South Florida
JASON STOCK GREW UP IN CANOE COUNTRY OUTFITTERS, THE FAM- ILY BUSINESS. HE’S NOW A TOURNAMENT ANGLER, MEMBER OF THE WILDERNESS SYSTEMS PRO STAFF AND OWNS AND OPERATES J.M. SNOOKY KAYAK CHARTERS.
JMSNOOKYKAYAKCHARTERS.COM
T
he next couple months will bring cooler weather—nice
because you can enjoy longer days on the water and not be as hot and sweaty. During this time our migra- tory big tarpon are going to work their way south to warmer waters. Te snook are going to start mov- ing from the beaches and passes back into their wintertime hide- outs—creeks, rivers and residential canals. Tey will be fattening up for the winter when their metabolism slows. Te redfish focus on shrimp and crabs and this is one of the best seasons to catch serious numbers of redfish on artificial lures. Be sure to bring your waders; with the super low tides you can jump out of the kayak and fish potholes or sneak up on a tailing redfish. You can also catch some real nice trophy trout in the winter fishing potholes and skinny water. With the cooling weather there will be more kayak fishing tournaments.
Central Gulf Coast
brawler, Mr. Redfish. Our central Gulf states—Alabama, Missis- sippi and Louisiana—all have large redfish populations and countless miles of fishable wetlands. When the fall tide levels are low, the reds are concentrated in the deeper channels and easy to find when they are chasing bait. Kayak anglers visiting the region can contact one of the local kayak fishing clubs to find the best places to launch and fish. One of the best times to fish these areas is during one of the lo- cal club tournaments. On Saturday, September 19, the
Mobile Kayak Fishing Association (
mbkfa.com) will offer a novel com- petition. Te 1st Annual Alabama Inshore/Offshore Kayak Fishing Challenge will be held in beauti- ful Gulf Shores. Tis one-day event offers anglers a chance to fish both shallow water and offshore offer- ings, beyond the breakers. Ten, on October 17, visit south Louisiana for this year’s big event, Falling Tide 4, hosted by the Bayou Coast Kayak Fishing Club (
bckfc.org). Falling Tide attracts kayak fishermen from Florida to Texas and is held at the Delta Marina in Empire, Louisiana.
Texas
the splendor of Mother Nature can be therapeutic. Te Heroes on the Water program is a grassroots ef- fort that started with a small group of kayak anglers in Texas who wanted to share their passion for kayak fishing with injured men and women who have served in armed forces. Te therapy of fishing from a kayak gives participants a chance to relieve the stress of combat and the physical strain of rehabilita- tion. Aſter getting numerous local participants in Texas out kayaking, we’re proud to see this program go- ing nationwide, with events sched- uled in Washington State and in Virginia Beach, Virginia. To help out, you can donate or sign up to volunteer at
kayakanglerssa.org.
California
lect the compromise MLPA closure plan they favor. It’s not all gloom and doom de-
spite the hostile political environ- ment and dire economic news in the tarnished Golden State. Fishing kayaks continue to move off sales floors at an impressive rate, as peo- ple forego that expensive power- boat for a more intimate and far less costly means of waterborne escape. In quick tournament news, the
state’s long-running Moyer Memo- rial, the big one in West Coast kay- ak fishing, is set for September 12. It’ll take a heſty yellowtail, halibut or white sea bass to win this thing. Northerners will have their fun just a week later, at the 4th annual NCKA Half Moon Bay Derby.
Pacific Northwest
PAUL LEBOWITZ COVERS KAYAK FISHING FOR KAYAKFISHING-
ZONE.COM AND THE WESTERN REGIONAL SPORTFISHING PRESS.
T
CAPT. DEAN THOMAS OWNS AND OPERATES SLOWRIDE GUIDE SERVICES AND KAYAK RENTALS IN ARANSAS PASS, TEXAS.
K
CAPT. DANNY WRAY IS A HERITAGE ENDORSED KAYAK FISHING GUIDE IN GRAND ISLE, LOUISIANA, WHERE HE OWNS CALM- WATER CHARTERS.
T
he northern Gulf of Mexico is a great place to be during the
fall. When the summer’s heat liſts, kayakers hit the costal marshes to hook up with the shallow water
ayak fishing the flats of South Texas has never been better.
Te region’s crystal clear, super shallow grass flats are what kayak anglers dream of and the schools of marauding red drum can make those dreams come true. Sight- casting to big fish with light tackle is as exciting as it gets and the big bruisers cruising the grass test an- glers’ tackle as well as their skills. We all love to get out and enjoy
the beauty of the outdoors as a way to relax but for some, kayaking in
he birthplace of modern kayak fishing is under threat.
Te beautiful and fishy kelp beds off the star-studded Malibu coast, where SOT design genius Tim Nemier introduced his revolu- tionary Scupper, could be closed to fishing forever by the Marine Life Protection Act now that it has reached Southern California. A collection of preservationist in-
terests is attempting to use this law to lock up the most productive 20 percent of state waters, leaving little more than barren sandy flats. Tey haven’t overlooked nationally known trophy-fish factory La Jolla Shores either; it’s square in the crosshairs. In response, outraged kayak
anglers are turning out in droves to protest a misguided policy that could sweep the most environmen- tally sound fishers from the water. Meanwhile, those who live near the San Francisco Bay area hold out hope that a state panel will se-
BRIAN STEVES OF PORTLAND, OREGON, HELPS OPERATE NORTH-
WESTKAYAKANGLERS.COM AND IS A MEMBER OF THE OCEAN KAYAK PRO STAFF.
I
n the Pacific Northwest both kay- aking and fishing are extremely
popular, yet surprisingly we have lagged behind much of the rest of the country when it comes to put- ting the two sports together. Let’s face it, sit-on-top kayaks don’t gen- erally come to mind when fishing or paddling on the rough frigid ocean in the rain. Luckily, during the past year or two kayak fishing has final- ly started to take off in the Pacific Northwest and the sideways glances from fishermen in powerboats are starting to become less common. In 2008 members of the North-
west Kayak Anglers forum import- ed the AOTY (Angler of the Year) tournament concept from the the NorCal Kayak Anglers club. With members scattered across four states and one province, AOTY’s online format provides a competi-
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