Post-Katrina: Paddle power to the people
In the August issue of Louisiana Sportsman, Marty Cannon gave several good reasons why the sport of paddlecraft fishing, otherwise known as “puddling,” is the hottest segment of the outdoors industry.
For a small investment, typically $400-$800, one can access a variety of waters, without the mess and cost of fuel, in a manner that is healthy for both the angler and the environment.
No thanks to Hurricane Katrina, you can add a few more reasons to the list. These come courtesy of my friend Brian, a former home/boat owner in Orleans Parish.
First, his new 12-foot yak fits neatly inside his new apartment.
Second, no boat trailer required. Come another evacuation, Brian’s yak can go with him.
Third, you don’t need a marina to launch, which is good because there aren’t any left at Brian’s favorite hole.
Brian had been eyeing a Pungo 120 for some time. Like most sit-inside kayaks (SINKs), the Pungo offered superior speed and tracking to most of the sit-on-tops (SOTs) that he’d test paddled.
Another advantage of SINKs is that the boat and paddler sit lower to the water, reducing wind-resistance. And unlike SOTs, SINKs can be made from a variety of lightweight materials like fiberglass, Kevlar, Duralite and Airalite.
On the other hand, there’s no question that puddling owes its current popularity to the sit-on-top kayak. For many saltwater anglers, the ease of ingress and egress from a SOT allows one to paddle and wade fish intermittenly.
SOTs are like plastic air bubbles. You can take on big waves, and they keep floating.
Canoes are not out of the picture by a long shot. When it comes to fishing two persons, adding auxillary power, or having the need for that 48-quart ice chest to hold all those fish you’re going to be catching, canoes win hands down.
Yes, they are slower and more wind-resistant than yaks, but the reason that veteran anglers like myself own them is because they offer superior standup stability.
So which type of boat is best? The answer is Cormier’s 1st Law of Puddling, which states that choosing a paddlecraft for fishing is an exercise in compromise. In other words, everything about paddlecraft is a trade-off.
In addition to the arguments for canoe versus SOT versus SINK, within each type one must argue: longer (faster, harder to handle) versus shorter (easy to handle, less weight, harder to track), wide (stable, slower) versus narrow (faster, less stable), composite (light but vunerable) versus polyethylene (heavy but tough), and so on.
In other words, there is no one perfect boat. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and that means you, the beholder, will at some point have to test out various craft and make your own decision.
Fortunately, there are several venues for this. A few retailers annually hold one or more paddle demos where the public can test out their various craft. Paddling clubs, such as the Bayou Haystackers, and fly fishing clubs, like the Red Stick Fly Fishers, also hold similar events.
The fly clubs and members of the Cajun Country Kayak Forum (kayakfishingstuff.com) also put on clinics specific to fishing from paddlecraft.
You can get event info online by checking the Puddler’s Forum at laflyfish.com.
My daughter Cokie and I regularly attend such events and test out a wide range of paddlecraft. We each take turns on a boat, putting it through a routine of tests that measure speed, manuverability, wind resistance, initial and secondary stability and overall handling.
When it comes to canoes, the Old Town Guide 147 remains as much our favorite as the day we bought one. Its polyethylene hull makes it battleship tough, and secondary stability is unreal. We routinely pushpole it in the marsh.
There is one con: The G147 weighs in at a hefty 74 pounds.
As a lightweight alternative, we like the Royalex models in the 12- to 14-foot range from Old Town, Mad River and Wenonah. These weigh in at only 35 to 45 pounds.
However as Cormier’s 1st Law applies, their light weight compromises part of their stability. We suggest adding stabilizers to these to enjoy standup fishing.
The fastest kayaks we’ve tested are the Wilderness Systems Pungo 120 and 140, followed closely by another SINK, the Perception Sundance. Each of these boats tracked like a laser beam.
Another SINK that rates at the top of our list, and comes with a value price tag, is the Old Town Loon 111.
All of these sit-insides are recreational models that have oversized cockpits, which make it easier to get in and out, and release you if you tip over.
Among sit-on-tops, the fastest and best tracking by far has been the Wilderness Systems Tarpon 140. It also has a flat bottom for standing up in, although I strongly recommend using “milk-crate technology” to fasten a stabilizer to this yak if that’s what you intend to do.
Again, Cormier’s 1st Law applies: Manuverability is somewhat poor.
The Ocean Kayak K Series offers a decent compromise of speed, tracking, manuverability and stability. These sit-on-tops consist of the Venus, Caper and Drifter models. Each shares a similar hull design, but in proportional lengths and widths.
When Cokie and I tested the Venus, Caper and Drifter, we each got very different results. The Venus (smallest) seemed perfect to her, but the Drifter (largest) couldn’t keep a straight course no matter what she did. I actually found the Caper (medium) best, but another paddler had no problem keeping the Drifter straight as an arrow.
And that brings up an important point often overlooked. It’s vital when you select a kayak, especially a sit-on-top, that you choose a length and width that will match to your body size and weight.
If the yak is too big, it will not have enough keel to track properly or to resist a crosswind. You will get rid of it in short time, thinking it’s the worst kayak made when in reality, it was absolutely perfect for someone bigger than you.
Another important point: Avoid “angler edition” kayaks. Most of the standard angler add-ons are expensive, and besides, part of the fun is being creative in outfitting your kayak for fishing.
But most important, nearly all come in dark or camoflauge colors. Do you really want a low-to-the-water vessel that people on motorboats and jet skis will have a hard time seeing?
My advice is to get a bright color like red, yellow or aqua. It doesn’t scare fish, it stays cool and it might save your life.
