Twenty years ago, I was an obsessive angler without a boat. Fishing from the beach, I stared at the inaccessible horizon and pined.

One day, while I was standing on the beach staring at the horizon, I spotted a small black dot bobbing in the waves a mile away. As the dot moved closer, I saw it was a person in a kayak. Then I noticed a fishing rod sticking out of a rod holder.

Talk about an a-ha moment. My mind raced with the possibilities. Within months, I had a sit-on-top kayak outfitted with rod holders zip-tied to a milk crate. After two decades and thousands of hours, I still remember the first time I launched my kayak and paddled toward the horizon.

Getting Over the Kayak Fishing Learning Curve

One thing all kayak anglers have in common is the a-ha moment: the realization that a fishing kayak opens water not accessible to shore or motorboat anglers. But getting from the a-ha moment to the first fishing experience is riddled with challenges. Then developing the skills and obtaining the gear to take full advantage of the plastic fishing platform presents a steep learning curve.

Kayak Angler editor Ric Burnley kayak fishing at night when he was still a beginner
The author in the early days. | Feature photo: Kevin Whitley

For this issue of Kayak Angler, we flatten the learning curve with expert advice on starting out kayak fishing. The Beginner’s Guide to Kayak Fishing (page 56) is a step-by-step guide to buying and outfitting a kayak, following safe practices, mastering basic strokes and learning how to catch fish.

Kayak Angler editor Ric Burnley holds up a striped bass back in the early days
Having an a-ha moment. | Photo: Kevin Whitley

We’ve even dedicated the Buzzbait pages to finding resources, buying the right tackle and joining the community at a kayak fishing event. Our columnists Chris Funk and Jeff Jackson share their a-ha moments and the subsequent journey to rock star status. Then the Lip Gripper section highlights easy-to-access locations and target species.

We designed the guide for a serious beginner. Whether the reader is already an experienced paddler or angler or he’s starting from scratch, the beginner’s guide goes beyond just “getting on the water.” We’re looking for an angler who is ready to invest time and some money into a lifestyle.

The payoff is entering a sport that is physically and mentally challenging. Kayak fishing connects people who share a passion for the outdoors and an appreciation for simplicity. With the right start, an a-ha moment can turn into a lifetime kayak fishing.

a beginner fishing for striped bass from a kayak How To Get A New Angler To Love Kayak Fishing

Cover of Kayak Angler Magazine Issue 54This article was first published in Issue 55 of Kayak Angler Magazine. Subscribe to Kayak Angler Magazine’s print and digital editions, or browse the archives.

The author in the early days. | Feature photo: Kevin Whitley

 

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Ric Burnley
Kayak Angler editor Ric Burnley has been kayak fishing since the dawn of the sport. In 2007, Burnley wrote The Complete Kayak Fisherman, with chapters on how-to make a PVC rod holder and glue a fish finder transducer to the hull. In 2013, he landed his dream job as editor of Kayak Angler magazine. Burnley is a regular contributor to Salt Water Sportsman, Sport Fishing, Outdoor Life, In the Bite and other print and online publications. Burnley lives in Virginia Beach with his wife, adult daughter, daughter’s boyfriend and daughter’s two cats. Experience In 2004, Ric Burnley stole his first milk crate from behind a 7-Eleven and fashioned it into a gear crate for his Ocean Kayak Prowler 15. Many years and many milk crates later, Burnley has witnessed the rise of kayak fishing from a bastardized fringe element to a legitimate industry with millions of devotees. The journey to becoming an angler started early in Burnley’s life. His father, Eric Burnley, is a renowned outdoor writer and former fishing guide, so the boy grew up in the cockpit of a charter boat and in the pages of national magazines. After college, Burnley lost easy access to his father’s boat, but not his passion for fishing. Once he had exhausted the limits of land-based angling, Burnley decided to try out a new thing called kayak fishing. About the same time, Burnley was looking for extra work to pay for his expensive addiction. His father, editor of the Mid-Atlantic Fisherman Magazine, offered him freelance assignments for the weekly publication. That led to a position as regional editor at Salt Water Sportsman, publication of The Complete Kayak Fisherman and editorship of Kayak Angler. Meanwhile, Burnley and his partner-in-crime, “Kayak Kevin” Whitley were exploring the boundaries of kayak fishing. With the bountiful Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean as their playground, the two anglers were the first to target big red drum, cobia, trophy striped bass, monster black drum, sheepshead and many other species. Once inshore species were exhausted, Burnley loaded his kayak onto motorboats and fished for bluefin tuna, blackfin tuna, king mackerel and amberjack. All the while, Burnley shared his experiences and knowledge with anglers through print, photos, video, radio, seminars and online. Almost 20 years later, Burnley continues to fish obsessively and share the stories. His recent projects for Kayak Angler cover the latest trends in forward-facing sonar and remote-controlled electric motors. Over the past two decades, kayak fishing and Ric Burnley have come a long way from PVC rod holders and stolen milkcrates. Education ● Radford University: BA English; Virginia Teacher’s License. Highlights ● Other Interests: Mountain biking, traveling, hiking, surfing and skateboarding ● Day Job: High School English teacher at an alternative school for at-risk students Fun Fact Ric’s name is a contraction of Eric. Ric is named after his father, Eric Sr. To differentiate between the two Erics, Mrs. Burnley removed her son’s E. To this day, she writes the boy’s name ‘Ric, with an apostrophe replacing the E.

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