Kayak Fishing Reinvented: Pedal Power

You’ve probably heard the adage that 90 percent of the fish live in 10 percent of the water. Spend enough time studying your fishing electronics and you’ll know there’s some truth to the old saying.

Over a half century ago, fishing pioneer Buck Perry taught us that fish relate to structure – depth transitions along the underwater landscape – and within this structure, cover like rock, wood, vegetation and manmade habitat. In a nutshell, the proverbial fish-holding 10%.

Still, sometimes that 10 percent can be hard to reach in a typical 18- to 20-foot bass boat or multi-species rig. Think backwaters, bays, coves, creek channels and small rivers.

But not for kayak anglers, whose easily-transportable vessels glide through skinny water, are easy to portage over land where necessary, and offer superior maneuverability. Fact is, kayak design has evolved to the point where each year more anglers are turning to the small watercraft as a viable alternative to traditional boat designs. It’s not that kayak anglers can’t and don’t fish from larger boats – it’s just that they often prefer the advantages of a kayak.

Kayaks allow dumping right off a bumpy, dirt road into a bass-filled lake without a boat launch. Or near bridges where giant grouper wait like trolls … and tarpon shimmer in the sun. Or backwater or tidal areas where ravenous redfish fin through schools of bait, pouncing on anything thrown their direction.

And new kayak designs are stable in still or moving waters, no matter how big. I know this for a fact, having fished salmonids in Lake Michigan, muskies in Canadian waters, and winter smallmouth bass in a turbulent and ice floe-filled Mississippi River.

Really, no water is impenetrable with a kayak. I remember fishing Lake Fork with a bass pro five years ago when we spied two boats off in the shallowest, most timber-laden section of a cove. We could see bass far back busting bait – just past where could easily maneuver. “Here come the kayaks,” announced the pro, “they’re like a cult …”

I nodded: “A cult that can get back to the fish we can’t.”
 

The irony of not being able to reach fish in an $80,000 bass boat wasn’t lost on either of us. But the pragmatic appeal of a fishing kayak was easy to understand, and the seed was planted that day. I knew I’d have to investigate this kayak fishing thing to access waters unreachable with my 18-foot multi-species boat.

So I started testing various fishing kayaks – “sit-on-top” and “sit-inside” vessels – each requiring a double-bladed paddle for movement. Each had the same problem. Poor boat control. Unless the waters were calm, it was difficult to stay in one spot for more than a couple casts. An anchor helped some, but I kept wishing for a hands-free experience; more fishing, less messing with a paddle. Same reason I don’t fish from a canoe more often, unless it’s in the BWCA or Quetico.

PEDAL POWERED KAYAKS

Then, in 2012, I was introduced to Hobie’s revolutionary pedal-driven Mirage Pro Angler at an AGLOW outdoor writers’ conference in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Utilizing the strongest muscle set in the human body for hands-free fishing, I realized the design was a game-changer poised to push fishing boundaries. Despite serious winds, I took to the harbor and then the main lake with zeal, fishing all day with my legs and feet—a first. I couldn’t help thinking of those years I watched my grandmother climb into a small sit-tandem pedal boat from her dock, maneuver her way out to a cabbage bed and catch a “mess” of panfish for dinner. New technology? Kinda sorta.   

 With regards to kayaks, Hobie was first on the pedal drive scene with inventive engineering based on how penguins use their fins to propel underwater. Called Mirage Drive, Hobie’s innovation forced other kayak manufacturers to follow suit or get left behind. And follow they did; now almost every fishing kayak manufacturer offers some kind of pedal-based drive system. Native Watercraft, Perception, Wilderness Systems, Jackson Kayak, Confluence Watersports, FeelFree, and Old Town Kayaks all offer unique pedal drive designs that make the paddle practically obsolete.

As a decades-long owner of a rugged and reliable Old Town Discovery 119 canoe, I gravitated to the Maine, USA-based Old Town technology, developed with the help of sister Johnson Outdoors brand, Minn Kota. When the product launched in early 2016, the end result was a pedal-drive with not only forward but the ability to maneuver the kayak in reverse.

“Our goal was to create no-fail forward and reverse,” says Old Town marketing Director, David Hadden. “The level of boat control possible is unparalleled for pinpoint positioning in wind, current, and around structure, the end result of over three years designing and building not only the most durable, dependable, fastest, quietest, and easy-to-use pedal-driven mechanism in the industry, but the perfect hull and boat design complement from the ground up.”

Their patient work at the whiteboard paid off. With design nods to lifecycle technologies, operating a Predator PDL is much like riding a bike; nothing to learn, just put your feet on the pedals and go. A 10.3:1 gear ratio allows speeds up to 5.5 mph without working hard, which is great for cutting open water to reach far-off fishing spots, something I learned this past summer in northern Ontario (we pedaled 8-10 miles each day). The boat has smooth forward movement and pedaling backwards with one-handed rudder control allows a small turn radius, great for maneuvering in and around cover and fighting fish.

The entire PDL Drive mechanism is compact, lightweight and rugged, with 16” of draft for running in skinny waters, and a unique pivot and docking system that allows users to go from parked to pedaling (or vice versa) in seconds. This also means anglers can avoid obstacles almost instantaneously and beach the boat virtually anywhere. A mere 21 lbs, the PDL console is easy to carry, operate and stow; it even floats.

And here’s the best part: you’re getting a legitimate workout while fishing, making any pedal drive fishing kayak an easier sell to reluctant spouses. “Seriously, honey, it’ll be great for my health! I’ll lose some weight and it’s cheaper than a personal trainer at the gym!”

KAYAK STABILITY

So you can get to point A to point B quickly, turn on a dime, and adjust speeds for easy, hands-free trolling. The next question kayak newbies ask is, “But how stable is it?”

With a general trend toward wider boats and better hull designs, today’s fishing kayak designs are built to accommodate stand-up fishing, larger anglers, and considerable gear, regardless of the manufacturer. Even at 6’ 1” and 230 pounds, I have had zero issues casting or fighting fish from a fully upright position. From pitching to flipping, fly-fishing, even flinging giant muskie baits that can disrupt the center of gravity, I have never fallen out of the 13’ 2” Predator PDL – let alone overturned it. At 36” wide with a 36” beam – and 500 pounds capacity – it’s a very stable fishing platform whether seated or standing.   

HIGH-TECH RIGGING

Not only do today’s pedal-driven kayaks put anglers right where the fish are, and offer stability to stand-fish, anglers are taking full benefit of all the high-tech features of boats many times their cost – like fishing electronics with technologies including GPS high-definition mapping, down- and side-viewing technologies, and CHIRP 2D sonar. Many kayak anglers are even mapping uncharted waters, thanks to technologies like Humminbird’s AutoChart Live, Garmin’s QuickDraw, and Navionics SonarChart for Raymarine and Lowrance. Considering that many waters fished by kayak anglers haven’t been surveyed, this technology is ideal.

Beyond high-tech electronics, it’s easy to accessorize kayaks for exactly the way you fish. Most fishing kayaks offer storage for tackle boxes, rods, rain gear … DIY live wells and coolers, mounting plates for rod holders, POV cameras, fishing electronics, various RAM-style mounts, lighting, etc. With endless rigging potential, some of these kayaks end up looking like warships. Conversely, they’re perfect for the kind of simplistic, contemplative fishing one might enjoy from a canoe, but with much better boat control, stability, and fishability. Grab a fishing rod, stuff a small jig box in your shirt pocket, slip on a life jacket, and go. The reality of a work lunch break on the water is made very real with how easily a kayak slides into the back of a pickup or onto the top of a car. Of course, eating is typically filibustered by catching fish. Good thing for the drive back to the office…

BUILT FOR FISHING ANYWHERE & EVERYWHERE

Fellow fishing writer Noel Vick is a passionate, arguably neurotic kayak angler. Located in Little Rock, Arkansas, he is squarely situated amidst primo reservoirs, farm ponds, and moving water. An Old Town Predator PDL nested in his FLOE Cargo Max trailer, Vick not only puddle jumps locally, but also commutes hither and yon, considering his kayak as essential to travel as a toothbrush and clean boxers.

“The kayak is man’s best friend,” say Vick. “It goes everywhere with me. Last year alone that meant trucking from Arkansas to Minnesota, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, Iowa and Missouri. And the boat doesn’t sit idly in my trailer, either. I’m fishing it at every opportunity – trust me.”

Vick is known to squeeze blood from turnips, laser pointing micro pieces of water along travel routes, dropping waypoints on the GPS in his Toyota FJ Cruiser. “Never, and I mean never, have I been on the road and not been able to find fishable and kayak-able water. Nothing better than mapping prospective water near the hotel and then blasting fish before sliding the key card for the night.”

Given frequent travels near saltier waters, Vick pounces on every opportunity to kayak and cast inshore and blue waters.

“Honestly, it might be the absolute finest form of fishing. The control and accessibility a pedal-driven kayak affords fishing inshore waters is unparalleled. I immediately think about sliding through slivered spaces on Louisiana saltwater marshes to reach bull reds inaccessible by motor. Or deftly micro-managing around dock lights for snook. Or having so much boat control you virtually suspend in animation over seatrout a rod’s length from a bridge piling in a rip – something you’d never test riding fiberglass with a 300 in the back.”       

THE FUTURE OF KAYAK FISHING

So, whether it’s fresh- or saltwater – kayak fishing is here to stay – but many are ditching paddles for pedals. Anglers across the globe are choosing to fish out of smaller craft because the advantages are many, not to even touch on the cost savings.

And that fish-holding 10 percent of the water? The pedal-driven kayak may be the very best vehicle to reach it on many waters.

Imagine pedaling a few miles to reach some secret spot, catching fish until your arms and shoulders are sore … and then pedaling back to shore, nursing a cold drink pulled from a cooler, relaxed and feeling victorious, no paddle required.

Indeed, this is what the fishing kayak experience looks like today and for the near future… reinvented, reimagined, and refined. Expect to a see growing trend of anglers pushing through fishing’s boundaries, leaving no waters unexplored, no potential bites untapped…

At the end of the day, that’s beautiful thing for anglers of all walks, ages, and abilities – to be so close to the water and far from the madding crowd, human hooves the only required horsepower. That, and an insufferable drive to catch fish.