The time of the year has come again where the normal “fisherman” will be gearing up to go to the favorite spots to catch that whopper fish.  Now with this virus issue going on worldwide I started trying to think of other ways to catch fish that I am not as familiar with.  Naturally with my love for the ocean and all things tropical it would stand to reason that I would love the idea of dropping in on a huge Wahoo or even pulling a few good eating reef fish.  Taking a deeper look at the subject I can say that I have done a lot of fishing and have been equally poor at each of them, but I really don’t see the need in that becoming the subject of this article, with that said I am reminded that I have wanted to get involved in kayak fishing.  

To me, fishing is more than catching as many fish as you can get in the boat or on the bank, which is a good thing for me, it has more to do with getting closer to nature and stripping away the stress of the world and focusing on something a little more basic and I cannot help but think that a kayak, a paddle, and some fishing gear is the way to go.  

I did realize something early on when trying to get some notes for this article, and that was, I do not know anything about the dynamics of kayak fishing.  I do, however know a few experts, so I reached out to Hunter Huffman.  Hunter is the owner of Ozark Float-N-Fly. Hunter is a kayak fishing guide working out of the Boston Mountains and Ozark Mountains that give birth to the awesome White and Buffalo River areas in Arkansas.  When it comes to fresh water kayak fishing in rough terrain, this is the guy and the guide.  

My first question to Hunter was basically, what are the odds that I can fish from a kayak and not do more swimming than fishing? I was informed that he keeps 2 models for his trips a NuCanoe Frontier 12′ and a NuCanoe Flint.  He says “both are great boats with a ton of flexibility”.  He says the Flint is an easy paddling boat that’s super easy to handle and has good stability for an 11′ kayak that’s 33″ wide.  He says it’s great for small water and creek fishing because of its great maneuverability.  Hunter says his favorite fishing kayak he has is the Frontier because of its amazing stability with it having a width of 41″ to go with the 12′ length it is perfect for standing and casting even though he was able to put a 360 degree swivel seat.  It may seem crazy or over the top but he has installed a Garmin Striker 7sv depth finder so he can locate offshore fish consistently.  Of course, this may be a little overkill for creeks and small river ways, but I can see why you would want that when getting on the lakes and larger waterways.  

I think I will try my luck first and start with something along the lines of the Flint to start out my hopeful new fishing passion since I can get the Flint for under $1000.00 where as the Frontier base will be around the $1400.00 range.

I think my biggest surprise when while learning more about kayak fishing is I wasn’t limited on the type of fishing, and I don’t really have to get new reels and pole set ups, Hunter let me know that his personal equipment he travels with includes typically 4 rods from 7′ to 7″-6″ which really removes any fear that I might have of showing up unprepared to catch.

I think it’s time to get to the Arkansas outback and let Hunter get me a fish on da hook and see if kayak fishing is something that makes its way into a steady part of my fishing life.  

Do you have a kayak fishing story?  Comment with it below.