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Spotlight: Iaconelli Kayak Fishing, WASPCam, Paddle vs Pedal, Bait Sack, Bargain Kayaks

Focus this week crosses over to the professional bass fishing world to some new or lesser-known products which have caught my attention recently:

iaconellirig
New kayak fisherman Mike Iaconelli’s Hobie Pro Angler.

I recently attended a Bass University event featuring some of the top bass fishing pros around and had a chance to visit with one of
the biggest names about kayak bass fishing. As I stood awaiting the elevator, Mike Iaconelli walks around the corner and  we struck up conversation about his recent visit to Swepco Lake. The moment he heard I was a kayak angler,  Ike became very interested and started asking me all sorts of questions. He’d just had Hobie out to his place with a sample Pro Angler model and he was awaiting his personal craft to be delivered soon.  We talked

jasonike
Talking yak fishing with Ike and repping Bending Branches!

for while about fishing from a kayak, standing up, flipping over, and all the general questions a new kayak fisherman might ask. He was telling me that they were trying to figure out a way to mount it up on top of his truck and we talked about how heavy that boat is. At the time, I honestly wasn’t sure how serious he was about it. About two weeks later he posted this photo on his Facebook page – Ike had him a Hobie Pro Angler. I’d love to talk to him again about kayak fishing after he’s had some time on the water. (still not sure how he will load and unload that thing!)

I’ve really become interested in WASPcam as an alternative to GoPro for on the water camera action. First exposed to WASPcam through Angler Combat, as I’ve researched this Canadian company I really like some of the innovative things in their camera options. WASPcam also is at a lower overall price point than GoPro. I’m hoping to share a lot more in the future about WASPCam, including some reviews, but for now this article has some good highlights.

Kayak Fishing Blog continues to crank out great content. This time around I enjoyed the article about choosing a Pedal vs Paddle Kayak. I have owned both and still do, and they both have merit in various situations. Another recent article on Best Bargain Kayaks could be helpful to someone getting into the sport.

Some of my fellow Arkansas Kayak Angler members have been repping the Bait Sack, a product designed to reduce tangling and general mayhem caused by lures tied on your rods but not in use. Here’s a pretty good overview by The Fisherman’s Journal that talks about this tackle organization product. I’m not sure I am detail-oriented enough to use this item, but do see the value.

 

Angler Combat

7 Angler Combat Protips

The new Angler Combat regional structure begins today with three geographic divisions – North, South and the Big 3 (CA, TX, FL). Angler Combat is an online bass fishing tournament with categories for Land, Kayak and Boat fishing. If you haven’t competed in Angler Combat (AC) yet or are just Angler-Combat-Logo-Horizontal-Outer-Glowgetting started, there are a few things to know to ensure you get the most out of the online bass fishing tournament. If you aren’t familiar with AC, take a moment to read this previous article and this one as well.

  1.  Be sure to download the iAngler Tournament App before you get out on the water. It’s important your phone is updated to the most recent operating system and test that you can successfully log in.
  2. Tournaments run monthly from the 1st-28th and each month has a unique monthly identifier. Look up this identifier and have it with you before you are out fishing…sometimes your mobile coverage can be spotty and you’ll need this identifier to submit a fish. If you are having poor reception, you can upload your fish after getting off the water. Photos are geotagged and you can mark the catch location in the app.
  3. When photographing your fish, make sure to understand some specific AC requirements. No fish clips, stringers or bungies are allowed to secure the fish. With AC, the fish must be fIMG_1564acing left with lip touching end of the board, but the mouth may be open.
  4. To prep your hawg trough for use in AC (or any kayak based tournament) use a Sharpie to darken all of the lines and to draw a line along the base of the left lip plate to improve visibility.
  5. Understand the prize payouts – with AC, the more the merrier. The prize payouts grow the more participants there are, so encourage friends to enter! There must be 10 entries per division for any prizes to be awarded. These new rules starting this month have a direct correlation between the number of entrants and the payout structure.
  6. When reviewing the AC Leaderboards, select the Length button at the top of the standings to see each submitted fish by length for each day. Here, you an click the image icon to see full-size images of each fish. You can also click on the Summary button to see the scoring summary for every angler for each day.
  7. After submitting your catch with the iAngler Tournament app, check back later to make sure your photos were accepted and approved. DO NOT delete your photos from your phone until you get verification of acceptance in case you need to resubmit.

Participating in AC is a good way to stay sharp when not in tournaments and can be a fun way to share your catches and compete with others in your region when the fishing heats up later in the year. You could win prizes from some of the AC partners:  Jackson Kayak, Orion Coolers, WASPcam, Boonedox USA, Manley Rods and YakGear. Go sign up and give it a try!