How My Love for Kayaking Began...
If you're here, chances are you enjoy kayaking as much as I do. Not only do I enjoy exploration kayaking, but I also enjoy kayak fishing. I'm fairly new to fishing after a fifteen year lull from the sport. I'm also a kayaking newbie. Until the summer of 2014, I had never sat in, looked at, or even thought of myself in a kayak. I had some friends who paddled, and it sparked an interest. Last year I decided since I had the summer off from teaching, I might as well take up a new hobby. And so my love affair with all things kayak began. I've had many adventures since I first started kayaking, some of them are quite unforgettable. Catching my first fish from a kayak was incredible! Having an impromptu meeting with a snake wasn't one of my shining moments, but one I'll never forget and one I certainly hope I don't repeat any time soon. Needless to say, there have been lots of close calls and lots of excitement. No matter, it always keeps me coming back for more!
Before I get too far into my so-called fish tales, let's talk about equipment. Many times when I am on the river, I get questions about what kind of kayak I am using. At the present time, I have two very different kayaks, both built by the same awesome company. I use two different kayaks built by Jackson Kayak in Sparta, Tennessee. Not only do I love the fact the kayaks are built in the good ole' U.S.A., but they are truly the best kayaks I have ever paddled. And no, I am not affiliated with Jackson in any way as an employee. I do not have sponsorship from them either, but would love the opportunity! Yes, that was a totally shameless plug! Now, back to the yaks...
The Jackson Cruise 10 Angler
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| 2014 Jackson Cruise 10 Angler with Bending Branches Angler Pro paddle |
My first kayak that I purchased from a completely awesome store in Silver Point, Tennessee called Caney Fork Outdoors was a Jackson Cruise 10 Angler. I selected a color that Jackson was using at the time called Yellow Jacket. It was a unique twist on a camo pattern and being from Tennessee, you know I love me some camo. The Cruise 10 was the perfect beginning kayak for both exploration and fishing. The sit-on-top (SOT) style of the Cruise 10 gave me confidence as a beginning paddler. The stability of the Cruise 10 has been outstanding. I'm 5'9" and weigh around 150 lbs, and not one time have I ever felt like I was about to flip my Cruise 10. I have been able to stand in it and paddle, but honestly, I'm just more comfortable sitting down. The Cruise 10 Angler came outfitted with one Ram Rod holder that attached to the kayak by a Ram Tough Ball. The Jackson Elite Seat was also an added bonus to me as I have had a back condition known as Scoliosis since I was a child. I'm fortunate that my back is not visibly bent out of shape, but rather my spine is slightly twisted. I don't look physically impaired, but I periodically get numb legs from sitting too long or I get lower back pain. The Elite Seat has allowed me to be able to sit comfortably in my Jackson Cruise 10 for long periods of time and not be in pain. That really matters when you plan to sit in a kayak for a four or five hour river float.
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| Jackson Cruise 10 Angler on the Barren Fork River in Tennessee |
Bending Branches Angler Pro
Jackson Kilroy...The SUV of Kayaks
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| 2015 Jackson Kilroy with Bending Branches Angler Pro paddle |
After one summer floating skinny rivers, I decided I might want to try some larger bodies of water. That meant I needed a little different kayak if I planned to do much flat water vs. moving river water. I read about all the different kayaks that Jackson currently builds, and I decided the Jackson Kilroy was the one for me. I picked out my Kilroy and decided I would go with the color Urban Cowgirl that is currently offered on 2015 Jackson models. The Kilroy is the epitome of stability. Being a hybrid kayak, the Kilroy offers the stability and drier ride of a canoe and the sporty handling of a kayak. The Kilroy has basically the same Elite Seat used in the sit-on-top line of fishing kayaks produced by Jackson. The biggest difference in the seat in the Kilroy and the Cruise 10 is the fact that in my 2015 Kilroy, the Elite Seat offers a ThermaRest lumbar support pad. The seat is very supportive and with the addition of the lumbar support, I feel like I am sitting in a favorite lawn chair floating down the river. The Kilroy is larger than my Cruise 10 Angler. The Kilroy measures in at just slightly over 12' long and weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 58lbs. It is not a kayak that I can load and unload by myself. Luckily, my husband comes in handy for this task. Together, we lift the Kilroy with no issues at all. The Kilroy comes outfitted for some serious fishing right out of the box so to speak. Kilroys come with two Ram Rod Holders and four (yes, I said four) track mounts for adding additional Ram Mounts or Yak Attack gear. In all fairness, I have used the Kilroy to run moving water as well. It's really an excellent all-around kayak. It's not truly limited to just flat waters like lakes or non-moving rivers. It seriously holds it's own running on Class I and Class II waters. I don't think I would try anything much faster than that because the Kilroy is not self-bailing as it obviously has no scupper holes as SOT's have to prevent them from sinking. Turtle this baby and you are own your own bailing water.
Depth Finder Love
Being the gadget nerd, I had to take advantage of the incredibly functional hard deck on the Kilroy and so I mounted a Lowrance Elite 3x depth finder. Most people ask me if I use it to spot fish, but I really don't. My main goal in using the depth finder is solely to know what depth of water that I'm running in at the time. Especially in unknown waters, I like to know what structures are underneath me and where the crazy deep pockets of water are located. This really helps me stay out of trouble as I'm not one of the strongest swimmers in the world thanks to my Scoliosis.
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| Lowrance Elite 3x Depth Finder |
Installing the Lowrance was really easy in the Kilroy. I used the mounting base that came with the depth finder. At first, I contemplated buying a whole new Ram Mount system for it, but then I decided that the hard deck on the Kilroy would be ideal for just mounting the depth finder as if it were on a regular boat deck. The screws worked just fine going through the plastic deck of kayak with no modifications underneath. I was pleased with how clean it looked. My husband also drilled a hole in the deck so we could run the wires for the battery and the transducer and it would be all nice and neat looking. The battery sits in a plastic box I bought at Walmart for under $4 bucks underneath the hard deck and is held down by a built-in bungee cord that Jackson put in the Kilroy. It holds my battery down perfectly even when I have ran through mild rapids in my Kilroy.
Speaking of the transducer, I used a Ram Mount transducer arm and mounted it to the left rear track mount so the transducer arm would not be in my way during paddle strokes. This has really been a good set-up for me. It was super easy to put together and I actually installed it by myself. Other than my husband using his cordless drill to put holes in the hard deck, I was able to do all the set-up of my depth finder by myself.
Until Next Time...
For the yaks and my essential exploration and fishing gear, that about covers it! You get the idea of my basic set up. I'll be adding additional information to my blog that gives some reviews of my current fishing equipment. Look for my reviews of Yeti coolers, Browning micro-light fishing rods, Pfleuger reels, Astral PFD's, Astral shoes, Costa sunglasses, and anything else that I think might be of interest to new kayakers or anyone that wants to learn more about this ageless sport!
Until then, keep on yakin' and exploring!
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