-”My fishing last Sunday was off the chain. I caught a red an inch bigger than the one a few days before so it was just at the top of the legal limit. It hit a topwater lure that I worked with what we call a “walking the dog” action . Pulled like a freight train and actually had me and the W in tow for almost three minutes. It headed right down a long channel between oyster beds pulling line against the drag at times. Finally I was able to turn it’s head and within another few minutes got it to the net.
I managed to top off the red with three nice chunky legal seatrout so the meal should be great. Other than the fish that went home I caught 11 more trout and 12 redfish of which 4 were actually legal as well but the limit is one per day to take. On top of that I got 4 jacks and three ladyfish. In the interest of the gear heads like me the tackle was as follows:
Redfish 27″ - 16lb Momoi mono line with no leader tied with a loop knot to a Rapala Skitterwalk the smaller size. The rod was a St Croix glass 5′10″ casting rod and the reel an ABU Record 40
All the others - 10lb Fireline with either a 15 or 20 lb FC leader. The lures were a Mirrodine plug or a 1/8oz red jig head with a Sugar Glow Gulp 3 inch shrimp. The rods were St Croix 7′ Med light Premiers and the reels my old favorite Daiwa 1300SS Whisker Series.
I also tried out a new W accessory that worked very well called a shallow water stick pin. I’ll write that up soon after a few more weeks of trials.–Jeff”
Jeremy is a sea kayaker and small boat sailor from Mississippi, who got his W-kayak a short time ago. The reason we’re particularly interested in him is that he’s planning to outfit his W-boat with a rather powerful DIY sailing rig. We sent him some pultruded fiberglass tubes that are strong and lightweight enough to be used as masts and booms for his sails.
Here’s Jeremy’ second report:
-”O.K., I’m up and wave walking around in 10 mph winds and 12 inch waves. Very cool. After standing sitting feels much more stable. You’re right, it’s very much like riding a horse or bike, and all my kayaking reflexes are wrong, but I’m adjusting.
Now that I’m feeling more comfortable with the stability I’ll start fooling around with the masts you sent (thanks!)”
An unexpected but nice attribute of the boat is that I wheel it on a dolly to beach, about 100 yards or so, and unlike a standard kayak which requires me to twist around while pulling, I am centered pulling the wavewalk ( I put a paddle through the handles to pull on), and so can use both hands with no asymmetrical exertion/rotation. Doesn’t sound like much, but on a long pull every little thing helps.
The Wavewalk kayak offers some 10 cubic feet of dry storage space inside its cockpit and hull tips. However, you can also use the space on top of the hull tips to store and attach additional gear.
Wayne Taylor, from Florida, outfitted his unique W-kayak with two surfaces - one on each side of the cockpit. He bolted them to the hulls, and added Nylon eyelets as attachment points.
The front panel serves among other things to support a fish finder display box:
The rear panel hosts Wayne’s watertight tackle box:
-”About that big red. The lure I used was a Gulp 3 inch shrimp on a 1/8oz jig head. The line was 10lb Fireline and had an 18 inch leader of 15lb fluorocarbon tied into it. The rod was one of my little custom sticks made by Chaos Rods in South Florida. That company makes a series of kids rods I find very handy in tight places. I had two with my yesterday I refer to them as the “twins”, two little 5′ spinning rods built on what the makers call NBU or “no break um” blanks. Very tough and in this case very pretty with gold and pink hand wrapped thread. The reel was a Daiwa 1300SS Tournament, my all time favorite light spinning reel. So far as working the lure I tossed it out and let it sit on the bottom for maybe five minute before moving it.At the first twitch it got clobbered very hard.
That fish ran me around an entire section of grass bed and then right through it. It took about 8 minutes or so of getting yanked around before net and fish met up.
Having the W’s narrow beam and vertical sides helped since I was able to get right above it and net it before it took off on another romp through the grass. Of course after landing it I just dropped it and the net into the hull and got the rod out of the way. Here is a place sometimes in a sit on top you might lose a rod or at least dunk it.
Having a fish in your lap is no where near as good as being able to drop it into a hull space. In this case I just put net and all down there until I got reorganized. “
Here’s a movie that Roxanne Davis sent us from Connecticut. Rox shot it from the cockpit of her W-kayak that she rigged with an electric trolling motor and foot-activated steering system:
This rigging job is a marvel, and Rox has some interesting tips to share on how to work with a motorized W fishing kayak: It’s no longer just about trolling - it’s actual combat technique.
Jeremy is a long time sea kayaker and small boat sailor from Mississippi, who got his new W-kayak a few days ago. Here is his first impression:
-”It arrived last thursday. 15 minutes later I put it in the water in my work clothes including shoes and tie. Spent about 30 minutes playing around.
Clearly there’s a learning curve as it felt a bit wobbly, I’d guess because of the straight sides and high seat position. I didn’t test it to discover the tipping point as I was in my suit complete with cell phone. I half stood up, feeling a bit shaky, but then remembered cell phone and sat back down. I’m sure I’ll be more relaxed when I figure out where the tip point is. I had company this weekend so it will be Saturday before I get a chance to really test it out.
On the plus side, I exited with dry shoes, a dry rear, and went back to work without ever changing. Could never have done that in one of my [traditional] kayaks. Also, was able to move fore and aft with no issues, again not possible in [my other] kayaks.—J.”
Advertisers often cross the line between fact and fiction, and sometimes they cross the line between true and false.
For example, a well known kayak fishing store has recently advertised on its website that one of the brands it offers* for sale is (quote): “The only kayak to truly let you stand & fish with 100% confidence”.
By doing so that store made a number of significant mistakes:
First, they openly admitted that all the other brands they have advertised for years as being suitable for stand up fishing in fact do not offer to stand and fish with 100% confidence. This is exactly what what Wavewalk has been saying all the time.
Second, that store is misleading the public to think that particular kayak is safe, while it is far from being so since its outriggers are positioned at the stern, and therefore leave the standing kayak fisherman with no extra buoyancy at all to support him on the sides of his kayak’s middle and front parts, where he’s likely to tilt his boat when fishing. Anyone can see that.
Third, if a kayak fisherman standing on that SOT loses balance, as he’s expected to do sooner or later, he has a metal frame to hold on to, but nothing to fall down on - Assuming that fisherman is holding his fishing rod with both hands (common practice…) he’s likely to fall overboard, as he would from any other SOT or sit-in kayak. In fact, holding on to the metal frame increases leverage on the hull and makes it easier to tilt sideways and overturn.
And last but not least, that store’s statement is obviously false since the only fishing kayak that really offers fishermen to stand up and fish with 100% confidence and safety is the Wavewalk, as anyone can see by watching these movies at the bottom of the article discussing stability in kayaks.
* a sit-on-top kayak equipped with folding outriggers
Here’s another one of those spectacular (goofy?) demo movies we produce from time to time. It shows a rather special stand up paddling technique involving hopping while paddling…
Totally useless in terms of kayaking or fishing, but it’s the best workout I can imagine.
This movie shows two large size adults paddling the 2009 Wavewalk kayak in tandem, on flat water. The bow paddle is 6′3″ tall (190 cm), and weighs 245 lb. (111 kg) The stern paddler is 6′ tall (183), and weighs 195 lb. (88 kg) Their life jackets, clothes, shoes, paddles and gear add 30 lb. (14 kg) Total load: 470 lb. (213 kg) The estimated draft is about 11″
WARNING: The W-kayak in this movie is overloaded, and only two experienced W-kayakers like the ones featuring here can paddle it safely. You should not expect to be able to paddle in tandem in such conditions before becoming a seasoned W-kayaker.
Any attempt to paddle this boat in tandem with two adult paddlers of any size before both of them have gained considerable W-kayaking practice is unsafe.
Recent drops in fuel prices make it easier for the trucking companies, and eventually they trickle down to us.
Wavewalk has lowered its shipping prices for its kayaks twice in recent weeks for all continental US destinations and Hawaii.
These are the new prices for shipping a single kayak to your home address, effective today:
Northeast: $165, Midwest: $175, Southeast: $175,
North Central: $195, South Central: $195, Northwest: $225,
Southwest: $225, Hawaii: $455
Doug Hord is a W-kayak fisherman from Long Island, NY, who got his boat early this year.
Here’s what Doug writes:
-”Just came in from a couple hours in the inlet after work — 1 14# bass. Got a 30 and a 16 last Sat night. I don’t fish from it too often; I might throw a swimmer out on my way to and fro. For the season so far I have around 75 bass over 10#/30″. I’m running second place in the season long New York Surf Fishing contest. I’m totally satisfied with the Wavewalk. If I wreck this one somehow I’ll order another within a week. It gets me access to good fishing areas and it gets me away from the crowds. Only ‘problem’ is I put a couple pretty deep gouges on the bottom while fishing in mussel beds and around rock jetties –
Doug”
Here are Jeff’s latest reflections on this subject:
-”The Wavewalk might work well as a craft rowed forward. I noticed on the web there are actually a few sites that have such arrangements in canoe type craft or skiffs. What struck me was actually a movie I remembered from maybe 20 years ago where the title character was escaping pursuit through the Louisiana swamps in such a boat. Called a “Stump Jumper” it allowed the user to go over logs and other shallow obstructions. Facing forward of course they could be seen and the best path over them decided. The W-kayak should handle that task better than almost anything else out there right now. Mounted in front of the user on the seat such a device if not too heavy might work.
For fishing there are times rowing works pretty well, trolling comes to mind. Years ago at the place we go in Canada rowing was the preferred method for trolling weedy bays. Since trolling motors were rare and the outboards of the day would not run smoothly at lower speeds rowing handled the task. For regular fishing not trolling oars do get in the way. Anything that can snag a line will at some point. Shipping the oars or swinging them in the boat helps but they are still in the way. By the same token a paddle kept across the middle is almost as bad.
I liked the one fellows approach to rowing the W. For freshwater and bass fishing it has some merit since the fish are more easily landed. His set up is just one more example of how expandable the W is and you have grown the line up of real world fishing boats. –Jeff”
-”I had a good day today, caught 15 bass but no lunkers. I am sending you some more pics:
This is how I mounted the oar locks.
One is of the window weight anchor, lure used to catch bass , and the kind of fish attractant I like called Mega Strike that I have to buy off the web.
The blue tool holder is made from a 5 Gal bucket tool bag, I cut it in half and mounted it with a strip of 1 in x 1/8 aluminum. Works great for me.
Hi,
First of all that rowing piece is interesting. I think the W would be pretty easy to row. I got to thinking about a sculling oar at the rear, that might work as well. Also at one time there was a rear paddle/oar that attached like a trolling motor for silent going before the days of the electric units. I’ll have to see if they are still around on some fashion. I sent you another video this time landing a flounder.
Yesterday the fishing was fantastic. I managed 4 nice flounder all about the same size, 5 sea trout, and a half dozen ladyfish. It’s good to see the game fish again as it indicates the area is finally coming back from the red tide last year.
Attached is a closeup shot of a Gulp shrimp on a jig head in a trout’s mouth and one of the trout on the seat. You can really see those nasty little fangs.
Coming in the wind had kicked up some but the wave action was like a washing machine thanks to a whole line of boats coming into the bridge area at the same time. These were big ones all over 30 ft and they kicked up huge wakes in the process all of which made the water very choppy. The W handled it without pause and not one drop got inside except from the paddle shaft. The reason I commented on this was a fellow yaker saw me me heading in and was amazed I didn’t swamp the W or get it filled with water. He said at times I disappeared into the waves with only my head and shoulders showing. As far as I was concerned I was only worried about hitting a rod tip on the low hanging trees on the way in.
Following my request, Wayne was kind enough to send us this video showing him using his unique rowing Wavewalk fishing kayak equipped with outriggers he designed and made by himself.
The video shows how efficient the oars are when it comes to directing the boat, and how Wayne uses one hand to hold his fishing rod while the other hand maneuvers the boat precisely using one oar at a time:
Wayne says that in the past six decades he’s fished from every possible small boat, including canoes, kayaks and jon boats, and according to him his Wavewalk is the “best one man fishing boat out there”.
-”I went this AM and caught some bass. It was very windy and the oars saved the day. I caught all the bass on Zoom Vibra-tail worm, white and no weight.”
Thanks Wayne!
Using oars for correcting the fishing kayak’s position under wind seems to offer certain advantages over the use of an anchor trolley system for this purpose.
Anchors are alien to traditional kayaks as much as oars are, but luckily there are creative fishermen that find ways to make these things work together. This is one of things that are fascinating about kayak fishing: It’s constantly evolving, both in methods and gear.
Wayne Taylor from Florida outfitted his Wavewalk fishing kayak with a pair of DIY outriggers and oarlocks (read more about this boat). He sent this picture today with a short report:
-”I went fishing today with my wave walk. The oar concept works great for me as I fish small bodies of water. I’ve tried the trolling motor concept and it was too much weight and hassle for me. The issue about the oars is, I can make minor corrections to my position without laying my rod down. Using one oar at a time etc.”
Judging by Wayne’s catch, his concept works pretty well, doesn’t it?
Mark Benning is an outdoor sportsman from Welland, Ontario. He’s also an avid fisherman who got his W kayak not long ago.
Being 6′ 4″ tall he needs a somehow longer paddle - a 9′ 8″ Wavewalk PSP in this case.
Mark also has the body type that matches his height, which makes him weigh 240 lbs, and consequently makes the W kayak look a bit smaller than it looks when other people are paddling it.
Mark is learning about the different paddling positions, and improving his W kayaking technique.
Dennis Vircks is a saltwater Wavewalk kayak fisherman from Huntington Beach, California.
Dennis contributed his kayak review to this website, and many excellent outfitting and rigging ideas, such as this ’storm proof’ paddle holder system:
As it’s easy to see, this paddle isn’t going anywhere even when Dennis is fighting a fish or busy with his electric trolling motor, and even if the kayak is in turbulent water.
This picture shows the inner side of the cockpit, where Dennis attached a Nylon eyelet that serves as an attachment point for the hook on the bungee cord: The hook prevents the bungee from coming out of its place when holding the paddle.
The last picture shows the paddle holder from inside the cockpit, with the hook securing the bungee to the eyelet.
Dennis Vircks is a saltwater Wavewalk kayak fisherman from Huntington Beach, California.
The hook prevents the bungee from coming out of its place when holding the paddle.