In this video we explore the rapid evolution of “bass kayak fishing”, a sport that has seen significant changes over the last decade. I am not sure we can really call these vessels kayaks anymore, we will discuss in this video. This video examines the current state of “kayak fishing” and what it means for the future of the sport.
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24 Comments
The minute you add an electric or gas motor the DMV wants you to register it. 🤷
Double motors will be when kayak fishing jumps the shark. Until then the folks with these mega, motor only kayaks are putting themselves in a potentially bad situation if something goes wrong.
Interesting subject matter. I think we may see a split within the sport and a growth of clubs/tournaments for human power vessels with no electronics. The growth will be more grass roots, as manufacturers of yaks, motors, and sonar will throw money into the small boat market. At least I hope that's where it goes. I don't care for the current trajectory.
This stuff is on my mind all the time and I try to talk about it and also try to relate to the beginner kayaker
Bass fishing competitive organizations absolutely need to get together and identify and define exactly (measurables) what is a Kayak. we continue to push the limits of what tournaments allow as a competitive vessels and we are completely allowing the industry to gas light us into calling boats and skiffs kayaks. Personally I think a stock kayaks weight limit and a total dimension around the perimeter of the kayak should be the defining factor and documented. We also need to define exactly what the limit of the motor could be, regardless of what the industry releases. Frankly as a pedal kayaker I would like to see us spot the man powered kayaks 5 inches to our bags. If we did that, there would be a lot less motors on the water. lastly, personally I would be perfectly happy if the TitanX12 the XTR and the Wilderness Pro 128 and their ilk were defined to be outside the acceptable limits.
I enjoy the challenge and reward of manual padding! I worked for that fish on its own terms.. my cellphone, my digital baitcaster is as far as I’m taking it! This is the national pastime sport of Jesus Christ; his disciples needed no technology on the Sea Of Galilee✝️🎣🇺🇸✝️🎣🇺🇸✝️🎣🇺🇸✝️
i f you cant paddle it then its on a diffrent category like jackson blue sky and the xtr etc
I hate it when I agree with you 😂
But I do.
I used to tournament fish from my bass boat in the late 80s and early 90s and I quit because it stopped being fun then I got a kayak and joined a kayak bass fishing club in the river valley then it's like you said ,people started showing up with trolling motors on their kayaks. It's not a level playing field.
i want a large enough kayak that its still considered a kayak so i dont have to pay a boat launch fee
Been saying since we let motors into Tournaments that we are in small motor boats. Kayaking has gotten more diverse then I had ever thought would happen.
Love your videos bro. That said I don’t completely agree with your analysis. I think the sport is evolving just like bass boat fishing. Look a a bass boat from the 80,s. Bass boats are totally different these days.We need 3 things in the sport 1. Polygraph winners and random angler’s 2. Bigger prize money 3. Include incentive money like bass boat amateur tournaments
He's right! I've been fishing all my life, and have owned various boats. In fact the whole reason I got into kayak fishing was the simplicity of it. No motors, no registration, no muscle fees, no gas, no storage, no major maintenance etc. just a simple pedal powered kayak. I was interested in fishing while combining it with a little exercise.
That said, I do believe that the high-tech kayaks, and even small boats as Jeff mentioned can coexist. I think it's up to the tournaments and the tournament directors to determine what qualifies as an actual kayak for that specific tournament.
What electronics (if any) can be used for that specific tournament? How is the vessel powered, gas, electric, human? This gives anglers options. To Jeff's point for those who are beginners, they could to join tournaments were no electronics are allowed and only human power kayaks can be leveraged within a specific width and length and whether that's pedal or paddle. Or maybe electronics could be kept to down imaging only or none at all.
Whatever the case, there's options available where we all can coexist doing the thing that we love with the technology that we love.
Ban live scope and tournaments
I have so many thoughts on this, but hate to say it publicly and get slammed through other avenues.
One topic I’ve tried to shut down in our club, “double motors”. Their argument, “it’s a safety issue”. My point, buy an actual kayak that you can paddle if your motor goes out. It frustrates me to no end.
I’m sure you saw our announcement about limiting FFS in 2 events. I got SLAMMED from our friends to the north. Within 5 min, they had a post up with 100 comments telling me how stupid we are for trying to stay a grass roots kayak club.
Would love for you to do a video with your thoughts on that!
There seems to be a lot of interest in the tiny boat trend. There's no outlet for tournaments though. At least not one as mature as the kayak tournament trails. Adding tiny boats to traditional kayak tournament trails will likely shrink the participant pool.
Maybe some local clubs can add divisions. Assuming they have the draw to support both traditional and highly modified kayaks and tiny boats. Even if they don't at the local level. They may at the state level. Just keep two scoring categories. One traditional, and one modified.
I’d be all for smaller local events limiting the use of motors and electronics. We need more small grassroots events. Small events don’t need to follow the trend of bigger events. There is a lot of travel often involved with bigger events that serves as a barrier. Having lots of smaller events would help grow the sport in that sense as well. I still like the idea of motors and electronics but it is a barrier to some getting into the sport.
The very second we started sitting on top & not inside, they stopped being kayaks & started being boats. You "sit inside" both Kayaks & canoes, you sit "on top" of boats. We don't have kayaks or canoes, we have small plastic boats. The NATIVE ULTIMATE FX 12 series & OLD TOWN SPORTSMAN DISCOVERY, VAPOR & LOON series of crossover kayaks/canoes would be perfect & should be the standard for a KAYAK/CANOE Fishing Sport to take place. Paddle or peddle only! Everything else is a "Fishing Vessel" or boat. Most sports rely on skill, not computerized, electronic mechanical coddling. What would basketball, baseball, football or golf be like if each player had laser-guided GPS equipment to put balls where players wanted? Shit would be lame AF. No skill! Put skill back in the game. Use the computers & electronics to manufacture the kayaks/canoes, paddles, poles, etc, we don’t need motors & fish finders. The very second you take all those electronics away, you will see who the real fishermen & women are. If you're too fat & lazy, oh well! If you're too old & geriatric, then Oh Well! You couldn't play any other sport either. hell, I'm 55 & I still paddle big lakes for fish. I'll spend 6-10 hours on a lake with my son (in his own kayak) fishing, & I paddle a NuCanoe Unlimited. I rarely use the pedal drive on it because it sucks. All the YouTube grifters will never let this happen, so maybe we should just start this up ourselves. A true "Kayak/Canoe" fishing sport. Just seems now the only people that can play are the ones that can afford the insane electronics & gear or those who are given the insane electronics & gear by companies (these people are usually one & the same). Nothing like watching adults catch fish while staring at multiple screens like they're playing a video game. It's lame. You might as well be sitting on the couch at home doing it.
I love kayak fishing. Once tournaments started it kinda went crazy. Money corrupts everything. I chased the bigger and better kayaks and finally bought a bass boat for lakes so I can take my kids with me. It's also far too dangerous on a kayak on most lakes where I live because of boat traffic. My favorite fishing is a small creek on a simple kayak.
I agreei100& Great words from a respected voice in the Kayak community
You and me talked about this before. I'm planning on launching that kayak fishing club you and I were talking about with the 3 different classes based on how the kayak is set up. I think, after watching this, make a definitive definition of kayak as well. if anything to try and keep cost somewhat down.
Before they became small plastic boats they were small plastic bicycles that float. Motors for the win.
I'm "down grading" but I'll be darned if I don't have at least a transom motor 😂
Agree but here are some of thoughts…
Would kayak tournament fishing have grown without technology advancements such as motors and pedal drives? Wind thresholds have increased for safety and comfort fishing. I remember fishing against ANY wind in my Ride 135 and it sucked! 😂
Also, people first and foremost love to CATCH fish. This is what gets them into the sport. Any tech that increases your chances is going to draw people who want to increase performance. (Think rifle scopes, ballistics, carbon fiber cars, the list goes on…)
I’d love to see more divisions broken out such as KAS, BASS, etc and possibly a paddle only series, but you’d be a lot more limited based on weather cancelations for any wind above 15 kts.
Just some thoughts. Great conversation Jeff!