As kayak anglers compete to determine who has the most innovative kayak fishing rig, we caught up with fall YakOff II competitors Jose Cinco and Daren Wendell to chat about their home waters, essential kayak fishing gear, and most memorable catches:
Q: Where do you call your home waters, and what do you find special about them?
Cinco: My home waters are all the surrounding city lakes here in Oklahoma. I love being able to find these small hidden city lakes with little to no pressure on them. Most are no wake lakes or don’t even have a boat ramp on them so they are perfect for kayak fishing.
Wendell: I call Northeast Ohio my home waters. What I love about them is the varietyโthereโs a mix of rivers, reservoirs, and small lakes which means every day on the water can be a completely different fishing experience. You can catch catfish, bass, smallmouth, stripers, walleye, drum, saugeye, and of course Lake Erie is a blast. You never really know what youโll get, which keeps things exciting.
Q: Do you have a most memorable catch?
Cinco: Back in 2022 when I was fishing the North Canadian River in the Stinchcomb Wildlife refuge I flipped a black and blue jig under some cover and a 15-pound flathead catfish took me for a ride. That was my first flathead I caught on a kayak and it was an experience on bass fishing gear.
Wendell: It was about two years ago during the KBF Knucklehead Tournament, which is a team event. I was fishing down south on Guntersvilleโa place thatโs always a blast to fish. On the last day of the two-day tournament, I pulled a 22-inch bass out from under a dock, which put our team in a solid position. With 18 minutes left in the tournament, we were still behind, and then my teammate Jack McRoberts caught a 19-inch to lock in first place. Our team walked away with $10,000โit was an incredible experience!
Q: Is there one piece of gear you think is make or break?
Cinco: Storage! I think adequate and organized storage is underrated. I need things to be accessible and organized when I am out on the water.
Wendell: Outside of PFDs and paddles, the piece of gear I specifically love isnโt a tool or a pair of pliersโitโs a pedal drive kayak. I love semi hands-free fishing, being able to reposition and move without having to put my rod down, and ultimately getting more time with my lure in the water. It just makes fishing more efficient and enjoyable.
Q: What piece of gear do you think is overrated?
Cinco: Electronics! I think many anglers put too much emphasis on getting every piece of electronics out before they have a solid foundation fishing basics. Build a solid foundation first then build on top of it.
Wendell: Itโs not so much a piece of gear per seโitโs when you start getting into rods and reels that are north of $250. Around that price point, youโre entering the world of diminishing returns. Sure, you might get a slightly lighter rod, a smoother drag, or a bit more sensitivity, but unless youโre a professional on the water every day, those differences arenโt going to matter much in the big picture. Itโs mostly marketing hype.
Q: Whatโs your unpopular kayak fishing opinion?
Cinco: People are too negative about kayak builds. If you like a simple kayak and want to enjoy nature then good! Go do that! If you want to put 30K in a kayak I also think that’s cool. Go do that. No reason to bash each other or act like one is better than the other. Every build has its place and purpose.
Wendell: Itโs less of a kayak fishing thing and more about fishing in general, but anglers often overemphasize lure colors. Bass have dichromatic vision, meaning they primarily perceive wavelengths in the red and green spectrum and have difficulty distinguishing many other colors that humans see clearly. Because of this, contrast, movement, and presentation are typically far more important than the specific hue of a lure. Because of this, creating strong visual contrasts and focusing on presentation and movement is going to be far more effective than always throwing your Fire Tiger and hoping for magic.
