Thank you. To me, there is nothing like being in my kayak in Autumn, enjoying the beautiful colors of the fish and the foliage.

Chuck Melcher wrote:

I’ll search it out on the internet and see what one looks like. Thanks again for posting the video and articles.

Here’s a pretty good view of my Ultimate 14.5. As you can see it has a wide open design like a canoe, but I sit down in it, and paddle it like a kayak. Much easier to control than a canoe. This model is a tandem, but has removable seats that can be repositioned to create a solo craft. They are not cheap, at around $1500, but compared to a lot of todays “fishing” kayaks it is quite inexpensive. To me, it is the best all around fishing, hunting, and pleasure paddling kayak on the market. This particular one has made a 120 mile nonstop paddle and is the only kayak ever to complete a 220+ mile biathalon crossing the state of Michigan nonstop. Last year I rode my bicycle 110 miles from the shore to Lake Michigan to the town of Grayling in the center of the state without stopping for anything other than drinks or food. Once I arrived in Grayling I got off my bicycle and into this kayak on the AuSable River. I then paddle the entire 120+ mile length of the AuSable River to Lake Huron, again without stopping for anything other than food, drinks, and to cross the six dams along the way. The entire journey took me 43 hours and 15 minutes, without stopping for sleep. A great testament to the long range comfort of the craft.

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Chuck Melcher wrote:

Nice read.

Do you use a sit on top, if I remember correctly? If so, as it cold off like this, do you wear a light pair of waders to keep dry and warm? I have a light, breathable pair I plan to use this weekend for the first time.

I use a sit in kayak. Well I guess it’s more of a hybrid between a kayak and a canoe. The Native Watercraft Ultimate 14.5. With this being my 30th season of kayak angling, I have had the opportunity to try a lot of kayak variations over the years, from sea kayaks, white water kayaks, basic pleasure sit in kayaks, and sot on kayaks, and I must say sat the Ultimate is by far my favorite. I spend literally hundreds of hours per season in it and never worry about getting wet from slightly rough water and all my gear fits in it so I don’t have anything sticking up out of it when fishing small creeks or right up tight to docks.

Now that’s a great time on the water. Awesome smallmouth for sure.

Nothing like getting into a good mess of panfish. Bluegills and crappies are my target fish of choice and I just love it when you get into a frenzy of feeding panfish. Great job.

Outstanding. Sounds like it was a perfect time to be on the water. Great job .

Tuma wrote:

What do you do with all your great artwork?

A lot of it gets donated to charity auctions, raffles, etc. Others I sell or trade. A few have been used by another website for their shirts.

Nice video and great job on getting those bass out of all that scum.

I’ve been using the cheap Zebco 4 pound line for quite a few years now and as long as they continue to make it I will not switch to anything else. I fish for crappies several hundred hours per season from Late April through Late October in a lot of different waterways, many of which have submerged wood, rocks, and zebra mussels by the thousands and have never had an issue with line breakage. I also fish some extremely clear lakes, those in which you can see the bottom in thirty feet of water, and have no problem with the fish seeing the line. And at $3 for 700 yards it a heck of a deal.

Excellent video. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you all for the kind comments. The light outline mentioned by @john23 is exactly that. I begin the process by laying out the initial design. A light sketch of the outline and some major features. Then I just begin the shading. @icenutz, there are no prints/lithos available, I have never had prints made, and don’t really intend to, but thank you for the interest. As far as the shirts go, they are for another website/forum, which I don’t think would be right to advertise on here, so you are more than welcome to private message me here and I will gladly give you that information. Thanks again everyone. Good luck, be safe and happy fishing to all.

Thanks for the kind comment. This is my 30th season of kayak angling and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I only get in a power boat once or twice every few years. That particular lake I am on in the video is actually a quite large lake, with over 50 miles of shoreline, but it is long and narrow so there are times when it is flat calm. I don’t often fish it in the middle of the day during summer because it is over run with speed boats and other craft. Thanks again. Good luck, be safe,and happy fishing.