Boondoggle Kayak Events Bring ’Yakers Together
Kayaking is one of the fastest growing watersports today. For a minimal investment you can access fishable waters unreachable by foot. With the ever-growing popularity in kayak fishing, there has also been a rapid growth in tournaments being held across the country. These tournaments draw anywhere from a few participants to more than 100. These tournaments have until a few years ago been the only meeting place for a group of people with a common interest.
Skip ahead to 2011. Mark Watanabe along with his wife Samantha and some folks from Yakangler got together for a weekend of camping and fishing. The first ever Boondoggle was held on Feb. 21, 2011 at Little Talbot Island State Park, near Jacksonville, Fla., with a handful of people showing up. With the help of Yakangler.com and Kayakfishingradio’s nightly Internet radio shows, the Boondoggle has grown more than 600 percent in two years. People from as far away as Maine and California have traveled thousands of miles just to come and exchange stories and meet some of the people they read and hear about in magazines on Facebook and on radio shows.
There are two Boondoggles a year. The first is held on President’s Day weekend. This is the more laid back of the two events. The second event of the year is held on Columbus Day weekend. This is the bigger of the two events. This event is where they solicit donations consisting of kayaks, paddling and fishing gear and accessories to be raffled off as prizes. Although most of the proceeds from the raffle are donated to Heroes on the Water (HOW), a non-profit organization which helps our nation’s injured military personnel reintegrate through kayak fishing and the outdoors, they also helped support the American Cancer Society, Relay for Life and Emily’s Fund. This event also has areas for vendors to display and sell kayak-related items. There are usually scheduled seminars and demonstrations of kayaks at this one. Both of the events are held in areas that are considered to be world-class fishing destinations that are kayak friendly.
There have been nine Boondoggles to date, with the most current one held in the Everglades at Everglades National Park Flamingo. During the day anglers fished windy conditions, and when the sun started to set they moved from campfire to campfire exchanging stories and putting faces to Facebook friends. This particular Boondoggle even had Jim Sammons, from the Kayak Fishing Show, in attendance. He hosted a get together on the last night of the event.
The next Boondoggle is scheduled to take place at Mandeville, La. on Oct. 9-12. This event will be on the shores of the famous Lake Pontchartrain at Fontainebleau State Park. October is peak season in this area of the country for catching giant bass, rod-bending redfish and world-class speckled sea trout. With this event being a more central location, it should be one of the most attended events to date. Many of the supporters have stepped up their game and donated some really nice raffle prizes.
If you’re interested in attending one of these events, information is available at www.kayakfishingboondoggle.com/, www.yakangler.com/ or by calling (305) 771-3542. Check me out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/G8torDave.