Chatter COMMUNITY RE: MISTAKEN FISH ID


Ha-ha. In Chatter (Summer/Fall 2011, www.kayakanglermag.com/0015) you talk about no one noticing the 40-inch tarpon. Oops. That would be a linesider, also known as a snook! Maybe you should take a closer look


at the cover. Classic! Please, more covers with tarpons. EXCERPTED FROM A COMMENT POSTED ON THE KAYAK ANGLER FACEBOOK PAGE (WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/KAYAKANGLER) BY PHIL DENSON, JACKSON, MISSOURI.


We took another look, and another look, and another look and what do you know? Phil is correct. —Eds.


BUZZBAIT [PROFI L E ]


AUSTRALIAN TV HOST ROB PAXEVANOS IS PASSIONATE FOR LITTLE BOATS


AS TOLD TO PAUL LEBOWITZ


Rob Paxevanos is in his eleventh year hosting WIN Television’s Fishing Australia. There’s a temptation to think of him as a celebrity— that’s a mistake—the gleam in his eye and thrill in his voice reveal this is a man mad about fishing. Cameras or not, he’s out there chasing big game, often from a kayak.


I


’m passionate about all forms of fishing, but in particular kayak fishing. While I regular-


ly get to fish from a massive variety of larger boats, there is something about kayaking that really appeals. Looking back, my most memorable


achievement from a ‘yak was tagging the first striped marlin way back in 2004. It was a team effort and recalling the memories makes us grin like schoolboys. My first kayak goliath grouper was even


more enjoyable. In the beginning, people gave me funny looks. They are incredibly hard to catch even from a big boat. When we


eventually cracked the code, we realized that stealth helps us catch these big, super wary fish in their shallow domain. We now outfish $50,000 boats most of the time! My biggest mission of late was something


we called a sail ‘yak marlin. We tested the Hobie Tandem Island on the planet’s biggest striper. It was a massive project to film on pro- fessional cameras, but the jump shot of a mas- sive marlin that dwarfs the ‘yak was worth it. I can’t even explain how we did this. Adrenaline can give you a real sixth sense in the heat of the moment. I never go kayaking without a fishing rod.


It would feel weird. I’m someone who really needs an excuse to be out there in the middle of paradise. I have been lucky enough to catch a good


variety of species like barra, trout and Austra- lian bass, some 50 different in all. So far Spanish mackerel have eluded me. I’ve hooked a few good ones. One was eaten


CAMERA MAN


DIGITAL EXTRA: To watch the Sail Yak Marlin episode of Fishing Australia, go to www.kayakanglermag.com/0018 or download the Kayak Angler app.


by an eight-foot lemon shark while I was fish- ing from an inflatable. That worried my pro- ducer a little. I’m his fishing ticket too. Some day I hope to tangle with a giant Mur-


ray cod, the world’s fourth-largest freshwater fish and a super aggressive predator with a mouth the size of a bucket. But I often come back to the bread and butter species. This is the way to relax, engage family and newcom- ers, and catch a feed of fresh fish the likes of which the rich and wealthy often miss. Done sensibly, it’s the most sustainable. It’s quite a bizarre life I lead. One week I’m


out catching sharks, dealing with crocs and snakes, all while trying to catch THAT fish that will get me fired up. Then I get home and I have to remember which Barbie doll is my daughter’s favorite, or I am in the biggest trouble of all. Catch more of Rob’s fishing adventures at www.robpax.com.


www.kayakanglermag.com … 13 P R O F I L E | TA C K L E | C LO W N FI S H | C ON S E R V A T I ON | G E A R | B O AT S


POINT TO PAXEVANOS. PHOTO: ROB PAXEVANOS


RESCUE ME In The Encyclopedia of Kayak Fishing (Summer/Fall 2011, www.kayakanglermag. com/0016), regular contributor Ric Burnley covered how to climb back on the kayak fol- lowing a capsize. He recommended anglers start by positioning themselves upwind or upstream of the boat. Frank Ladd of Raleigh, North Carolina, politely took issue with the advice, writing via email, “The ACA recom- mends that you have the kayak upwind of you in the water so it does not blow away and leave you without a boat. Was it a mistake or does the author have a reason?” Burnley responded, “I like to remain up-


In the App and Digital Editions this Issue


If you’re not reading this on your tablet, iPhone or online, here’s what you’re missing:


Sail Yak Marlin, an exhilarating full-length episode of Fishing Australia TV.


Rob Paxevanos and friend tag a gigantic black marlin (Camera Man, page 13).


Surface Iron Yak Attack, demonstrating the deadliness of the long rod for yellowtail sight casting (Sightings, page 25).


Watch for this icon throughout this issue of Kayak Angler to see additional photo and video content.


wind of the kayak to keep the boat from blowing over and cracking me in the head. Learned that from experience. Regardless, I think the best side to reenter the kayak is the side I fell off.” Points to Burnley for practical- ity; most kayak anglers don’t wait, they swim directly to the kayak without a thought for the wind. Final word to Ladd, “In deep water there are whitecaps but not big breaking surf and there I’d still recommend staying down- wind of the boat and keeping a hand on it. It might be better to get bumped a little than to be without a boat.”


PURELY DEBATABLE On August 8, Allen Sansano, Mark Veary and Bryce Molenkamp stepped off the char- ter boat Ambush and climbed into their kay- aks more than 50 swell-tossed miles offshore of Newport, Oregon. An hour later, the trio had decked several albacore, the first docu- mented kayak-caught tuna to come out of the Pacific Northwest. The Kayak Angler blog (www.kayakanglermag.com/0017) reporting the feat ignited a vigorous debate over the validity of motherships and the “purity” of paddle-out catches.


CATCH US: editor@kayakanglermag.com | www.kayakanglermag.com | www.facebook.com/KayakAngler | www.twitter.com/kayakanglermag | www.youtube.com/rapidmediatv 8 …KAYAK ANGLER SPRING 2012


“Being towed or carried out by a boat is


nothing special and just means you are using a kayak as a float. Kayak fishing is about putting yourself in the battle with a relatively small in- vestment in the scope and cost of hardware, and that battle begins with a paddle and ends with one,” poster Drifting Son asserted. Big- Time agreed, writing, “I don’t think there’s any more challenge in fishing from a kayak versus fishing from the mothership. The mother- ship did the hard work in motoring the long distance and locating bait and or structure. Dropping a line is all icing on the cake.” Mike’s reply had an element of “you should


paddle 100 miles in another man’s kayak” before throwing stones. “A mothership is the only way I would be able to target tuna. There is no advantage to being on a kayak, it’s the challenge,” he wrote. Fishin-Jay added, “We all use some other means of getting our ’yak to the fishing grounds. Mothershipping is no dif- ferent than driving to the closest launch. We’re all part of the same small community. Let’s not make it smaller by drawing arbitrary lines.”


NORTHWEST ALBACORE SCORE.


PHOTOS: KARL STOMBERG.


I SEE SNOOK. PHOTO: JERRY MCBRIDE


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