NY Times Article on Kayak Fishing

Interesting that the NY Times ran a kayak tuna fishing story on their sports page.  Clearly kayak fishing is becoming more and more recognized.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/23/sports/23fishing.html?ref=sports

I had seen that story last week, but I didn't realize he caught that tuna in a SINK (sit in kayak).

I began kayak fishing much that way he did in Long Island Sound fishing for bluefish and striped bass out of a SINK.

The article said that if you want to fish for Tuna you have to have a power boat registration. well i guess you could almost technically say it is powered.. by either paddle or peddle.

I think that's bad ass. I also think he needs better gear. A boat with bulkheads, and a spray skirt would be safer. I don't know if I'd wear a harness either. I can see myself flying out of the cockpit attached to a giant tuna.

I personally believe that unsupported kayak fishing catches should be the only kind of record allowed for kayak fishing, if and when they make kayak records ligit. You paddle from shore and return to shore under your own power.

riding a power boat off shore, hopping in your yak and hooking a fish and getting help from the PB to land it, hopping back on the PB and going home defeats the whole point of kayak fishing and is LAME. What's the point of the yak, it could be an inner tube at that point.

If you're going for Tuna 50 miles off shore......buck up son! You have some work to do.

I think this article was a bit silly. I mean it's a second biggest at best yet he's trying to make it seem better than be best by bagging on Howard's halibut like it was no feat at all. If he wanted a great story he just should have interviewed Howard. It is a nice tuna though.

Z

This is the same guy/fish from the Nantucket sleigh ride post.

I think that's bad ass. I also think he needs better gear. A boat with bulkheads, and a spray skirt would be safer. I don't know if I'd wear a harness either. I can see myself flying out of the cockpit attached to a giant tuna.

I personally believe that unsupported kayak fishing catches should be the only kind of record allowed for kayak fishing, if and when they make kayak records ligit. You paddle from shore and return to shore under your own power.

riding a power boat off shore, hopping in your yak and hooking a fish and getting help from the PB to land it, hopping back on the PB and going home defeats the whole point of kayak fishing and is LAME. What's the point of the yak, it could be an inner tube at that point.

If you're going for Tuna 50 miles off shore......buck up son! You have some work to do.

I agree that getting pb assistance shouldn't count for a yak fishing contest or record, although I wouldn't refuse a free pb ride with my yak out to hali/albi grounds if somebody offered. It would probly be a lot of fun.
In my opinion, anybody who caps on someone who's caught a large hali from a yak doesn't know what they're talking about. I doubt they'd be thinking plywood if they got a large hali's head out of the water near their yak & that sheet of plywood suddenly comes alive.
I wouldn't know from personal experience, but I'm guessing that catching a large tuna from a yak might be safer than catching a large bill fish (say, marlin for example) from the same. At least tuna aren't packing a large spear on their snout.

I'd like to do some longer paddles this coming year. Maybe start with a paddle from South Cove to Sunset (when there's no north wind). Anyone else up for that?

and, again, we have the example of Howard McKim who's not only caught a truly large hali off his yak, but is actually on video fighting a large bill fish for several hours.and leadering it with minimal assistance, all in the approaching face of a tropical hurricane!!... truly, Howard, my money, head to head, would be on you... i think that other guy is just trying to promote a publicity stunt

From the NYT article

Lamoureux’s 12-foot Heritage FeatherLite isn’t even a fishing kayak.

Sit in Kayak isn't a fishing kayak??? Tell that to the Inuit.

My favorite was when he sized his fish by seeing it on his FF. 

Z

It is an amazing fish, that's for sure. Catch of a lifetime, no doubt. However the reference to catching a halibut in the article really rubbed me the wrong way as well. I also felt it was an attempt to belittle Howard's monster halibut and say that this guy's accomplishment was worth more. Obviously, whoever the reporter got that little bit of info from hasn't ever caught a monster halibut like Howard's so they should not have tried to compare it to something very few people have experienced. What about catching 400lb. salmon sharks from a kayak? That seems a helluva lot more risky than this guy's 'Taste for Risk'
And again, I'll pass on this guy's sashimi!  

It is an amazing fish, that's for sure. Catch of a lifetime, no doubt. However the reference to catching a halibut in the article really rubbed me the wrong way as well. I also felt it was an attempt to belittle Howard's monster halibut and say that this guy's accomplishment was worth more. Obviously, whoever the reporter got that little bit of info from hasn't ever caught a monster halibut like Howard's so they should not have tried to compare it to something very few people have experienced. What about catching 400lb. salmon sharks from a kayak? That seems a helluva lot more risky than this guy's 'Taste for Risk'
And again, I'll pass on this guy's sashimi!  

yeah, i was gonna mention that salmon shark, but knew someone would get it.

Amen Zee. I talked to this reporter briefly, just long enough to tell him that kayak anglers are a tight band, we know each other, and we trust each other on our feats without official IGFA records. But two things really rub me wrong about this whole deal.

First, I really don't care (ok maybe a little) if someone beats my record, but no true kayak angler would head out strictly to do so. I'm sure all of us on here know that just being out there is reward enough, but this guy seems to want to define himself by a 'record'. Seems he's missing the point.

And secondly, what I really like about all of us is that we don't hide anything. We share and want to help each other, with any aspect of kayak fishing. This guy is all about secrets, and doesn't want anybody to know what he does, or how he does it. Just seems out of place.  I have a saying - "I have no secrets. I'll show you everything I know... and will still outfish you." The latter may or may not be true, but the former is.

But still, great fish. I'm headed to the east coast this weekend, with kayak, and would love to hook into one of these on his coast. Oh wait, he lives in Chicago doesn't he..

Howard 

Howard! Great to see you here!  

As I read the article a couple items caught my attention.

“I actually consider myself safer than the average boater because all the safety equipment is attached to my person,” he said. He also carries dive fins in case he has to swim home. “I don’t plan on calling the Coast Guard or the commercial fishermen for help,” he said. “I think that’s irresponsible.”

This statement bothers me because someone else, having read this, may hesitate to call for help when their life depends on it. And, depending on the situation, every second could be critical.

and;

Bluefins are powerful enough, he said, that if given too little line, they can cause a kayak to flip end over end. When they get close enough, commercial fishermen harpoon a tuna, but Lamoureux right away realized that that would be a disaster from a kayak.

“Even I’m bright enough not to do that,” he said, laughing.

Would a harpoon with a buoy be an effective way to end the battle? If so, it would seem to be more humane than fighting the fish until it dies of exhaustion. Hey, if it turns out that a harpoon w/buoy would work... We won't tell him... It will be our secret! 

- Karl