Kayaking Couples

Two things come to mind about couples kayaking together, #1. “Those who play together, stay together” and #2. Because different people like different things, that’s exactly why there’s chocolate and vanilla ice cream. You can pick a kayaking style that best fits you and your partner. We know several kayaking couples with different degrees of interest and the reasons they like to kayak and different styles of kayaking.

Pedal or Paddle –

As for us my wife Debbie embraced the pedaling version with her Jackson Bite FD complete with the Flex Drive. Easier for her to negotiate while also being fast she enjoys the hands-free operation. Her rudder makes turns and adjustments easy and she’s found that her kayak is more manageable in windy conditions. She’s also paddled a Jackson Bite, a MayFly and on a rare occasion one of my Jackson Big Rigs. Those that know me also know I am more of a traditionalist in every sense of the word. I choose to paddle, stand when I fish and minimize rods, tackle and accessories. My low-tech, no-electronics approach isn’t a hatred of technology; I just prefer a more intuitive approach to finding and catching fish. Any addition of components can complicate matters or produce a failure. Another example is our mode of transporting our kayaks. Strapped into the bed of a pick up truck (dedicated to the kayaks) means no trailer to maintain or deal with wheel bearings, extra tires, storage space or handling. Just label me old school.

Fishing Preferences –

Here, to a degree, we’re on the same page. We’ll fish for everything and we’re fortunate to live on the shores of a beautiful and very productive lake, Woods Reservoir. An abundance to crappie, bluegill. catfish AND bass make this great place to launch our boats. Easily accessible also are the head waters for Woods, the Elk River. Flowing for miles and very fishable the Elk lets us escape into shallow, isolated places big motorized boats can’t reach. We have two other major impoundments less than an hour away. As for fishing we dedicate a lot of our time to casting for the “healthy” largemouth a smallmouth bass in our backyard bass factory. Debbie has a personal best of an eight-pound largemouth and a six pound “smallie” and I’ve managed to land two largemouth bass over nine pounds and match her smallmouth with my own six pounder. As for styles she’s addicted to fishing soft plastics on spinning gear. Bags of baits nest under her seat and multiple rigs (Ned rig, Shakey head, regular leadhead, Texas rigs, under spins) are generally tied on to the end of her lines. I love the jig bite but keep a spinnerbait, buzzbait, crankbait handy for certain situations and maintaining the ability to cover all three water columns. When the crappies are hitting, we agree to going lightweight with medium action spinning outfits, light line and leadheads rigged with tiny tubes. Fresh fish, especially the crappie and the traditional fish fry are part of our weekly routine.

Other Couples –

Beverly and Tony Evans, “We do everything together, so it’s kayaking with your best friend.” Tony also operates EVANS CUSTOM, making custom fishing rods and matches that with a unique artistry in “painting” artificial baits. Check out the Evans Custom line of Joey Monteleone signature series of hard baits in a color called “bloodshot.” A huge plus is the fact that Beverly is a professional photographer. Another example of kayakers are the team of Sherry and Nathan Burnett. Sherry fell in love with the Bite FD and kayak fishing, now she is trending this year to boat several hundred fish, while her husband Nathan has been a long time angler and has mastered crankbait bass fishing and the back up plan of working soft plastic baits from his kayak. Sherry also landed her best bass this year a seven-pound largemouth from her Jackson BITE FD. The two are even funnier to watch AND listen to over the course of a day. Nathan speaks for the Burnett’s, “ I love when the first words I hear from Sherry are, “where are we fishing today?”

Our Perspective –

For us, Debbie and I we view the advantages as being things like unloading and loading up kayaks, fishing different baits and sharing information on the water. We also enjoy the benefit of getting great photos from different angles and videos that we can share on social media to promote the sport and our sponsors. Another by product of the tandem trips is the experience of seeing the same things at the same time, we’ve watched eagles “fishing”, seen beavers, river otters, osprey, owls, whitetail deer and much more while on the water. Simply stated, we enjoy whatever adventure comes our way and the memories made on each of our excursions. 2024 saw us on the water for 118 days! Invariably every trip includes a recap of the day’s events on the drive home, plus an in-depth discussion over dinner about the hits, misses and catches of the day. (Maybe even the BIG one that got away!) Check out my newest book, Strictly BIG bass, available on Amazon.

Additional Advantages –

1. Safety is a giant key to the pairing up with your partner.
2. Establishing a pattern for what the fish are doing (or not doing).
3. The photo opportunities are almost limitless.
4. Having back up baits or rods when needed.
5. The shared closeness of the outdoor experience.
6. I believe the kayaking together deepens the relationship.
7. Health (physical and mental benefits) from time spent outside on the water and fishing.

On many occasions I’ve done the solitary outdoor adventure, while still enjoyable there’s so much to be said for adding memories with your partner. Your couples kayaking doesn’t have to include fishing, you can paddle /pedal for adventure, exercise or just create personal time together which is equally as fun. Kayaking couples are the best.