The mission: pull a monster striped bass out of the depths of Carters Lake.
The means: fishing out of a kayak.
Say what?
Wayne Kangas believes it can be done, and he’s already partially attained the goal — after three years of trying he caught a 10-pound striper in the reservoir a couple of Saturdays ago.
“I can’t believe I finally did it,” he said in a call from Carters Lake. “But I still want to get one of those big ones.”
Kangas has proven he can catch big fish while paddling a kayak. A retired math and science teacher from central Florida, he once hauled in a mid-size grouper he estimated weighed between 15 and 20 pounds off Anna Maria Island in the Gulf of Mexico.
“I never weighed it because it went right into the frying pan,” he said, adding he got three meals out of the fish. “But he pulled me around a little bit.”
Kangas spends around six months in Ellijay each year escaping the brutal Florida summers. His kayak has a keel for ocean gliding, making it a stable craft for freshwater striper hunting — unlike an unkeeled whitewater canoe or kayak.
Since the craft is a two-seater, he’s also able to take along his black Labrador retriever, “Indygo,” on the fishing junkets.
“Indy lays down in the front seat, but gets excited and hyper when I catch a fish,” he said. “She wants to ‘kiss’ the fish before I release it. She’s not happy until she kisses it.”
Kangas said for all- round fishing he uses a Rapala brand blue-and- hite Finnish minnow, a topwater lure that dives when reeled in, and a Japanese Yo-Zuri spotted trout plug.
“I can catch anything with that Rapala — even panfish,” he said. “My arms get tired from catching so many fish with it. It’s a great lure for kids to use fishing from the bank, too. I catch a little bigger fish with the spotted trout.”
He’s been using a rattletrap plug to try and coax striped bass to bite.
“I’m trying to get it to go down 15 feet, but there’s a lot of stumps you can get hung up on,” he notes. “But if I lose the lure they’re just a dollar apiece.”
Trolling in a kayak? But aren’t striped bass anglers supposed to troll for their prey?
“I put the rod between my legs and lean it back over my shoulder,” he explained. “Then I begin to troll by paddling — it’s quite a workout.”
Kangas stays in cardio shape by swimming laps at a local pool. He said last summer he swam every day for three straight months, dropping some weight and keeping his upper body and respiratory system toned for paddling.
But what if he hooks one of those lake lunkers that goes over 30 pounds?
“I think he’d give me a ride, just like the grouper did until I wore him out,” he replied. “The big thing would be to keep him out of those stumps.”
Paul Molla, the lead park ranger for the Carters Project of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, reported there have been stripers topping 35 pounds “documented” in Carters Lake.
“(Kangas) will be getting a tow in his kayak if he hooks a big one,” he said.
Kangas has come up with some innovations for not having a boat deck to work off of on the lake. He slits foam swimming pool “noodles” open to wrap around the rod handle and then floats the reel end into the lake while working on tangles, and also uses “quick clips” to change out his lures faster.
Braided fishing line adds strength and provides more weight for casting. Would he ever consider going high-tech and installing an electronic fish-finder on his craft as many guides fishing for the big hybrids do?
“I actually saw someone who mounted one on a kayak,” he said, “but I want to travel light.”
Meaning he wants to be light as possible when he pulls that monster up.
Local News
Related Photos
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On a recent Friday morning Wayne Kangas, a retired high school science and math teacher, launches from the Doll Mountain boat ramp at Carters Lake. Big fish were jumping all around and he couldn’t wait to get a lure in the water. His dog “Indygo,” a black Labrador retriever, is the dark shape in the front seat. (Photo by Mark Millican)
Discussion
September 4, 2012
Fixated fisherman: Kayaker angles for monster striper
- Local News
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Police and Fire Games: Dalton firefighter snags second place
Mason Martin, back right, cheers on his mother, Serena Martin, an officer with the Dalton Police Department, as she pushes a patrol car as part of an obstacle course to determine the “Toughest Overall” during the Georgia Police and Fire Games on Monday at the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Department’s firing range. (Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen)
A seasoned Dalton firefighter placed second in the Toughest Overall Competitor event at the Police and Fire Games in Dalton on Monday.
Continued ... - County school board expected to approve budget Wednesday morning
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