YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE—SO LIVE IN A KAYAK YOLO
What’s the craziest thing you’ve done in the name of kayak fish- ing? Early launches? Late nights? Fishing in the rain? Plastering your pickup truck with stickers? While kayak fishing encourages anglers to push the envelope, several Kayak Angler readers have shared photos of their kayak fishing themed tattoos. Dave Hut- ton said he got his tattoo to tell everyone, “I love kayak fishing; I love the outdoors!” Even though Jeff Little’s wife protested, he loves his smallmouth kayak-bassin’ tattoo. “It is a work of art,” he proclaims, “I don’t care what anyone says.” And even television personality, Jim Sammons got ink. “I cooked up the name of my newest kayak design,” he says, “and got it tattooed on my arm.”
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moving water, he looks for a hybrid design that combines maneuverability and stability. “A shorter boat works well on the river, but it should still have some rocker and good secondary stability to take the rapids.” Still, Sammons is amazed that any kayak can perform almost anywhere. “Paddling a short boat in rough conditions may be tough,” he admits, “but you will be able to fish.”
Vest
THE PFD—SAFETY, FUNCTION, FASHION
Each kayak angler has customized his personal flo-
tation device into a personalized fishing vest, but the primary purpose of this wearable tackle box is safety. According to Matt Porter at Kokatat, U.S. Coast Guard regulations dic- tate that each adult PFD must have at least 15 pounds and 8 ounces of flotation. Pockets cannot exceed 150 square inches or one inch in depth and nothing should be attached to the back of the life vest. Properly wearing a PFD is the key factor in surviving an accident on the water. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, last year, drowning was responsible for 77 percent of all on-water fatalities and 85 percent of the victims were not wearing a PFD. Over 90 percent of all deaths on the water were inshore, within a few feet of safety and on boats less than 20 feet long. In other words, wear your PFD! —Submitted by Dennis Peabody
eXercise LET’S GET PHYSICAL
Not only is kayak fishing good fun, but it is good
58 …KAYAK ANGLER WINTER 2013
exercise, too. Paddling at a medium pace in calm water burns about 350 calories an hour and works muscles in your core, arms and even your legs. It takes approximately 500 paddle strokes to go one mile, which gets the heart pumping an average of 80 times per minute. The benefits don’t stop there—it’s a low-impact activity that is easy on the bones. And no one can quantify the health benefits of fresh air and clean water. To improve your paddle power, check out Kayak Angler’s “2013 Skills Guide” at www.rapidmedia. com/0106.
Zero Water
Emissions ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY…WELL, EXCEPT FOR THE FISH
It is estimated that each American produces 20 tons of carbon dioxide a year and most of it comes from burning fossil fuels. When you consider that one gallon of gasoline produces 20 pounds of CO2, in the course of a day a power boater could produce hundreds of pounds of CO2. Compare that to just over three pounds of CO2 that an average person exhales each day. Since human gasses come from eating plants—or eating animals that ate plants—they are reabsorbed into the carbon cycle and emitted as oxygen. But carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels rise into the atmosphere where they affect the balance of nature. Even the liquid and solid waste that kayak anglers emit is bio-degradable and can be recycled to fertilize crops. So, going kayak fishing is pretty much like saving the Earth. —Submit- ted by Chris Funk
DUH!
Water covers two-thirds of the earth’s surface, and kayak anglers cover 100 percent of the water. From offshore to inshore, blue to green, Asia to America, kayak anglers are on the water all over the world. Not only do we fish on the water, we fish in the water. Rain, fog, snow and sleet don’t stop kayak anglers from chasing fish. In 2012, Josh Tart paddled halfway around America for water. Tart’s epic paddle tour was in support of Paddle for Wells, his charity that collected money to build wells for underprivileged people in third-world countries. While he hasn’t finished the tour, he did raise thousands of dollars for the charity. Read a profile of Josh Tart in the 2012 Summer/ Fall issue of Kayak Angler at
www.rapidmedia.com/0107.
PHOTO: JOSE CHAVEZ
PHOTO: JOSE CHAVEZ
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