Kick Boats in Small Waters

Fins secured and kick-boat in the water, the angler eases into the seat and peers through the fog to get his bearings. He’s familiar with the lake, but the thick vaporous haze shrouds familiar landmarks.

Pushing off in a direction dictated by instinct rather than compass, the angler rows onto the lake. Six rods stand behind in a rod holder that resembles a rocket launcher. Approaching a target area, he lightens his stroke with the oars and squints to spot a patch of tules that have produced many bass.

He visualizes the subtle definition of the green spears and reaches back for a flippin’ stick with a black jig. A perfect pitch lands in a small cut in the reeds, but as the lure drops, the line begins to slowly take a different tack.

In a single motion, the angler simultaneously strokes backwards and sets the hook. The weight of the bass buries the rod tip as line tears through the water. Maneuvering his fins as well as his rod, the angler tries to move the bass from the snaggy cover.

The bass soon succumbs to stout tackle and heads toward the surface. A hand meets with the bass’ lower jaw, and another 10-pounder gives up to stealthy kick-boat tactics.

In this age of high performance boats, too many anglers dismiss the thousands of small waters where it isn’t feasible to launch a bass rig. As a result, the bass in many of these ponds go unmolested. If the water chemistry is good and the preyfish plentiful, they can produce monster catches for those willing to try. A band of northern California anglers has taken notice and reaped the benefits of their research by targeting small ponds with kick-boats and float tubes.

Rob Belloni and John Lake, both from East Bay, California, are two who have utilized kick-boats and float tubes to account for some of the state’s biggest bass, all taken from small ponds and lakes. They’ve amassed 26 largemouths over 10 pounds in the past four years, including one monster over 18 pounds. Moreover, their tactics will work on small waters, from weedy Connecticut ponds to Mississippi River oxbows to prairie potholes in the central U.S.

Advantages

Stealth: Belloni and Lake believe float tubes offer advantages when trophy bass fishing because they’re so quiet. “When you’re sitting low in the water or moving slowly, bass never know you’re there,” Belloni says, “or else they don’t recognize you as danger. Fins and oars eliminate the whirl of a trolling motor, which pressured bass have come to recognize.”

“We can fish ponds where boats aren’t allowed and get into spots where fishing boats can’t penetrate, John Lake adds. “I can approach fish that have hardly been bothered by anglers.”

Control: “Another advantage of these small platforms is the ability

to hold position in strong winds,” Belloni says. “If I want to hold on a windy point in my big boat, I have to run the trolling motor on high.

From my tube or kick-boat, I can kick slowly in place and repeat casts to the best corners without spooking the fish. I feel trolling motors often spook bass, particularly big bass, and particularly when they’re operated intermittently or at high speed.”

Cost: Float tubes cost from $100 to over $300, while kick-boats generally run from $300 to $500. Obviously, the savings over traditional craft and outboard powerhouse is huge. Specialized companies offer various accessories including fins, rod holders, wheels, special seats, sonar, tackle boxes, oar rests, and even mounts for electric motors or mini outboards for those who cannot break ties to technology. These can add a couple hundred more dollars for a fully rigged craft. But the cost of your rods and reels far exceeds that of your boat.

Health: Working those quads and deltoid muscles will do any angler good. Just check out the musculature of the local crew team—female as well as male. Moreover, several models can be easily disassembled and backpacked into remote areas, feasible as they weigh just 40 to 60 pounds for kick-boats, far less for tubes.