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
I got out today and thought it would be good to add to the blog. Granted we don’t have the winter weather some folks are getting slammed with but I did brave 52 degree air temps this morning.
Fishing wise the day was awesome, trout after trout, red after red, and of course those darn little blue fish tearing up lures. The trout fell to Mirrodines and DOA shrimp both classic trout lures. I managed 11 of them with all but three in the legal range, a nice bunch of fish. The redfish all hit the same topwater lure a Super Spook Jr in white & chrome with bright red eyes. The blue fish hit anytime a sinking lure got in their way near the surface.
As long as I got it under them the trout could get it. This was typical Florida winter fishing, loads of action so long as you could find the spots holding fish. As it was my final tally was 11 of those trout, 8 redfish, and at least 20 of those crazy little blues. Of course the W500 performed like a champ. By the way when I got back to Genung’s Fish Camp a number of folks were checking out the W. Hopefully some of them will be interested in buying.
Take Care, Jeff
Great day on the water. Got a nice redfish and snook, 2 nice trout including a gator, several ladies and a cat, all on topwater. Bring on the Fall.
Gary Rankel
Well got the first one out of the way this morning. Headed on over to what is now Genung’s Fish Camp and put in right around sun up. I had the hope the first fish would be some dramatic catch of a trophy sized game fish but alas it was a jack.
Followed by a dozen more through the course of the morning. Lately the area seem to be a stalking ground for schools of these little devils. They fight very hard and pull like tractors, far out of proportion to their size. All of them were caught on topwater plugs either the Chug Bug or a Super Spook.
The W500 is wonderful fishing in the grass nothing else can move through it so easily and then allow the angler to stand quickly. Stability even while using bait caster was superb and fishing those jacks standing was simple with no feeling of tipping or losing ones balance. I fished just over four straight hours before getting out to cool off wading a little bit. The boat tracks very well and handles the wakes from the ocean going yachts without any issues. Over all comfort was great and the feeling of being able to fully relax is really something.
I’ll add a foam headrest at the rear of the cowling. That’s for nap time and resting after a big catch.
The new paddle clips are removable and the same type as was on the other W kayak. This time I added a poly tubing bumper under the door hook surface so it snaps in place but can be removed easily. This is because with the others strap tied in I was snapping them off when I had to drag the boat through brush to reach the water. The hooks never broke but the ties did.
All in all now being back in a W is such a relief. Everything is easier and in fact safer than the sit insides or the sit on tops in the fleet. Next week we may have shot at a tarpon or two down in Crystal River. Wow, come to think of it the trip will have two W500’s fishing together.
–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.
-”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”
Here is a new kayak fishing report from Jeff:
-”Definite change to springtime water temps here. As I launched the W at Shady Oyster yesterday morning the water was much warmer than it has been for months. That normally means a change is due in the types of fish that will be hitting the lure. Sure enough I caught a load of ladyfish which are always on the prowl as the water gets warmer and a few bluefish that are around when it’s cold.
No food fish however since as soon as the lure hit the water it was grabbed by one of the two fish already mentioned. Darn, I was really in hopes of adding to the flounder already in the freezer. It was a fun day and as always when catching ladyfish I went through at least four changes of leader on one outfit and a couple on it’s twin.
So far as gear, spinning tackle with 10lb Fireline leadered with 15 or 20lb FC and a baitcaster with 16lb mono and no leader. Lure wise it was 1/4oz jig heads with Gulp shrimp, a topwater plug (Super Spook Jr.) and a suspending plug (MirroMinnow) When I got back both the the W and my fishing pants were covered with fish blood and slime. That’s how you can tell it was a really good day of catching. –Jeff”
Jeff McGovern’s reports from Florida:
-”I shot quite a bit today in just a short time. The fishing was off the chain, in other words, outstanding. I had only a few hours but was able to make the most of it. Catching fish with topwater lures is nothing but loads of fun - The W kayak allowed me to cast like a deck gun and really get some distance.”
And here is the movie that Jeff shot:
