COME ONE, COME ALL. PHOTO: LEN WAGG
This year, standup paddleboarding continues to take the industry by storm, while kayak fishing emerges as its new star. Lightweight boats are the hottest item in the market, leading manufacturers to blow it up with inf latables. A rocky economy can’t stop paddlers from getting on the water, but shopping at big box retailers is leading to less innovation across the industry. Read on to find out what else is happening on the water and what’s set to surf in next…
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f we have to choose one rising star, it’s kayak fishing. In fact, this unlikely contender could very well be the next darling of the paddlesports world. That might come as a surprise to paddlers, because the joke is that kayak anglers tend to be
far more interested in fishing than paddling. Still, with a participation growth rate just 10 percent under that of standup paddleboarding (SUP), it’s hard to ignore. Kayak fishing- inspired gear took center stage at Outdoor Retailer’s summer market tradeshow, the venue for unveiling new outdoor products. Even companies not traditionally associ- ated with the sportsmen market unveiled updated lifejackets, paddles and boat designs complete with angler-friendly features. So what’s behind the sudden boom in business? “What’s happened is that the product has finally caught up to the sport. In the beginning,
kayaks were all sit-inside paddling boats,” says Keeton Eoff of Hobie Cat, a leader in the manu- facture of fishing kayaks. “Now, with the sit-on-top kayak models, you can have molded-in features with accessories galore and they’re stable, portable and affordable.” Eoff adds that the fishing industry has started designing products specifically for the kayak angler market, instead of the other way around. According to research from the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA), last year 16 percent of adults went
fishing in the United States—that’s 45 million people with rods in their hands and represents a huge potential for growth of the kayaking fishing industry. The number of ‘yak anglers increased by 40 percent over the past two years, for a total of 1.4 million followers. “That might seem like a small percentage, but it’s a very young sport, those are solid numbers,” says Eoff. As
anglers push their kayaks in bigger waters, paddling further out and reeling in mammoth-sized fish, recogni- tion of the sport will only grow.
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