Christmas 2012

Gift Guide

ClassicS Adds Division

East Coast Series

Changing It Up In 2013

Greater Competition

www.KayakFishingClassicS.com

Fall 2012

2

When Fishing Matters

Ocean Waves

The Best Sunglasses in the World

Technology is everything today. Ocean

Waves are the most technologically ad-

vanced sunglasses in the world. It takes

30 separate hand ground layers, each

with a specific job, to form a single lens

to enhance your vision and protect your

eyes like no others. Catch the wave and

see what you’ve been missing...

Top anglers all over the world know that they see

more fish with Ocean Waves and protect their

eyes better than any other sunglasses in the world.

You should do the same.

Protect your eyes… Catch the Wave!

Ocean Waves : RX

3

www.OceanWaves.com

What’s Inside

FEATURES 7 Gear Guide 2012

See the best gear in the world.

The Holidays are just around the

corner.

25 New for 2013

Making it more competitive

32 East Coast Reds

There’s Something about Reds

53 Series Champ

Series Champ Marty Meakin

64 National Champ

Joe Lineberry

78 ICAST

Show Time

DEPARTMENTS 6 Editors Letter

What I want for Christmas

29 Kayak Fly Line

Casting Tips for Fly Anglers

36 Wooden Navy

Fast, Light & Strong

42 Anglers Health

Avoiding the Slows

49 Anglers Corner

Fly MoJo

29

4

58 Yak Yak

75 KFCNC

88 YakAngler

89 Our Sponsors

90 Host Sponsors

42

On The Cover:

William Lusk

with 34 “ Snook

36 7

When you get out of your kayak it’s time for waders…

Redington makes a great deal of the fishing gear that you

need for any condition. When you are wade fishing you

owe it to yourself to use the best protection that is avail-

able. Add another dimension to your fishing with the

worlds best waders.

In 2011 the ClassicS introduced many anglers

to the new DELTA fly reel by Redington. Af-

ter nearly two series years on the water it has

proven to be one tough, economical, fish

thumping machine. Delta Fly Reels...It’s what

fish hate and you will love.

For that special gift visit

www.Redington.com

5

Editors Letter

Man, I got the same early Christmas gift this year as I did last year

and I could not be happier. Last year all of you gave to me your

overwhelming friendship and support and no one would ever mind

receiving that kindness every year...year after year.

Many of the faces are the same as many are of course new. Seeing

your excitement at each tournament award ceremony as you receive

your sponsor gear prizes will never grow old and will always give

me great joy. Watching you becoming better anglers, wiser conser-

vationists and your children growing a little taller reminds me what

this is really all about. I thank you from the bottom of my hart.

As for ‘a few other things’ I would like more free time to throw

some feathers, catch that crazy huge snook that has been laughing

at me for the past few winters and less wind on the water.

Oh well, you can’t have everything but it’s close...very close. All of

you make all of what we at the ClassicS and All of our Sponsors do

so very worthwhile.

Our Sponsors and all of us here at the ClassicS wish all of you and

yours a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Great New

Year filled with happiness, wellness, prosperity and kindness from

your fellow man.

Thank you for a great 2012 Series Year,

Captain Pat Horrigan

What I Really Want for Christmas

And a Few Other Things

6

Gear Guide 2012 Proven Gear that we know will stand up to the

punishment that you & the fish dish out.

The Best Gear is really what you want, not inflated prices. As many of our contest-

ants know, we harshly test a manufacturers gear before we ever extend an invitation to

become a ClassicS sponsor. Have you ever wondered why? It costs us plenty of money

and takes a lot of time on the water. And you know what? We’re glad to do it because it

assures us that you and others are being offered the very best fishing gear and affordable

prices. Hey, it’s cool too! So onward to the gear that we know you want. This should

help your friends and family to decide what to get their favorite angler for the Holidays

too! Hey we know that you have been Good!

To help you select an Under the Tree gift or a great Stocking Stuffer look for

It all starts with the kayak and Diablo Paddlesports offers

some of the finest kayaks ever made. The Adios is our fa-

vorite and perhaps it is yours. Made for inshore fishing

and sneaking up on spooky fish while affording Stand Up

Sight Fishing are features that separate Diablo form all of

the rest. Diablo also features a unique and rugged thermal construction method so your

new Diablo will be in service for many years. Team Diablo fishes in the ClassicS so if

you’ve seen them you know how cool they are. It won’t fit into a

stocking so this one goes under the

tree. Visit Diablo Paddlesports at

www.DiabloPaddleSports.com

7

Next on your anglers wish list

may be a new fishing rod or two.

Hey no problem, Deep South offers

great

multi situational rods at great prices that leave plenty of money

for other gifts. Many of our anglers have won in our tourna-

ments using a Deep South Fishing Rod and they just can’t seem

to get enough of them. Might be the fantastic action, super sen-

sitive tips or brutal fish stopping power. The champs can’t be

wrong so put a few under the tree this year for your

favorite anglers.

D.O.A. Lures and Big Fish just seem to go together. Top

anglers like Joe Komyati know this and feed big fish

D.O.A. Lures on a regular basis. He also wins tournaments

on a regular basis and your favorite angler can too!

D.O.A. offers a huge selection of baits. You won’t have any trouble getting your angler to tell you which

ones he would like to have. Just ask him and you’ll see what we mean.

Visit D.O.A. Lures at www.DOALURES.com

8

Tournament Champ; Otis Coblentz www.DeepSouthFishingRods.net

We know you are busy and time seems to

always be an issue. We have the solution

for you. We partnered with Yak-Gear a few

years ago to help make shopping for your

anglers kayak gear easier and it has.

Yak-Gear carry’s many of our sponsors

products and offers fantastic service. They

are very knowledgeable about kayaks,

kayak fishing and all the stuff in between.

Please visit Yak-Gear online for a great

shopping experience and help support our

sponsors who make the ClassicS series pos-

sible.

Talk about bake and shake! These

lures have the action all anglers crave.

High Roller Custom Wooden Lures

really turn on the strikes. Even when

fish just are not on the chew, the High

Rollers trigger the reaction strikes that

are as good as money in the bank.

Several of our tournaments have been won by anglers using High Roller Lures while other

anglers just couldn’t get the job done. Anglers never seem to have enough lures because

conditions vary, bait availability changes or the fish just won’t strike. High Roller is a great

solution for your angler and at their prices you can afford to stuff a big’ol stocking full of

them. High Roller Lures are carved from a special light weight wood, hand sanded and

tuned to perfection. The super tough finish is hand painted on every

single lure. The saltwater hooks hold up to the conditions that our an-

glers face time and time again and man do they stay sharp. That’s a

must have and so are High Roller Lures. You can order directly from

them but hurry and avoid the Christmas rush.

www.HighRollerLures.com

9

www.Yak-Gear.com

Your angler is going to need plenty of flies

to around for that new fly rod and we can

tell you who has some great flies at fantas-

tic prices. Take a look at RiverBum Flies

and you will see what we mean. We

searched the world over for a company that

offered top quality flies at prices the average angler would smile about. Well we found them

right here in the USA. The elf’s at RiverBum stay up late at night to fill all the orders. No

worry, they get help from world class tiers from around the world. What you may spend for a

couple of flies elsewhere will get you more then a dozen RiverBum Flies. And here’s another

great piece of money saving info, their flies hold up to the punishment that saltwater fish dish

out. We’re super glad to have them involved with us and so are our anglers. Visit them and

order a mess of RiverBum Saltwater Flies today.

www.RiverBum.com

10

Lets face it, our playground is one of the harshest environments on the

planet and it’s not always easy to protect ourselves like we should. Ko-

katat has it covered for you with there Seeker kayak boots. Soft, com-

fortable, warm when it’s cold out, cool when it’s not. Kokatat Seeker’s

are easy to walk in and allow you to feel where you are walking all the

while protecting you from abrasions, rocks and more. Seekers are also

very quiet in your boat and we all know how important that is. Just ask

our champs!

The Seeker slips on and off easily and conveniently adjust to snug your foot. The mud won’t

suck these boots off of your feet and leave you

stranded. We found them to be one of the very best

kayak boots on the market and your angler will too.

Kokatat Seekers are a great gift idea and a must for

every angler.

Visit Kokatat at www.Kokatat.com

Eye protection and seeing through the water

are both imperatives for our anglers. We did a

lot of studying and research before we deter-

mined that Ocean Waves inventive technology

really are the world’s best sunglasses. When

you put on a pair on OW’s be ready for a shock. You are going to see

things that you just don’t see with any other brand of sun-

glasses. That’s a bold state- ment and that’s how impressed we

are with them. Take the time to read about their 30 layer light

filtering technology and then compare them to your shades.

Keeping up with the ‘Cool’ is no place when it comes to pro-

tecting your eyes, although OW’s are pretty cool anyway.

Ocean Waves also takes care of your vision prescriptions

with no hassles. Hey stop in and take a look at their new store

in the beach front district of Atlantic Beach, Florida the next time you’re on the East Coast

or visit their online store at: www.OceanWaves.com

Speaking of vision. When the sun

isn’t shinning anglers still need to

be able to see well and we have the

answer for you. Princeton Tec has

several lighting solutions for your

kayak angler. They specialize in

very high tech, low energy lights

that will brighten the night so you can see where you are going and be seen by others.

The Princeton Tec company offers multi light head gear with multiple lights in one neat

little and light weight system. Fully adjustable lighting technology to adapt to any need

from a broad beam, low brightness to up close intensity

and far reaching super bright spot light. All from one lit-

tle waterproof box that only uses 3 AAA batteries. Hey

don’t worry, you won’t be buying batteries all the time

like you do with other lights. The amazing little lights

yield over 200 hours of lighting form those little batter-

ies. That’s impressive and that’s why we chose them as our lighting solution and so

should you. Visit Princeton Tec today at:

www.PrincetonTec.com

11

Dr. Slick makes the finest fly tying and angler tools in the

world. He really is a surgeon and wanted to have surgical

quality fly tying and fishing instruments that just weren’t

available, so he started Dr. Slick Company and all of us

benefit from that desire. Thanks! I have been using them

for over a decade and Dr. Slick was an automatic choice

for us. I just had to share the news. Dr. Slick provides our

anglers with a very high

quality bullet nose pliers

that won’t let you down… ever. They come with a cool pair

of braided line scissors and a rugged holster to keep it all to-

gether.

If your angler is into tying flies then look no further then Dr.

Slick for what he needs. Buy him the best tying tools in the

world and they will last a lifetime. Hey the prices are great

too!

Take a look at the Dr. Slick collection of tools at

www.DrSlick.com

Plano Tackle Systems has a great solution for keeping your valuables

dry and secure while fishing. The Guide Series Waterproof Box will pro-

tect camera’s, cell phones, car keys, meds and more. If it fits, it stays

dry! We know you have a big investment in your daily electronics and

we want you to protect them from the harsh conditions of saltwater tour-

nament fishing. Plano makes a great selection of the Guide Series Boxes

and there is one that’s just right for you. Take a look at all of the

Plano Gear and if you bump into Hank Parker, tell him we say Hey!

www.PlanoMolding.com

12

NEW! The Kayak Fly Line by Jim Teeny and

designed by Capt. Pat Horrigan for kayak fly

anglers world wide. If you fish the ClassicS

you know about the new Kayak Fly Line. This

is the first and only fly line designed just for

kayak anglers. It shoots great distances with

just one back cast as many top fly anglers are

finding our all over North America. The hard

mono core holds up against the heat and the silky slick High Performance Coating lets

line slip through your fingers. Throw it while wade casting or

seated in your kayak. Throwing 90 feet is a snap and the de-

livery is clean and soft. This is the perfect fly line for any fly

angler and it makes a great stocking stuffer.

Purchase the Kayak Fly Line and other great fly fishing gear

from Jim Teeny and get it delivered in time for the Holidays.

www.JimTeeny.com

Purchasing a new high quality fly

reel can be a huge expense for any-

one. Tournament tested quality, large arbor reel that your angler will be proud to have.

Fully Machined from best aluminum stock, anodized finished, sealed drag, light weight,

large arbor, counter weight, solid foot and much more. We tried to blow it up on some

very large fish and couldn’t. Now for the best news off all, the price is fantastic at under

$260 in the US. It would be a good bargain at twice that.

The lucky anglers that have won them in our series can tell

you the same. They are now available for the public and

the new DELTA fly reel would make a great gift this year

for your fly angler. Check out the DELTA Large Arbor

reels and all of the great gear at Redington.

www.Redington.com

13

When ultra light weight, preci-

sion paddling is important turn

to Aqua-Bound Paddles. We

did and we’re more then glad

that we did. The technology

that goes into each Manta Ray

Carbon paddle delivers stiff horsepower and low swing weight, virtually eliminating arm

fatigue. That’s critical to our tournament anglers who cast around 1,000 times each time

they are on the water. At only 25.5 oz the two piece adjustable Manta Ray helps keep arm

energy in reserve for a busy day on the water. When it comes to critical centric equipment

chose Aqua-Bound Paddles. The First Choice in carbon technology.

www.AquaBound.com

Scotty Rod Holders will keep your rods at

the ready. Be it a fly rod or conventional,

Scotty has you covered with a wide variety

of solutions to your action rod storage. The

systems are simple to mount and they rotate

as well as ad-

just vertically

for that perfect position. Scotty quality is very well known and

for good reasons. Their gear will never let you down and they

will never rust in saltwater. There is no better solution when you

need both hands free or for landing

that monster tournament buster fish.

Scotty holders will never let you

down and you’ll like their prices too.

www.ScottyPaddleSports.com

&

www.Scotty.com

14

Here’s a company that will keep your angler dry,

organized and safe. PrecisionPak makes some of

the finest gear in the word and it certainly is very

will engineered with the kayak angler in mind.

Our anglers are crazy about PrecisionPak gear

and so are we. Once you take a look at them you

will see that they go way beyond making a jacket for kayaking or

a tackle storage box or a fish pack and on and on.

Quality is the game here and it resides in their name.

We are very proud to offer you such outstanding

products by PrecisionPak at such fantastic prices.

Want to put a smile on your kayakers face? Put a

couple of pieces of PrecisionPak gear under the tree

this year and have your camera ready. We look at a lot of gear

throughout the year and nothing compares to it. No other company pays so

much attention to the details that make for great products like PrecisionPak

does. Take a good look at all of great products that they make. You’ll be glad

you did. www.Precision-Pak.com

When it comes to protecting your kayak investment Suspenz

Kayak Storage Racks are the best. Prevent kayak hull warp and

distortion and add years of life to your kayak. Keep it tracking

true and up out of the way.

Suspenz offers a huge variety of storage solutions for your

kayak including suspending hoist systems, wall mount and free

standing racks. Suspenz makes it easy and affordable to keep

everything neat and protected.

Tournament tough, high quality affordability are just a few of

the features. Cradle your kayak with a Suspenz. Your kayak will thank you. Visit Suspenz to-

day for your complete solution at:

www.SuspenzKayakStorage.com

15

Bending Branches Paddles are world fa-

mous and used by many, many tournament

kayak anglers. Their aluminum shafted

Slice paddle is one of our all time light

weight favorites. The Slice Angler kayak

paddle is designed with you in mind. The

handy hook retrieval system is built into the

blade for removing snagged lures. This is

one super tough, rugged piece of gear that

no angler should be without.

Bending Branches is most widely known name in paddles and fulfills any paddling

need for any condition. Now that’s tough! When you’re in heavy seas or have a

long way to go you will be glad that you have a Slice Angler paddle. We know you

can’t go wrong here so take a look at the Bending Branches selection on their site.

By the way, the Slice Angler is adjustable and available with a tape measure right

on the shaft. Good Fishing…

River2Sea WIDEGLIDE is one the most unique and effective fish-

ing lures that we have ever encountered. Designed by the legendary

angler Larry Dahlberg for River2Sea and we all know how serious he

is about Big Fish. The WIDEGLIDE zigs and zags from side to side

in a high performance walk that drives fish crazy.

Cover more water with every cast and watch your fish catch rate sky-

rocket as the big tournament busting fish slam the WIDEGLIDE time and time again.

River2Sea offers a wide selection of lures for any style of fishing, be it saltwater or fresh.

Catch more bass, tarpon, reds, trout, snook, you name it and

the WIDEGLIDE will catch it. Visit River2Sea and be sure to

watch Larry’s video by clicking the link below.

www.River2SeaUSA.com

http://www.kayakfishingclassics.com/River2Sea-Lures.php

16

www.BendingBranches.com

Gyotaku is an ancient Japanese form of record keeping that vil-

lage angles used to track when, where and what they caught

throughout the year. Gyotaku has

evolved into a major art form largely to

the artistry of world famous artist Jim

Roberts. Visit his site to learn all about

Gyotaku Art and enjoy his many fa-

mous works. Jims artwork will make

for some great Christmas gifts for home

or office. You can purchase directly at:

www.ReelDreamsFishPrints.com

17

Ever angler likes marine art so we are pleased to bring

you one of the very best such artists around. Steve

Whitlock Game Fish Art is nothing short of amazing and

is one of our anglers favorites at every Awards Ceremony.

Steve has spent a lifetime perfecting his unique technique

and balance of game fish art upon nautical charts. Not

only is Steve Whitlock highly skilled with a brush, he also

brings fish to life with pencil in a photo like quality. Highly

skilled to say the least. We wanted to round out our sponsor

gear with a selection of fine art that everyone is sure to enjoy.

We know you and everyone that sees Steve Whitlock Game

Fish Art will agree.

You may purchase directly at:

www.SteveWhitlock.com

Looking for another unusual gift idea? Look no father then.

Artist Jeanie Beline creates the unusual in marine art and is

becoming very well known for her

imagination. She looks at a piece of

distressed shipwreck wood and sees a

canvas for paintings and wood carv-

ings. Jeanie creates wall clocks to sea

turtles, gator paddles to fish art boxes

and all form distressed wood that she

finds. View her work and visit with

the personable artist on her website at:

www.WildlifeFromScratch.com

18

Lights, Camera, Action! RAILBLAZA makes

one of the best camera booms that we have ever

seen and our lucky winners of the Action Photo

Awards can tell you just how good it really is.

If you want to get great fish fighting shots just put your camera on

a RAILBLAZA camera boom and you will quickly discover how

easy they make it. This handy camera boom adjusts up and down,

easily turns 360 degrees and will tilt adjust to any position, all with

one hand.

RAILBLAZA is the proud sponsor of our Action Photo Award in

our series and we have seen some extraordinary photos as a result

of the camera boom. If your angler wants some great photos get him a RAILBLAZA cam-

era boom. You can order right now from Yak-Gear who is the US distributor of this fine

New Zeeland made product.

Visit RAILBLAZA at www.RAILBLAZA.com

Shop at Yak-Gear at www.Yak-Gear.com

Fishing in the tropical heat has never

been so cool. ExOfficio Air Strip

shirts are tournament tested shirts

that just laugh at the relentless summer heat in the tropics where we fish. Put on an Air Strip

and you will instantly have a cool, durable, good looking friend that you can depend on to

keep you comfortable and looking good all of the time.

But don’t stop there. ExOfficio makes all kinds of sharp, good looking adventure clothing

for both men and women. So while you are selecting an Air Strip for your fishing mate,

don’t forget to treat yourself to a few while you’re at it...everyone needs a good friend.

Begin your adventure at:

www.ExOfficio.com

19

You have a big investment in

your kayak and now there is a

great way to protect it. The good

folks at KanuLock have come up

with a fantastic locking strap sys-

tem that will keep your kayak put. The stainless steel aircraft cables are stitched in place be-

tween padding and covered with a tough durable outer flexible skin to cushion your boat

safely and securely. The stainless locking system has a du-

rable rubberized pad so no worry there. Now you can lock

down your kayak and enjoy the peace of mind the Kanu-

Lock affords. Hey come on in and enjoy the Awards Cere-

mony and claim your sponsor gear! We want to see what

you caught today. Relax, have a bit and a bev. KanuLock

has you covered With their Lockable Tie Downs.

www.KanuLock.net

MirrOlure is one of the Top Producing

lures in our series. In fact our 2012 Na-

tional Champion Joe Lineberry caught one

of his tournament winning fish using a

MirrOlure.

Weather you choose the famous MirrOdine Series, the Mir-

rOmullet or the new Lumo Series you will catch fish. They’re

easy to use and tough as nails to withstand any bite. Just ask

your favorite angler what he thinks about his MirrOlure and

you’ll get an education. Get a stocking full of MirrOlure and

Turn On the Bite!

20

In just 30 seconds you can assemble and disassemble the

C-TUG Kayak Trolley. Put your kayak on the C-TUG,

load your fishing gear and roll your boat into the water.

Now that’s easy and

no more back and forth trips while loading your gear

at your favorite launch site. Unlock the wheels, give

the frame an easy twist and put your C-Tug into the

cargo hold on your kayak. Now that’s a great time

saver and makes launching/retrieving easy on your

back. We use the C-TUG Trolley and it is fantastic. Put

one under the tree this year and make having fun easy

on your favorite angler.

www.C-TUG.com

www.MirrOlure.com

If your kayak angler walks a little

funny after a day on the water, it’s

time for a Skwoosh kayak seat. The

first thing he will notice is the Gel

Power by TekPad seating in a new Skwoosh kayak seat. Another great back saver is their all

new Lumbar Support and the cool detachable Tackle

Bag. Skwoosh kayak seats are extremely comfortable

and cool when it is really hot. Why Skwoosh Kayak

Seats? Simple, because they are the best thru design,

materials and application. Get a Skwoosh today and

fish in extended comfort.

21

When it comes to protecting your hands

from the sun, Mangrove SunGloves are

just the very best that there is. That makes

shopping a bit easier for this great gift.

Mangrove sun gloves are cool and com-

fortable in addition to protecting your

hands from the harsh elements that we fish

in. The open fingers allow you to tie knots

and manage line with ease. The stretch fab-

ric feels like an additional skin on your

hands and they stay in place under all con-

ditions. What could be better than a pair of Mangrove SunGloves? Two pairs of Mangrove

SunGloves...

www.Skwoosh.com

Mangrove Sun Gloves

are available at your

local TFO dealer.

The sun and harsh elements that we fish and live in

can put a hurting on your expensive kayaks. As

kayaks become more and more technical they can

command a hefty price. It taken care of a modern

kayak will last a lifetime and JLM DESIGN will

help make sure that happens.JLM custom designed

kayak covers are the best kayak covers on the market. We

only use JLM on our kayaks and you should to. Big boat own-

ers have known this for decades but kayak fishing is new and

we see a lot of sun and weather damage on them. Most JLM

DESIGN custom kayak covers are under a $100 and that’s a

great price. Make your kayak last and keep your money in

your pocket. We use JLM and so should you.

Contact JLM DESIGN at 727-862-0700

22

A BASSYAKS system will put you

where you want to go in a hurry and fish

won’t hear you coming. Cover more wa-

ter and save valuable time when you are

scouting for fish and pre-fishing for our tournaments. BASSYAKS makes it easy and has a

system that is just right for your kayak. We use a BASSYAKS system on our photo boat

and it is a high quality, smooth and quiet system.

Order Yours Today at;

www.BassYaks.com

You might think it odd that we advertise other magazines in our magazine but we don’t. All

of our media sponsors help us inform kayak anglers and promote the sport that we all love

so much. We thank all of them for another great year.

Kayak Angler Magazine is another great source of information

about our sport. They have a good forum and their magazine is

also available through an online subscription. All of our anglers

receive a FREE one year online subscription to Kayak Angler and

they all enjoy it greatly. Visit Kayak Angler today and tell them we

sent you.

YakAnlger is another great magazine and forum

just for kayak anglers. You will find some of the

best articles and photography here and their mem-

bers are very helpful for all of your kayak angling

needs. Visit YakAngler today and say hello from us.

Our friends at Florida Fly Fishing Magazine publish one of the best

saltwater fly fishing resources ever. Each issue is full of interesting

articles written by some very good fly anglers/writers on the water.

If you fly fish you need this magazine and if you don’t, well what

are you waiting for…

Kayak Fishing Magazine is an East Coast anglers delight.

While all of our friends cover all of our fishing grounds and

more, KFM is big time in the Northeast.

23

www.KayakAnglerMag.com

www.YakAngler.com

www.FlaFlyFish.com

www.KayakFishingMagazine.net

We hope that our product guide will help you and give you some great gift giving choices

and ideas for your holidays this year.

We thank you in advance for supporting our many generous sponsors who make this won-

derful sport and the Kayak Fishing ClassicS possible.

We know that you and your friends enjoy the beautiful outdoors along the Coastal Gulf

States and ask the you continue to teach out respect and conservation for the beauty that

surrounds us all.

To all of you from all of us,

We Wish You a Very Merry Christmas

Happy Hanukkah

&

Happy New Year

24

The 2012 Series Year was

very good for all involved.

The anglers enjoyed fishing

in some of the most exotic

locations on the planet and

caught plenty of nice fish.

The sponsors received a

great deal of exposure to

some of the best anglers on

the Gulf Coast. The weather

held for our tournaments

with exception to a bit of

wind now and then, but

that’s just fishing on the Gulf

of Mexico. We enjoyed mak-

ing many new friends and a

little fishing ourselves. So

what’s next for the ClassicS?

Expansion... of course. We

have heard the cries from the

East and have set up a new

format for 2013 that will

make the series even more

competitive and exciting.

The Gulf Coast Series and

the East Coast Series are

now in place and ready to go

come January 2013. The

Gulf and East Coast Series’

both will have five open

tournaments each. Anglers

New for 2013

25

gler may not combine the

number of tournaments fished

in both series to accumulate a

total of four. An angler must

fish at least four tournaments

in one series to be invited.

The scoring changes that took

place prior to the beginning of

the 2012 series year will re-

main in place for both series’

in 2013. That is to say that one

inch of fish entered equals one

point. There won’t be any

early registration points or po-

dium finish points. There will

no longer be a slam bonus or

bait bonus. It’s about total

inches of fish. We feel that

these changes will make the

series more competitive and

focus on catching big fish, as a

tournament should be.

must fish 4 of the 5 open

tournaments in their division

to earn an invitation to the

national championship. This

will insure greater comple-

tion. The tournaments for

each division will be held

every other month. The se-

ries year will start for the

Gulf Coast Series in January

and the East Coast Series

will begin in February. The

GCS will then have another

tournament in March and the

ECS will have their next

tournament in April and so

on. The 2013 Series Year

tournament schedule is

posted on the Kayak Fishing

ClassicS website.

Anglers may of course com-

pete in both series’ however

their points will remain in

the series that hosted the

tournament. Anglers may not

move points from the east

series to the west, for exam-

ple. Anglers must compete in

at least four tournaments in a

given series, east or west, to

receive an invite to the na-

tional championship. An an-

26

www.SteveWhitlock.com

27

themselves and or their fishing

team/club. We are doing this in an

effort to help students, school fishing

clubs and to promote our fantastic

sport.

The East Coast Series sports some

huge populations of giant redfish so

tackle up if you are new to fishing

for these big lagoon monsters. More

about them and fishing the east side

later in this issue.

continued form page 25

It was very difficult selecting the five

tournament locations for 2013 as we

had ten great locations developed

over the years. The Gulf Series

sports some of the best fishing locals

in the world and by adding five

world class locations to the East

Coast Series it is lining up like some-

thing out of an anglers dream. We are

very excited about it and can’t wait

to get started. The 2013 series sched-

ule is posted on our website.

The posted weigh in time for any

given tournament is the time that the

weigh in is closed. Anglers must be

signed in at the judges table by then

or be in the line. There will be no ex-

ceptions to this rule. Anglers must

attend the weigh in to receive any

points and credit for having fished

the event.

Also new for 2013 will be a colle-

giate segment in both the East and

Gulf Series. The new segment will

allow full time college students who

are on their college fishing team/club

to compete thru scoring with other

colleges. They will compete under

the same rules and for the same

prizes as the rest of the anglers. The

collegiate scoring will be used only

to track college one college against

another. Collegiate winners will re-

ceive scholarship funding/gear for

themselves and or their fishing team/

club. We are doing this in an effort to

help students, school fishing clubs

www.ReelDreamsFishPrints.com

Artist Jim Roberts

28

29

Throwing Feathers

By Capt. Pat Horrigan A New Fly Line is Born Throwing feathers from a kayak while

seated presents an entirely different form

of fly casting for most anglers. Taken

away are the tools of stance, body angle

and movement. Also gone is the ability

to turn and watch your back cast just to

name a few. Add into the mix is the fact

that you have very little area for body

twist, if any. Combined these conditions

presented varying degrees of problems

for some of our contestants, of whom

many do fly fish.

My love of the two sports got me think-

ing about what could be done. For the

contestants in our series that use kayaks

that they can stand up in such as the

Diablo Adios, there was no problem.

Although that particular segment of

kayak design is quickly growing, the

reality of it is simply that most kayak

anglers can’t stand in their kayak so

something had to be done. I looked at the

energy dynamics involved in how energy

loads and unloads in a fly rod and how it

is transmitted throughout the fly line.

The rods were fine so it had to be the

line. Wait, today’s fly lines are incredi-

ble. This coming from one who learned

on a level braided fly line as a kid. We

needed a line that would load energy to

the rod quickly with one

back cast so a completely

new kind of fly line had to

be invented.

I got to work on this using

my computer, formulas and

a calculator. When I fig-

ured it all out I got with my

good friend Jim Teeny how

manufactures great fly

lines and is our fly line

sponsor. We discussed

what I came up with and

Jim took it from there. He

made a prototype and it

worked great. In fact it was

better than I had hoped for.

Jim made up some more prototypes and took them to the fly fishing show in Wash-

ington State, sort of an ICAST of fly fishing. He told his industry buddies about the

new kayak fly line and they all wanted to throw it. Well they spooled one up and

started throwing. Mind you these guys are professional fly casters on a pro circuit and

will tell you like it is. It was a bit of a tongue in cheek moment for Jim as he knew

what he had and that these guys never have seen anything like it.

After a few short warm up stokes, the first pro let one go and threw the line way past

the end of the casting pool. “What the …” he was surprised as Jim just watched and

grinned. All of the others had to try it out and all met with the same reaction. One

back cast and shoot forty feet of line was my original design. I guess I over amped it a

bit because these guys were throwing all of the line out which is ninety feet long. All

of them put their stamp of OK on it and we were pretty happy.

The finish on the line is a super slick Jim Teeny

finish found only on his lines. The finish doesn’t

get gummy in the heat, sweat and salt and helps

the line rocket through the guides on its way to

the target. Next I had an Orvis Certified Casting

Instructor sit on the sand and cast the line. He

quickly got the hang of it and was throwing some

nice casts. He later told his friends that it was the

best fly line he has ever thrown. I won’t mention

his name because I don’t want to get him in trou-

ble but you know who you are Bob. I played with

the line every chance that I got and used it with a

variety of 8 weight rods. The rod did not seem to

matter too much as long as it was an 8 weight,

fast action rod. I got all giggly every time I threw

it and could not wait to share it with our anglers

30

Throwing Feathers

By Capt. Pat Horrigan A New Fly Line is Born and the rest of the fly fishing world.

We tweaked the end with a leader

loop and went into production. This

was a long time coming as it took a

year from inception to production

but I always was a bit slow in math.

We started awarded the Kayak Fly

Line toward the end of the series

year and the feedback has been very

good from average anglers. All have

said that it is now very easy to throw

the line while seated and are getting

into fly fishing from their yaks more

and more. Perfect! That’s what we

wanted. Kayak fishing is very

stealthy and fly fishing from a kayak

adds to that end. Fish don’t hear you

or see you coming and they don’t

hear the lure splash the water. When

fish are real spooky in shallow it is

time to get the fly rod out and let

them have it. You will start racking

up some big fish in the tournaments

if you become proficient at it. It

really is not difficult and the new

Kayak Fly Line now makes it sim-

ple and fun.

Several anglers have asked me if I made a lot of money developing the kayak fly line or if

I will be getting royalties from the sales. The answer is no. I did not go into this to make

any money. I wanted to help make throwing a fly line easier from a kayak and help pro-

mote the sports of fly fishing and kayak fishing. I gave the design to Jim after some argu-

ment on his part. He wanted to pay me but I said no enough times that he understood what

I was doing.

Next up in line development for me is a snook fly line that I have been thinking about.

Most fly anglers will use a intermediate fly

line which sinks a foot or so on the last

four or five feet on the line. I have been

using these lines for years for snook and

they work but there are a few things that I

want to change about it. Oh well, back to

drawing board…I just keep coming up

with things that make me have to go fish-

ing..

You can purchase the Kayak Fly Line from

my good friend at www.JimTeeny.com

Photos by Guide Rich Jones: www.KayakFishingTheEverglades.com

31

Meet the Family

www.RiverBum.com

32

East Coast Reds By Charles Levi

One only has to mention the word Red-

fish and area’s like the Indian River La-

goon, Banana River, and the Mosquito

Lagoon come to most angler’s minds

and for good reason. There is little to no

doubt that the East Coast of Florida is

the Redfish capital of the state and some

may argue it should hold the title of Red-

fish capital of the world!

Ask any angler that has targeted these

great game fish around the state to de-

scribe the Redfish that call the East Cen-

tral Florida waters home and most will

tell you they are the hardest Redfish in

the state to catch.

This isn’t because there aren’t good

numbers of them rather it’s the numbers

that sometimes works against you as an

angler. When you have a hundred sets of

eyes looking out for one another getting

within casting range to these massive

schools can be a tough. In the spring and

summer the water gets dirty

and the schools break up and

you find mainly single fish

cruising the flats early in the

morning before the water

temps heat up. Once this hap-

pens, the Redfish move off the

flats and seek deeper water

that is cooler and higher in

oxygen content that helps the

Redfish digest their meals. Fin

Fish are the main pray items

of our fish in the warmer

months. Things like Mullet,

Pinfish, Pigfish, Croakers and Greenies

make up the bulk of their diet but the

shoals of Glass Minnows take a beating

from everything that calls the East Coast

waters home. In fact in the early morn-

ing hours you can often find schools of

Glass Minnows pressed against the shore

line and hungry Redfish gorging on the

easy to catch minnows.

As the water temperatures drop in the

fall and winter the Redfish start to

school up again and start to switch

from mainly a fin fish diet to more of

a crustacean based diet. Gone are the

schools of Mullet and other bait fish

and now Shrimp, Crabs, Sea Horses,

Snails and other slow moving prey

items take over as the main food sup-

ply for the Redfish. The bite tends to

not start till later in the morning dur-

ing the cooler months, say around 9:30

-10:00am. Plus with the air temps and

water staying cool all day, this allows

the Redfish and other game fish to

stay on the flats. With an average

depth of about two to three feet, the

cool clear waters of Indian River La-

goon System makes for some of the

States best sight fishing opportunities.

The cooler water also makes the Red-

fish sluggish, but don’t confuse this

with being easy to catch, you will see

many more tailing fish this time of the

year and have your offerings turned

down even when you make that

“Perfect” cast! And I haven’t even

brought up the “NMZ” or No Motor

Zone. Two words can accurately de-

scribe the “NMZ” and those are Juras-

sic Park! With miles of shoreline pro-

tected from any motorized vessels and

N.A.S.A just to the north, many of the

fish that call the N.M.Z home have

never seen a lure!

As kayak anglers we have an advan-

tage when it comes to finding and

catching Redfish here on the East

Coast. The stealth of the kayak will

33

allow you to find these spooky, tailing

fish giving you a chance to sneak up

on them without the sound of a troll-

ing motor, live well pump, hatch noise

and other alien noises that flats skiffs

give off. This is key when fishing in

the gin clear waters the winter gives

us!

And now with the Tropic Bay ‘Kayak

Fishing ClassicS’ adding the five East

to bring money into our local areas, they

will also allow anglers from other parts

of the state to see first hand why we are

the Redfish Capital of Florida!!

Editors Note: Redfish Chuck Levi lives

on the East Coast of Florida. He is also a

radio personality and has his own show

on KayakFishingRadio.com weekdays

@ 8pm

We wish to thank Redfish Chuck for

helping us set up the Kayak Fishing

ClassicS East Coast Series for 2013.

Chuck and his good friend Jose Vidal,

also of the East Coast and Team Diablo

helped the ClassicS to determine the

tournament sites for the upcoming ex-

pansion of the series.

When you see Redfish and Pepi on the

water, be sure to give them a paddle

splash in appreciation for all of their

hard work and be sure to listen to Red-

Coast Tournaments to their already im-

pressive list of West Coast events, this

huge high quality Tournament Series

will help those of us that really want to

see the sport grow and want to compete

on our home waters! Kayak anglers on

the East Coast have been over looked for

too long and the time has come for us to

show off why the East Coast has some of

Florida’s best fishing right here in our

backyards! Not only will the events help

Jose ‘Pepi’ Vidal with 34 “ Mosquito Lagoon Redfish….Nice

34

Worlds Best Fly Lines

SINCE 1971

Because Fishing is an Adventure

www.JimTeeny.com

35

www.PlanoMolding.com Guide Series Waterproof Boxes

The Wooden Navy

36

was given his first boat, a cedar strip

johnboat that he grew to appreciate the

craftsmanship in and appreciated the

advantages it afforded over heavy plank

or aluminum boats. That started the fire

within and after retirement he decided to

scratch that itch. He started building

kayaks from a stitch and glue kit by

Chesapeake Light Craft that was a sim-

ple 14 boat that took him ninety hours to

build.

Over the years Jesse has purchased vari-

ous kayak and canoe plans and has built

many dozens of boats. He now purchases

his rough cut wood planks, cuts them

into strips, planes, shapes, steams, molds

and works them into a thing of beauty.

He also purchases large sheets of special

lament wood that he cuts the shapes for

the stitch and glue jobs. Perhaps I should

explain the difference in these different

building techniques. A stitch and glue

kayak is made from lament sheets of

wood where he lays out the various

pieces and shapes needed to assemble

the boat. The stitch part is a technique of

assembly. Once the pieces of sheeting

are cut, sanded they are butted together,

drilled and copper wired together form-

& it’s Master Most kayak anglers use a plastic kayak

and for good reasons. They are light-

weight, affordable, tough, they get the

job done and put you on the water. Well

there is another building

material that kayaks have

been crafted out of for

many centuries and it of-

fers some surprising advan-

tages.

I recently had the opportu-

nity to visit with the Master

of wooden kayak construc-

tion, Jesse White who has

been hand making his phe-

nomenal kayaks and ca-

noes for over a decade. I’m

not talking about kit kay-

aks. I’m talking about

scratch-built works of art

that are light, strong, tough

and highly personalized

fishing kayaks that even

the most ardent skeptic will fall in love

with and respect.

I asked Jesse what got him started build-

ing wooden kayaks. He told me that he

37

ing a kayak; all of the

seams are glued, filled and

sanded. The wire is cut and

sanded flush with the wood

for a very cool look. The

hull is then smoothed and

sanded then covered with

very thin fiberglass, sanded

and smoothed and then

flipped. The inside of the

hull is then treated with

fiberglass and smoothed

and is now ready for the

deck which is applied and

fitted in like manner of the

hull.

A strip built kayak or ca-

noe is made from many,

many narrow strips of spe-

cial woods such as Alaskan

White Cedar, Spruce,

Western Red Cedar and

Cypress. All very strong,

lightweight and decorative

which have their special place in the

construction. After making the strips for

the construction, Jesse then planes a

bead and cove shape into the long edges

of the strips. This is not a must but is

much stronger and makes for a perfect

spherical flow of the wood around a

form. Remember here that he is a Master

of this art and he makes it all sound so

easy. Most builders simply plane an an-

gler onto the edges of adjoining strips.

This takes us to what is called a Hybrid

built kayak and no, it does not run on

alternative power. A Hybrid kayak is

built with a combination of the stitch &

glue technique and the strip built tech-

nique. Usually the hull is stitch & glue

and the deck is strip built.

While looking around in his shop and

watching Jesse work on a new kayak, a

privilege by the way, I asked how he

learned how to do all of this. His answer

was simple and down to earth. “I read

lots of books.” Well that’s honest

enough but I think he could write a few

on the subject for sure. I also asked if

one technique is stronger than another

and he told me that the strength comes

from the fiberglass, the lightness comes

from the wood.

I mentioned to him that I had from time

to time thought about building a wooden

kayak and he told me to start with a

stitch & glue boat. Good advice after

seeing what is involved with the other

choices. He told me that you can start

with a kit, a good set of saw horses that

you build for kayak construction, and a

small work space. You don’t need any

38

special tools and if you purchase a

Chesapeake kit, everything you need to

build your kayak comes with it, except

the saw horses of course. Chesapeake

Light Craft even includes all of the spe-

cial epoxy and has made mixing it very

simple. Hmmm, tempting.

Jesse showed then showed me a racing

kayak that he had built. A 20 foot strip-

per that had a built in skeg that he raises

to enable turning. A dragster of sorts if

you will. By the way a strip built kayak

is called a stripper. This boat looked

really fast and it is. Jesse won the

Chasco Kayak Race in 2011 and I would

imagine that he can pretty much do that

whenever he wants.

For the finishing touches, Jesse then

carves out some of the wood to make

way for some inlay art. Jesse has formi-

dable skills to carve and route away a

1/16th depth and fit elegant designs and

patterns of very thin wood into the decks

of his boats. Personalization is an option

of course. If you have never seen this, it

is much like the fancy inlays of wood art

that you see on very fine furniture from

days gone by.

It was a pleasure to see a Master Kayak

Builder at work in his shop and an even

39

www.AquaBound.com

40

greater pleasure and privilege to

spend time with him. I must say

that what you see is what you get.

Jesse White is not only a master

builder; he is genuinely a wonder-

ful and sharing person.

If you are interested in joining the

Wooden Navy give Jesse a call at

727-861-3572 and he will be

happy to build and fit a boat for

you.

41

www.Skwoosh.com

Experience the comfort of Skwoosh.

Fish All Day

Once in a while all of us have had

that slow feeling in the morning at

the launch. This can cause perform-

ance problems on the water. De-

pressed energy levels equals de-

pressed results and much of the

‘slows’ can be attributed to your diet.

Unfortunately many of us will turn to

an energy drink for that boost and

load up with sugars and caffeine.

Then after a few hours the crash

comes and then where are you?

The answer to sustained energy lev-

els and building healthy reserves is

in our diet. Noted nutrition guru

Brian St. Pierr offers a healthy high-

energy Top 10 list of foods that have

unique characteristics in sustaining a

much higher level of energy.

No.10 Coffee Of all natural food sources, coffee has the larg-est caffeine content. Caf-feine has been shown to improve performance and decrease your perception of effort, allowing you to work harder longer. Coffee also contains large amounts of antioxidants and may supply up to 70% of the total daily antioxidant in-take of the average Ameri-can. If you use coffee to give you a quick energy boost, be conscious of the time of day. Drinking cof-fee within eight hours of

Avoiding the Slows

No.8 Water Water is the most over-looked “performance en-hancing supplement out there. As many as 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. Dehydration can limit your physical and mental capacity. Because water is paramount in cool-ing your body during times of increased heat or stress, as you attempt to ramp up your exercise in-tensity, dehydra-tion will cause limi-tations in thermal regulation, circula-tion and, ulti-mately, the generation of force. The common recommen-dation is that the average, inactive person (not you) should consume at least six to eight ounces of water per day. In reality, you should probably be taking in about double that amount (on top of the water you take in from other foods). Start carrying a 16- to 20-ounce water bottle around with you during the day. Aim to refill it every three to four hours. You’ll be amazed at how much

when you go to bed can cause some men to have trouble falling asleep and/or staying asleep. If you wake up in the middle of the night with your heart racing, you may have to find a less intense alterna-tive, such as tea.

No.9 Tea When proper nutrition and hydration fails you (or when you fail it), sometimes a quick caf-feine boost can help get you through a training ses-sion. Teas like white, green, oolong, and black can give you a small amount of caffeine, but they also contain the calm-ing amino acid theanine, which has been shown to prevent the anxiety that large caffeine consumption can cause. This will ulti-mately help you create bet-ter attention and focus. The amount of caffeine per serving depends on the type of tea. White gives about 20 milligrams; green gives about 30 milligrams; oolong gives about 40 milli-grams; and black gives about 50 mil-ligrams.

42

By Capt. Pat Horrigan

Anglers Health

43

energy you get just from staying adequately hy-drated. If you notice you’re making more frequent trips to the bathroom, don’t worry; as your body adapts to getting a constant supply of fluid, you’re lavatory fre-quency will return to more socially ac-ceptable rates.

No.7 Fruits

Fruits (especially apricots, bananas, cantaloupe, and kiwi) are high in potassium (an electrolyte that main-tains normal nerve and muscle function), fructose for liver glycogen, ready-to-use sugars, fiber, and tons of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. If you’re look-ing for a healthy, natural energy boost, consuming fruits throughout the day and within about an hour before you train will give you just that. You can also blend a banana, frozen berries, some nuts or seeds (from above), and Greek yogurt together for a great post-workout drink.

No.6 Quinoa Quinoa, al-though techni-cally a seed, is a super grain that everyone should have as part of their diet. It is a complete protein, which is very rare for a

plant food. It is also a high-qual-ity complex carbohydrate, high in fiber and iron as well as calcium (necessary for proper muscle contrac-tion), potassium and mag-nesium (necessary for proper hydration).

No.5 Old-Fashioned Oats Old-fashioned oats are a quality source of complex carbohydrates that are high in fiber, low on the glyce-mic index and high in en-ergy-boosting B vitamins. This is not your instant oat-meal. Old-fashioned oats

are a more natu-ral, unprocessed form of oat. Be-cause they aren’t

broken down to the extent that instant oats are, it takes longer for these oats to be processed within your body, providing a slower release of energy.

No.4 Seeds Seeds from sources like flax, chia and hemp provide a great sup-ply of fiber, healthy fats (including omega-3s), vita-

mins, minerals, and antioxidants. Chia is an especially great choice, since it has a large amount of soluble fiber, which cre-ates a viscous gel in your gastrointestinal tract. This keeps you full/satisfied for a long time and provides an energy time-release ef-fect, stabilizing your blood sugar and keeping your en-ergy levels even during in-tense training.

No.3 Tree nuts Tree nuts such as al-monds, walnuts, pecans, and cash-ews, are loaded with healthy fats (monounsaturates, as in olive oil, as well as some omega-3s), fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals, and an-tioxidants. You can also consume these as nut but-ters, which are delicious and offer lots of variety, as they can be spread over other fruits or vegetables or be included in a smoothie for a perfect en-ergy-boosting snack.

No.2 Omega-3 eggs Omega-3 eggs are full of healthy fats, energy-boosting B vitamins and some vitamin D. They also

44

provide a rich supply of brain-boosting choline, the precursor for the neuro-transmitter acetylcholine, and are considered the perfect protein because of their amino acid profile and high biological value. They are one of nature’s most nutrient-dense foods.

No.1 Cold-water fatty fish Cold-water fatty fish in-clude wild salmon, mackerel and herring. These fish are an excellent source of omega3s, which provide a number of health benefits, in-cluding de-creased risk of heart dis-ease and various can-cers, de-creased inflammation and decreased body fat. They’re also rich in com-plete protein, energy-boosting B vitamins, mag-nesium, and potassium, and are one of the few food sources of vitamin D. For more great nutrition informa-tion from Brian St. Pierre, check

out his website:

BrianStPierreTraining.com.

You may not have heard of some of

these foods however they are very

tasty as well as healthy.

Once you tune your body to running

on the energy that this way of eating

generates you will discover that you

will have plenty of go and no slow.

I prefer tea over coffee and taking

some on the kayak is a nice treat

with lunch. You do take lunch with

you don’t you? When I say lunch I

mostly mean natural meals in natures

own rapper. Foods such as some tree

nuts, apples, oranges and a fish taco

for example. After all you are out

there to fish not dine.

That doesn’t mean you should not

eat while fishing. In fact it is impor-

tant to eat while you are on the wa-

ter. You are using energy and will

need more for later right? So if you

don’t eat and beverage up you will

have what I call an energy void in

your reserves.

That’s when the slows hit you. It’s

your body talking to you and telling

you to rest. If you are frequently eat-

ing small amounts of energy food

and great proper sleep you won’t get

the slows.

I have found that another huge bene-

fit of energy eating is the mental

alertness. Think about that for a min-

ute. If you are on the water with the

morning slows, when the fish are

really biting, you may miss the op-

portunity to get a tournament buster.

You may miss the hook set or not

even notice the fish at all. Mental

sharpness is everything and you can

increase yours by through diet.

I am not a fan of the high energy

drinks that we all see in the quick go

stores. These beverages are not regu-

lated by anyone but the manufacture.

These drinks have even killed people

so safe to say you should avoid them

like the plague.

Over the course of time your body

will cleanse itself. Not only will you

have more sustainable energy, you

will begin to feel better. It’s a bit odd

when it happens.

You don’t really realize how slow

you are or how lack luster you may

feel until you really feel good. Then

it all makes sense and comes to-

gether.

If you start eating like this and six

months down the road you decide to

have a big burger, cheese, fries and a

cola you will really feel it.

If you take the time and search the

internet you will find that there are

many foods that are tasty, easy to

find and easily fit any budget. The

old saying ‘you are what you eat’ is

very true.

In short I would simply say Eat

Right, Catch More Fish.

45

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49

Anglers Corner

Many of the anglers in the ClassicS fly

fish and some tie their own flies from

time to time as do I. Some of our anglers

have been tying for many years; others

are relatively new to the art. I started

tying about forty years ago, not to say

that I am any good at it. A large number

of anglers would rather spend their time

on the water throwing feathers instead of

tying them and that’s fine too. The im-

portant thing at issue here is that the flies

work and is the common thread for all

fly anglers.

As a fly fishing guide I spent a lot of

hours on the water looking at bait. I

studied bait fish, crabs, shrimp and

plants that small bait life lives in. A

number of years ago with the advances

in tying material and glues we started

seeing some very life like flies. Some of

feeding on. Over millions of years fish

have developed to look like something

other than what they are. For example a

glass minnow hides itself in plain sight

by being mostly clear. A bone fish hides

itself from its predators by reflecting

what is in the water and on the surface

which makes it virtually undetectable.

Shrimp and crabs will drop to the sea

floor and hide in the grass or beside a

rock to mimic and fool a fish into not

seeing it.

Well we want the fish to see our fly but

want the fly to look and swim like the

bait we are copying. The common thing

here is the behavior of the live bait when

they feel threatened. If our hook shines

or otherwise looks unnatural to the fish

the shrimp patterns could fool the most

ardent connoisseur. Some of these works

of art take hours to create and get

munched, crunched and otherwise muti-

lated by the crushing jaws and teeth of

our favorite finned friends in just mo-

ments.

It all is in an attempt to make the fly

look like the bait. That brought to mind

an article that I wrote some time back

about a fly really being a phasmes. Like

a walking stick bug or a thorn bug. Nei-

ther is a stick or a thorn but look like it.

The culprit here for us is making the

hook look like a fish or some other de-

lectable tidbit that the fish will rush to

eat.

A Fly Phasmes, if you will, looks like

particular bait that is present in the water

while you are fishing that the fish are

Fly MoJo...Mon By Capt. Pat Horrigan

Nice redfish caught on fly by our friend

Redfish Chuck Levi

50

it’s ‘adios’ and we’ll have to try again.

But if you phasmes the hook and make it

look like it is a part of the bait or just

plain hide it, then you are going in the

right direction.

Is all of this really necessary to fool a

fish? No, not most of the time. Look at

most flies or lures and you see the hook

exposed most of the time. If you fish

with a consistently successful fly angler

you will see that he is catching fish even

when the bite is slow and you are not.

If you look at the fly pattern he is using,

if he lets you, you may discover an en-

tirely new breed of flies emerging that

you never thought about. The point here

is to use a pattern that is reasonable to tie

or purchase that you can throw and learn

to use it. Learn to swim it the correctly

to imitate the bait. Make that fly do eve-

rything that the real thing does and you

will catch fish.

The action you impart upon the fly is a

big part of Fly Phasmes. Without fly

Phasmes you can’t have Fly Fatum and

‘without dem you got no fly MoJo mon.’

Daniel Currey shows off a nice looking

little snook captured on fly & released.

Radio Host Redfish Chuck releases a

dandy redfish caught on fly.

Anglers Corner Continued

51

If you tie flies, get in touch

with your doctor…

Dr. Slick, maker of the finest,

innovative fly tying tools in the

world and then some.

Available at your local Dealer or contact Dr. Slick

www.DrSlick.com

52

Your Hands Do A Lot For You.

Do a Little Something For Them….

Mangrove Sun Gloves

Found wherever TFO fishing equip-

ment is sold

53

It took two years of very hard

work and lots and lots of hours,

travel, spending weekends in

strange towns and some sleepless

nights. That’s just the beginning.

Marty Meakin won the Series

Championship on October 13,

2012 but his quest really started

back in January of 2011 when he

set out to become the Series

Champion of the Kayak Fishing

ClassicS. In 2011 Meakin came in

second place overall in the series.

That would make most anglers

very happy and it did to a point

for Meakin, but that was not the

Respectable Fourth Place in the

Classic and maintained his second

place hold on the series standings.

As suddenly as he rose to the top

he met hard times in the Ever-

glades in the 10,000 Islands Clas-

sic in April. Meakin came in out

of the top 10 and watched the

leader pull away. He was still in

second place overall but the field

below him was now pressing and

putting on pressure.

A great thing about most anglers

in the series is that they are all

optimists. Tomorrow is another

day to go fishing and make things

Goal by a long shot. The 2011

disappointment only served to

harden his resolve for the 2012

series year. He was determined to

win and he set out about his busi-

ness.

Meakin started in January and

began the new year with a fifth

place win. Not bad but not what

he had in mind. February rolled

around and things were looking

better with a second place show-

ing and a jump in the series stand-

ings from fifth to second overall.

Then came the Fort DeSoto Clas-

sic in March. Meakin scored a

Meet the Series Champion

Marty Meakin

54

Right. Meakin was no exception

to this rule and he put his game

face on and went at the next tour-

nament with a smile on his face.

In May the Ozello Classic was

tough and Meakin scored a fourth

place finish but managed to knock

off the series leader and grab the

series lead. Certainly cause for

celebration but only for the day.

He managed to carve out a 3 point

series lead and that’s very close.

Next stop was the Old Salty Dog

in Sarasota in June where once

again Meakin was out of the Top

Five but managed to broaden his

series lead and pulled ahead of

the pack. While Meakin was con-

sistently placing in the ClassicS,

others were not quite as consistent

and the series standings bounced

around. Now with only four more

series tournaments to go Meakin

Meakin had a better tournament

and so did Komyati but neither

finished where they had wanted

to. Introducing Joe Lineberry to

the winners podium. Lineberry

had a great day and won by a few

inches. Meakin kept the series

Talent he had on his wake

Tournament Day began by greet-

ing all of the anglers with perfect

weather, a departure for the days

of pre-fishing. Marty Meakin de-

cided to just go fishing. He

launched his kayak and paddled

away. Everything was set up and

ready for the eventual winner and

the rest of the anglers. Meakin

walked into the weigh in room

with a smile on his face and he

seemed to know he had it.

All of the anglers went through

the process of the photo weigh in,

the scores were checked, double

checked and triple checked.

Komyati had been on fire for the

past few ClassicS and Meakin had

been struggling allowing him to

close within 4 series points. It was

time to announce the awards for

55

www.DeepSouthFishingRods.net

56

There was a pause as everyone

waited and then the first place

was announced.

Marty Meakin, Marty Meakin

rang out and he jumped to his feet

knowing he had just won the

Southern Redfish Classic and the

Kayak Fishing ClassicS Series

Championship. Everyone went

nuts. Although all of the anglers

wanted to win, all of them root

for their fellow contestants. That

is probably the single greatest

thing about the ClassicS.

Meakin turned in a 75.2 inch

slam, took the Southern and iced

it for the Series Championship.

Meakin was composed but you

could see the joy on his face as he

came up to the First Place Podium

and began accepting the sponsor

awards.

Meakin was presented with a

Diablo Paddlesports Adios kayak

to start things off. Next up came

the lions share of over $10,000.00

in Sponsor Gear Awards that you

can see on the ClassicS website.

Marty almost need to pinch him-

self to see if he was having the

reoccurring dream that he had so

many times. All of the contestants

worked very hard for this and

Meakin may have worked the

hardest. No matter, all worked

very hard for sure.

It takes a lot to win a Classic and

ten times that to win the series.

That’s ten open tournaments

where you fish against some of

the very best anglers on the Gulf

Coast. All of them have one sin-

gle minded thought...WIN and

they all do their very best to do

so.

We congratulate Marty Meakin

for a well deserved double win in

championship fashion. Through it

all Meakin has maintained his

cool and was always a helpful

gentleman to all.

Our Sponsors Congratulate you

Marty and know that you will en-

joy all of the terrific gear that you

have won. Our sponsors also con-

gratulate all of the 2012 Series

Year Contestants and thank all of

you as do we.

William Lusk 4th Place

Joe Lineberry 5th Place

Otis Coblentz 3rd Place

Joe Komyati 2nd Place

Diablo Paddlesports

When Fishing Matters

57

www.MirrOlure.com

Turn On The Bite!

58

Question 4: What color of kayak do you

find best for fishing?

Answer: Tan

Question 5: What color Diablo did you

purchase?

Answer: Tan, Tan & Green

Question 6: What do you think of the

handling characteristics of the Diablo?

Answer: It’s not going to win any races

but paddles very well. Tracks very well.

Turns on a dime.

Question 7: What do you think of the

fish ability of a Diablo?

Answer: Perfect, Fantastic, Best fishing

platform on the water, Hands down

great, Would not buy any other kayak.

Question 8: How stable do you find your

Diablo to be?

Answer: Very stable, solid with little

movement when walking around in it,

the most stable kayak there is.

Question 9: What do you think about the

fit & finish of your Diablo?

Naturally we keep an eye on who has a

Diablo, who is looking to purchase one

and who sells them. We wanted to ask a

few Diablo owners what they thought

about their kayaks so we sent out a ques-

tionnaire and awaited the response.

Before we share that information with

you please understand that we are aware

that many anglers love their kayak and

that’s great. Brand loyalty may keep

some kayak anglers from even looking at

another brand of kayak and that’s fine.

We just wanted to share some interesting

feedback from Diablo owners with you

and we hope that you find the informa-

tion useful in selecting your next kayak.

The answers to the questions are similar

if not the same in many instances. What

we are expressing is a common theme to

help you better understand why Diablo

owners love their kayaks so much.

Question 1: What are the characteristics

of a kayak that you look for?

Answer: Stability, Quality, Comfort,

Ability to Stand Up, Room to Move

Around.

Question 2: What model Diablo Paddle-

sports kayak did you purchase?

Answer: Adios

Question 3: What of these characteristics

are present in the Diablo Adios kayak?

Answer: All of the characteristics that I

was looking for in a kayak are in the

Adios.

A Word or Two Yak Yak

59

course a kayak that sits that low

to the water with little freeboard

is going to get some water in it

however it drains right out. We

like the standard deck pads that

come with the Adios. They are

glued down to stay and they

buffer any movement noise.

The standard beverage holders

are very handy and with all of

the new features found on the

2013 Adios, we are sure it will

continue to grow in popularity.

Also please keep in mind that

we test every product ourselves

before inviting a company to

become a sponsor of the Kayak

Answer: One of the best looking kayaks

on the market, beautiful, suction cups

stick like crazy, stickers stay on, very

attractive kayak, and fit up is perfect.

Question 10: How do you find the

Diablo to paddle?

Answer: Good without skeg & even bet-

ter with skeg, smooth to paddle, comfort

range around 6 miles, easy to paddle &

surprising for such a wide kayak.

Question 11: What if anything would

you change about your Diablo:

Answer: Nothing, adding lure boxes

would be the sweet.

Question 12: Would you recommend a

Diablo to a friend and why?

Answer: Yes Always. I love my Diablo

and my friends have purchased them as a

result of how much I like mine. I love

my Diablo & know anyone who try’s

one out will too. I recommend a Diablo

because it is the best for the fishing that

we do.

The answers do not surprise us. We

think the same way about our Diablo

Adios that we use as our photo boat. We

do like the suggestion about the tackle boxes and

perhaps a rail system might be useful as well.

When we put the BassYaks on our photo boat

we really could see how well they are made.

Solid would be a good word to describe an

Adios. It should be noted that one of the anglers

that we sent the questionnaire to weighs over

300 pounds and finds the Adios to be extremely

stable for him. He stands up and enjoys fly fish-

ing from it and walks around on it.

We took our Adios out on a windy day to test

her in the chop and found it to be very good. Of

60

Fishing ClassicS. It

takes time and money

and we are glad to do it

to help assure you that

what we award you at a

ClassicS tournament is

great gear designed

with our anglers in

mind.

61

MADE TO FISH

www.ExOfficio.com

62

Steel Cable Reinforced Padded Straps & Two Tough Locks

…..Keep Your Kayak Safe

www.KanuLock.net

63

www.kokatat.com

Protect Your Feet...They Deserve It...

64

to go catch fish and catch fish they did.

In particular, the new champion had a

field day and his best tournament day

ever.

Joe Lineberry launched his kayak and

paddled out to his early fishing location

as per his plan. The 25 year US Army

veteran always has a plan. He made a

couple of casts and connected with a fat

23 inch snook. He boated her, said

cheese for the photo and released the

beauty to fight another day. A few more

casts connected Lineberry with a nice

23.9 inch trout which was also photo-

graphed and released. With two of the

three species recorded, Lineberry did not

feel he go catch larger fish so it was time

for a two mile paddle to his redfish flats.

Using D.O.A. and MirrOlure lures Joe

began the hunt for reds. He caught a few

and had his slam by 7:30 AM. He kept

on searching, looking for an upgrade in

size to help assure his victory. He had

put a lot of pressure on himself. He

Come tournament day, it is anyone’s

game. The playing field is leveled and

all of the series points have been cleaned

off of the leader board. Everyone is at

zero, the sun is coming up and it is time

The Kayak Fishing ClassicS saltwater

tournament series crowned a new cham-

pion on November 3 in Tampa Bay,

Florida. The ClassicS held the invita-

tional National Championship Classic

which was hosted by Whiskey Joe’s.

The National Championship Classic

(NCC) followed the Series Champion-

ship which is the culmination of ten

open tournaments held along the Gulf

Coast throughout the series year which

begins in January each year.

The top anglers of the series are invited

to the NCC and all must fish in a desig-

nated zone for the same species of fish.

The NCC was a Redfish, Snook & Trout

Slam in which the contestants must

catch, photograph & release one fish of

each species. Harder than it sounds, par-

ticularly on tournament day when the

pressure is on. What is at stake? Well

bragging rights for a year to begin with.

Then there is over $10,000.00 in Spon-

sor Gear Prizes plus a Diablo Paddle-

sports Adios kayak. There is national

exposure and possible sponsorships also

involved.

National Championship

2012 National Champion Joe Lineberry

65

www.Precision-Pak.net

Quality Gear at Great Prices

66

will. Then he spotted a large bull red

tailing on the flats. He picked up his

Deep South Rod with the D.O.A. Shad

wife in Canada where they will run their

family marina.

Lineberry kept searching, a hunt if you

really wanted to win this tournament

as it would be his last… Lineberry is

retiring from the Army and joining his

Derick Burgos

with his 2nd Place

National Champi-

onship plaque.

Derick is not

stranger to the po-

dium stand and

always seems to

find the fish.

Otis Coblentz is

ready to bust a

smile. He won the

3rd Place Podium

in the Nationals

this year. Otis is

looking forward to

the 2013 series and

is figuring his

strategy already.

67

Tail soft plastic lure on it. He made the

cast, landing the lure just in front of hun-

gry redfish. “Come on, take it” said Joe

under his breath as all of us do. Then the

flats erupted with an explosive strike that

sent water and sand sparkling into the

morning sky. The commotion of the bat-

tle could be heard across the flats. Line-

berry had to be careful. This was the

tournament winning redfish he had been

searching for, hoping for, and perhaps

praying for. Joe had picked up his light-

weight rod with only 6 pound test line on

the spool and a mere 15 pound test

fluorocarbon leader on it. That was the

Congratulations

Michael Davidson

proudly displays his

5th Place plaque for

his efforts in the Na-

tional Championship.

We hope to see more

of him next year as he

always locates fish and

puts on a good show.

Congratulations

Jose Vidal for your

4th Place win in

the Nationals this

year. We know we

are going to see

Jose a lot in 2013.

He did Team

Diablo proud in

2012 and is look-

ing forward to

fishing the new

East Coast Series

division.

68

only thing that connected him to a day in

the sun or a bitter defeat. The battle

raged for several minutes. The bull

fought like an experienced champion and

was determined to retain his freedom of

the flats. Finally outwitted, the powerful

redfish was landed, photographed and

released after a proper revival. The

mighty red had tested the tackle to the

limit and lost to the skill of a master an-

he share in their happiness and laughter

as he had done for so long. Soon it

would be time to move on as it was all

too familiar in army life.

Joe Lineberry made the paddle back to

his launch and drove to the photo weigh

in at Whiskey Joe’s where his friends

were waiting for him. He sat down at the

scoring table and tried to conceal his

gler. The redfish measured 27.4 inches

and was fat. I’m talking three hamburg-

ers a day fat. You could not get your

hands around him and was one beautiful

redfish.

As Joe watched the red swim away it

saddened him. He knew that was it, he

was through. No longer would he com-

pete with his friends. No longer would

Congratulations Joe Komyati for

the great job you did in 2012. Joe

nearly won the Series Champion-

ship this year and really made it

close. Joe won the Railblaza Ac-

tion Photo Award in the Nationals

this year and is looking forward

to winning it all next year.

Joe knows how to put on the pres-

sure and we look forward to his

return in the Gulf Coast Series

division in 2013.

Jose Vidal was all smiles

after a great day on the

water. Jose also caught the

Biggest Fish and won the

Bending Branches Big

Fish Award.

Joe turned in a 30.3 inch

redfish. Congratulations

Jose and nice job.

69

excitement with his best poker face. He

scored a total of 84.3 inches with the

slam bonus and that was more than good

enough to claim his new thrown.

Joe Lineberry became the Kayak Fishing

ClassicS 2013 National Champion on

that day. He saved the best for last in

true champion fashion and earned the

respect and admiration of anglers every-

where. All of us at the ClassicS, Diablo

Paddlesports, all of our Sponsors and all

of your friends congratulate you Joe in

your stunning victory. A fitting end to

this chapter of your life and a wonderful

new beginning to the next. We will all

miss you…

Derick Burgos of Team Diablo came in

second place with a total of 74.1 inch

slam and Otis Coblentz scored a total of

67 inches with his slam to capture third

place. Jose Vidal, also of Team Diablo

scored a total of 43.7 inches with a red-

fish and a trout. Jose also took the Bend-

ing Branches ‘Big Fish’ award with his

30.3 inch redfish and earned himself

fourth place in the national. Michael

Davidson also entered a redfish and a

trout for a total of 43.6 inches and

hooked fifth place. Series Champion

Marty Meakin was in the game but just

could not connect with a redfish. He

entered a nice snook and a trout measur-

ing a total of 43.3 inches which landed

the Series Champ in sixth place in the

national championship and that is not too

shabby.

All of us here at the Kayak Fishing Clas-

sicS and all of our wonderful Sponsors

wish to thank and congratulate all of the

anglers and fans that followed the series

in 2012. All of us tip our hats to all of

you for helping us make this such a great

series.

70

When a Fish is Important Enough to Photograph,

RAILBLAZA Will Hold Everything….

Everything But the Fish...That’s Up to You

www.RAILBLAZA.com

71

www.BendingBranches.com

Always Innovative… Always There for You

72

73

www. ScottyPaddleSports.com

New for 2013…

Scotty Helps You Keep It Together

74

www. ScottyPaddleSports.com

New for 2013…

Scotty Helps You Keep It Together

75

What seemed like a perfect day

of fishing ended up to be a seri-

ously tough one. Launch time was

great, not a soul in sight so I pad-

dled to my first spot with the

thought of having my spot all by

myself. Wrong! By the time I

reached one of my favorite shore-

lines, what seemed like every boat

in Tampa bay began to surround

me leaving me limited with op-

tions. After paddling 30 mins to

get there, I came to the realization

that my day was going to be tough.

So I did what any other angler

fishing a tournament would and

fished on.

After an hour or so of casting my

arms off, I approached an unoccu-

pied Oyster bar that I knew had

something waiting for me. First

cast with my Slayer Inc. Gumbo

SST, two pops and

BAM! Fish On!

Moments and al-

most a cut-off

later, I pulled my

first fish of the

day to the boat. I

welcomed a de-

cent 23” Snook. I

was on the board.

I knew that there were bigger ones

but as the clock ticked I took that

and moved on to find my Redfish.

As quick as I began my search, I

saw some decent pushes as the

Redfish revealing their locations

while searching for food. Quickly,

I looked for the biggest push then

threw my SST just ahead of the

wake then held on to my Deep

South Inshore rod. Moments later I

landed, snapped a picture then

carefully released a 23”

Redfish which put me on

with the 2nd species in the

slam. I continued to look

for a bigger one but only

landed a couple smaller

ones. Accepting my

catch, it was time for the

last fish, Mr. Trout.

Finding Trout didn’t take

long. They were right

where I predicted them to

be, hiding in the grass

zipping through the pot

holes. I began to see

TONS of Trout all between 20-26”

so I began to think the I was in the

$$...Nope! Once again, wrong, I

casted my life away only to con-

tinue catching Trout no bigger than

13”! It wasn’t until the last 30 min-

utes before having to load up for

the weigh-in I caught a 19 ½” er…

Once again, land, pic, release then

paddle my butt to the launch to get

to Whiskey Joe’s in time for the

weigh-in.

With a total of 77 points

(including bonus points for slam-

ming) I came in 2nd Place overall

for the 2012 Kayak Fishing Clas-

sics National Championship Tour-

nament!

Top 5 placings:

Joe Lineberry

Derick Burgos

Otis Coblentz

Jose”Pepi”Vidal

Michael Davidson

Congrats to all the winner and

participants. See ya next year!

Fishing the KFC

National Championship

By Derick ‘PhatFish’ Burgos, Team Diablo Paddlesports

76

Suspend or Stack Your Kayaks

Suspenz Has Your

Kayak Storage Solution

www.SuspenzKayakStorage.com

77

www.BASSYAKS.com

78

Our magazine staff went to the

2012 ICAST show held in Orlando

and we had a ball looking at all of

the new gear coming your way in

2013.

We did some film interviews,

spoke to as many companies as we

could in one day and then headed

out for a tournament. We wanted

to stay for all four days but we just

couldn’t. The 2013 show is going

to be in Vegas, Hmm…

The rods, reels, nets, lures and

electronics were incredible and

what a selection. All of us felt like

kids in a candy shop and we are

sure our friend Steve Whitlock did

too. Steve went with us as an artis-

tic advisor to our magazine. I don’t

know who had more fun, Steve or

all of the people he spoke with.

We have received some of the gear

that we were interested for our

testing and consideration for our

2013 Series. You may not know it

but the Kayak Fishing ClassicS

tests the gear we award at our tour-

naments before we invite the

manufacture to become a sponsor.

This way as an angler you know

we are recommend gear based on

results and performance. We hope

that you visit all of our sponsors

and do some shopping with them

to show your appreciation for their

efforts.

We are not going to do a lot of

talking here. Instead we’re

going to let the photos speak

for themselves and hope you

enjoy it.

Show Time

79

80

81

www.River2SeaUSA.com

Zig 8 Feet, Zag 8 Feet, Move Forward only 2 Feet

WIDEGLIDE Lure...Zig Zag Deadly

82

83

84

85

86

www.WildlifeFromScratch.com

Red Affliction

87

We hope that you have enjoyed the ICAST shots. If you are like we

are, we know you always like to look at kayak fishing gear….

Sad Isn’t It

88

Click Any Image To Enjoy the YakAngler Christmas Wish List 2012.

We strongly support YakAngler in all that they do. If you kayak fish you

should also at YakAngler.com

89

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays

From All of our Sponsors

90

Host Sponsors We wish to thank all of our Host Sponsors how helped make the 2012 Kayak Fishing

ClassicS Tournaments Series a fun and memorable series year. All of these fine water front

eateries cheerfully opened their doors and their arms to welcome the ClassicS and our an-

glers. Although casual in attire, all of these restaurants offer a unique dining experience fea-

turing great food and fantastic service. We ask that if ever you are in their neighborhood,

please stop in and enjoy the same world class experience that all of us have and while you’re

at it, please let them know that we sent you.

Thanks and Enjoy

Whiskey Joes Bar & Grill

7720 Courtney Campbell

Causeway

Tampa, Fl 33607

(813) 281-0770

Billy’s Stone Crab

1 Collany Road

Tierra Verde, Florida 33715

(727) 866-2115

RIVERHOUSE Reef & Grill

995 Riverside Dr.

Palmetto, FL 34221

(941) 729-0616

91

Host Sponsors

Everglades Seafood Depot

102Collier Ave.

Everglades City, Fl

(239) 695-0075

Pecks Old Port Cove

6027 Cortez Blvd.

Weeki Wachee, Fl 34607

(352) 795-2806

Old Salty Dog

1601 Ken Thompson Parkway

Sarasota, Florida 34236

(941) 388-4311

Miceli’s Restaurant

3930 Pine Island Rd SW

Matlacha, Fl 33993

(239) 282-8233