I just wanted to pass on my appreciation for all of your support. Our kayak fishing hand paddles owe their existence, to you, the anglers, sportsmen and paddlers.
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Thanks for all your support!
Saturday, April 17th, 2010The Evolution of Fishing Kayaks and Kayak Fishing Hand Paddles
Friday, February 26th, 2010
- Fishing with Predator Kayak Fishing Hand Paddle
Paddle sports, particularly kayak fishing, are the fastest growing water sport today. Kayaking, canoeing and rafting are now destination activities. With all the green and eco friendly activities available, paddle sports have dominated the outdoor adventure scene. Paddle sports are low impact on the environment, inexpensive, thrilling and always memorable.
Not to be left out, the fishing and sporting communities wanted in on this explosion. Kayakers, anglers and sportsmen merged concepts and technologies. Along with diversity came opportunity. New specialty equipment, gear and accessories evolved. Fishing kayaks and kayak fishing hand paddles evolved from this call to action.
With the rapid growth of paddle sports, there has been a definitive diversification of the sport into various disciplines. All the technological and manufacturing advancements have fueled the sudden increase in the sport. Kayak fisherman and kayak sportsman have recently dominated the growth in the paddle sports arena.
Kayak fishermen, also known as kayak anglers, and kayak sportsmen require specialty equipment, gear and accessories to effectively pursuit their sport. Their fishing kayaks and fishing hand paddles are specifically designed to accommodate their dynamic environments and distinctive sporting activities.
Kayak anglers and sportsmen have designed boats for easy access and mobility. Many facets of their kayak design reflect accoutrements that were found only on motorized fishing vessels. Today you can find rod holders, live wells, storage compartments, battery wells, fish finders, anchors, etc. If they can fit a specialty fishing accessory on a twelve to fourteen foot kayak, they will try to get it on there! They even have twin hulled, foot propelled and battery operated kayaks for the hard core anglers.
For ease of access and dismount, the anglers use a modified version of the sit on top kayak, or SOT. SOT’s were a natural conversion platform for kayak anglers. These boats are self bailing, meaning that any water that gets in the kayak will be drained away by gravity. Getting on and off is much easier than a sit in kayak. Turning or sliding around to access tackle or gear behind you is a much simpler evolution.
With this approach to fishing from kayaks, came another conundrum that caused problems in the kayak angling community. How do you paddle and fish at the same time? Think about it. Can you hold your fishing rod and a kayak paddle at the same time?
Paddling your kayak and fishing at the same time became a comedy on the water. It takes two hands to wrangle a seven foot kayak paddle, no matter how you hold it. Throw in a fishing pole, and you soon realize you need three hands!
Kayak fishing hand paddles evolved from pioneering anglers solving this problem with ping pong paddles, Kadema paddles, modified badminton racquets and the sort. They could hold onto their fishing rod and with the other hand paddle their boat stealthily toward their prey.
It soon became apparent that flailing a seven foot paddle is not conducive to shallow water, or skinny water fishing. The fish can see you! The best way to sneak up on your prey is to glide stealthily toward them. While holding your fishing rod, using a little six or seven ounce fishing hand paddle to propel your kayak, about 16” long, is perfect for the task.
As you begin your foray into kayak fishing, do your research. Peruse the internet, talk to local anglers, visit local outfitters and try various kayak platforms and fishing hand paddles. That little effort will certainly make your fishing trip much more rewarding and memorable.
Fish on!!
Kayak paddle break…had a tour today!
Friday, January 22nd, 2010I love when I have the opportunity to take guests kayak paddling. As a part time kayak eco-guide, I take extreme pleasure on getting on the water whenever I can. Not only does it give me some cash, but gets me outdoors to refresh my soul. I feel like I get cabin fever if I don’t paddle frequently. Basically I run Backwater Paddles from my man cave, as Liz, my paddling partner, calls my office. Primarily everything I do is from my computer at this stage. Until I can get this company up and into manufacturing, behind this computer I have to stay. I cannot imagine ever having to sit in a cubicle all day long!!
Back on the Backwater Paddles marketing process…I have ran into some really neat individuals via networking who are interested in promoting and writing articles about our unique kayak and hand paddle products. One fellow named Paul Lebowitz, an outdoor writer and photographer, was the first individual expressing the desire to try our Predator and Piranha Kayak Fishing Hand Paddles. I can’t thank him enough for the exposure that I’m sure he will bring to Backwater Paddles. As a start-up paddle sports company, having a product that someone is interested in promoting is very beneficial to lending credence to your company.
That is one of the way’s I have in trying to gain exposure with my paddle company. Networking and providing complimentary paddles to potential customers and industry leads is a must. I am not saying kissing someones ass will or will not help promote your project…but I feel if you have to kiss someones ass to promote your product…it probably was not worth promoting or having the product in the first place!
Networking with the computer, part of my marketing strategy, has proven fruitful. I cannot imagine bringing my company to where it is now without a computer! The information found is boundless. All you have to do is have the patince and resourcefullness to keep looking and asking. Pretty much anything that can assist your company can be found for free or for very little costs.
Till we meet again…if you have any information or cool sites to help market or anything else, please let me know!! Paddle On!!
I Am A One Man Marketing Team!
Thursday, January 21st, 2010NOTE: If you have in your mind to start a kayak paddle company or any other paddle sports company, this blog site from Backwater Paddle Company is for you. Heck, even if you are not starting a paddle spports company, just starting ANY company is challenging!
Backwater Paddles was first conceived in 2007. That was way before I knew of blogs, facebook, twitter and SEO. As I blog about my daily and weekly trials, I will fill you and catch you up as to how Backwater Paddles got this far.
Of course, always feel free to contact me about questions, networking or just sharing your pain! If you have some revolutionary paddle or marketing ideas…I am all ears!!
Tell you what…it takes all you have in resources and networking to get your company name out into the public domain. It also helps if you have large chunks of cash!
Large chunks of cash, I don’t have. I spent all my dollars getting to where we are today. I am forced to be extremely resourceful and get all the marketing I can get on the cheap, or for nothing, if I can!
2010 is the year of the paddles! We are making our debut into the paddle sports market by introducing our Predator and Piranha Kayak Fishing Hand Paddles to the kayak angler community. Fortunately we have got some decent attention lately due to a press release we sent out a couple of weeks ago. That has lead to some interviews. Now all I have to do is turn this exposure into $$$$$$$$$!
I am stil working on that, so stay tuned!
Predator Kayak Paddle Prototype
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010Went kayak paddling today with some guests from Wyoming and Wisconsin. We had a really good time as the weather was fantastic. Two of the guests were experienced kayak paddlers and the other two were canoers, ex-canoers, now! I always padddle with my Raptor Kayak paddle prototype. It always gets some attention. Of course, these guests were extremely curious about the design, so I let them paddle with the Raptor. They always get a kick out of it. We did not see any mammals…dolphins or manatees.
Press Release for BPC!!
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010BPC has finally posted its first press release regarding its paddles and company. The press release can be read from our website. It basically tells about our kayak paddles and kayak fishing hand paddles, along with some company information. Good for our marketing!
Windy As All Hell!!
Sunday, January 17th, 2010We had a small 5 person tour today. Thankfully they all had paddle skills. The wind was whipping out of the west, giving us huge waves (inland) Everyone got a good soaking! Did not see anything. No mantees or dolphins and just a few birds. Way to windy!!
Paddling the Thousand Islands in Cocoa Beach
Saturday, January 16th, 2010Paddling the Thousand Islands in Cocoa Beach as a kayak tourist eco-guide is a rewarding experience. Everyday is different. The eco system out here is very dynamic…always changing. Each day I have the opportunity to paddle these islands, I thank the good man above for the life I have chosen.
