

And this last movie shows Jeff paddling against the wind:

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.

This is a new kayak fishing report, and a movie that Jeff shot from the cockpit of his W fishing kayak while he was scouting for fish in low tide near the I-95 206 bridge, in Florida.

Jeff is paddling his fishing kayak carefully between the partially exposed oyster beds, so as not to risk scratching it:

And this is Jeff’s report:
-”Yesterday was finally a day where I actually caught fish to eat. It was all flounder and I ended up catching 14 of them with three of legal size to keep. That many fish made for a great meal here at the house last night. The final dish was a Mediterranean flounder baked in the oven, served with asparagus spears and mashed red potatoes on the side. There were no left overs, the meal was outstanding. Eating like that I think I’ll start considering bringing home fish more often. Flounder are so easy to clean it’s like they were designed as food.
So far as the fishing day it started off almost with a disaster. I had taken the W kayak down the stairs at Shady Oyster and then noticed the huge tug heading toward the 206 bridge. Thank goodness it was not full high tide or the resulting waves would have washed me right back up the stairs. I’ve attached pictures of that tug and the resulting waves heading toward the launch.

It was a beautiful day just a little chilly in the morning but it warmed nicely. The water was very clear and you could see the flounder fighting a good five feet under the W kayak as they came up. Although I changed out lures a bit before I found what they wanted once discovered it was a blast. They ended up wanting a 1/8oz Cotee jig tipped with a Gulp shrimp or a Redfish Magic with a paddle tail in clear green sparkle. As I caught ones that were legal they were just unhooked and tossed into the hull behind me. With a wet rag on top of them they stayed nice and fresh till cleaned then prepared. So goes another successful trip in the W kayak.

– Jeff”

Rudders are almost a necessity in modern SOT and sit-in fishing kayaks, simply because most of these kayaks have become so wide that they lost the ability to track, which is essential for any water craft.

The increase in width is the kayak manufacturers’ response the the demand for more stability, and it comes at a price of lesser speed and poor control, I.E. lack of tracking capability that’s often coupled with lackluster performance when it comes to maneuverability.

Interestingly, no W-kayak paddler or fisherman has ever felt the need for a rudder. This fact is amazing, considering the W-kayak is shorter than most kayaks out there, and considering the fact that people are using it for multitude of applications in a wide range of aquatic environments, including long trips in the ocean, big lakes and wide rivers, where good tracking capabilities are an absolute necessity.

So what’s the problem with rudders?

First of all, they cost extra money, and good rudders cost a lot.

Second, and more importantly, they slow down your kayak, and are often cumbersome and difficult to handle. After all, there are other things you’d like to do when you’re in your kayak, such as paddling or fishing, rather than steering with a rudder.

Third, and that’s really too bad for paddlers and fishermen who go in shallow water - Rudders have a nasty tendency to get stuck in the bottom, or bump into rocks or branches down there, or get entangled in sea weed, so they limit your range of paddling and fishing.

And fourth, like any mechanical device, rudder systems can break, and their cables can get torn. This problem can turn out to be anywhere between unpleasant and dangerous, especially if you’re far from shore and the weather is getting nasty, the wind is picking up, it’s getting dark, the tide is getting strong etc.

In sum, rudders seem to be yet another necessary evil that’s imposed on the sit-in and SOT kayak fisherman, and W-kayakers and kayak fishermen should be thankful they don’t need to purchase and use such devices.

-”I was out yesterday much closer to home over at Pellicer.  I was by myself and had quite bit of time to reflect on the W kayak and just how well it does work for fishing.
It was raining yesterday and of course you have to be able to keep some items dry.  Having those 2 Rubbermaid trash cans one on each side in front of me is ideal.  They slide very easily out of the way and in fact deep enough in you can still tuck up into the bow with your knees in the hulls to fight larger fish.

Between the two cans I have all the tackle I need plus drinks, snacks, and assorted tools.

When I transport the boat I put both cans into one hull still out of the rain by the way.  The other hull gets the paddle, stakeout pole, net, etc.

I’ll have to do another short video of moving those cans around.  I think the only place I really moved one was in that rigging one months back.
Dragging the W kayak is so much easier than any other paddle craft.  Yesterday I had lots of dragging over sand bars to get where I wanted.  Most kayaks or canoes are horrible to drag.  Way too much hull contact and then they tip around throwing your gear all over.  Also retry into deeper sections is easy.  Just hop in at the edge and tip you way into the water then off you go.  Kind of like the ice paddling movie.

–Jeff”

And since this blog is about fun, here’s the movie that Jeff mentioned:

More from Jeff McGovern:

-”If I could only match up beautiful days with fabulous fishing success that would be wonderful. As it was we fished the new area blind having no idea how or where to begin in such a large body of water.  But in checking with some of the guides we met on the ramp even they had a tough day which of course happens sometimes. My friend Jeff is a fairly new to kayak fishing having spent years fishing from powered boats.  He is learning fast, handles his kayak very well and is getting in shape for longer paddling sessions each times we head out. Funny how all that paddling can keep you in shape.”

-”The area we fished yesterday was out of River Breeze Park in Volusia county Florida. The park itself is a popular launching spot for many of the local guides who regularly fish with clients in the north section of Mosquito Lagoon. There are modern shower and restrooms right near the ramp. That’s real nice for a day where you might have been pushing through mud for hours at a time to reach prime fishing spots. Fishing in this area is accomplished via sight fishing where you can actually see the fish to cast it. This might be an individual but most of the time you are casting to huge schools of redfish sometimes numbering in the hundreds. That is why guides use flats boats with a poling tower to allow them to see long distances. They will then pole the boat into position for a proper cast, this type of approach is much more silent than a trolling motor and not as likely to spook the school.”

-”In the kayak world the stand-up capability of the W shines here since compared to any other kayak you can see better simply by getting up. For years canoes were the silent boat of choice here for anglers wanting the best possible silent approach. That segment is now being taken over by fishing rigged kayaks.
We did see fish but they were not interested in our offerings. Toward the end of the day we had figured out a pattern for trout but had to leave after only a couple of fish. But that is information for the next time and gives us a positive place to begin. I did get a chance to get out three of my older three piece saltwater pack rods for a workout. They have been stored away in some cases for almost five years. It was good to get them out again and find yet another set of rods perfect for use in the W. Those old rods really respond well to the cannon style launch you can get casting from a W saddle.”

And here is the next segment of Jeff McGovern’s video report from the kayak fishing trip he made together with his fellow kayak fisherman Jeff Moran in Mosquito Lagoon, Florida:

PS–
60-70 lb of kayak fishing gear on board Jeff’s kayak, plus Jeff is a big guy who weighs 245 lbs, that’s a total payload of about 300 lbs, which explains to draft issue in 6″ shallow water.

Wavewalk now offers a new stake-out pole system for fishing kayaks:

Material: Anodized aluminum.

Dimensions: 60″ long, 3/4″ diameter.

Features:

1. Sealed, pointed end.
2. Comfortable, large size, Y-shaped handle.
3. Sliding aluminum collar with fixed stop, line clip and foam float (bright orange).
4. 8′ long, 1/4″ thick, braided, buoyant polypropylene line (yellow).

Price: $65.

This is another instruction movie from Jeff McGovern, who revisits the same oyster beds in his W fishing kayak, this time at high tide:

Jeff caught a Needle fish by accident in while fishing teh Florida flats, and this is the movie he shot of it:

Thanks Jeff!

Beginning kayak fisherman are warned about the potential damage that shellfish can do to their fishing kayaks. This is especially true with oysters, who grow in shallow water in large communities called ‘oyster beds’.

This movie that Jeff McGovern shot right in the midst of a vast field of oyster beds examines this issue from a close distance:

And since you can’t mention oyster beds without talking about scratches, this blog post might be useful to read.

Jeff McGovern likes to fish in shallow saltwater, in the flats near the 206 bridge.

In this movie Jeff invites the viewer on board his wavewalk fishing kayak, where he casts from and lands two redfish. This is a ‘must see”:

How did he get that fish to talk like that?