FISHING FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
Kay-Noe Kayak & Canoe StabilizersKayaks and canoes offer paddlers the opportunity to enjoy the excellent fisheries and sight seeing opportunities that are available to them locally, in both fresh and saltwater. As more and more boaters hit the water in pursuit of the “big un” or the perfect photo, finding seclusion and new unpressurized areas to fish becomes harder and harder due to the shear numbers of people on the water these days. Fishing and touring in a manually powered vessel (canoe or kayak) is catching on throughout the country, but especially in the coastal areas of California and our own backyard, the coastal and freshwater systems of Florida. This type of boating allows anglers and touring paddlers alike the opportunity to find the skinniest water or smallest put in or around their local areas and reach places not accessible to the bigger boats that are beginning to crowd waterways across the county, or a little of the beaten path for us adventurers. As visitors to this site we are lucky enough to be privy to this sort of thing. Some of us have been paddling the backwaters and rivers of Florida for years in search of seclusion and a positive experience in the outdoors.  However, as sportsmen and paddlers alike have experienced, there is an endless search within our sport to find the perfect boat, whether it be a canoe or kayak, that has all the stability a serious fisherman will need for standing and fishing while maintaining some efficiency and paddling performance for getting to your destination. As I am sure all of us know, in most cases the two qualities do not go hand in hand, thus our ultimate dilemma. Sure you can find a boat that’s four feet wide and will accommodate big Billy’s recliner and beer cooler, but it will paddle like a barge. Or maybe you’ve finally made the decision to look into a more performance oriented touring boat, but still need a certain amount of stability for when you arrive at your destination, whether it be to fish or do jumping jacks in your kayak (I know, jumping jacks? you say, but after many years of working with kayaks, I’ve heard of some weird requests). I myself have had the opportunity to paddle endless numbers of kayaks and have yet to find the “one” perfect boat, but a swift new stabilizer system created by a startup company called “Kay-Noe Products” out of the Orlando area has made me look at boats and kayak fishing in a whole new light. Now as a fisherman myself, I consider myself a purist. I take one rod and reel, three spool of differently weighted line to interchange if need be, and one tackle tray about 8” x 10” x 2” thick. So when a good friend of mine associated with Tight Lines gave me a ring about this new stabilizer I was admittedly a little skeptical. I recall the barrage a questions I fired back at Pete, “How’s this thing attach? How heavy is it Will it get in the way of my paddling stroke” and many others. Basically I wanted to know how much and in what areas the rig would affect my fishing experience. After receiving the demo system Fred so graciously supplied to him, Pete passed it directly on to me with the gusto and confidence in the product that I have seen few people have on any kayak product, period. Simplicity is key to me, and I think the guys at Kay-Noe hit the nail on the head with the system they’ve got. While my first experience with the stabilizers was a little iffy, every use since has been a better and better experience. We’ll get into this experience and how it was solved a little later in the article.  The guys over at Kay-Noe, Fred and son Aaron, run a tight shop. All of the design and manufacture of their stabilizer systems are done by either one of the guys or the pair together, and also locally to boot, with these two guys scrutinizing and improving everything they can think of as the product comes along. These guys have put a lot of thought into the system and how it attaches to the boat and operates. Every piece that is used to build the stabilizers is corrosion resistant, either aluminum in high stress area, or a strong flexible plastic for the deploying arms.I’ll give you a run down of the product from start to finish, from attachment methods which REQUIRE NO DRILLING (a big plus for us paddlers, as we all know the fewer holes in our boats the better) to the pontoon arms and how the deployment and retrival systems work. Basically, the system is composed of an arm assembly that is attached to the boat via gunwale clamps for a canoe, or by a winched strap that goes around the hull of a kayak (see pictures below for a better idea of what’s being discussed). The second components are the removable pontoons that are installed with a cotter pin onto the arms once they are mounted to the boat and the trip is ready to begin. Other than that, that’s it. Keep it stupid simple is my motto, as if ya ain’t smart its gotta be simple for the simple anglers like myself. Plus I don’t like having to fiddle with small parts on any kayak accessories, whether it is a rod holder or the stabilizers I’ve been using. The guys have come up with separate mounting systems for canoes and kayaks, however the method used for kayaks could be used on canoes with narrower beams, so if a paddler owns multiple boats it can easily be adapted to fit any boat in the fleet. If a paddler only owns canoes than the gunwale clamps adjust to fit a range of boats from 36” to 42” beams in increments of 2 inch gaps, so there is a setting at 36, 38, 40, and 42 inches allowing you to fit a very wide variety canoes. So, as seen in the pictures provided, the clamps can be set to fit the most ideal position on your canoe, I’ve found the closer to the center of the boat the better, and then tighten the thumb nut on the clamp down tight and attach your pontoons via a cotter pin to the end of the deployment arms and your done! I’ve used the system numerous times on a Mad River Canoe Destiny 16, which is a great example of the solution to the stability vs. efficiency problem discussed earlier. The boat itself is a relatively stable boat, but is designed primarily with paddling performance in mind and it hauls butt. Although when attempting to stand and fish in it without the stabilizers it is a little tippy with two adults and gear, but the pontoon system handled that problem easily; turning the efficiency geared boat into a fishing platform once we got to the fishing grounds with the pontoons deployed, reaching a max spread of 8ft+ with three other shorter span settings, and a mean paddling machine while we were in route with the pontoons up. Platform is not an understated description either, my fishing partner and I both are able to stand on the seats of the canoe and fish comfortably with a combined total load of about 650 pounds, including the paddlers and gear (also that number will go up with the soon to be installed live well, hehe;).  Now, the second model is made for kayaks and has a little bit different mounting system, but offers the same ease and functionality the canoes system posses. With the kayak system Kay-Noe has adapted a ratcheting handle that cinches a 7-foot nylon strap around the hull of your boat keeping the arm assembly secure and tight, while the length of the strap allows fitment to just about any kayak you might come across. The arm assmembly rests on two adjustable feet that have a super sticky rubber surface on the bottom so they won’t slide around, and have settings of 18”, 20”, and 22” inch increments allowing you to find a suitable flat area as a base for the arm assembly. This system truly goes on in minutes, actually with Pete timing me one day we went from fully un-installed on the kayak to ratcheting the strap on, pontoons attached and deployed on the water in about 2 minutes. Pretty impressive, even to the old skeptic like myself. Now, my experience with the kayak model stabilizers have been primarily with two boats, an Ocean Kayak Prowler 13, and a Wilderness Systems boat they call the Ride 135. Like I mentioned before I initially had some issues finding a suitable mounting spot for the stabilizer behind the cockpit area on the Prowler 13, as that boat has some rather odd deck contours in that area, and had an interesting trip trying to figure out how to get it to stay set while it was behind me. About a week after, Fred stopped by and we spoke about the problem. I described the problem, he looked at the certain boat and immeadiately comes up with the idea of positioning the arm assembly forward of the seating area where some more flat surfaces were. I took it out that night and it worked like a charm. The rig was placed about thirty inches ahead of my seating position where I could operate it with no problem and stayed put with no issues. Once again, a perfect example of taking a boat primarily designed for efficiency and performance and turning it into a boat that I (a 225lb guy) could easily stand up in and fish. That’s unheard of for a 28”wide boat like the Prowler 13!! The second rig I used the kayak stabilizer system on was a Wilderness Systems Ride 135, and I could spend days talking about this boat as it is one of my favorites, but that’s for another place and time, ha-ha. However, this boat before the stabilizers is already known for its stability and utilitarian purpose, but the boat pairs up perfectly with the system, as there is a nice flat area forward of the seating cockpit where you can set the stabilizers up rock solid and still have super easy access to deploy the system while not interrupting your gear storage in the back tank well. Any one who is familiar with the Ride 135 knows that they are relatively stable boats but not only was I able to stand and fish in 15 m.p.h. winds with the stabilizers out, when landing fish I could actually sit on the side of the boat opposite the fish and deal with de-hooking the fish while he was still in the water. Literally SIT ON THE SIDE WITH MY LEGS IN THE BOAT, the stability was mind blowing. Some of the pictures in the article will better illustrate the setup and deployment of the systems, making what I’m saying a little more easily understood. There’s only a little info to give about the way you actually deploy the systems while on the water, as it is quite simple. Both the canoe and kayak models work the same way. There are two black knobs on a jointed part of the arm that you simply lift up and the arms by the knob and slide the arms on their track out into the water, simple as that. There are four deployment settings on this model as well, allowing you to place the pontoons out to as far as 6’-6” all the way into a width of 3 feet when fully retracted. Whenever you are ready to bring the arms into to start your trip to the next spot, all you do once again is lift the black knob and up slide the pontoons into a stowed position. These knobs can be seen in the pictures that demonstrate the actually mounting to the boat. All in all I think the guys over at Kay-Noe Products have really hit a home run with this one. While these guys are still really in tune with the local fishermen and paddlers they are more than willing to listen to feed back and take care of any new ideas that come along to improve their product. Just like with the Prowler 13 I paddled, after a five-minute discussion Fred had it all figured out. Fred has also spent some time with Pete discussing some ways to better the gunwale mounts for canoes over the last couple weeks and the improvement that the Kay-Noe guys are making are impressive to say the least. Along with the stabilizers, Kay-Noe has begun to branch out into making some fabulous push poles/paddles combined into a handy design. I have had the opportunity to see a couple but am excited to get them out on the water and test them out. Also Fred announced that a new, more flexible adjust foot system for the kayak model has just been thought up and built, taking care of awkward deck angles like on the Prowler 13 and sit-in side boats that tend to have more rounded off decks, even further expanding to possible boats the system will fit, as though the number so far was not enough. I guess you have to try and make everyone happy huh? Fred and Aaron of Kay-Noe are on to something and at the very least I hope they keep it up, as I’ve only seen good products from them and their good people who keep the local community in mind first! Hopefully we’ll see a lot more in the future from them. Rumor has it they are going to be teaming up with a local canoe company to offer pre-rigged packages with stabilizers included on the boats, so keep your eyes peeled for that in the near future!!! *Webb Watson is a shop manager over at Indian River Outfitters in Indian Harbour Beach, as well as an avid kayak angler and camper. Feel free to contact him via the store contact info to discuss everything from the full line of boats they carry to the latest hot fishing hole. Webb also leads small guided fishing tours in the area and would be happy to discuss some potential trips if anyone is interested in getting out on the water and enjoying some of the great fishing our local environment affords us. * |