With the kayaks having such a low profile, they are hard to see sometimes. Many times those pleasure boaters have several people in the boat talking, laughing and probably not always looking for or able to see small watercraft like kayaks. Just this week a Door Count friend texted to tell me about a kayak angler out by the Strawberry Islands in a tan kayak, wearing a camo shirt with a dull colored life jacket (PFD)! His point was how hard it was for him in his boat to see the guy. For this reason, I’ve always liked having fishing and recreational kayaks that are brightly colored. I like bright orange, lime green or chartreuse, white, red, etc. Those darker greens, grays and browns tend to blend into the water and are much less visible. My Astral Sturgeon PFD is Blaze Orange and offers extra visibility!
Nicely, many of the recreational kayak paddles come with yellow, orange or white blades that can be seen for quite a distance. Another accessory I’ve used is the YakAttack VISIFlag that comes with a bright orange flag on a flexible shaft that flies a few feet above the kayak. These only cost $30 to $40 and are easy to attach to most kayaks. If you are out early or late with low-light, I might suggest their VisiCarbonPro with a light on top.
As always, when on the big waters of Green Bay or Lake Michigan be as safe as possible. For you smallmouth bass anglers, fishing this season has been slow with the cold spring, but, with the recent warmer weather and rising water temps it has improved up and down the peninsula. I’ve been having very good luck fishing pretty shallow throwing the Keitech USA 2.8 FAT Swing Impact and the Z-Man 3-inch SlimSwimz. Both are small swimbaits and after a long cast should retrieved slow and steady on a light Z-Man or Gopher Tackle 1/16 or 3/32 ounce chartruese jig. If you have any questions about kayak fishing or kayaking in general, please email me at kayakfishingwisconsin@gmail.com
