Kayak Fishing 101
THINGS YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT KAYAK FISHING
Wheels For Transporting Your Fishing Kayak
This article presents different approaches to transporting your kayak on land.
In most cases, you won't need wheels for your W kayak, as you'll just drag it from your vehicle to your launching spot, and back.
But if you must carry it over long stretches of asphalt or concrete pavement, you may want to consider shielding its hulls from excessive abrasion by attaching the lid of a plastic bin to the part of its hulls that come in contact with the pavement. It's an inexpensive, easy, and lightweight solution, and the lid can fold easily, so you can store it in one of the hull tips when you're fishing and paddling.
The drawback of dragging a kayak is that it's not as easy as transporting it on wheels.
Kayak anglers have different fishing styles, and they fish in different environments. This fact, as well as logistic issues, affects the way they rig their fishing kayak with wheels (or a single wheel), a kayak trolley, cart or a simple mat.
What you need from your fishing kayak wheels:
Portability
We put this benefit first, because kayak anglers are often enthusiastic about making a perfect kayak trolley, and they tend to overlook the fact that once they reach the water, they'll have to take it with them on board their kayak. Kayak wheels should be lightweight and preferably small in size, so you could easily tuck them in one of the storage compartments in the hull tips, or on top of them.
Solid Construction
You definitely don't want your wheel cart to fall apart while you're on your way from your car to the water, or back. Although it's possible to drag W fishing kayaks, it's not recommended to do it on asphalt or concrete pavement.
All-Terrain Capability
Wheels that are too small or too narrow could sink in sand, or in mud. You should remember this when you purchase the wheels for your fishing kayak trolley,
Maneuverability
Sometimes you may require to pass with your fishing kayak in tight spaces. For example, in the space between two cars in a parking lot. In such cases, being able to control your fishing kayak on wheels is important.
Ease of Use - Attachment
Attaching the wheels to your fishing kayak, as well as detaching them should be quick and easy. You definitely don't want to waste time and energy on complicated systems for attaching the trolley to your kayak.
Here Are Examples of Different Solutions Found by Kayak Anglers From All Over the USA, and One From the UK:
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Donavan Campbell, North Carolina: Wheels for W300 stream fishing kayak |
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John Zoltner, New York: W500 fishing Kayak with flip wheels |
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Doug Hord, Long Island, New York: Fishing kayak wheelcart |
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Jesse Hamilton, California: Wheels for W300 fishing kayak |
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Dennis Vircks, California: 2008, Fishing kayak with inflatable wheel |
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Fred Jelinek, North Carolina: Wheels for fishing Kayak transportation |
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Jeff McGovern, Florida: 2008, One-hand kayak trolley |
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Robert Young, W. Florida: 2009, Wheels for mangrove fishing kayak |
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John Putnam,
Massachusetts: Fishing
kayak with folding inflatable wheel
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Jim McGilvray, United Kingdom: Kayak with folding wheels |
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Gary Rankel, Florida: 2007, Pulling mat for fishing kayak |
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Jamie Harter, Wisconsin: Fishing kayak trolley |
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Wayne Taylor, Florida: Wheels for fishing kayak transportation |
Rigging Your Fishing Kayak: Some Basic Practical Advice
Contrarily to you might have heard, there is no such thing as perfect rigging for a fishing kayak, and the reason for it is that kayak anglers differ by their personal needs, fishing style, fish species they go after, etc.
Having said that, there's still plenty of opportunities for you to make mistakes, and this is why we recommend to go about these things slowly and carefully, without rushing into particular solutions unless you know there's a good chance that they'd work well for you.
Practically, this means it can be impossible for you to tell in advance exactly what type of rod holders would benefit you the most, and whether you need this type of anchor or another. Same is true for positioning the rod holders, what kind of paddle holders you need, and more.
As a rule, if you fish in saltwater you'd better try to keep your fishing rods dry, which means that either you'll store them inside the hull for when you pass through the surf, or use tall deck mounted rod holders in the stern. Some deck mounted rod holders have a long leg, which adds distance between your fishing rod and the corrosive sea water.
Tube rod holders are easier to use, because you just stick your fishing rod in, and take it out instantly when you need to. However, rod holders equipped with a latch would better secure your fishing rod in its place.
Obviously, if you're fly fishing you may not need a rod holder at all, but you do want one, it should be of a type that fits fly rods.
As far as positioning the rod holders on your kayak's deck, our only advice is to take your kayak out and fish from it a number of times before you decide on a new fishing rod. You'd need to make sure that neither fishing rod nor line interfere with your paddling under any circumstance, including when you use your kayak for trolling.
You can't use screws to attach a rod holder, or any other object to your kayak's deck. The reason for it is that the plastic isn't thick enough to secure a screw in its place. The alternatives are either using bolts with nuts, or rivets. Bolts have more initial grip than rivets, but they lose it with time, since your kayak is made from polyethylene, which is a relatively soft plastic resin.
As for paddle holders, the problem becomes much more complicated: Some kayak anglers insist on using paddle holders that are silent, and that means using paddle holders made from foam. Other kayak anglers must make sure they don't lose their paddle, because they fish in deep water, and far from shore. This means they must use paddle clips of some kind, or a bungee and hook to secure the paddle in its place.
Some kayak anglers like to drop their paddle in front of them while they rush to grab a rod that shows that a fish is pulling on its line, or if they want to make a fast cast because they spotted a fish. Others kayak anglers want to drop their paddle on their kayak's side, in order to allow them more freedom of movement while they cast a line, reel a fish in, and land it.
Again, after fishing a few times you'll know more about the type of paddle holders, or clips that would work better for you.
Anchors differ by their weight and form: Some have more grip than others, but it doesn't necessarily mean they're better, because an anchor with too much grip might get entangled in rocks or roots, and if you don't manage to release it you'll have to cut its line and part from it.
As a rule, kayak anchors should weigh between 1.5 lbs and 5 lbs. The heavier anchors are for moving water, such as streams or the ocean, and the lighter anchors are for ponds, small lakes and slow moving rivers.
Here too, you can add more functionality at a price of adding complexity: Anchor pulleys (vertical) and anchor trolleys (horizontal) may serve you well if they fit some specific need, but they could just make things harder for you if you don't need them.
And what about a milk crate? What seemed to be an obvious storage solution in old fashion sit-in and SOT fishing kayaks is no longer needed in the W500 Wavewalk kayaks, simply because this new generation of fishing kayaks offer so much internal, accessible and dry storage space, as well as a lot of deck space, which make the milk crate redundant.
Kayak Fishing From the Mounted (Riding) Position
While the advantages of fishing standing are pretty obvious to most fishermen many who haven't tried the W Riding (mounted) position may wonder what's so special about it, and why it is considered so advantageous when compared to the traditional L kayaking position or to fishing seated in a canoe.
The answer is that it has to do with how much support you have
for
your casting and reeling-in efforts, as well as when you're fighting a
strong fish:
The result of every physical effort you make, whether its jumping,
running, pulling or throwing something depends on the kind of support
your body gets from the ground you stand on. Soft, slippery or shaky
ground doesn't offer you good enough resistance.
Similarly, fishing from a big boat enables better physical performance
than fishing from a small, unstable one: You can cast to longer
distances and fight bigger fish more easily.
Riding the saddle of a W kayak doesn't offer you as much stability,
support and confidence as the deck of a big bass boat, but it certainly
gives your legs more support than a sit-in or SOT kayak does, and
through your legs you get more support and power for your arms and
upper body.
Imagine riding a pony, which is similar to riding a W kayak saddle: The
horse rider can gallop and jump hurdles, throw a spear or shoot arrows
like ancient warriors used to do, or a lasso like modern days cowboys
still do, and so on. -Now try to imagine all this being done when the
rider sits on the horse's saddle in the traditional L kayaking
position… It's practically impossible because the rider lacks stability
and sufficient support from his legs.
Like any analogy this one is not perfect but it's close to the truth:
The combination of having two hulls on the W kayak’s sides and riding
the saddle that you mount in a posture that’s advantageous from a
biomechanical standpoint changes everything when you fish.
As Jeff McGovern puts it: -”I would venture to say the W offers improved casting with any gear. From the riding position, I get more power with my casting and spinning because I can put my whole body into the cast and use my legs. The solid feel of the boat gives you a great sense of security. ” (Read More)
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