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10 Tips for First Time Paddlers at Austin Kayak

We asked our Facebook fans, “What’s one piece of advice you’d give to a 1st time paddler?” Some of the responses were serious and some were just downright funny. Here’s 10 of our favorites:

1. Don’t go without wearing your PFD. — Advice from Don P., JT L., Gary L., Lisa W., Billy M., Jonathan B., Travis A., Michael P., Laura B., David F., Alan D., Heath G., Erica H., Eric B., Robert R., Chuck B., Lee H., Bobby C., Robin L. and Randy V.

When 20 paddlers give the same advice, you gotta think it’s important, huh?

2. Relax, breath deeply, and enjoy the view. — Advice from Loretta H.

3. You are going to get wet. Plan on it. — Advice from Don I.

4. Just enjoy yourself! You will never forget it! — Advice from Cathie G.

5. Remember, however far you go, you have to go the same distance to get back. — Advice from JW E.

6. Buy from Austin Kayak. — Advice from John M. Have to agree with this one!

7. Bring a fishing pole and enough beer for you and your kayak buddies you’ll meet along the river! — Taylor S.

8. Paddle faster if you hear banjos! — Advice from Norman T.

9. Your paddle is just as important as your kayak. — Advice from David T.

10. Tie your gear down! — Advice from Carla M.

 Share your advice for 1st time paddlers by commenting below! The entire collection of responses can be found here.

  http://www.austinkayak.com/category/11/Paddles

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Learn to DIY Optimize the Old Town Predator 13 Kayak at Austin Kayak

From the Railblaza Team

Railblaza sponsored UK angler Ian Pickering (Ocean Kayak UK Fishing Team) has been putting his thinking cap on and applying a little DIY to make use of his Railblaza accessories on the Old Town Predator 13 fishing kayak. The Predator 13 comes with mount plates fitted to the gunnels, which allow the mounting of accessories without the drilling of holes into the kayak. Ian has used these plates to recess mount the Railblaza StarPort. Here’s what he had to say:

The mounting plates fitted to the Old Town Predator and Ocean Kayak Big Game II are a fantastic idea. No holes to be drilled in the kayak and you can change your mind as often as you like without worry. I’ve started off by fitting a star port to the left hand forward plate. If I change my mind I could rotate the plate 180 degrees to move it further forward or even swap it with another position.Very versatile.

http://www.austinkayak.com/blog/2014/03/railblaza-predator-big-game/

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Save Your Boga Grips With this YakAttack and StakeOut Pole Clip Combo

I recently had some time at the house to play around with the YakAttack Surface Mount Retractor and found it is quite handy to use in conjunction with the 3/4″ StakeOut Pole Clip that we sell. I use this combo to hold my Boga Grip to the lid of my Ocean Kayak. If you’re on the fence about buying a Boga but do not because of the risk of losing a high dollar piece of gear over the side of your boat, this is the solution for you!

I’ve attached some photos for you to see how I have rigged my boat, as well as a couple more that the gang over at YakAttack sent me so that you can see what they are doing as well. 

  http://www.austinkayak.com/blog/2014/03/yakattack-surface-mount-retractor-stakeout-pole-clip-safe-boga-grips/

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The Early Years

I have found that most people who enjoy the outdoors as adults were exposed to the joys of nature at an early age through a grandparent, uncle or parent. I however, was lucky enough to experience it with all three. I grew up hunting and fishing and enjoyed it all the way until I turned into a baseball obsessed teenager. After I discovered baseball, nature took a backseat. I had found a new passion and let that take over all of my time.

After high school I went to a college in East Texas (Go Kats!) that happened to be near a great state park and a wonderful lake. I spent many a class periods in the woods and along the shores of Lake Raven redeveloping my love of the outdoors. Unfortunately for me, not many of my fishing lessons from my childhood held over.

Back At It

I quickly realized that I wanted to get back into fishing so with a credit card and a dream I made my way to a nearby big box store. While shopping I called on my past experiences with two of my grandfathers – Grandpa River (a fisherman) and Grandpa Tractor (a farmer). I fondly remember fighting reds and speckled trout with my Grandpa River, my mom’s father, and his advice when it came to line. “Hardheads will eat your line if you let them” he always said as I clung to a long rod with a heavy line attached to even heavier sinkers. “Big bait gets the big fish” was another favorite of his and everyone knows that a child will always want the biggest! So with these memories in mind, I headed down the fishing aisle of the store and purchased some familiar look fishing gear. I made my purchases and walked out carrying a brand new long, heavy and strong fishing pole, thick as steel line, and some mean looking hooks. I also grabbed some heavy sinkers, bobbers, and other “essential” fishing items. “Yep.” I thought walking out, “Grandpa River would be proud!”

After my successful trip to get my gear I headed out to the lake where my buddy and I planned to go out fishing. When I pulled up my buddy gave me a funny look and laughingly asked if i planned on catching a gator. I asked in confusion, “No, why? Are there gators near by?” I found it both funny and odd that he was laughing at me but continued to unload my gear regardless. I finished unloading after about fifteen minutes- within that time my buddy had landed two bass and a cat! I then began to fix up my rig while he laughed again at my expense as I fumbled around with my new toys.

After a few more minutes of rigging I was finally able to get my bait- worms! – in the water. I remembered that I was fishing fresh water and that dead shrimp was not the best choice for the lake- well that and the store didn’t have any. As I waited for my bobber to sink I glanced over at my buddy’s pole and gear as well as another fellow’s gear who was fishing nearby and noticed that their poles were much smaller than mine. I began to wonder why when I felt a tug on my line- not much but it was something! I jerked the rod back causing me to lose the fish. “Oh well.” I thought to myself as I re-baited and got back in the water. This time I decided to keep the bait closer to the dock and use a giant worm wrapped around my hook. I was not going to miss this time!

I slowly reeled the worm in towards the dock and let it sit almost right about against it and then WHAM! My line took off. I tightened down the line and gave it a good strong pull back and before I knew it I was yelling DUCK! That fish took off like a rocket- flying out of the water faster than you could snap your fingers. My buddy once again, could not stop laughing.

You see, what I didn’t realize was that I was drawing on memories of fishing with my Grandpa River on the Texas Coast – not a shoreline dock in East Texas lake! I had always gone saltwater fishing with heavy rods and reels made for salt and offshore fishing; hence my earlier purchases. Needless to say, my 7 ft heavy action spin reel, much like a broomstick for offshore fishing, and 60lb mono line, which might as well have been rope, was a bit overkill for catching bass and cats off a dock. That cat took my bait in what was probably about 3 feet of water and had no idea what was in store for it.

Passion Rekindled

After having a good laugh with my buddy over my flying cat, I decided then and there that I needed to consider some fishing lessons and reconsider my choice in gear. I quickly realized my buddy wouldn’t be able to stop laughing long enough to re-teach me how to fish but thankfully the gentleman on the other end of the dock was more than willing to share his fishing tips and knowledge. After a short conversation with him even my laughing buddy was was taking notes. After he gave me an hour long lesson, my passion for fishing was rekindled and I had a good idea of the new gear I needed to go purchase. I had a plan and I was going to dive head first in! Before that however, I was in need of a road trip- to the coast.

http://www.austinkayak.com/blog/2014/04/learning-fish-hard-way/

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At ACK we love paddling for a number of reasons- but we don’t want to focus on why we are obsessed!

We took to our Facebook page and asked all of our customers what makes them want to go out paddling and got some great answers. Y’all answered with everything from waking up to getting excited about the weather hitting 55 – so we thought we’d share a few with you.

Here are some of our favorites:

A bad week at work! Plus a beautiful sunny day!

A good 6 inch rain

When I’m out on the water all of the BS in life disappears for a while

Rain, snow, sleet, hail and even sun makes me want to go paddling

Work!

Good weather and good friends

Owning my first kayak I bought at demo day

Just being out there. Fishing is fun but the joy of paddling makes it special

It’s such a peaceful and relaxing time that I get to share with my husband/wife and no other distractions

Fishing!

The “itch”

Of course we cant forget about some of the smart answers y’all sent in like “I don’t need no stinkin’ reason!” and “Why would you need a reason?!”

We have to give it to them though- a paddler never needs a reason to get out on the water.

http://www.austinkayak.com/blog/2014/05/10-reasons-go-paddling/

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I would like to preface this blog post with a little information about myself. One very defining quality I have (and have been told I have by many people) is that I am inherently girly. Everything from my walk to the way I talk screams feminine. So imagine the surprise on my coworker Sam’s face when I took him up on his offer to take me fishing. Mind you, I have no qualms about being outdoors and in the water- I have always been naturally drawn to lakes, rivers, oceans, pools, and any other body of water. I just have never been a huge fisherman (fisher woman?) nor am I an excellent kayaker, so kayak fishing was definitely something new for me. That’s exactly why I figured I should give it a shot! Sam accepted the challenge and we decided that the best time to go would be that Saturday morning.

That Saturday I met him bright and early down at Lady Bird Lake in Austin ready to enjoy the already gorgeous morning. He started setting me up in his extra kayak as well as setting up his fishing gear in his Diablo Chupacabra. This was my first time ever seeing a kayak that you could also stand up in and I immediately became a little bit obsessed with the combination! After the initial set up I hopped in my kayak and slid out into the glassy waters of Lady Bird. We paddled away from the city and he directed us towards a small enclave covered by trees, which according to him, was filled to the brim with fish.

This was about the time I decided to give casting a shot. I watched him throw his line out a few times and thought to myself, “Ehh, can’t be that hard!” Little did I know there is an entire science behind casting a line. Initially, between tangling up the line and getting caught in the surrounding trees, I thought I would never get it right. However, with a little practice I was able to finally get a technique of my own down and successfully cast my bait a solid distance. Sam was surprised and, dare I say, proud that I was able to pick it up so quickly! Shortly after I managed to get casting down, Sam told me to focus on catching a fish. This obviously was the main goal of the trip however it was also my main source of anxiety. Needless to say, I was able to get over that anxiety the minute I felt a tug on the line. With Sam’s help, I was able to reel it in and finally catch my first fish! I was absolutely elated until he proceeded to tell me to grab it by the mouth…something I definitely was not expecting.

I had never touched a fish before this trip and it was not something I was interested in doing. So when he let me know that it was time to hold the fish I may or may not have freaked out a little. Eventually I decided to man-up and to be honest, it really wasn’t all that bad! With my thumb and index finger I gripped my first fish by its mouth while Sam took a photo to document the moment. I was convinced that it would wiggle around in my hands but to my surprise the fish stayed perfectly still. I like to think that it was posing for the picture. The second the flash went off I happily dropped the fish back in the water – mission accomplished! I watched it swim away and decided to quit while I was ahead. We paddled around a bit longer then called it a day. As I drove home I recounted the story to my friends and provided the proof (like I knew they would ask for). I still fondly remember the surprise on their faces as it sunk in that yes, I not only went fishing but also held a fish long enough to get a snapshot.

The memories of that day will always be looked back on with rose colored glasses as one of my favorite firsts in Austin.

Do you remember the first time you went fishing? Comment below and tell us about it!

http://www.austinkayak.com/blog/2014/06/first-time-fishing/

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Fishing from the Wilderness Systems Ride 135 has been amazing. Although there are many platforms to choose from, this is the ATV of kayaks for me. The pontoon hull design allows for maximum stability and weight capacity. This kayak weighs in at 85 pounds and has the ability to carry up to 550 pounds of gear.

I love the comfortable phase 3 seat. It gets me a few inches higher off of the water and allows me to keep three rods underneath me and between my legs. This allows me to have rigged rods ready to go at a moments notice.

The rear tank well has plenty of room for gear and my crate which is loaded with tackle, rain gear, and my anchor. The dry storage well in the front of the kayak has ample storage for anything I need to keep dry and secure. The center storage hatch is another dry storage area which allows for quick and easy access. Here I put my camera, my drift sock, and a dry hand towel. The storage capabilities of this kayak are countless and extremely useful.

There are also many useful additions to the kayak and seat that are convenient. The seat has space under the seat for storage and areas directly behind the seat that hold my sunblock, and/or other tackle. The seat also allows you to make multiple adjustments for maximum comfort. This especially comes in handy on those tough fishing days.

The dual flush mount rod holders are great for holding rods, my landing net, or my GoPro pvc pole that I use to capture on-the-water footage.

Also standard on the Wilderness Systems Kayaks is slide-trax. This system allows you to add and modify the position of various rod holders, ram mounts, and accessories that you may need within reach.

Overall, I would highly recommend the Wilderness Systems Ride 135 to any angler out there who is looking for a stable, durable, and comfortable kayak while out on the water.

The Wilderness Systems Ride 135 kayak is available now at ack.com both as a package and stand-alone.

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Living in Florida I’d heard nothing but good things about the Casting for a Cause tournament held annually in Port Aransas, so when I moved back to Texas I had to add this tournament to my schedule. This year’s beneficiaries for the tournament are The National MS society, Haven for Hope, Heroes on the Water, and over 20 other charitable organizations. Opening a new ACK store in San Antonio has kept me busy, so this would be my first trip to the coast. I managed to find a laid back and experienced partner for the tournament, thank you Fred, fishing with you and the girls was awesome!!!

My tournament preparation was pretty chaotic, and not everything went as smoothly as planned. I didn’t double check my electronics after my kayak had sat unused for 8 months, so of course my GPS/FF acted up. We were planning on fishing skinny water and I was only planning to look for depth changes where fish might be stacked up, so not a big deal running without it. One huge bright spot was my brand new Bull Bay Rods and Quantum Smoke spinning reel, I definitely underestimated how much the new setup would change my time on the water. The sensitivity of the rod was out of this world, I set the hook repeatedly every time my lure had bumped even the smallest piece of grass while working the weed lines around the sandy pockets in the bay. Being able to feel your lure hit grass, you can image what it felt like when a fish hit the lure.

Pre-fishing the day prior was a bust, not one bump, nada, nothing, zero, zilch – the wind was blowing pretty steady and the water was a little murky, but there was bait everywhere. Not finding fish through the day forced us to change our game day plan. We decided to try Bird Island, having only one morning of fishing experience in Port A, I was game for anything. We launched at dawn and settled into working a drop off about 100 yards away from shore. We could see baitfish all around us, so things looked good. Very early on I got a hookup with a trout using a topwater bait, but just as fast as he hit, he unbuttoned from my lure. I don’t like missing fish any day, but on tournament days it’s worse.

When the sun started climbing I unsnapped my lure from my Tactical Anglers Power Clip and slipped on a popping cork over top of a 3/0 Daiichi hook, which almost immediately produced an under slot red. We were on fish, unfortunately after my small red the bite completely shut down for the morning. We decided to travel to look for signs of fish, but things were very quiet. After about an hour I noticed a couple mullet jumping in different directions so I cast my popping cork in the middle of the commotion. Once the popping cork settled and a few twitches to work it I had a fight on my hands. I boated a chunky 23″ 4.7lb red, which for me was a great catch and thanks to the stability of my Hobie Pro Angler 14 it wasn’t too much of a fight. This fish wasn’t a threat in the tournament but it was getting close to noon, so it was nice to have a fish for the weigh in. I drifted a new bait through that same area a couple more times with no luck. I decided it was time to catch up with my partner to see what he was into. A habit I picked up my first day of kayak fishing was to troll a lure whenever I was moving just to have a chance at a blind strike, and sure enough 50 yards into my trip my paddle-tail spinner-bait got hit. I landed a small 15 1/2″ trout, but this fish meant we were weighing in a pair, so I was pretty excited. We tried a couple different things to close out the day but unfortunately nothing worked. There were some impressive two fish stringers brought in for the kayak division and our total weight was only 5.75lbs but it was good enough for 15th place out of 78 teams. Not bad for an offshore guy from Florida fishing my first time inshore on the Texas coast.

We were happy about our team’s finish, but the big winner at Casting for a Cause is our community. The charitable organizations that benefit from this tournament help some fantastic people do great work for our community and I’m proud to work for an organization that supports events like this. The tournament raised over $200,000. Congratulations to Steven Schmidt and all the folks at NuStar Energy for a job well done.

Looking for a little more Casting for a Cause fun? Check out our microadventure video!

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Chris's Story of Casting for a Cause at Austin Kayak

I got the opportunity to fish the Casting for a Cause tournament for the second year in a row last week. The word tournament might be featured in the name but the event is far more than a tournament. The people that come to this event are there to support injured veterans. As the child of a Purple Heart Recipient from the Vietnam conflict this hits home for me. The opportunities that CFAC and Heroes on the Water provide veterans is amazing. I’ve never been at a fishing tournament where multiple prizes and prize money is donated back to the cause or to benefit specific veterans.

For me this was also an opportunity to get to know two of the newer members of our staff while spending time with them for over 6 hours of driving. We had a tight turnaround. Most people don’t make a Thursday Afternoon to Friday night trip to the coast. That’s how important it is to us as a company to support this type of event. We left at 2 pm on Thursday and got home at 10 pm on Friday. Every minute was worth it. We laughed, we talked, we hung out with groups of kayakers from all over the state. Many of the guys have to make adjustments and movements that most kayakers never will. Picture landing a 28” Redfish with one hand tied behind your back. It’s no small feat.

Another great feature of the event was getting to spend time with some of my former employees who are still passionate about the sport and the people that make it up. I fished the tourney with my guy Tommy who worked with me from 2007-2008 and ran into Kevin who worked with us from 2008-2010. Some other old friends I bumped into were kayak fishing legend Fishman Fil Spencer of Ocean Kayak, TKF founder Tom Stubblefield and Heroes on the Water President Jim Dolan. I’ve known all three for a long time and it was great to catch up with them.

San Antonio Store Manager Barrett fished the tournament with a customer and they brought along their wives to provide encouragement, making it a family affair. I was thrilled at all the participation and the camaraderie that developed over the two days. I’m already looking forward to next year! Oh and I actually caught fish this year!

Want a little more Casting for a Cause behind-the-scenes action? Check out the short microadventure video!

http://www.austinkayak.com/blog/2014/07/casting-cause-chriss-story/

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Rod Transportation and Organization Made Easy at Austin Kayak

  Frustrated trying to transport your fishing rods? We’ve got just the thing.

  It can be a real buzz kill when you realize you aren’t going to be able to squeeze that last rod into the back of your vehicle. Well, I’ve found a new product that helps get those rods out of your car completely: the One Shot Outfitters Fishing Buddy!

  The One Shot Outfitters Fishing Buddy

Available in 3 different sizes (4, 6, or 8 rods), the One Shot Outfitters Fishing Buddy can accommodate pretty much any rod storage or transportation needs. Attach it to you vehicle’s 2″ receiver hitch and you are ready to go. Once you get to your final destination you can even use the Fishing Buddy as stand alone rod holder for bank fishing! Just remove the 2 caps on the base, fill with water, put the caps back on and set up is complete.

This is the second generation of the product. Unlike the first generation, these rod holder tubes feature SpiderClaw technology that will hold rods up to 2.25″ thick securely so that you don’t have to worry about rods being pulled out by fish or even falling out when in transport. Rod transportation and storage just got that much easier!

  http://www.austinkayak.com/blog/2014/01/one-shot-outfitters-fishing-buddy/

[austinkayak]

Rod Transportation and Organization Made Easy at Austin Kayak

  Frustrated trying to transport your fishing rods? We’ve got just the thing.

  It can be a real buzz kill when you realize you aren’t going to be able to squeeze that last rod into the back of your vehicle. Well, I’ve found a new product that helps get those rods out of your car completely: the One Shot Outfitters Fishing Buddy!

  The One Shot Outfitters Fishing Buddy

Available in 3 different sizes (4, 6, or 8 rods), the One Shot Outfitters Fishing Buddy can accommodate pretty much any rod storage or transportation needs. Attach it to you vehicle’s 2″ receiver hitch and you are ready to go. Once you get to your final destination you can even use the Fishing Buddy as stand alone rod holder for bank fishing! Just remove the 2 caps on the base, fill with water, put the caps back on and set up is complete.

This is the second generation of the product. Unlike the first generation, these rod holder tubes feature SpiderClaw technology that will hold rods up to 2.25″ thick securely so that you don’t have to worry about rods being pulled out by fish or even falling out when in transport. Rod transportation and storage just got that much easier!

  http://www.austinkayak.com/blog/2014/01/one-shot-outfitters-fishing-buddy/

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Supernova LED Lights

Wondering why you should invest in SuperNova LED Lights for your kayak?

The super bright LED strips from SuperNova offer the kayaker many advantages. Here’s 6 reasons to get your kayak lit with SuperNova:

1. Safety First: Increased visibility of SuperNova LED Lights gives you peace of mind that everyone else on the water knows you’re there. These things are extremely bright!

2. Long Lasting Durability: Not only will they get you seen, but SuperNova LED Light Kits they are durable, submersible and salt water ready.

3. Color Options: Blue strips…or green? Blue SuperNova LED lights are bright enough to light structures for casting at a distance and their UV qualities work well with fluorescent line. Green are a bit brighter and attract bait by the net full.

4. Light Up Your Work Space: Position them in the kayak’s cockpit or seating area as task or indirect lighting to help with tying line or bait selection. Blue is easier on your night vision but green is brighter and renders color best.

5. Storage Space Lighting: Place them in your rear tankwell or inside a hatch to make it easy to locate your tackle, rod or favorite frosty beverage. No more fumbling around in the dark!

6. Custom Solutions Available: If the kits at ACK.com aren’t exactly what you’re looking for, contact our customer service team at customer@austinkayak.com or 888-828-3828 and we’ll arrange a quote for your idea or specific need.

Shop SuperNova LED Lights now.

  http://www.austinkayak.com

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6 Tips for Surf Launching Offshore Kayaks

Paddling through the rough surf for an offshore kayak fishing adventure, more commonly referred to as surf launching, can be challenging depending on your specific location, the weather conditions, and the size of the swells you are battling! Done properly, surf launching can be a painless hurdle on the path to large offshore fish waiting to be caught, photographed, and either cooked up or released to be caught another day! However, there is some inherent danger involved. How do I prevent flipping or “turtling?” How do I keep my balance? What if all my expensive gear falls out?

To help ease your worries about surf launching and get you on those big “beyond the breakers” fish, we have developed these 6 introductory tips for surf launching on your next kayak fishing adventure.

1) Leash All of Your Gear

Yeah, yeah. You get it. The paddle sport accessory company wrote a blog telling me to leash my gear. How cliché! Hang on! All sales pitches aside, everyone knows that the more expensive the pliers, tackle boxes, boga grips, or even reels are…the much faster they sink. Leashing your gear is simply a built in safety net for the rough conditions you are admittedly going to face while beyond the breakers. During a moment of confusion or while you are losing your balance, these leashes allow you to focus 100% on correcting your movements and staying afloat. What if in this same moment you had to reach back for your expensive Penn reel and that new GoPro camera you just got for Christmas? With your focus off of staying balanced and maneuvering through the waves, drinking saltwater is inevitable in your near future.

2) Timing, Timing, Timing!

In general, successful surf launching is heavily dependent on timing. Without getting into the details that are far better explained by your local meteorologist, waves come in sets. This makes the ideal time to launch fall in between the wave sets. These wave sets vary based on many variables, however, typically the last wave in the set is the largest. Once this has passed and you are in between wave sets, there is a lull in the surf. Now its “Go Time!”

3) Be Visible

Large swells can limit your visibility to others. Having some sort of elevated safety flagduring the day or 360 degree light after dark is highly recommended to ensure safety. These visibility tools are also very helpful while out beyond the breakers where much larger boats may lose sight of you and your tiny kayak in the swells.

4) Know your Weight Distribution

This is one of the tips that is often forgotten. Paddlers in any boat, paddling any water must always be conscious of how the weight is proportioned on their kayak. Paddling offshore for a kayak fishing trip is usually done on longer, wider kayaks. Having a weight balance in the center of your kayak can cause a nose dive when a wave either a) breaks onto you or b) you hit the peak of a large swell. Try to lean back and keep weight closer to the back of the kayak to maintain optimum balance.

5) Keep your Paddle in the Water!

Always remember, when encountering waves or other turbulent water, you and your boat are always more stable when your paddle is in the water. Having your paddle in the water is crucial to maintaining balance because it acts as an easily controlled fulcrum point. We know what you’re saying, “Oh, well I have Mirage Drive”, “Not me, I have the pedal drive system”, “I’ll just turn on my trolling motor!” We understand. This is why we aren’t advocating that you solely use the paddle for means of propulsion. However, we are recommending that you keep the paddle in the water for added balance. Those pedals can’t correct you from tipping, but your paddle can.

6) Practice Makes Perfect

If you are inexperienced, practice playing in the waves without any gear before you take all the expensive gear out on the water. Some beaches even have lifeguards present to further provide safety while battling this learning curve. While practicing, make sure there are not many people around. Runaway kayaks can be dangerous to surrounding swimmers. Here is a “How To” video showing how not to surf launch from a kayak. Video courtesy of our buddy YakYakker.

http://www.austinkayak.com/blog/2014/05/introducing-ackessories-milk-crate/

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Introducing the ACKessories Milk Crate

What is the one accessory item you can always find in the tankwell of a kayak fisherman? If your answer was, ‘A milk crate!’ then you are 100% correct. Kayak fishermen use them to house all of their gear and even turn to some creative rigging to make their crates suit their style of fishing or needs. Let’s face the facts though. Not everyone out there who buys a milk crate wants to have to go and get extravagant with their crate designs. The typical modification that you find is the standard PVC pipe that is zip-tied into the corners of the crate to act as rod holders. Outside that, the standard milk crate is fairly plain in design. Now, with ACK introducing the ACKessories Milk Crate with Slide Trax Crate Rails, ANYONE can have a well thought out milk crate design that goes past just having some PVC strapped in.

This kit comes with everything you need to turn a 19″ x 13″ milk crate into a multi-functional kayak fishing accessory. With tapped holes to allow for the attachment of after market gear tracks, slots cut out to house pliers or fish grips, and even a slot that allows for a 5 gallon bucket to fit snug in the center of the crate that can be used as a live bait container. For the fisherman who enjoys having his PVC rod holders in his crate, there are four holes cut out in the corners to slide some PCV in to cure that itch.

The days of having to think out a milk crate design are over!

Below, Jerron Wosel, an ACK Buyer, demonstrates how to install the ACKessories Milk Crate with Slide Trax Crate Rails onto a kayak.

  http://www.austinkayak.com

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How to Choose a Paddle That is Right For You

Blade shape and paddling style – From a Fisherman’s perspective

Simply put, if you focus on a paddle that fits you it will means less fatigue, more time on the water and more fish in your boat. A lot goes into a great paddling paddle and each manufacture will happily tell their story, so do your research, try stuff out and make an informed decision. However the constant between all brands is that you are going to see two general blade shapes. They will differ some, but generally you’ll have short and fat or long and skinny. Each shape is designed specifically to perform better with your paddling style. Now sure you can use any blade, paddle however you want, but to get the most from your paddling match the blade shape to your paddling style. Let’s take a closer look.

Long and Skinny. This shape is for “Low-Angle” paddling. In this style your top hand is shoulder height during your stroke, and much more relaxed as it puts less pressure on your smaller muscle groups. This allows you to spend more time focusing on landing fish. Try for yourself and see how the longer, narrow blade shape “fits” in the water better and presents more surface area of the blade to the water. Now the disadvantage is that with every stroke the blades travel away from the side of the boat, making the boat turn slightly as you travel across the water. Less of straight line means more time to get from point A to B.

Short and Fat. When high angle paddling, your top hand will come up to about forehead height. Notice that your blades travel much closer to the kayak helping you to track significantly straighter. Again note that the short and wide blade shape “fits” in the water better in this position. It can be harder on the smaller muscle groups, but as you commit to perfecting your paddling technique, it will allow you to be a more efficient paddler. The common misconception is the fatter blade is faster, more powerful. Generally the blades are the same overall size and again the shape difference is to match style. To truly become more powerful, faster, work on technique. Here is a great, short, video for the kayak angler and their forward stroke.

Still not sure what paddling style is best suited for you? Ask yourself, “What do I see myself doing the most out there?” If your answer is to get out there, relax and maybe catch a few fish, low angle would be the way to go. If your answer is to get out in the water and focus on better technique for more efficient paddling, high angle would be the ticket for you. You can always get out there and try paddles out. The day you become a kayak fisherman, you have to think like a paddler first. Consider your paddle fit as much as you would consider any of your tackle.

Don’t forget, a bad day of fishing is still a great day of paddling.

http://www.austinkayak.com/category/11/Paddles

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Understanding Fish Finders

Still not sure what a fishfinder does? This infographic explains what fishfinders are, how they work, and how to install them on your kayak.

http://www.austinkayak.com/subcategory/210004/Fishing