I have a couple atypical kayaks for sale. I'm looking for an excuse to drive up to Monterey or Santa Cruz for local delivery. Please give me a reason!

First, the yakanoe, a Wilderness Systems Commander 120. No scuppers, and a spacious cockpit make this a freshwater / flatwater standout.  It's super stable and in great shape, always stored in a garage. Yours for only $400.

High capacity and spacious, it comes with the comfortable Freedom Elite Seating System and an integrated track system for mounting accessories. This is a 2010 model, the actual boat used for this Kayak Fish Magazine review: http://www.kayakfishmag.com/boats/wilderness-systems-commander-120-angler/

I also have a Hurricane Phoenix 160 for sale, practically new ($500). Few sit-on-top kayaks are as fast as this Phoenix 160 (don't ask, of course it isn't as quick as a Stealth  ), This stretched-out performer is a rarity on the west coast. This is a paddler's kayak that can handle light fishing duties. Here's how I reviewed it for Canoe and Kayak Magazine in 2010:

Go fast and far. Hurricane's beautiful Phoenix 160 has sea legs, real sexy ones. The boat shines at high gloss like a delicate glass 'yak, but it is made from durable, thermoformed Trylon plastic, a lighter and stiffer material than the more typical rotomolded polyethylene.

There's a large tankwell on the stern. The gracefully rockered bow hosts a large oval hatch. It's suitable for stashing rods and other gear you want to keep out of Neptune's grasp when risking the surf. And you'll hear that Siren song, 'cause the big water is calling. The boat boasts an ocean pedigree, sleek and quick with a wave-piercing upswept bow and a rounded chine that loves sloppy water, although novices may find it wobbly.

There's also a review on Kayak Fishing Magazine: http://www.kayakfishingmagazine.net/gear-guide/91-new-kayak-gear/401-hurrican-kayak-phoenix-160-review.html

We're still looking for good photos of our dear friend Joel, the legendary Mooch, for a national magazine story in his honor. It will run in the spring edition of Kayak Fish.

Many of you sent photos. Thanks! Unfortunately, most are too small for glossy print. It's not your fault. NCKA came to life during the infancy of digital photography.

In particular, we are looking for Joel living the kayak fishing life he loved.

To get just a little technical, I need photos no smaller than 1MB in file size. By dimension, a 3000x2000 jpg will give our photo editor plenty to work with. Smaller might be okay. Please look for original, unedited photo files. PM me for an email address or other delivery arrangements.

Just your best photos please. Post them in this thread if you like, so we can all give them a look. We want to do justice to Joel. That's our main motivation, but we will also pay for photos we use.

Many thanks.

Paul

For sale: two shiny magazine photoshoot boats and one old Hobie Mirage Adventure. All boats are in San Diego but I can meet serious buyers in Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Jose or the East Bay next week. Negotiable! Friends pricing for NCKA hardcore and MLPA fighters.


Elie Gulf 120XE Angler, with rudder:

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/boa/3114453802.html

Review with photos of the actual boat:

http://www.kayakanglermag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1254:kickin-the-plastic-the-gulf-120xe-elie-elevates-its-game&catid=68:kao-features&Itemid=2. 


And here's the Hobie, an early model Mirage Adventure:

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/boa/3115571661.html

EDIT: The Ride 135 has sold!

Kayak Angler magazine is looking for your spectacular, high resolution photos (with fish!) from the 2010 Albion Open for our summer 2011 issue. It's a paying gig (you won't get rich).

Show the world the pure awesome that is an NCKA competitive party! No dinks!

Scenics, fish porn, camp life, it's all a possibility. We pay 30 days after publication. Please hit me up via PM if you have shots for our consideration.

(Craig, is that your biscuit? Nice fish! Unfortunately I can't use it unless you move the tourney south for 2011, but thanks for the interview and the pics)

Check out this email from Ric Burnley, one of the east coast's kayak fishing hardcore:

Bluefin fishing has been off the chains for the past month. >>
We mothershiped our ‘yaks out of Hatteras on Tuesday and found the motherload. Jigging and drifting rigged ballyhoo, we each hooked and lost a dozen fish and missed twice as many. Then we figured it out. My buddy Matt landed a 166. This is the Shiznit! 

The guys were fishing the edge of the Gulf Stream about 30 miles out. The found a mass of fish, and hooked up repeatedly, flew around on crazy sleigh rides, then broke off. It definitely wasn't scratchy!

Finally they figured out that they were putting too much wood on, backed off a bit, and landed the 166. Matt had it up to color in 20 minutes, but it wasn't ready to land until the 90 minute mark.

This event marks a revolution in East Coast attitudes toward mother shipping and targeting offshore big game. Ric says they should be able to do this from spring through fall. They've got bluefin now, dorado (they call them dolphin fish) in summer, then yellowfin in fall.

When I asked Ric what had taken them so long to get it on, he told me the problem was getting a charter captain to buy in.

We could be living on the wrong coast....

Is there good kayak fishing on the Pacific coast of Panama? Let these photos do the talking:

Jim gets it going with a rooster.


Looks very NorCal - rocks and reefs everywhere.


Ken rolls film as Jim discovers the local blue rockfish.


Blue trevally aka blue jack. Watch out for that sharp tail!


Jim railed. Just how big is his fish?


Pretty dang big!


120-lbs or so big, hooked, fought and leadered from the 'yak. Night time meant an assist on the gaff job.


World champ paddler Ken makes everything look easy.


Tropical.


Ken and a comb.


Snook a look.


One of a bazillion local snappers. Pretty little thing.


We have cubera!


That's no boiler bass - jacks in the danger zone.


Here be crocs... Can you see it? We couldn't.


Text report to follow.

I've fished freshy bass maybe a half dozen times, so I'm simply stunned to have just returned from Mexico's Lake El Salto. This isn't  your average kayak spot. For those who don't know it, its a storied bass lake a couple hours out of Mazatlan where fish are both incredibly numerous and large. The story goes they spawn three times a year.

Mark Pierpont of Wilderness Systems is looking to run guided trips here, out of a new property (for anglers anyway) - Cardon Resort is a cool little surfer's hang-out with great amenities just 30 minutes from the lake. Along for the ride was Mark Olson of Ocean Kayak and yours truly to 'test' out the concept and iron out any bugs in the system.

Anyhow here's a quick photo report covering the 3-day trip. More details later in Western Outdoor News. 

Day 1 - I managed 'just' 25 bass including a PB 9-lb'er weighed, and farmed at least as many. Fish on the bank and in brush, hitting poppers and killing senkos.

Day 2  - I spent the day shooting video and stills, riding overwatch to get shots in the can. By the time I was free it was a pick. Just a dozen today, nothing over 3. To give you an idea of the possibilities, the lower circuit bass pro here had two 10s on day 2 and an 11, 10, 9 the first day.

Day 3 was just a half-day. Something changed, but it wasn't obvious. The bite was very slow in the morning, but Pierpont and Olson were able to stay a bit longer - it turned on in the late afternoon. The group nailed a few 7s. What a place! Enjoy the photos:

The lake:


Hitching a ride


Pierpont with a nice one


The weapons


The post-fishing view from Cardon Resort. It was a 30 minute drive from the lake. This is the way to go in mid-summer when its 110 in the shade up at the lake and never really cools off. Of course that's also prime time! 



In case you hadn't heard, there are a few big fish in El Salto



Ranchero! (he farmed it in the weeds)


More livestock


What happens when a senko flies off the hook mid-cast


My 9. Unlikely anywhere but here... Non-kayak, but I'm saving that for next time's 10.