month

Many of us took first steps on water with a paddle

By TERRY TOMALIN
Published February 2, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - Like many anglers, I started fishing out of paddle-powered boats.

As a skinny 6 year old with a perpetually runny nose, I would spend days on end fishing with my two sisters for bass and crappie on a spring-fed pond called Mallard Lake in upstate New Jersey.

Looking back, I guess I should consider myself fortunate that two of my seven siblings took the time to paddle me around in an old red canoe while I sent lure after lure flying off into the trees and bushes.

But at the time, I considered myself cursed. My brothers were older and too busy chasing girls and shooting rifles off the back porch to take me fishing. My three oldest sisters had also outgrown their fishing days and were off pursuing other interests.

So that left me at the mercy of Missy and Merry, hardened warriors in that never-ending battle of boy vs. girl. It's been 40 years, and I can hide the secret no longer. I hated my sisters.

Now, before you judge me, let me explain. I had good reasons: 1 They were girls. 2) They were older, stronger and better fighters. 3) They thought they could paddle.

Mallard Lake was only a few acres in size but as dangerous as the mighty Amazon.

The upper half, near the dam, was choked with a rare species of carnivorous "pickerel" weed that would wrap around swimmers' legs and pull them to certain death. Mallard Lake was also home to a genetically mutant breed of snapping turtle, large as a Volkswagen Beetle, which had also developed a taste for human flesh.

Or at least that is what my sisters told me.

So there we were on a hot summer afternoon, fishing in the most densely vegetated section of the lake, when one of my tormentors leaned the wrong way and sent all three of us a few rungs down the food chain.

My immediate thought was terror, not because of the weeds and turtles lurking below, but because my open tackle box had emptied as we capsized. We righted the canoe, climbed back in and spent the rest of the afternoon diving for lures.

Much has happened in the 40 years that have passed since that day in June. My relationship with the opposite sex has improved, having married and even reproduced. I also no longer hate my sisters. In fact, we even occasionally exchange Christmas cards.

But some things will never change. I still don't like to fish with another person, male or female, in a canoe.

Thank God for kayaks.

I got my first kayak in 1990 and since then have probably bought and sold a dozen different boats. In the early days, sit-on-top kayaks had no specialized fishing attachments. You paddled with your fishing rods between your legs, and if you wanted to use live bait, you dragged a bait bucket full of shrimp.

Then Don Bergeron, owner of the now-defunct Agua Azul kayak shop in Clearwater, rigged a hatch cover so it could hold a 5-gallon bucket and two rod holders.

Shortly thereafter, we fished the lee side of Caladesi Island and caught redfish until our arms were tired. I remember wondering at the time if I would ever fish out of a motorboat again.

I wrote a story about fishing out of sit-on-top kayaks and got lots or reader feedback, all of it negative. Some of the letters would even qualify as "hate" mail. One local guide started calling me "Captain Kayak," and it wasn't a compliment.

But over the years, anglers slowly warmed up to the idea of fishing out of a paddle-powered boat. Today, sit-on-top fishing boats are the fastest growing segment of the canoe/kayak industry.

Head out to Honeymoon Island on a weekend when the weather is good and you'll see more than 100 kayakers on the water.

The plastic boats are light, stable, inexpensive and easy to paddle. A sit-on-top kayak will also get you to where the fish are. The learning curve is steep. Buy a boat today, catch fish tomorrow.

So we hope you read on, learn something, then get out and paddle. See you on the water.

Times Outdoors Editor Terry Tomalin can be reached at 727) 893-8808 or tomalin@sptimes.com

[Last modified February 1, 2007, 11:56:37]