WORLDPREDATORCLASSIC.COM
IAN ‘DIZZYFISH’ HARRIS: LET’S GO KAYAK FISHING! STIC ‘‘
It wasn’t such a long time ago, if you said you were going fishing in a kayak, people would have thought you were mad. Over the past 10 years, the rise in popularity of the humble fishing kayak has been phenomenal. The advances in features incorporated
into the kayaks themselves, as well as the technology attached to them, has also come on in leaps and bounds. Now everyone it seems, wants to be a kayak fisherman…
In the beginning there was DIY..
When I first started kayak fishing, if you wanted to add a gadget to the kayak, even a fish finder, the chances were, that you would have to fabricate something yourself. This led to the acronym BPS or Bog Pipe
Special. All manner of accessories and add-ons were fashioned from PVC piping including kayak carts, rod holders, fish finder mounts. It was a veritable feast for the DIY enthusiast. Luckily for the rest of us, things have changed for the better. It started in the States, with companies springing up to cater for the boom in kayak fishing, providing everything from customised carts to slotted rail track systems to mount your gear on. At the same time ‘ruggedized’ technology was also taking off, with items like waterproof high definition action cams suddenly becoming common place.
The Technology Revolution ..
The advances in wearable technology have also been matched by hardware on the kayak. Hobie introduced their new Vantage seat
in 2015. This brings comfort to a new level. For a sport where you spend most of your time sitting down, the advantages of a fully adjustable, comfortable, lightweight yet tough seat are obvious. To the casual observer, watching someone
moving at speed in a Hobie kayak, must be a strange sight. Most people are used to seeing kayaks being powered by a traditional paddle. When you show them the mirage drive system, most people are slightly amused, but at the same time fascinated by the engineering and efficiency of the system. It’s exactly this sort of technology which can be a real discriminator when you are faced with a new expanse of water in a kayak lure fishing competition.
The kayak revolution: Side imaging Sonar, wireless transducers and tablet based chart mapping and sonar (main picture) are all part of the modern kayak fishing scene as is The Hobie Fishing Worlds (above) – a truly global event involving 20 countries but everyone talks a common language - Kayak Fishing!
Possibly the most exciting, and dare I say,
interesting advancements are in the domain of marine electronics. Many leading edge lure fishing styles have come about as a direct result of advances in sonar technology. High definition down imaging and chirp technologies have allowed kayak fishermen to not only find the fish, but also to actually target individual fish using vertical jigging techniques. The advances brought about by side imaging technology have allowed us to seek out fish holding areas of structure. With the advent of wireless technology,
and high speed mobile internet access, a new generation of gadgetry has appeared, much of it directly applicable to kayak fishermen. I have been using a wireless transducer box as well as side imaging technology on my 2015 Hobie Outback kayak. The Vexilar SonarPhone T-Box allows me to use my iPad (in a waterproof case) as a fish finder and chart plotter. The iPad runs a Navionics app which displays your position on a Navionics nautical chart. But perhaps the most amazing aspect about this little box of tricks, is that it can create a detailed contour map of a new or existing area as you paddle (or pedal) around. This detailed “sonar chart” is shown on the Navionics Boating app overlayed on top of the existing Navionics chart in real time.
Kayak Fishing has evolved ..
With all of these advances in technology, you could be forgiven for thinking that kayak fishing is easy. The truth is, that technology only helps
when you know what you are looking for. You have to be able to use it, and there is no nt
45
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116