By Chris Henderson
Trolling in the Wavewalk 700
In pursuit of trout and kokanee (land locked sockeye salmon) I fish by trolling. Trolling is basically putting your lure out a certain distance behind the boat and at the right depth and then moving at the right speed to maximize the effectiveness of your chosen lure. In my case I use a flaher and then an NTO Scent Spinner. This combination needs to be moved at about 1 -1.5mph. That is a constant speed. So you must paddle to fish. The Wavewalk 700 is uniquely designed for accommodate this. First you could motorize it and then it is easy. But I like things a bit more traditional. So I paddle the entire time I fish. Since I am moving about 1 mile per hour you can pretty much figure out how far I travel by how long I am on the water. In my last trip I launched at about 10:30 and then I finished at about 6pm. So I paddled about 7.5 miles. I stop for the occasional rebaiting or catching a fish but those are fairly short stops.
What makes the W700 well suited for this is the long paddle strokes that are possible vs. the multitude of short strokes in shorter kayaks and the distance the kayak glides with one stroke. It allows you to paddle slowly but go the right speed. This makes long days trolling possible. I have to build myself up but by the end of the fishing season I can go all day long.
If you want to stay traditional but want a kayak you can troll in, the W700 does great!