As we move into week two of the fall YakOff Awards we caught up with this week’s competitors Trevor Powell and Cameron Smith to chat about their home waters, essential kayak fishing gear, and unpopular fishing opinions:
Q: Where do you call your home waters, and what do you find special about them?
Powell: My home waters are the Sonoma Coast of California. There’s a large number of species and you never know what you’ll pull up. Lingcod? Blue/Green variety? Rockfish? Which of the 20+ species did you hook? Always bringing home dinner.
Smith: My home lake is Lake Ray Roberts here in North Texas. It was designed similarly to Lake Fork with all the standing timber, but with the temperature swings and spotted bass mixed in, it just doesn’t fish quite the same. Honestly, the lake itself isn’t particularly special, except it’s only 15 minutes from my house. It’s a great place to practice, get humbled and know you’re not the only one who blanks out there. The crappie fishing though is top notch!
Q: Do you have a most memorable catch?
Powell: My most memorable catch was my first king salmon from a kayak. Absolute madness landing it in a fleet of boats.
Smith: My most memorable catch wasn’t even from bass fishing! It was crappie fishing with my brother when I landed a 15 pound flathead catfish on a four pound mono. It took me about 20 minutes to bring in, and right after he helped me net it, my brother hooked into an even bigger one on the same ultralight setup. That back-to-back moment is something I’ll never forget!
Q: Is there one piece of gear you think is make or break?
Powell: Lifejacket. Without it you’re not fishing? Everything else you can just wing it.
Smith: A solid paddle. No matter what kayak you run— pedals, motor or both, every angler needs a good paddle and needs to know how to use it. I’ve been caught without one and it made for a miserable day. A reliable paddle that’s ready to deploy in an instant is non-negotiable in my book.
Q: What piece of gear do you think is overrated?
Powell: Fish finders.
Smith: Anchor trolleys. Don’t get me wrong, they make sense on rivers, but on highland and lowland reservoirs, I rarely see the need. Plus, they add extra holes to your kayak and most anglers don’t use them properly anyway. Misuse can lead to rope tangles or worse, your kayak taking on water in high winds. For me, the tradeoff just isn’t worth it.
Q: What’s your unpopular kayak fishing opinion?
Powell: Kayaks over boats!
Smith: Speed isn’t everything when it comes to motors. Kind of funny for me to say as a Newport ambassador, but here me out: going fast is great if you’re making long runs in a tournament or just fun fishing, but outside of that, max speed doesn’t matter much. In my 2023 Pro Angler 14 360, I ran a Newport NK180 and topped out around four mph. This season with the NK300, I can break five mph. Sure, that saves me a few minutes on a mile run, but is it worth burning extra juice? For me, not really. About 70% of my time on the water is motor-driven, but only 10% of that is running spot-to-spot, usually at half throttle. The rest is low-speed trolling at 1–2% power. Because of the NK300’s voltage, I get smoother control, better maneuverability, and longer battery life. Since I like to beat the banks and troll, speed just isn’t the priority, and neither should it be for others since we don’t actively fish 3+ mph!
Vote now in the YakOff Awards.
Cameron Smith casts from his kayak fishing rig. Feature Image: Courtesy Cameron Smith.
