New for 2008 - Kayak Fishing
Fully kitted Malibu X Factor Kayaks are available for hire at 7 Lakes Country Park.
What is Kayak Fishing?
The angling kayaks have evolved from the standard sit on top kayak. The sit-on-top kayak is mainly a pleasure craft and are usually available as one or two seaters enabling families to enjoy the water and be relatively safe in doing so. They were never designed for racing or white water so were usually wider in design from the race kayaks we are all familiar with.
The race kayak is narrower and built to cut through the water when being paddled at speed. You are also sat in the hull and the water is prevented from entering by means of a gator around your waist which seals you to the kayak. This is when danger can occur if you capsize and the roll over has to be practised to right yourself and the kayak.
The sit-on-tops were quickly used by anglers, realising the potential of being able to explore places even a small boat could not reach. There was also the fact that an angler could travel waters with the minimum disturbance so as not to frighten the fish away. Inshore trolling is also something that the kayaks are perfect for. The paddling speed is just right to troll lures behind the craft and tempt those predator fish. Trolling is when lines, usually with artificial lures, are pulled behind a fishing vessel at slow speed to attract fish to lunge at what appears, mostly, to be an injured fish weaving through the water near the surface.
The manufacturers quickly took on board, so to speak, these ideas that angling enthusiasts were coming along with and the first purpose built kayaks started to appear on the market. The boat fishing accessory companies also soon switched onto what has become a big market producing specially made rod holders, GPS and two way radio mounts plus battery mounts, compasses and light anchor. In fact everything you would find on a boat has been adapted for a kayak.
The kayaks 7 Lakes use have been chosen for several special qualities. The Malibu Company based in Paramount, California was formed in 1999 by Sean Caples a keen windsurfer and kayaker with over 20 years experience in the watersports business. Malibu Kayaks are now the leading manufacturer of roto moulded, linear polyethylene sit-on-top kayaks. The Malibu X Factor is, out of the seven kayaks in the range, the most suited to 7 Lakes needs. At fourteen feet four inches long and thirty three inches wide it is very stable. Weighing sixty five pounds and carrying a maximum load of six hundred pounds it is perfect for fishing being adaptable to many varying size of angler and being more than capable of carrying all the equipment used for differing fishing methods. It is also one of the driest rides, as the seating position is higher than most kayaks. You are not sat in a puddle, which on a fishing trip is important when cooler weather is with us.
It has four flush mounted rod holders, a flat area behind the seat to carry a crate or bucket of equipment and a massive gator hatch at the bow to store items in the hull. This is the without doubt one of the most spacious kayaks available and will lend itself to all forms of fishing. Our kayaks will also be equipped with fish finder. All paddles and rods are attached by leashes in case they are dropped in the water. Everyone of course will be supplied with a life jacket to wear at all times out on the water.
