I was thumbing through a recent issue of Kayak Angler magazine, which included an observation by editor Ric Burnley that, during the past two decades, kayak fishing has grown faster than any other segment of the sport of fishing.
I’ve no doubt this is accurate, evidence of which can be seen on almost any Kentucky water, from Elkhorn Creek and Hematite Lake (Trigg County) to the Green River, Cave Run Lake, Kentucky Lake and beyond.
In meeting this soaring market demand, some of today’s fishing kayaks are marvels of engineering and marvelous angling platforms that can accommodate a full slate of electronics and a bevy of other accessories. All can be powered by paddle, of course. But many come with a pedal-drive system and/or an electronic motor. They are fishing machines. Old Town and Hobie are a couple of leaders in the current kayak fishing wars, but there are many others. Some of the current top contenders can be found at kayakanglermag.com/boats/kayaks/best-fishing-kayaks.
I stand in full support of this fishing surge, but am always somewhat amused by the apparent sudden discovery of paddle boats by the angling community, as canoe angling and kayak angling are hardly new. I’ve been fishing from them for a half-century, starting with a battered 17-foot Grumman I discovered partly hidden behind a neighbor’s house. When I inquired if it might be for sale, Mr. Lloyd, a local grocer and a kindly man known to everyone, made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.
“You can have it if you’ll haul it off,” he said.
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Flipping through the magazine, I landed on page 40 and the headline “The United States of Fishing.” The story was a roundup of the best kayak fishing destinations in the country, listing one per state. I sometimes enjoy these types of stories and have written several of them myself, but they are at best only a starting point for fishing destinations.
The Kentucky source picked Dale Hollow Lake as the kayak fishing hot spot, a choice based—I assume at least in part—on the lake’s superb smallmouth bass population and maybe its angling star power. Dale Hollow straddles the Kentucky-Tennessee line and holds a unique place in fishing history. It was from the Kentucky slice of the lake that, on a hot summer Saturday morning in July 1955, Leitchfield angler David L. Hayes, trolling a white Bomber bait, landed an 11-pound, 15-ounce smallmouth bass. It was the all-tackle world record smallmouth bass and, 67 years later, remains so.
I recently discovered that a half-century of kayak and canoe fishing can have an odd, unexpected and unrequested benefit. I usually car top my boats and have hauled them countless miles across the Commonwealth and beyond. One recent sweltering late afternoon, I spent the last hour of daylight in my Old Town Topwater on a small public lake not far from my home. Boats at this water are limited to electric motors, and the launch site is about 50 yards from the parking area, so it’s fairly popular with kayak and canoeing anglers. The surroundings are quiet and secluded, and the fish—while generally not terribly large—are plentiful and friendly.
I was the last boat off the water and returned to the parking lot in the fading twilight. As I was gathering my tie-down straps, two hikers emerged from the foot path that circles the lake. They looked to be college age. They dropped their packs, and the taller of the two said, with an air of concern in his voice, “Sir, do you need some help?”
It was a kind offer and not unappreciated. I was driving a mid-size SUV and had the boat poised for loading. The Topwater weighs about 80 pounds without the seat and pedal drive, both of which are removable. Safely hoisting it onto a roof rack is largely technique.
“Thanks, but I can get it,” I said, adding truthfully, “I’ve had plenty of practice.”
I opened the front door and reached inside to get a strap when I heard the unmistakable thump, scrape and rolling crash of a boat sliding sideways off the rack and bouncing off the ground.
Technique is important.
Apologies rained down but weren’t necessary. There was no serious damage. Nobody was hurt. And the dent in the door is hardly noticeable.
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For all of Kentucky’s sparkling attributes, the Commonwealth is not blessed with an abundance of public land. Only about 5 percent of Kentucky’s 39,491.61 square miles (about 25,274,630 acres) are public.
However, public land access slightly improved earlier this year when the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) opened a chunk of land in Hopkins County.
What it is: The Harris-Dickerson Wildlife Management Area, an 1,837-acre public-use area that is mostly reclaimed strip mine land that includes several lakes. It is owned by KDFWR and open under statewide hunting regulations. ATVs are prohibited, and there is no camping. According to the KDFWR, “good populations of deer, turkey, small game, furbearers, waterfowl and fish exist on the area.”
Getting there: The WMA is about 8 miles east of Madisonville. From Interstate 69, take Exit 114 onto Ky. 85/75. Travel east on Ky. 85/75 about 3 miles, then turn right onto Ky. 70. Travel another 3 miles on Ky. 70. The entrance is on the left. If you cross the Pond River, which forms the WMA’s eastern boundary, you missed the turn-off.
Information: Contact the KDFWR regional office at 270.476.1889. This is the number for the Peabody WMA office, but Harris-Dickerson is not part of the Peabody WMA, and a Peabody user permit is not required for Harris-Dickerson.
For more information, contact agency headquarters at 1.800.858.1549 or visit fw.ky.gov/More/Documents/Harris-Dickerson_All.pdf.
Readers may contact Gary Garth at editor@kentuckymonthly.com