By Paul Lebowitz

August 5, 2005

Two time Bassmaster Classic champion Hank Parker cut his tournament teeth power fishing, aggressively and quickly covering a lot of water. Modern bass boats are tailor-made for this technique. So why would Parker, who was recently voted the seventh best professional bass angler of all time by ESPN Outdoors, ever be willing to trade tens of thousands of dollars worth of horsepower and electronics for a small, human-powered kayak made out of plastic? Sure, it is high-tech, space-age plastic, but plastic all the same. Have all those hours in front of the TV cameras filming his long running show Hank Parker’s Outdoor Magazine zapped his neurons?  

NATIONALLY famous professional bass angler and TV personality Hank Parker sometimes trades his fancy and powerful bass boat for a Hobie Outback. The fishing kayak allows Parker to access skinny water too risky for the powerboat. PHOTO COURTESY HOBIE

What’s more, Parker even has a kayak model named in his honor: the Hobie Mirage Hank Parker Signature edition Outback Fisherman. So when I saw Parker recently at ICAST 2005 (the fishing industry’s trade show), I walked up, introduced myself, shook his hand, and fired away.

“Hank,” I asked, “how did a bass pro like you ever end up in a kayak?”

The affable Parker didn’t even bat an eye. I got the feeling he’d been asked the question before, and didn’t feel the least shame about parking his pricey bass boat from time to time for a spin on the unique pedal-powered Hobie Outback kayak.

“Number one,” started Parker, “kayaks give you accessibility to extremely skinny water.” Then he smiled, and got right to the heart of the matter. “Its fun, absolutely fun, a whole new approach to fishing,” said Parker.

Well sure, access to otherwise unfishable water is a reason any angler could understand for climbing out of a bass boat and into a kayak. But how did he get there in the first place? It takes a big man to try something different. And as it just so happens, it was a really big man who talked Parker into giving kayak fishing a go. According to Parker, that man was six foot four Jackie Smith, an NFL Hall of Fame tight end.

“This big, tall guy said it was a hoot to fish from. You gotta give it a try,” Parker recalled Smith saying. Hmm, Smith sounds like a persuasive guy. If someone as large as an NFL tight end could fish from a kayak it couldn’t be too tippy. So what did Parker think? “I fished out of it and had a ball,” said Parker. As we continued to talk it became clear Parker really understands kayak fishing, and his Hobie Outback in particular.

“It has great stability. I jump in the kayak with no problems. I’ve yet to capsize, and I’ve been in some hairy situations,” said Parker. “You don’t have the range to go twenty miles, but you don’t think about it.”

“So where do you go on your kayak?” I asked. Without hesitation Parker gave me a great example.

“The Susquehanna River is too rocky for bass boats. For an investment of just about one grand I’m accessing water I’ve never been to,” said Parker. Then he went on to list other uses for the kayak, such as launching it at a legal access point, and then peddling or paddling it to fish from an otherwise unreachable bank. Sometimes he’ll toss the kayak on the bass boat, run up a river or lake, and then fish shallow arms he couldn’t get his bass boat into.

And that’s not all. Parker is clearly concerned with the future of the sport, which was reflected in how often he mentioned kids and the ease and fun of taking them kayak fishing. “There are so many ponds and small reservoirs accessible to kids. You don’t have the logistics of maintaining even a battery. You can carry the kayak easily,” said Parker.

Makes sense to me. While I wouldn’t look for the bass pros to trade their supercharged sleds for a fleet of ‘yaks, I wouldn’t be surprised if Parker convinced some of his buddies that there is a place in bass fishing for the kayak.