Gulf Coast Kayak Fishing Association
Gulf Coast Kayak Fishing Association | |||||||
|
| |||||||
| Home | GCKFA on FB | Join GCKFA | Links | Gallery | Sponsors |
| Articles | Weather | News | Tides | Rigging | Tournaments |
|
GCKFA NEWS |
|
Ted Gorder (foreground) and Bryan Duvall arrive back at Pensacola Beach after a four-hour kayak fishing excursion recently / Brian Kelly/bkelly@pnj.com
|
The joys of kayak fishing Local kayak fishermen tell why they prefer the smaller craft to traditional personal fishing craft. |
Kayak
fishing: Sometimes, you don't need a bigger boat
Area anglers take
to 'yak fishing
Copyright © 2011 www.pnj.com. All rights reserved
Joe King dragged his kayak through tall grass to the water's edge.
There, he plopped the bright yellow Hobie into the glassy water. After fastening two Shakespeare poles to the kayak and pouring ice into a cooler, he climbed in and paddled out. As the sun rose over the Intracoastal Waterway, the only sound disturbing the morning was the buzz of King's casting line followed by the bloop of shrimp bait breaking the water.
Welcome to the world of kayak fishing — what fans call "yak" fishing.
King is among many area anglers who have taken to the sport. For him, it is all about serenity while fishing from his 16-foot kayak at Galvez Landing along the Intracoastal Waterway. From his launch point, King treads water to The Pass just before Innerarity Island. There, he blends into the grass flats and trolls for speckled trout.
"Thing I love about yak fishing is that it offers the best of all worlds. You get exercise, the fishing form is totally green and it's economically cheap," said King, 56. "It's a solitary form of fishing, so there is a real zen feeling as you fish at dawn. It's me, the water, the kayak, the fish and the beauty of it all."
With rod, reel, bait and pimped-out kayaks, area anglers are pulling the day's catch from kayaks. From the Gulf of Mexico to the Intracoastal Waterway, Pensacola's yak anglers are reeling in all kinds of catch from their sleek personal watercrafts.
Some yak anglers blend the sport with another art form of fishing.
Pensacola resident John Fitzgerald, 67, prefers fly fishing from his 10-foot kayak.
"Fly fishing is an ultra-light fishing sport, so it goes well with kayak fishing," Fitzgerald said. "Fly fishing boils down to the aspect of casting and how well you do that from a kayak. It's very exciting to catch a fish from a fly rod."
'Freedom machine'
While the skies darkened and thunder rumbled over Shoreline Park in Gulf Breeze one recent morning, 61-year-old Allen Roach paddled out about 100 yards from the shore. After baiting his line with a Cajun bobber, he pulled the pole back and let it fly.
Then he settled in to wait for a nibble.
"From here, I'll paddle out to the grass flats for speckled trout, red fish, Spanish mackerel," he said, yanking on the line.
One might say Roach is a trailblazer of kayak fishing. He first tried fishing from a kayak in 1980, but life pulled him away until three years ago. He dove headlong back into it after running a web search on kayak fishing. He was floored by how much information he found.
"I love it now. I call the sport fishing from 'the freedom machine' because I'm free to go wherever I want as a kayak fisherman. Only now is the sport really breaking wide open as fuel costs rise, as boating becomes more expensive. This is a very green form of fishing. And like bass fishing, a lot of guys are trying to outdo each other."
Maneuverability is a definite advantage kayaks have over other boats.
"Northwest Florida rotates around the water, but boats
are a hassle for many. There are very few places a kayak cannot get to and many
fishing spots a boat can never get to," said Ferd Salomon, an avid kayak
fisherman. "And the best thing is that the kayak fisherman is going to catch
the same kind of fish as the boater will, whether it be inshore or offshore."
Growing trend
All over the country, the phenomenon shows no signs of being a passing fad. Helping to drive Pensacola's yak fishing fervor is the Gulf Coast Kayak Fishing Association. It was founded in 2005 by Saloman and Ted Gorder, both from Pensacola.
"There was a community of kayak fishing here in Pensacola in 2005, but there was no communication between us. So we organized our first meeting with just 12 members at that time," said Salomon, 52, president of the association. "Now, we'll get about 140 kayak fishermen at a gathering."
Since its inception, the group has sponsored four tournaments, with another in the works for this fall.
Gorder takes the sport to another level. His kayak uses peddles instead of more traditional oars. Recently, he was peddling his 16-foot Hobie kayak through rough surf at Pensacola Beach. Fishing gear jutting into the air, Gorder hit the beach and rolled out. He was returning from an eight-hour fishing excursion that took him and fellow kayak fisherman Bryan Duvall four miles into the Gulf of Mexico before dawn.
"I got into kayak fishing about eight
years ago after seeing other people do it. I just love the versatility of going
inshore or out into the Gulf of Mexico," Gorder said, revealing his catch
in a compartment filled with ice. "It was a good day today. I brought in
three king mackerel, two Spanish mackerel and some red fish."
Fierce
competition
Competition and bragging rights within the sport are so fierce that there is even an online forum to show off yak catches. Kayakwars.com was founded in 2007 by Rick Underbrink and Eric Ozolins, two serious kayak fishermen. Underbrink spoke to the News Journal from his home in San Antonio.
"We started the website as the result of a competition between Corpus Christi and Houston as to which could bring in the biggest catch from a kayak," Underbrink said. "So, a battle began, and now the website is filled with pictures of kayak anglers from all over the country, including many from the Pensacola area. I call it fish pornography."
Chris Phillips, owner of Hot Spot Bait and Tackle in Gulf Breeze, has witnessed an explosion in the sport over the last two years. Many of his customers are kayak anglers.
"Fishing is an expense for a lot of people that they can't afford in a tough economy. Kayak fishing doesn't require gas or any of the other costs that a boat does," Phillips said. "And someone who wants to get into kayak fishing can get a couple of poles, reels and a tackle box for $50. In our area, the sport is growing more than anything I've ever seen."
As with any sport, you can spend as much as you want before your kayak ever hits the water. Still, getting into kayak fishing is less expensive than people think, according to Joe Godard of Pensacola Kayak and Sails.
"You can get into the sport, well equipped, for around $1,000 to $1,500. Of course, that doesn't include fishing gear," Godard said. "Unlike a boat, you'll stop paying for a kayak fishing rig eventually. Once you buy it and outfit it with fishing gear, then you're ready to be on the water. It's what all the cool kids are doing."
Written by
Brian Kelly
http://www.pnj.com/
Copyright © 2011 www.pnj.com. All rights reserved.
|
GCKFA Spring Tournament !! The Gulf Coast Kayak Fishing Association is proud to announce the inaugural Gulf Coast Kayak Fishing Spring Tournament on Saturday, June 10th here in Pensacola. Kayak fishing is one of the fastest growing sports in the country, and the Northwest Florida / South Alabama area boasts a very dynamic and active group of kayak fishermen - not to mention some of the best fishing in the country. Please plan to join us for the fishing, fun and fellowship - plus we have some great prizes, including a new Malibu kayak courtesy of Panhandle Kayaks! The event is open to all Kayaks, Canoes, other paddlecraft only- no motors!! (except by special approval on basis of disability or other consideration). Schedule of events - Grand Prize is a Malibu
kayak courtesy of Panhandle Kayaks! Additionally, there will be prizes for the
Top 3 anglers in each of following categories and door prizes open to all tournament
entrants. Entry
fee is $35.00 on the day of the tournament Information subject to change - for the latest details, please go to the GCKFA website and click on "News". Entry forms and on-line submission and payment of entry fees will be available through PayPal in the very near future. Visit our website: www.gulfcoastkayakfishing.com | Reprinted from March 29, 2006, Pensacola News-Journal "Newly
formed kayak club reels in 27 members" On a recent Saturday morning, members of the Gulf Coast Kayak Fishing Association launched a fleet of kayaks from Shoreline Park in Gulf Breeze into the calm water of Santa Rosa Sound. A thick fog blanketed the Sound's surface as Ted Gorder, vice president of the association, paddled toward the group. He pulled alongside Ferd Salomon, president of the club, and the two consulted in hushed tones. In a few minutes, Salomon announced the decision: head for Bob Sikes Bridge where the best indicators of fish had been found. One after the other, kayaks with fishing poles fanned at the rear and with decks covered in tackle boxes and other gear, headed toward the bridge. The kayakers' smooth strokes and fishing acumen belied the fact that their club has only been in existence for six weeks. "This is way ahead of my expectations," Salomon said. "We have grown to 27 members in a very short amount of time and have members from Mobile to Destin. The most important thing for us is to have a good time fishing, and anyone who wants to come out with us is welcome." Fishing trips the club organizes are a major draw. To date, the kayakers have fished North Escambia Bay, Greenshores and Santa Rosa Sound, and a rigging clinic was conducted to help members set up their kayaks for optimum fishing. The club now has plans for fishing trips to South Florida, participation in regional fishing tournaments and may organize its own tournament in the future, Gorder and Salomon said. Meanwhile, the kayakers eagerly await prime fishing season. "We are going to go into the Gulf this summer and fish for cobia," Salomon said. "It will be a challenge, but an exciting challenge. These kayaks are extremely diverse crafts, and it is amazing the size of the fish you can reel in with these boats." Gorder said he has caught numerous fish from his kayak: a huge redfish, several 3-foot sharks and even a 12-pound jack crevalle. In Northwest Florida, the kayak angler has an advantage over those fishing in a motorized watercraft -- namely, simplicity and convenience, Gorder said. "You can launch almost anywhere with a kayak. We can get to a lot of waters that boats can't get to," he said. "Here, some of the best fishing is in shallow grass flats and bayous. The most popular inshore species are redfish and speckled trout, and there is no place they live that we can't get to in a kayak." Want to know more? For more information about the Gulf Coast Kayak Fishing Association and upcoming events, visit www.gulfcoastkayakfishing.com. Copyright (c) Pensacola News Journal. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Gannett Co., Inc. by NewsBank, inc.
|
| Reprinted
from May 4, 2006 Pensacola News-Journal - The
'yak attack Kayak fishing long has been a recreation enjoyed by a few adventurous anglers who wanted to get a little closer to the action and move away from using noisy, fuel-guzzling engines. Now those anglers have an organization to pool their efforts -- and their enjoyment. "We were getting on these forums, and everybody was talking about motor boating," said Ted Gorder, vice president of the Gulf Coast Kayak Fishing Association. "We were getting lost in the noise of the motors. "We decided to start up a club dedicated to kayak fishing and the response has been great." About six months ago, club president Ferd Salomon and Gorder started talking about an association and were visiting area fishing forums online in search of anglers interested in kayak fishing. What they found was enough interest to form a club. So, gulfcoastkayakfishing.com was developed and since has drawn more than 100 subscribers during the past month. On a recent Sunday morning, members met before sunrise at Shoreline Park. Gorder, Gene Sowell and Larry Burner are part of the new breed of paddler/angler hybrids who have helped move one of the fastest growing water sports in the world from the margins to the mainstream. Their sleek, customized and completely modular crafts are loaded down with coolers converted into bait wells, knives, multi-tools, fish finders, GPS systems, live bait, tackle and a variety of poles. What they do not have are motors, and they are very happy about it. "We are going to spend this morning going after specks and big slot reds in the grass beds here. And then later, we will head into the Gulf and hook some Spanish," Gorder said. "The best thing is that it won't cost us a dime in gas." Burner and Sowell are out-of-town retirees with roots in Pensacola who brought their interest in kayak fishing with them. Sowell got his start fishing the lakes and Gulf in Texas. "It's all about the sleigh ride," Burner said of the ride kayak anglers get after hooking a large fish. In their attempt at escape, fish drag anglers around, adding challenge and excitement to the catch. "The serious guys out in California are catching and reeling in sailfish on their kayaks," Burner added. While this crew isn't going after sailfish, yet, they are paddling into some brave waters. Sowell has been fishing for shark. "The largest shark I ever caught from my kayak was 6-foot," he said. "I let him drag me around for 30 minutes or so before I let him go, and he didn't slow down for a second." Covering new ground The club has paddled and put their unconventional angling skills to the test in the Gulf, around Navarre, Escambia Bay, Greenshores and Santa Rosa Sound. Members have put on a rigging clinic to help prepare boats, and the club soon will be rallying troops, loading the boats and hitting the road for some regional fishing trips. The first GCKFA tournament has been scheduled for June 10, and anglers will be fishing for redfish, trout and flounder. A new fishing kayak is the grand prize. For more information about the club, visit gulfcoastkayakfishing.com.
Copyright (c) Pensacola
News Journal. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Gannett Co.,
Inc. by NewsBank, inc. |
| Home | GCKFA on FB | Join GCKFA | Links | Gallery | Sponsors |
| Articles | Weather | News | Tides | Rigging | Tournaments |
| |
 |
copyright © 2012 Gulf Coast Kayak Fishing Association, All rights reserved.
