Jeff Burdick: Have kayak, will fish

When your best buddy goes out and buys a new kayak, you can only do one thing, right? Help rig it and get it covered in fish slime. The process all started weeks ago when the decision was made to upgrade from a paddle kayak to a pedal version. With so many different choices out there in the pedal drive kayak market, a little time was spent deciding which path was the best to go down. Numerous discussions were had over the important features as well as over what compromises could be made. We spent many times talking about how the kayak would be set up and what were some options to add for rigging. Once the decision was made to go forward with a Hobie Pro Angler 14, the search for one started. In just over a year, supply chains of many kayaks have been severely limited due to high sales. The local dealer was contacted and was not able to provide exactly what my buddy was looking for. Knowing of a few more dealers in the state, I passed that information along only to strike out again. Online vendors became the top choice. The model and color was in stock at Austin Canoe and Kayak, the order was placed, and then the dreaded waiting began. Since delivery was going to take awhile, this was the perfect time to order all of the accessories needed get the kayak just right. Rod holders, a new fish finder, tackle trays, mounts, lights, flags and even a cart were all picked out and ordered. Luckily, all of the add-ons were delivered prior to the main piece. The kayak, of course, took the longest to arrive. After a painstakingly slow delivery, it finally arrived — and without damage or missing parts. I was once again asked for some advice. Rigging a new kayak can be a little stressful but as long as you think through what you want your end result to be, it can be a rewarding process. Having the ability to throw ideas at me before finalizing a location was a nice benefit. I was able to give feedback and advice during the process, as well as get my hands dirty, so to speak, in running wires, connecting switches, batteries, voltage gauges, etc. Watching everything come together as a complete package was rewarding for me, too since during this rigging I sat back and directed more than past times when I jumped in more. This was not the first build for either of us, but still an important one. Now that rigging was done and registration with the state was completed, there was a lot of discussion and testing before final locations were picked. Minimal holes were drilled with the mounting accessories Hobie offers. Final assembly of the seat and drive were completed. Now it was just a matter of waiting for a day to get out on the water and do some final adjusting. The excitement was growing as the weekend neared and the weather was looking more and more favorable. The day finally came. We met at the launch point in Lorain to a flat lake and beautiful sunrise. Finally, the new kayak was in the water and we headed off to try and find some fish. Although the real purpose of the trip was adjustment and getting used to the new craft, a bonus fish would be nice. Soon after launching, we talked about the various things that still needed to be done. Then we paddled off the beach a little until the water was deep enough to set the drive in place. Lowering the skeg and the steering rudder was done at the same time. After some quick instruction we were are on our way to deeper water to set some lines and try our luck. It didn't take too long once we hit a little deeper water to start seeing some marks on the fish finder. Now, if only we could get those fish to bite. We both set some rods out and attached a mix of lures to entice that strike. After about 20 minutes a rod bent hard and a short battle was had. The result was a nice walleye for the first fish of the day. Not long after that I saw the rod on the side of the orange beast bending backward. A feisty rare yellow perch was reeled in. We reset and continued on our way. As we got more and more comfortable by the minute with the new ride, the fishing started to take on the main role rather than the testing of the kayak. We ended up catching a number of walleye, sheephead and that lone perch — all on crankbaits. Deep bandits, flicker minnows, walleye nation creation reapers and reef runners were used and produced fish. What a great day, having a new kayak with the pedal drive and a great day to test it and break it in. And spending a nice couple of hours enjoying the morning and learning as we caught some fish, well, that's not a bad way to spend a Sunday morning on Lake Erie.