10 thoughts on “Kayak fishing in Citrus county, FL”

  1. Thanks Gary,

    Looks great!
    Glad to hear that you’re catching a lot of snook lately. Pictures would be greatly appreciated 🙂

    “Estimated two million kayak anglers in the US”?… It’s more like 200,000 IMO, based on the fact that the world’s biggest open kayak fishing tournament, which takes place in Jacksonville, FL, at the heart of the area where kayak fishing is the most popular, gets around 400 participants every year, and this number hasn’t changed over the past decade.
    I would agree with two million people having tried to fish out of kayaks over the past 15 years, but the dropout rate from this sport is huge mainly due to ergonomic issues, so not many stay with it.

    Yoav

  2. Thanks, Yoav………..I have no idea on the number – I just provided what one of the yak journals estimated. According to the Jax club person I contacted, that group has a membership of about 7,000. I actually got a nice snook yesterday and tried to get a shot of it for you, but my “trusty” point and click told me I had a memory card issue?? Will check that out.

    As far as the presentation goes, I simply was trying to promote yak fishing in our county as a means to improve tourism (along with the popular manatee swimming program and scalloping). I’m not optimistic as our “ingenious” local officials don’t want to spend money on worthwhile projects, but it was fun getting in front of an audience again.

  3. Very good presentation, Gary.

    Working with your local Chamber of Commerce is a grand idea. These are hard working people who have a real investment in the economic growth and quality of life in our communities.

    There would be a lot more kayak fishermen (and women) if they owned a Wavewalk.

    Just MHO.

    Larry J.

  4. I agree with you, Larry.
    It’s basically an issue of price – The average retail price of a kayak in the US is somewhere between $500 and $550.
    If we offered the Wavewalks at such prices we’d sell a huge number of them, and lose tons of money 😀

    Yoav

  5. The Jax club’s website states that (quote): “Most users ever online was 110 on Wed Sep 05, 2007 9:38 am”, and that the total number of forum members is 7,400 (aggregated..), which is surprisingly low for a website of this type that’s been online for over a decade, and considering the fact that quite a few people have opened more than one account over the years.
    This club is the world’s oldest, largest, and best organized, and it serves northeastern Florida, which is the #1 kayak fishing area in the world.
    I would not hesitate to say that Jacksonville is the capital of kayak fishing 🙂

  6. Gary,

    That parcel adjacent to the Ozello park would be a good candidate for an old school Florida fish camp.

    It would be interesting to see how your local commissioners feel about heritage tourism.

    Larry J.

  7. Thanks, Yoav, Larry………That parcel, if combined with the existing park, could support a good yak fishing and eco-tourism crowd. Good fishing can be had within sight of the area. Unfortunately, all of the tourism efforts in the county are directed towards manatee viewing in the winter and scalloping in the summer. I’m not complaining though as I’ll be able to continue having much of the backcountry to myself.

    I think we may have 10 or more Wavewalk owners in the county now, including several of us old foggies whose degenerating disc conditions preclude long stays in the L position.

  8. Gary,

    There are many more Wavewalk owners than that in Citrus county. Mike alone sold over a dozen units there during the short period in which he was our dealer, Gene has been selling there for five years, and we’ve sold a bunch too for the past decade, factory direct.

    Yoav

  10. Unfortunately, I know only a few of the people to whom Mike and Gene sold boats in your area.

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