Oddysea
3/19/2008 10:08:38 AM by Wave Editorial Staff
Unforgettable tall tales, stories, legends and nautical blunders to share with friends in and out of the water.
The latest entry into the extreme sports craze is Xtreme Kayak Fishing. Yes, you heard it here first, folks. There are several definitions of what makes fishing from a kayak qualify as Xtreme, and we will delve into some of those in this article, although we encourage you to try it out for yourself in order to create your very own definition based on your experiences.
For starters, some say any fishing from a kayak is much more hazardous than fishing from a boat, pier or on shore. Others go to the truly extreme aspect of fishing for often-dangerous species, that can be larger than the boat. The general consensus is that Xtreme Kayak Fishing is fishing for any species for which, under average circumstances, a powerboat would be used.
Next come the tournaments, especially in Florida, where numerous tournaments include the world’s largest, the 5th Annual Kayak Fishing Classic in Jacksonville on May 2-3, 2008. Then follow the wild tales. And believe us, there are lots of them.
One of our favorite stories takes place when several kayakers decided to go fishing for tuna 40 miles offshore on a fairly calm day after convincing a friend with a large enough boat to take them the necessary distance out to sea (and pick them up, of course). Tony Aneho, a South Florida resident who was visiting Nantucket at the time the story was making the rounds, remembers the whole thing. “They started off targeting small bottom fish and did really well,” he says. “Flushed with their small success, they baited their hooks for tuna. After several hours, one of the kayaks got a tuna on the line…and more than he’d bargained for. He was taken for what they’re calling a two-mile Nantucket sleigh ride!”
And the story continues from there. Apparently, one of the other kayakers paddled like mad to catch up with his friend and actually managed to hook up with the first kayak and add his weight against the fish, which eventually began to tire. The powerboat then came in, but it was too little too late. The 100-plus-pounder broke the line while the crew was trying to splice onto heavier tackle to reel that baby in. “The undaunted kayakers plan on going out again, this time with heavier tackle on the kayak straight away,” says Aneho.
If the aforementioned hasn’t deterred you from trying this sport, you might want to start breaking out that old kayak or get a new one to start on your Xtreme journey. If anything, we can guarantee it’ll be an experience you won’t soon forget.