Living in the Moments, Enjoying the Bite

I set up on a concrete launch. My Bite FD is parked under a walking bridge during a passing shower. I stand and paddle like a gondolier through a grassy backwater. A corporate HQ building looms across the lake. Paddling a quiet creek, I turn to check my water paddle leash.
They are all different moments, all from a single lake, during a single day on the water.

I keep my video camera running through every outing, float trip or tournament on the water. No, I am not a Youtuber (though I do have a channel). I’m a student of our sport, and I am also my own worst critic. Or at least I used to be.
In years past, I would review my camera footage after every trip. Why did I lose that fish? Could I improve my hookset? What about how I ran that rapid? Was my paddle stroke correct?

I got hung up in the details. I didn’t see the forest for the trees; or, I didn’t see the lake for the drops of water. Over-analyzing things, I reduced kayak fishing to a series of mechanical parts.
We all know it is so much more than that. But sometimes we forget. Tournaments grind down our ability to enjoy the moment. Long trips dull our energy and imagination.
That’s why video footage is fun to review – we see the things we may have missed along the way. Of late, I am reviewing video footage from my Bite FD with a different mindset. The question I ask is no longer “How can I get better?” but “How can I enjoy this more?”

Here is what I found so far. You can see it in the screenshots in this post:
First, my Jackson Bite FD is a really comfortable boat. Whether I am sitting or standing, paddling or pedaling, the rig is plain cozy. How do I know that? Because I never film myself having to get out and stretch. I can go for hours, focused entirely on my casting movements, my eyes on the water or the landscape around it.

Second – about that environment. As I noted above, the video stills I attached here are all from the same small lake in the Raleigh, N.C. area. There are walking bridges and open water. Corporate architecture mixes with beaver dams along its shores. Paddling up a quiet creek, I go under a busy road. Nearby, the airport launches places into the sky; sometimes I look up and see one, at other times I look up and see an eagle or an osprey. At each moment and in each place, I am comfortable, and the Bite FD winds through any water with ease. I really appreciate that.

Finally, whether I am adjusting to current near a culvert or pedaling around a laydown, the Jackson Kayak rudder system feels like an extension of my brain. I reach down, lift the handle and tell it where to go. And it does, even in tight areas, so I can hold my position or move it. Responsivity – it’s what I love most about the Bite FD. The boat feels like an extension of me.

Where does one begin and the other end? I don’t know, and I don’t care. I was fishing a local tournament that day. Was I focused on competing? Sure. But not without taking time to savor each moment. When I was already having fun and also caught a fish, it made the catch all the more fun.
Is this a practical post? Maybe not. Does it matter? Not at all. Sometimes it’s important to live in each moment, make pleasure the priority, and just enjoy the bite.

Hank Veggian