Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition 3812 May 24- June 7 2019 | Page 7

VOL.38 • ISS. 12 5 May 24 - June 7, 2019 Spotlight On Kayak Fishing... Sponsered by Kayak City in Citrus Heights, CA Kayak City.Com 916.565.1400 Kayak Fishing: A Full Year Behind The Peddles Of A Hobie Pro Angler 14! By Cal Kellogg Well it’s official, I’ve been a kayak fishing for an entire year! I’ve expe- rienced hot summer days and bone chilling winter conditions. I’ve caught hundreds of fish and I’ve shot many hundreds of hours of video from my kayak. Naturally, I have some insights to share with all the aspiring kayak anglers out there. First and foremost, I’m blown away by the amount of interest in kayaks and kayak fishing. When I cross paths Fish Sniffer readers these days I continue to get questions about kayak fishing in general and my Hobie Pro Angler specifically. I’m addicted to the simplicity and excitement of kayak fishing and if you give it a try, you’ll Cal Kellogg’s Hobie Pro Angler 14 has a 600-pound capacity get the addiction and more than enough room for Cal and his fishing partner, too. Let’s dive in! Lucy the Labrador! Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff. The Hobie Pro Angler 14 When I decided to get a Hobie Pro Angler, my first challenge was deciding on a 12 or 14-foot model. I went with the 14 because the large rear deck and 600-pound weight capacity provides ample space for my fishing partner, a 65 pound Labrador retriever named Lucy. The Pro Angler 14 is the ultimate fishing machine with great stability, six horizontal rod locker tubes, a huge front storage compartment and a super comfortable seat. The H-Rail that surrounds the kayak’s cockpit has proven to be a great platform for mounting rod holders, camera mounts, downriggers and my Lowrance sonar unit. The Ego S2 Compact Slider Net works great for Cal when fishing out of the kayak. The net is short of enough for easy storage, but when extended it offers plenty of reach. Best of all the rubber mesh doesn’t tangle hooks or cause undo harm to fish. Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff. Bass fishing is fun, but at the end of the day I’m a trout angler. Early in the spring when the water is cold I nail a lot of trout while toplining from my Pro Angler. When the trout drop down, I use a high tech leadcore rig to target fish holding from 10 to 25 feet deep. When the fish drop down below the 30-foot mark I use a small Scotty crank downrigger to get after them. The unit I use is a simple yet highly efficient Scotty No. 1073 Laketroller crank downrigger. The unit mounts right on the Hobie’s H-Rail. The rigger features 100 feet or 150-pound cable. Every revolution of the downrigger’s “spool” releases 1 foot of cable for precise controlled depth trolling. The unit is rated for weights up to 4 pounds. I’ve been running with a 3-pound round weight with a fin and it works well. I’ve got a steel rod that is ¾ of an inch in diameter. I want to weigh the rod and cut it to length, such that it weighs about 3.5 In addition to his EGO net call has pounds. I think the rod will work even several other EGO tools in his kayak better than the traditional weight because it including this Kryptek camo lip will create less resistance cutting through gripper and measuring device. Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer the water when I troll quickly. Staff. Tools, Tools & More Tools! Fishermen make use of a lot of gadgets and gizmos and this is doubly true when it comes to kayak fishing. A lot of companies turn out tools that will work for kayakers. MirageDrive 180 My kayak is outfitted with EGO Products including an EGO S2 Compact The Hobie Mirage Drive 180 is the propulsion system at the heart of the Pro Slider net. Angler. The handle on the net rockets from 18 to 36 inches with the press of a button. Weighing in at under eight pounds, the MirageDrive 180 peddle The model I chose has a 17 by 19-inch hoop and boasts rubber netting to system produces full power in both directions and offers unprecedented minimize hook tangles. The net is also available with nylon netting and PVC maneuverability. netting. With this system, I can pull one of two shift cables to pivot the drive’s fins I’ve used the net a great deal and it has performed as exceptionally. It has 180 degrees, switching instantly from forward to reverse and back again. been very tangle resistant even when dealing with The dual fins provide shallow water trout hooked on Rapalas bristling with tiny hooks. access and easy shore landings by In addition to the net I also got an EGO Kryptek simply pushing one pedal forward. Ultra Grip fish gripper with a 40-pound integrated The drive is full adjustable with the scale. push of a button. It doesn’t matter if The gripper allows me to quickly and easily reach your 6’3” like me or 5’ tall like my out and lip a fish, lift it into the kayak and get an wife, you can tailor the peddle stroke accurate weight on the fish before releasing it. The to your body size. Ultra Grip tool features the high-tech and super cool When I’m bass fishing I’ll inch up Kryptek camo. on the structure, make a cast with In addition to the grippers and net, I also tossed a Carolina rig or jig and then use in an EGO Kryptek 24-inch measuring board to my MirageDrive to slowly back quickly and efficiently determine the length of away from the structure in reverse, anything I might land. dragging the rig through the strike My most recent acquisition was an EGO fishing zone. All the while, the action is out backpack that I used to store the bulk of my kayak on front of me and my hands are free fishing gear. I won’t go into details about this to work the rod. Cal’s Pro Angler has proven to be a deadly trout trolling platform. outstanding piece of gear, because I devoted a Note that both Cal and Lucy are wearing PFDs. Floatation devices are Getting Down: A Man Doesn’t mandatory when fishing from any sort of small craft. column to it about a month ago. Live On Bass Alone! Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff.