WAVEWALK KAYAKS

Jesse got his W300 fishing kayak in January. He fishes mainly in the ocean near San Diego, in the harbor and in the lagoon. In this short cellphone movie Jesse is showing a 6 lbs spotfin croaker he caught:

Here is a collection of fish Jesse caught on another good day, including (top) a sand bass and (bottom) another 6 lbs spotfin croaker.

Jesse mounted a trolling motor on his W300, and he gets to speeds up to 10 mph with it. This picture shows the transom mount Jesse built:

Jesse also rigged his W300 fishing kayak with carry wheels: Sometimes Jesse takes his dog for a ride in his kayak:

Jesse likes to paddle his W300 standing up, and fish standing as well. Jesse also likes to fish for halibut. His favorite lures are Berkley Gulp Alive, and he recommends smearing the lures with Uni Butter (sea-urchin flavored butter) that attracts fish better than anything, both in saltwater and freshwater.

Jesse is the owner of the Five Star Pool & Spa Service for care of aquatic systems.

I have back pain and  and have to say my w-500 is the most comfortable boat I’ve ever paddled. I had an unfortunate encounter with a bad chiropractor and have issues with L5 and sciatica now, and had tried SOT kayaks with bad results… but I could see the w kayak is entirely a different story after only one outing!

After I’ve had my w500 out for only 4 times and I could see that once you get your technique down it’s FAST, easily as fast as a 13′ kayak (if you’re in the aggressive mounted position)… and the leaning into a turn works really well, especially if you’re seated near the stern. I have gotten used to a milder cruising stroke in the seated position that allows me to paddle for literally hours with no problems or back pain (holding the paddle closer towards the center and letting the paddle and gravity do some of the work).

Last night I took it out into some choppier, high traffic areas and got a lot of inquiries from some sea-kayakers who were very impressed with a boat you can stand up in.

I am loving my w-500… After I’d been out about 6 times, took it out with a 230lb friend… I am an intermediate paddler and my friend had minor experience. After several failed attempts to paddle together I had him try it solo. He had a good sense of humor, and I’m not deterred!  Good times indeed!

I am very comfortable paddling it by myself now and spend 1/3 of the time paddling it standing, and get tons of inquiries. I’m getting questions from Salmon fishers and sailboats (mostly because I row near a fishing/sailing boat moorage now).

I did not try my W500 first before I ordered it, I simply did TONS of research and asked many people I know who are experienced. I am one of the very satisfied customers who’s incredibly happy with his decision, it was not hasty.
I was asked last night by some kayaker where he could try a w-kayak… i said “right here, right now… pull up to that dock and I’ll let you give her a spin”

The last 3 times I’ve been out on my w-500 was to lurk outside the fish ladder and watch the salmon return to spawn, kind of fun watching 24″ fish jumping all around you, oh but I have a better view than everyone else!

I have still yet to try my w-500 for fishing, but will soon once I find a few good nearby spots, and will be sure to take more pics.

Thanks again and happy paddling!

-=John




Both my husband Gary and I enjoyed the W kayak very much.
I had a hip injury a few years ago and as a result, certain sitting positions have proven difficult. When I used the kayak, it was surprisingly a very comfortable kayak. Sitting in it wasn’t difficult since I was able to move my leg by extending it, bending it and standing when needed.
Overall, quite comfortable. I am not a big person, 120 lbs, and managed to travel down our lake with ease.

When Gary used it, he found it easy to paddle. Getting it in and out of the water proved easy enough. I think we both will enjoy it for years to come.

As for problems, none with the W kayak – only with my techniques. Tend to travel to the left but I’m sure with experience, I will be able to paddle straight.

It was better than I thought it would be.

Claire Gignac




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

Well here is an update with me launching and standing and paddling. I did this for a fellow in Georgia, on another site, he is very interested in the W300 and W500.
The Traffic noise was at its peek today, sorry its hard to hear me, well maybe not. 
You’ll see in the video just how smooth it paddles while I’m standing.
And when I land, I just paddle full steam ahead, and shift my weight to the rear as I hit the shore line where I launched, and remember, it was steep.  But the landing is not on the Video, I ran out of room!
The hulls just glide up the bank, I move forward, stand up, and walk out. Again, never getting my feet wet.

Launching the W500:

Voila!

Standing and paddling in the W500:

Happy Paddling All,

Rox

More kayak fishing stories from Roxanne

Rox’ Battle With A 20.5″ Large Mouth Bass

Noel Mascarenhas is a Texan who got his new W500 fishing kayak a few days ago… (Read Noel’s ’1st Impression Review’).

Here is his second review – story:

-”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.”

June 27 UPDATE: See Noel’s final motor rigging

This is a picture sent to us by John Brown, a W kayak fisherman from Alabama:

John’s W-kayak is a W300 F2E, with a RAM-301 deck mounted rod holder in the front.

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:

Here is new clip of Jeff McGovern paddling standing in his Wavewalk fishing kayak, during a kayak fishing expedition with his friend Jeff Moran to Mosquito Lagoon, Florida.

Camera and comments: Jeff Moran

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.