Great Outdoor Blog

Kayak Fishing was the fastest growing outdoor activity in 2011 and the popularity continues to grow. Getting started is easy with the relative low cost of purchasing a kayak in relation to the cost of a motorized craft. And kayak fishing tournaments are a great way to to meet new people and learn more about the sport.

Kayak Fishing Team Member Mike Callahan in his Trident 13 Angler

Most tournaments are “photo catch and release” meaning you will need a digital camera and a means to measure the fish. Below are several resources that provide information on area tournaments. These include the increasingly popular “online tournament” which allow anglers to fish according to his or her schedule and participants can submit their catches online for judging. Probably the most recognized of the online tournaments is the Kayak War series.

Each of our shop locations is staffed with kayak anglers that can provide more details on the sport and offer suggestions as to how you can participate. It is lots of fun and provides a great way to be outdoors.

Click on the links below to find out more about kayak fishing and local tournaments.

North Carolina Kayak Fishing Association

North Carolina Angler Online

Hardcore Kayak Fishing

Carolina Yakfish

River Bassin Forum

Kayak Bass Fishing

Kayak Angler Magazine Online

Kayak Wars

Thanks to Gwen Crabtree for this resource. Gwen is the paddlesports manager at our Charlotte location and a member of the Great Outdoor Provision Co. Kayak Fishing Team. Follow Gwen @CLT_Kayaker.

We are excited to announce new GOPC Kayak Fishing Team member, Gwen Crabtree:

Gwen resides in Charlotte where he is the assistant manager and paddlesports manager for the Charlotte location of Great Outdoor Provision Co. While Gwen has fished for as long as he can remember, he’s relatively new to the sport of kayak fishing having purchased his first fishing kayak about a year ago. However, don’t let his relative newness to the sport fool you. Gwen has entered four kayak fishing tournaments in the past year and recently won the North Carolina Kayak Fishing (www.nckfa.com) Battle in the ‘Boro fly fish division. You can follow Gwen’s kayak fishing adventures on Twitter, just look for @CLT_Kayaker

The Greenville Great Outdoor Provision Co. kayak fishing seminar was very successful with 18 to 21 participants who were all extremely interested about getting involved in the sport. Some participants had already purchased kayak and were interested to learn about outfitting, gear, and paddling tips. Others who were entirely new to the concept of kayak fishing learned about the different kayak models, fit, and applications to their particular fishing settings. After the presentation was over there was time given for participants to ask questions and receive advice and recommendations on a personal level.

Ashley Williams @ Greenville Shop

Location: Charlotte shop
Date: Sunday, May 22, 2011
Time: 2 – 4pm

Erick is a 14 year kayak fishing veteran and has been affiliated with Wilderness Systems for the past 5 years. He originally started a fishing team to fish in the Extreme Edge Kayak Tournament Series. The original team, Team eAngler placed in the Top 3 in several events, took home 2nd place in three events and finished 1st in one event. The original three members, (Erick, Todd Llewellyn and Mark Michael) have fished in various events across the country both as a team and individuals. Todd and Erick won the Florida Sportsman Super Lure Tournament as the only kayak anglers competing against a field of 29 other teams in power boats. That was a first in that particular event and winning in a respectable fashion by weighing in two redfish that bested the field by almost 3 lbs. Erick is also a past 1st place winner in the redfish division of the Osprey Bay Kayak Tournament and 2nd Place in the trout division of the TJM Celebrity Charity Event. He also competes in other tournaments, including the world renowned Jacksonville Kayak Classic, where he won largest trout in 2009, and for the past several years has had the privilege and honor of being one of the judges.

His current team is now Team Wildy, part of the Confluence fishing family with Wilderness Systems and AT Paddles. He continues affiliations with Hook 1, along with using rods and reels from Quantum and part of the Columbia Sportswear Pro Staff. Erick competes mainly in individual events today, as well as taking part in other kayak fishing related events. He is also active in several online kayak fishing communities posting either under his real name Erick, or as erayyak.

Erick is best known for “The OLC” or “The One Lure Challenge”. A kayak fishing tournament series that he started 5 years ago on a whim to see what gold spoon caught more fish. The single event turned into an annual 4 event series that offered kayak anglers the opportunity to participate in a fun, yet competitive challenge. Each angler is only allowed to fish with the lure chosen for that particular event within certain boundaries, therefore eliminating many of the advantages someone may have by using their favorite lure, or fishing their favorite fishing hole.

After leaving Florida to return home to North Carolina, “friends” from the kayak fishing community at paddle-fishing.com held the first “Erick Bell Memorial Tournament” as part of their PFTS (Paddle Fishing Tournament Series). Although, still much alive, it follows a similar format to the OLC series he started down in Florida. This is an annual event, and a great reason to go back each year for a great time with good friends and to fish in a tournament. Plus, he wants to make sure everyone knows he has only moved and still has a passion for kayak fishing.

There is no charge to attend but we do ask two things:

1. If you are planning to attend, call our Charlotte shop so we can get some idea of how much room to make.
2. If you find the clinic useful, consider making a small donation to our local chapter of Heroes on the Water.

Dates, Time and Locations for all our Kayak Fishing Workshops can be found here

by Gwen Crabtree, Charlotte Staff

On Saturday, 30 April GOPC kayak fishing team members Bo Anders, Tim Stewart, Drew Haerer, and Mike Callahan joined me for the 1^st Annual North Carolina Kayak Fishing Association (NKCFA) Battle in the ‘Boro Fishing Tournament. The tournament was held on several lakes throughout the Greensboro, NC area and benefitted the Heroes on the Water program which serves military personnel who have been wounded, injured, or disabled.

The Battle featured two divisions for the kayak angler: largemouth bass and fly rod. I chose the fly division because anglers were allowed to count any fish whereas anglers in the bass division were restricted to largemouth bass with a minimum length of 14 inches. If you’ve read any of my other tournament reports, you know I freely admit that I’m not very good at spin fishing. Add that to fishing a new body of water and I surmised that entering the bass division would be too tough for me. I am much better at fly-fishing and I knew the lake I planned to fish had catfish and very few people would guess you could catch a catfish on the fly. My odds of placing high were further improved knowing that at most maybe 10 people would enter the fly division.

After a little online research and getting some personal intel from people who fished there before, I decided to fish Lake Mackintosh near Burlington, NC. This lake is perfect for the kayak angler because it has two sections limited to electric motors or paddle power only. My reports indicated the fish experience less pressure in these areas and I hoped this would improve my odds as well. This time I decided not to sleep in and I actually got to the lake just after 6am and after setting up my Ocean Kayak Prowler Trident 13, I pushed off from the launch just before 7am. At that point I was one of two kayak anglers from the tournament who were on that section of the lake.

As I drifted on the lake, I opened my fly boxes and tried to decide what the fish might be interested in that morning. I decided I would go with the conehead fire tiger woolly bugger, which Sam in our Charlotte shop assured me would catch fish. After about 45 minutes of paddling and casting, I felt a solid strike on my 8-weight rod and saw rod tip bend over. The fish put up a good fight, but it didn’t quite feel like a bass. After a few minutes of working the fish, I finally got it to the surface, and what do you know, a catfish on the fly. Grabbing my Hobie fish grips, I secured the catfish and scrambled for my official tournament measuring board and my camera. During all this I was trying to figure out how I was going to take a photo of a catfish without either losing it or getting spiked by one of its fins. In all the hustle to get everything lined up, I was about to snap my first photo when I realized that I didn’t have my Immersion Research sticker in the photo to make it an official catch. After a little more scrambling, I put the catfish on the board and snapped several photos. I didn’t really pay too much attention to the total length; I just knew the fish was over the 16-inch mark. Not too shabby for a catfish caught on a fly.

I fished the rest of the day until about 2pm with nothing else to the boat, but I still had confidence that my catfish would get me into at least the top five. After loading up and a quick drive to the tournament weigh-in, I pulled up my photo and zoomed in on the tail of the fish so I could fill out my entry record. The fish measured 16.5 inches in total length. After waiting about 45 minutes while the NCKFA team reviewed the entries, I was called to the judges’ table where they asked for my camera. At that point I knew I had placed at least in the top three in the fly division because the tournament officials informed us they would only ask for photos from the top three anglers in both divisions.

It didn’t take too long for the judges to review and approved all the photos and then they started the awards ceremony. Third place in the fly division went to one of the Heroes on the Water anglers, Michelle Little with an 11.75-inch largemouth bass. Michelle’s catch netted her a $100 GOPC gift certificate. Second place in the fly division went to William Scarboro with a 15-inch bass. William’s catch was rewarded with some sweet gear from Immersion Research. The winning fish in the bass division went to Wayne Stirewalt who boated a 19.75-inch largemouth. And first place in the fly division went to a 16.5-inch catfish and earned me a sweet Versa Board rigged for fishing. My strategy of fly-fishing for catfish paid off. Not too shabby for only my third kayak fishing tournament.

Many thanks to the folks at NCKFA and their sponsor for putting on a great event!

If you haven’t heard of Heroes on the Water, I encourage you to check out this great organization and all they do for our Veterans.

Until next time, tight lines.

Renowned writer, photographer and kayak angler, Jerry Dilsaver is highly regarded not only within the kayak fishing community but among anglers in general. His articles and photographs have appeared in numerous publications including North Carolina Sportsman, South Carolina Sportsman, FLW Outdoors and more. Part of Hobie’s group of professional regional anglers, Jerry is also a member of our Kayak Fishing Team. Jerry is a highly sought after speaker at fishing seminars throughout the Carolinas. We are very fortunate to have Jerry’s expertise available to us as he is one of the most articulate and talented kayak fishing instructors in our region.

We are pleased to host Jerry’s Kayak Fishing clinic at our Wilmington store location. This first clinic is introductory in nature and will focus on kayak rigging, technique’s and other topics of interest to the beginning/intermediate kayak angler. If you are looking to get started with Kayak Fishing and want a good overview from a very knowledgeable instructor, this would be an excellent clinic to attend.

There is no charge to attend but we do ask two things:

1. If you are planning to attend, call our Wilmington shop so we can get some idea of how much room to make.
2. If you find the clinic useful, consider making a small donation to our local chapter of Heroes on the Water.

Dates, Time and Locations for all our Kayak Fishing Workshops can be found here

by Ashley “The Drumminator” Williams, GOPC Kayak Fishing Team

This weekend was the perfect example to take full advantage of all the benefits kayak fishing has when searching the saltwater flats for redfish. I planned my trip accordingly for tides and locations.

Where I chose to fish was the very popular (and what I consider my kayak fishing stomping ground) Fort Fisher. With a low tide estimated to be around 9:00am it would be the perfect chance to paddle out and start wetting lines at the peak fishing opportunity. I have eleven years of experience fishing and scouting the creeks in this area so I knew where I wanted to be. Fort Fisher is a gem of a fishing location and what makes it even better is the lack of boat traffic and their inability to access many areas, especially at low tide.

I pulled into the Federal Point boat ramp around 6:00 and began to unload my gear. The ramp has undergone renovations within the last year to which I’m split over. The ramp has been improved greatly but I’m still waiting on that promised kayak launch they’ve been talking about adding. Mion may have gone out of business in 2006 but I’m determined to keep these Current Sandals forever and do not like digging them out of mud flats.

There is a walkway that has been added this year so visitors can get down to the small “beach” section which I’d say around 50 yards wide. Traditionally this is where kayakers have launched from along with wind surfers who frequent the area. But as I said earlier, you’re prone to losing a shoe.

The wind was blowing from the south and predicted to build through the day so I decided to concentrate today’s efforts on spinning tackle. I tied up a few lures, courtesy of Marsh Works Inshore Tackle, before unloading a rigging my Hurricane Phoenix 130. While unloading my friend Jeff pulled into the ramp with his Wilderness Systems Commander 120. After talking a bit we discovered that we both had the same destination in mind and would paddle out together.

Today was an exceptional day for me. Fort Fisher is the water I taught myself to kayak in. Prior to that, my father brought me here to surf fish on the beach and wade fish in the marshes for redfish. In the interest of covering more ground behind the marshes my father helped me get a kayak for Christmas in 2009. That following fishing season was the start of an amazing career in kayak fishing which has opened many doors for me ever since. Not only do I recognize and appreciate those opportunities but even more so, I recognize and appreciate the friends which I’ve gained through the years. It’s not just the fishing that I enjoy, it’s knowing that around any creek bend I can bump into someone I know and share the day with.

It’s those friends who helped support me with phone calls, message, and visits when my father, at 55 years old, passed away after an eight month battle with cancer on October 22nd, 2010. I had been ready to give up the paddle and rod because the memories were too strong of our time on the water together. It took a phone call with a friend (and part owner of a competing business) to tell me I was stupid to quit and give it all up because my father wouldn’t want me to do that. So on Sunday, with a laugh and grin, I shoved off and began my first trip back. I think dad was pleased with the results.

Well Jeff and I squeezed into a creek and paddled our way back into it. This whole area is full of creeks which contain deep holes and channels. At low tide the redfish just seem to get stuck and hang out until the tide returns. From the kayak it’s easy to slide into this places and cherry pick them all afternoon while boats pass back and forth from a distance. Jeff started the day off with a couple of nice redfish almost immediately. At Jeff’s recommendation, I changed up lures and quickly picked up a couple myself. There were a lot of hits and misses as well from this area. After a while of no hits we moved on to explore a few other areas. We saw quite a few redfish moving along individually and no schools. Some were crashing bait against the grass and didn’t show any interest in our lures so we moved on.

Later on we went out separate ways as I was due back home soon. On my way out I came across a school at the mouth of the creek we first fished in. I quickly landed two more redfish and lost three. The last redfish was fortunate enough to return home with me and join my family at dinner that night. All in all it was a good day fishing. To pick out and area ahead of time, get there, and land four redfish from 21” to 26” is a good trip.

We are excited to announce two new GOPC Kayak Fishing Team members:

Tim “stew-rat” Stewart – Tim is a Charlotte N.C. native and longtime Mt. Holly resident having the Catawba river within minutes of him his whole life. Founder of the Hardcore Kayak Fishing Team and VP of the Mt. Island Wildlife Stewards. An all year kayak fisherman for over 12 years and owner of 5 yaks. Besides fishing he enjoys any activities that will get him out in nature. Anyone who is interested in becoming a paddle fishermen, area tournament info, wildlife events, or info on the Catawba can feel free to drop him a line at stukayakfish@bellsouth.net

Bo Anders – Bo is a native of central Kentucky where he spent the first 22 years of his life chasing smallmouth in local streams, largemouth in regional lakes, and everything else in between. He relocated to Huntersville, NC, in 2004, but didn’t begin kayak fishing until 2008 when he purchased a small sit-on-top from a coworker on a whim. It took one trip to the lake and the discovery of a local fishing blog (ncangler.com) to convert him to a paddle fisherman. He’s fished every available weekend since, launching his excursions in driving rain, blistering sun, and skim ice conditions year round. He is married to his wife Amanda who is wonderfully understanding of the addiction that is kayak fishing.

by Gwen Crabtree, Charlotte Shop

On Saturday, April 2, I loaded up my Ocean Kayak Prowler Trident 13 fishing kayak and headed to the Catawba River just above the Hwy 27 bridge in Mt. Holly, NC. My purpose on the water was to compete in the Charlotte area 2011 RiverBassin Tournament Trail. While there are a lot of kayak fishing tournaments around the world, this one is unique because anglers are restricted to fishing creeks and rivers; no lakes or ponds allowed. Just like most kayak fishing tournaments, boaters are restricted to people power only. No motors or amped up bass boats here. The format is also a bit unique because we had a 90-mile radius from the Charlotte area headquarters at Bass Pro Shop in Concord. In addition to the boat rules and fishing area, the tournament rules required anglers to record their catches on digital camera and submit their virtual stringer at the “weigh-in” station by 4:30pm local time on Saturday. Anglers competed to see who could get the best virtual stringer of 3 black bass (largemouth, spotted bass, or smallmouth). There is also a team division and a nod to the overall big fish of the day. Normally I don’t do a lot of kayak fishing. In fact, the last two times I’ve fished from my kayak were both tournament events. So I am at a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to competing with other kayak anglers. But, I enjoy it and find myself looking for more local tournaments to enter.

So, yesterday I get started around 9am, a bit late, but I’ll be honest, I really enjoyed that extra hour or so of sleep. I will also admit I didn’t really think getting on the water at the butt crack of dawn in colder weather would pay off for me anyway. Remember, I’m not very good at kayak fishing and I don’t need to be on the water a few extra hours NOT catching anything. It really messes with my psyche. Anyway, I get out there, take the required photo of me at the launch to prove that I’m setting off in safe light conditions and then I head off upstream from the boat launch. The weather wasn’t too bad, a little cooler and windier than I would have liked, but a good day regardless.

I paddled and fished my way up to the dam below Mountain Island Lake and only had one or two light strikes on the way up to the dam. I really am convinced that one of the strikes was a hook-up, but I didn’t get the alleged fish close enough to the boat to confirm that suspicion. So, I’m at the dam and decide to drop anchor and pound away at the water in hopes that some magic might happen. Nope, nothing, not even a hint of a strike or a fish anywhere. So, getting discouraged and beginning to think that my 2nd tournament might end with an empty score sheet, I pulled anchor and started to paddle to one of the flats area just downstream. At this point, the wind is starting to kick up and one minute it’s at my back pushing me downstream, the other it’s in my face making life miserable as I fight the wind to even make small progress downstream.

So, I get to the flats around the bend of the river and set up a slow drift with the wind. I’m starting to get a little encouragement because I’m starting to see some activity on my fishfinder. As I drift downstream, I huck my line out and begin a slow retrieve of my chatterbait. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, I feel a hard strike and set the hook. This fish feels good and I’m fairly certain it is a “keeper”. My thoughts are confirmed when I get the fish to the boat. It is a keeper. Now my mind’s racing. I’ve got to make sure I don’t loose what may be my only fish of the day while I’m getting my camera, my marker to prove I caught the fish on the day of the tournament, and my official tournament measuring device. I boat the fish and grab my awesome Hobie Fish Grip pliers to secure the fish along side my kayak while I paddle to the shore to take my photo before I release the fish. After I get to the shore, I snap two quick photos making sure to include my tournament required Gorilla Glue sticker in the photo. After I’m satisfied with my photos I release my fish back into the river and jump back into the kayak to try for 2 more fish to complete my three fish stringer.

Unfortunately, the rest of the day was horrible. The winds picked up and made paddling difficult to say the least. I didn’t boat any more fish and as I loaded up and headed to the weigh-in, I knew that while not a total failure, my one fish would probably not even get me into the top 10. At the weigh-in location, everyone said the day was tough. I felt a little better after finding out that some of the anglers didn’t even get a fish to the boat. And considering this was only my 2nd tournament, I’m more than pleased with my one catch which checked in at 14.75″.

I want to thank Drew Gregory and all the folks with the RiverBassin Tournament Trail for hosting a great event. Stay tuned for my next tournament report after I fish my next tournament in Greensboro, NC on April 30.

Update: results are in – I placed 10th. I’ll take it!

Mark Patterson is well known among kayak anglers. He is the founder of the NC Kayak Fishing Association, which has over 600 members. Mark began his website to network kayak anglers from across the state with both freshwater and saltwater interests. Mark organizes tournaments, leads species specific trips, and provides a wealth of information to kayak anglers of all levels. He also holds two annual charity events: one for Heroes on the Water and one for Sea Turtle rescue. Mark holds a degree in Biology.

We are pleased to host Mark’s Kayak Fishing clinic at our Greensboro store location on February 18, 2012 at 2pm. This first clinic is introductory in nature and will focus on kayak rigging and other topics of interest to the beginning kayak angler. If you are looking to get started with Kayak Fishing and want a good overview from an unbiased expert (and all-round good guy), this would be an excellent clinic to attend.

There is no charge to attend but we do ask two things:

1. If you are planning to attend, call our Greensboro shop so we can get some idea of how much room to make.

Dates, Time and Locations for all our Kayak Fishing Workshops can be found here