Check out Mike’s video on YouTube!

Well last year saw the first Disability Day.  After much planning and organizing, the day came together.  What a success that was.

No sooner had the day passed when the next one was being planned.

Martin Hurst from Anglers Afloat, the UK’s biggest kayak fishing forum, got together once again with Bev Tucker, the disability officer, and they worked together with Powys County Council who funded the event with the help of a Sports Council for Wales Community Chest Award. Llangorse Sailing club hosted the event at Llangorse Lake in South Wales.

On Friday, the 25th of June, 2010, the team from Anglers Afloat arrived at the lake to take out the team from the BDAA (British Disabled Angling Association). The Lads had a great time fishing from a kayak and expressed a feeling of total freedom.

Johnson Outdoors Ltd supplied their Ocean Kayak Demo fleet for the weekend, which was used to it’s full extent. The Sailing Club provided use of its facilities and Sailing Fleet manned by their own members.

On the Saturday morning we had 24 places pre-booked to have a paddle on a kayak. These guests all have a Disability of a kind ranging from blindness, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, wheelchair users to learning difficulities.

The Team were given their safety talk and equipment check, the safety boats were in place and the day began.

Jo & Cath were doing a fantastic job signing in and out the guests. They were issued with a rubber band to wear on their wrist and fitted with a PFD.

We had two guests per team of three Anglers Afloat paddlers. The route planned took about 15 minutes to paddle and included us giving basic instruction on paddle technique. The expressions on their faces were priceless and very hard to put into words. Lots of fun was had especially when we taught then how they could splash us with their paddles - a great way for us to keep cool in the burning sun!

After a very busy morning, we stopped for a lunch break. The guests were lining up to go out again and the crowd on the jetty was getting bigger and bigger.

The Team from Anglers Afloat were pushing themselves to the limit to make sure everyone had some time on the water. Even when there was a queue forming, one of our lads got together with the BDAA guys and got all the youngsters fishing from the jetty. Everyone was having a fantastic time and the smiles showed that.

As the day came to a close, the team retreated back to the campsite where the BBQ was lit and a few drinks consumed, we found out that over 90 guests passed through the registration and some took to the water more than once.

We all agreed, even though it’s hard work, the rewards from so many smiling faces are worth every paddle stroke and to see people with such bravery overcoming some of their fears is just fantastic.

Throughout the day, we came across some pleasant surprises, one stemming back to last year - two young lads paddled out and they were all over the place, but still had a great time. This year the two lads appeared again, so we decided to put them between two of the team. They started to paddle out with a fantastic paddle stroke and were tracking perfectly. We later found out that the lads enjoyed last years event so much, that they took up kayaking and fishing at their school! What a result!

I can speak for all of the team, when I say it’s a pleasure to spend the weekend with such brave and courageious people. I think we all learnt something and can’t wait for next years event.

John & Helen (Anglers Afloat Team Members)

You can visit the Anglers Afloat website here - Anglers Afloat

It’s a big Kayak Fishing world out there!!

Here’s a link to the site - http://kfac.naturum.ne.jp/c20102990.html

Click HERE to read it!

IRISH WATERDOGS Invitational is an annual fishing tournament held in Jacksonville Florida to benefit Wolfson Children’s Hospital.

Our mission:
The goal for the WATERDOGS INVITATIONAL is to raise awareness of the amazing work that Wolfson Children’s Hospital does, to raise money for critical equipment vital to treatment of sick children in our region and promote the fantastic sport of kayak fishing.

Brought together through the camaraderie and fellowship of kayak anglers, IRISH WATERDOGS hopes to not only raise awareness of Wolfson Children’s Hospital but the entire sport as well

Visit their Facebook Group Page - FACEBOOK GROUP

This is a great product and comes in 4 colors -

Green, Blue, Orange, Pink and Glow-in-the-dark.

Check them out here -  The Fish Grip

The ways to build a bait tank are pretty much the same, but you can use different containers and set-ups. This one is unique in that there are two battery choices - pretty innovative.

Is that INSANE ??  A PFD not only helps you float in the water, it can help protect you from a Goose!  Luckily the Goose didn’t land on his head!!

Scotty recently came out with #427. You can see the #427 in action in an earlier post via a video that was sent to me by one of our customers in France. This product had it’s faults in that it didn’t swivel and made it very difficult to re-adjust the direction of your rod holder.
Well, Scotty has developed two new products that will correct this issue. These products should be available early March. We will have them in stock as soon as they come out.
If you recently purchased the #427 for the full price of $16.99, please contact us for a reduction in that price or an exchange for the #428. There might be a slight price increase and we will let you know when we get the products in stock.

If so … check out this site and enter the Wilderness Systems Challenge Series presented by Kayak Bass Fishing and benefiting the Heroes on the Water.

You can live in any state, catch bass virtually anywhere and WIN.  Tons of great prizes (some of them from us!!)  SO Check it out!!