smallmouth WISCONSIN
a new DImensIon to smallIe fIshIng
“There are things you can’t do wading; things you can’t do from a big boat. I thought this would be great and add a new dimension to my
fishing,” says Wisconsin smallmouth bass expert Bill Schultz of his introduction to the kayak. The Wilderness Systems Kayak Fishing
Ambassador, a man whose detailed fishing log notes more than 12,000 smallmouth catches in the past 15 years, fell madly in love with
the new platform.
“It offers me a whole different perspective and gets me onto waters I couldn’t get to with my boat. I like the quiet aspect too. It’s gotten
me super fired up,” Schultz says enthusiastically, describing the joy of fading into the rhythm of nature. There’s no engine noise; no zip-
ping around. It’s led the regular seminar fishing instructor into frequently parking his shiny Crestliner in favor of launching his Tarpon.
“Most pleasing is the ability to get from one lake to another in 10 inches of water. I couldn’t pull my boat through that even if I wanted
to try it,” Schultz says of the kayak’s shallow draft and portability.
Still a relative newcomer to the kayak, Schultz discovered that his bread and butter techniques translate easily to the new vessel. “I’m
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swimming a Kalin’s grub on a Gopher Tackle mushroom head jig, a smallmouth magnet. It works great. I’m getting long casts. In some
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cases it’s easier than in the boat,” Schultz says, noting that the kayak’s low-to-the-water profile gets his offerings below undercut banks and
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beneath docks. With his rod tip a dozen inches off the water and his eyes only a bit higher, Schultz is reveling in his newfound perspective.
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largemouth ONTARIO
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pure, purposeful
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largemouth
Jamie Pistilli’s looking into the past, but his voice transmits the
remembered excitement of the day he discovered kayak fishing as
if it happened only yesterday.
“We were at the Bay of Quinte. The largemouth were jumping
madly the night before, but in the morning our tin boat wouldn’t
go. I had no choice but get in a little recreational kayak and paddle
myself all the way to the back bay. It was maybe four inches deep,
but I paddled right up to the bass and caught one after another. It’s
still my best day. I looked into the sport right there and then,” says
the highly regarded Ontario, Canada, fishing guide.
Pistilli still uses his kayak to paddle practically up to likely structure. “It’s the stealth thing. A powerboat is noisy
and pushes waves that disturb the fish. I like to stand on my Prowler 15 and, with a long paddle, pole my way into
position. I can often sight-fish for largemouth in two to four feet of water,” Pistilli says.
Hopping on a kayak changed Pistilli’s fishing approach. He became more deliberate. Rather than make 20 blind
casts, he’d rather make 10 with a purpose. “I’ll think to myself, ‘Let’s see, there’s probably a bass at the tip of that
tree, and something over there,” Pistilli says, explaining how he sets up for multiple shots.
The star of the upcoming Big City Fishing TV show, set to air on the World Fishing Network beginning in June
2010, says that like riding the bus to fish off a hometown dock, the kayak takes him back to simpler days.
“It’s the purity of it. If you paddle two miles to a spot and catch a big fish, and then paddle two miles back, it’s
specKleD trout
incredibly satisfying,” Pistilli says with a grin.
TEXAS
sneaKIng up on specKs
are we
reDfIsh FLORIDA
Ocean Kayak staffer Jeff Herman is just getting warmed up as
goIng lIght for reDs
the talk turns from redfish to speckled trout, and which one is
just jealous?
If the water’s too muddy to wade, and too shallow for powerboats, it’s just
the tougher catch.
here’s a poorly kept
right for Neil Taylor. The Native Watercraft staffer works fish-filled Tampa
“Specks are much more spooky than redfish. You get within
secret. plenty of hard- Bay for Adventure Guide Fishing. He sings a familiar tune.
20 feet of a red, if he’s on the feed he won’t care. One of the cool
core kayak anglers
“In west-central Florida, during the big negative low tides of winter,
things about a kayak, if you spot a speck on a flat, you’ve got a
a kayak can get into areas no one else can get to. I know a lot of other
much better opportunity than from a powerboat,” the Texan says.
aren’t above hitching a
guides (the powerboat kind). If they see me on the water catching redfish
But he doesn’t stop there. The ACA certified instructor
powered ride. Many even
60 yards away, it’ll be two hours until they can reach me. By then the
(safety first!) and full-time fishing kayak fan (on saltwater any-
own capable motorized
fish will have moved,” Taylor says, a certain satisfaction that isn’t exactly
how), is convinced his ride helps him corral a frantic speckled
fishing craft. there’s no
rivalry in his voice.
trout once it’s on the line. shame in it! every tool
“There’s mutual respect. I have no problem with the powerboat guys.
“You get runs back and forth, to the left and right. They
has its place; every boat It’s a separate market,” he says. They are more about racking up numbers,
actively try to throw the hook. Keep the rod tip in front of the
its strengths. those who often on live bait. For Taylor, a guided trip is more of a teaching moment,
boat, get the fish to pull you around. From a private boat, it’s
go both ways know this
and if it’s centered on how to present artificials, so much the better.
harder to tell what a speck’s next move will be,” Herman says.
“Using a lure, you’re the one who tricked the fish into eating some-
That shock absorber effect no doubt played a role in Her-
best of all. it’s okay to
thing that’s not real,” Taylor says, picking up speed as he explains the
man’s Texas State Gulf of Mexico record flyrod speck, at 6.75
cheat on your kayak and
simple reason why the kayak outcatches boats on the flats.
pounds, not huge overall but a true achievement. “You can’t
flirt with that hottie to get
“Being low to the water, I use very light baits. Take redfish, a perfect
throw out a big rope leader, a thick piece of braid with a lure into fish you otherwise
example. They like shallow water where there are grass mats on the bot-
on it. They aren’t likely to hit it. A redfish, you can throw a couldn’t reach. we won’t
tom. A heavier lure can be a nightmare in that situation,” Taylor points
jalepeno at it,” Herman needles.
tell. and any digs we’ve out. With less of a risk of sinking into a snag, the 1/8- or 1/16-ounce
dished, they’re tongue in jigs Taylor slings can be worked at a nice, slow and realistic pace. In the
TheKayakEdge
cheek. Get over it.
meantime, the boater’s higher stance dictates more lead. Not exactly a
shocker, that gives the kayak the finesse edge.
3
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KayaK angler sPring/suMMer 200
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