By Paul Lebowitz

August 2006

“I get the strangest looks. People ask, ‘what’s with the fishfinder, what are you doing with rod holders on your kayak?’ and whatnot,” said Patrick Price. The Mammoth Cave National Park ranger and his fishing kayak are a couple of Green River curiosities.

If the explosive growth of kayak fishing has swept across the coasts like a surging wave, inland it is more like a garden hose. In the interior, kayak fishing is still a novel concept spread from one pioneering angler to another. Price has been at it for five years. By the ranger’s account, he’s recruited about a half dozen friends to the sport. Most had to experience kayak fishing from Price’s buddy boat before they ‘got it.’

“They can’t grasp it from a description. I think everyone pictures a sit-inside kayak. They feel trepidation. What about a big fish, will it pull you over?” said Price. It doesn’t take the kayak candidates long before the light bulb goes on.

“They get the idea behind stealthy fishing. They start to think about where they could fish that they can’t use regular boats,” said Price. He and his kayak fishing crew use their kayaks to chase bass, crappie, and trout up flooded canyons and over flats left shallow by receding water.

WATERBORNER RANGER – Mammoth Cave National Park Ranger Patrick Price gets up close with a Green River bass. PHOTO COURTESY PATRICK PRICE

Like frontier people the world over, gear is hard to find and it can feel like you’re alone in the wilderness. Price journeyed to coastal Florida to buy his Prowler fishing kayaks. When he can’t travel, cyberspace fills the gap. Price uses online specialty stores such as Hook1 Kayak Fishing Gear to outfit his boats.

Chris Wojtowicz of Darien, Illinois is forging his own kayak fishing trail on the outskirts of the city of broad shoulders. So far, he’s one of a kind.

“When I posted about kayak fishing on a big freshwater website in Chicago, absolutely no one replied. It was kind of strange, usually someone will respond whatever the topic,” said Wojtowicz, who has never encountered anyone else kayak fishing. The father of one youngster with another on the way turned to the kayak when he no longer had the time or energy to maintain a powerboat. Wojtowicz fishes from a Voyager recreational sit-inside, one of the few kayaks available locally.

“Here you are own your own. It is only the renegade guy that has a kayak,” said Wojtowicz. He shouldn’t be a loner for much longer. Like Price, Wojtowicz is recruiting new kayak anglers. “My buddy just got a boat, an Otter. We’re working on rigging it,” said Wojtowicz.

Although kayak fishing is only growing by ones and twos in the U.S. interior, industry figures see a big future for the sport. Karen Ezell of Hook1 reports sales are increasing to inland states.