One of my favorite things about having a magazine like KFM is all the interesting stuff we get to see. The following member submitted article is a great example. While it isn’t kayak fishing or fishing it does entail kayaks and big fish. Really BIG fish and as fishermen we found it fascinating and we hope you will too. – Jon Shein

In the morning, after breakfast, we loaded in to our kayaks and took a ride to the meeting spot. We were greeted there by the Head Huntsman, our guide for these waters. He was skeptical upon seeing our choice of vessels. These were not simple kayaks; these were different – a new invention. I told the Head Huntsman these kayaks could be used like a boat and utilize motors as large as 15 hp. They were enough craft to investigate the place. I told him all he needed to do was show us the areas where the water clarity would allow us to go under the water and hunt. He gave us a skeptical but he recognized that we were serious.  So he loaded his gear into my kayak.

After a while, our three kayaks, with me and the Head Huntsman leading the group, were rushing down the river.  The scenery was superb as we saw many  birds such as herons, pelicans, eagles and other fowl. Several times we stopped to free the motor propellers from the grass that picked up. It’s simple - you stop, reverse, and then throttle full speed ahead. The kayaks performed great! Whenever, I felt tired of paddling I would just switch to the outboard motor. At other times, when reeds became too thick, I would lift the motor out of the water and paddle.

After forty minutes we arrived at an area where the depth was no more than one and a half meters and we could easily see the bottom. The visibility was about 3-4 meters. Our anchors didn’t hold, so we decided to anchor our kayaks by using ropes on the reeds. All four hunters dressed in wet suites (suits 3 mm thick), strapped on our gear, masks and tubes, and took our diving guns and spread out amongst thickets of reeds.

Feeling confident, I began my hunt. I released my gun’s safety, took aim, and shot! A small boom of the pneumatic gun traveled quickly through the water. The ducks scattered. They didn’t know what had just happened. I had a medium size fish tangled in my cord at the tip of my arrow. A few minutes later, the trophy was mine. I put it in the fish holder sack at my side. I reloaded the gun and as I passed my kayak I decided to put the fish in a large bucket I had onboard. I didn’t feel like waiting for the rest of the crew so I got back in the water and continued hunting.

I came upon a good ambush point. Around me, I saw thick reeds covered with grass floating on top, followed by lit thicket. This marked a movement; it was a school of red tail fish that moved from light to shadow. I aimed, as I stretched out my hand, shot, and one of the fish started to rush away, raising the slime from the bottom. Turns out it was a nice carp. I reloaded, shouldered the rifle in firing position, and continued hunting.

After a while, I drifted towards one of the darkest areas with a huge cover of floating mud and grass. I stopped to investigate this spot further. All of a sudden I saw a pair of huge eyes peering at me from the darkness. The fish was huge. I wasn’t afraid but I decided to back off and recollect myself. I surfaced, had a smoke, and ate some watermelon. Later, the whole team gathered around in their kayaks. Everyone was displaying their trophies: big catfish, common carp and pike. While we were sharing the watermelon we heard someone yell “Guys! Anyone! This way!” - A cry rose from the neighboring reeds. Quickly we turn our kayaks in the direction a thickets of reeds. It was the Head Huntsman. He was lying on top of the reeds and held a gun in his hands. ”Guys, help me get this fish, its really strong.” He said.