Tumpline + Fit to be TIED
KAYAK ANGLER. THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS.
For the premier issue of Kayak Angler magazine we’re pack- ing it full of everything North America’s 100 million fi sher- men and 13 million kayakers need to come together to go kayak fi shing. Like the world’s most comprehensive fi shing kayak buyer’s guide. Our list of the best kayak fi shing hot spots near you. And, expert advice on how to paddle, rig the ultimate fi shing kayak, and master land- ing big fi sh in small boats. Kayak Angler season opens April 1. For a list of fi shing and paddling shops stocking Kayak Angler visit,
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UNBEATABLE SECONDARY STABILITY. PHOTOS HAP WILSON
HAP WILSON proposes giving canoeists a GOOD LASHING
IMAGINE YOU’RE ON NUNAVUT’S Cop- permine River approaching Rocky Defile, a long class III rapid where ca- noeists have died, and some people in your group have no experience with water this big. To river guide Hap Wilson, whose
guidebooks have made wilderness trip- ping easier for thousands of canoeists, it’s nothing a stiff lashing won’t fix. “Often clients want to get into big-
ger water before they have the ad- equate skills,” says Wilson. Wilson’s solution: place two canoes
side by side about two feet apart; lash two spruce poles—notched at the gun- wales—securely across the thwarts; strap the spray decks overtop to com- plete a makeshift catamaran. “It’s basically unsinkable,” says Wil-
Kayak Angler is a new annual special issue of Adventure Kayak magazine. Available April 1 wherever you buy your gear and tackle.
son, who has canoe-rafted high-vol- ume class IV rapids, including Death Rapids on the Seal River in Manitoba, and even recovered from having one canoe fully submerged. “We could have both submarined and still made it to shore upright.” Wilson recently used the technique to wrangle some clients down the Cop-
paddle forever
permine River at high water, paddling unscathed through the same canyon sections where other guided canoeists have suffered long, dangerous swims. For sailing big lakes, Wilson lashes
as many as five canoes together into a Kon-Tiki monster, but for whitewater a two-canoe set up seems to offer the best combination of stability and ma- noeuvrability. “You have great turning ability with
four paddlers,” says Wilson. “When fer- rying you can really snag the current with the two hulls working together. It’s more efficient than if you had a weak bow paddler in a tandem boat.” Still, some might wonder if this is
the river equivalent of hauling wealthy clients up Mount Everest on a short rope. Why not turn clients away if they don’t have the skills to paddle some sections of the river in question? “It’s not really a matter of skill level.
Experienced people still dump. I’m just adding another safety feature,” says Wilson, who recommends that all guides try tying up their clients. “Te bottom line is the clients’ safety.” — Tim Shuff
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