Due to back problems, conventional kayaks and canoes have become unusable for Russell, so he ordered a W500 for himself to paddle solo and in tandem with his wife Wendy:

It got a first run up the Canning River. Wendy & I got in straight up and pushed off – I must say it very stable and everything I expected it to be.
Paddling double up required some focus, as I am used to a Canadian Canoe which is what we used in Zimbabwe.
As a fishing and bird watching platform the W500 is certainly is a great unit. The bird watching from the kayak has been great.

Most of my focus has been directed towards sorting out a pulley harness to store the kayak in our garage roof and make it easy to load when we go out.
Also thinking about installing a forward mount electric trolling motor that’s foot controlled and leaves your hands free for other things – used to be great for bass fishing in Zimbabwe.

Everything is fine – have not used the kayak as much as I would have liked.
I am still taking things very slowly still.
Wendy and I have had 2 great trips on the sea out to Penguin Island and Seal Island just south of Rockingham which we loved. On the last trip I had a session standing and paddling on my own which certainly highlighted why I went for the W500, plus how much less drag there is opposed to carrying 2 up.
On Saturday I took a friend up the Canning which he loved.
Plans in April / May to go up to Denmark, 450kms south of Perth to test it on the inlets there & hopefully will get some photos for you.
The only photos I have taken to date are of mostly of birds and some of the seals and for that the W500 has proved to be wonderful – it gets you right into the zone. Within a year or 2 we should also get back up to the Ningaloo reef off Exmouth again which is what I really wanted the Kayak for – To get us out to the whales just on the edge of the reef and the fishing.
I have made up a roof extension frame to help load up the W500 onto our Grand Vitara roof – thanks to the good advice from your site and current project is to make some trolley wheels so I can manage on my own.
At least the w500 gets me into spots that are good for the soul.

Russell Dodd

First and foremost, kayak fishing in tandem involves a Safety issue, because two passengers moving about in the cockpit or on the deck of a fishing kayak in an uncoordinated manner can easily destabilize it. in such case, it’s enough to have one passenger overreacting to cause the kayak to capsize. Obviously, having fishing rods, lures and sometimes even fish flying around in all directions in space that’s so severely restricted isn’t a good recipe for safety. In fact, it is dangerous.

The second problem to consider is Convenience – Every angler wants and needs to have an unlimited range of motion around them, to allow them to perform basic things such as casting, reeling in, landing the fish, unhooking, and so on. Anglers must have a comfortable workspace for tying knots, attaching lures and bait, and doing other technical work involving handling of fishing gear, including sharp objects such as fishing hooks, and knives, which is hazardous in itself, without adding the fact that the angler is sitting in a small vessel, with a fishing partner a few feet away…
Besides, when you’re fishing in tandem, the last thing you want to deal with is your fishing lines getting entangled with those of your partner, and you certainly don’t want to be part of an accident involving someone getting poked in the eye by a misguided fishing hook, etc.. -The possibilities for a disaster are so numerous that it’s practically impossible to list them all in this article, but we assume the reader gets the point…

Kayak fishing in tandem is more complicated, and more difficult than tandem kayak paddling, and we don’t fully recommend it, unless the crew is composed of one experienced adult kayak angler and one junior kayak angler, such as a child, who needs guidance and often even technical help with handling their fishing gear. In such case the obvious choice for a kayak is the W500 that features a 6 ft long cockpit, and a longitudinal seat that makes it possible for the two anglers to sit separated by a long span, but also to approach each other effortlessly and safely when they need to do something together, such as in case the experienced angler has to instruct the novice, or help them hands-on perform a fishing related task.
A small sized angler such as a child may get confused, or overexcited, but they’re unlikely to cause a severe balance problem that the second, bigger, and more experienced will find impossible to deal with.
A large size angler getting into some kind of trouble that would cause them to lose balance and tilt the kayak sideways is a totally different problem that the second crew member might not be able to correct, especially if they’re caught off guard.
This movie was shot by Jesse Martinez in his W500, during a fishing trip in which he took his two small kids on board:

More information about kayak fishing with children >>

Kayak fishing standing in tandem is even more problematic, and should be practiced only after both anglers have practiced tandem kayak fishing before, as well as stand up kayak fishing. Needless to say that the kayak used for this type of fishing should fit for such such activities. Note that vendors’ claims about their kayaks’ stability are often exaggerated, and should be viewed with both caution, common sense, and healthy skepticism. Before getting hooked on the idea of kayak fishing in tandem, remember that it’s you and your fishing buddy that are going to be sitting in kayak out there in the real world, and not some guys who got paid to demonstrate a fishing kayak in front of a camera.

Kayak fishing offshore in tandem is even more difficult, and hazardous, and we do not recommend it, unless both anglers are lightweight and very experienced with fishing together out of small boats, such as dinghies and canoes. Fishing in tandem out of a kayak equipped with a powerful motor, such as an outboard gas engine adds yet another level of risk, and in such cases you may consider outfitting your kayak with a pair of large size outriggers, such as this South Korean couple is using on an offshore fishing trip >>



We kept a W paddle on board to help us pole while launching and beaching in shallow water, and as a contingency plan.
The kayak was very stable, even when we turned at full throttle.

Read more about motorizing your fishing kayak >>

More about kayak fishing and paddling in South Korea >>

Gary is Wavewalk Kayaks’ dealer in Minnesota. More pictures on MinnYaks >>