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Extreme Kayak Fishing inc. was born
By Steve Waters, Sun Sentinel 8:03 p.m. EDT, June 17, 2009
Joe Hector and Nathan Special have a term for when they paddle three to five miles offshore in their kayaks to catch kingfish, dolphin, tunas, sharks and amberjacks:
"You test your limits," said Hector, a personal trainer and graphic designer who lives in Pompano Beach. "Your endurance, your strength not only are you fighting fish, you're fighting yourself."
Those physical and mental challenges are far different from the ones the muscular 28-year-old encounters in the gym. The challenges begin in the early morning heat when Hector and Special lug their 12-foot kayaks and all their fishing gear across State Road A1A to launch off the beach north of Pompano Pier.
As they paddle out, they battle the wind and the waves as well as the heat and the current, which can be taxing even on calm days.
Add having to fight a big fish to the mix, especially one that tows you farther offshore, and you've got yourself a workout. One that will have your body aching and your brain questioning the sanity of kayak fishing.
"You don't really know how light these kayaks are until you get stuck in a current in the Gulf Stream," Hector said. "I'll tell you, we've got swung all the way to Deerfield before we knew it, to the point that we had to paddle onshore and walk. But it's all worth it."
"I like the kayak fishing because you can cover it all," added Special, 23, a Fort Lauderdale resident who said fishing is his full-time hobby. "You can do anything from inshore to the first reef, mid-depth to all the way offshore, depending on how crazy you are."
The two men got into extreme kayak fishing by accident. They went out to fish for snappers and groupers on the reef, not too far from shore. They didn't take into account the west wind and the current, which carried them offshore, where they caught huge kingfish. That's all it took to get them extremely hooked.
"We caught it on the outgoing tide, and the next thing you know we're sitting about two miles off, catching 30-, 40-pound fish, and we were only going for little snapper and grouper," Special said. "That was a breakthrough for us."
That was about a year ago. Hector and Special now fish out of their kayaks three or four days a week.
When they're not offshore, they fish at night by Hillsboro Inlet for snook and tarpon, but most of the time they're on the ocean. Among their goals is to catch sailfish from their kayaks this coming winter.
"I've fished all my life on a boat, Nathan's fished on boats," said Hector, who grew up saltwater fishing in New Jersey. "You're just always looking for something new and you kind of just tweak your hobby around a little bit. You get a kayak and here we are. We're out here, miles off, [enjoying] insane fishing. It's what we do, man, it's what we do."
Special used to fish out of a kayak when he lived in Melbourne, going after redfish and sea trout in local rivers. After moving to South Florida, he was talking about fishing to a friend when Hector overhead him, said he had a couple of kayaks and invited him to go with him.
They were out last Friday off Pompano Beach, paddling southeast, then north, each of them trolling live pilchards from two spinning rods. Special caught an undersized grouper on the way out. Hector caught a Spanish mackerel about three miles offshore and landed a barracuda on the way in.
For them, that was a slow day. Most days they catch at least a kingfish or two, and some days leave them counting their blessings.
A few weeks ago, Special got stuck under a funnel cloud while the two were fishing the reef at night for snappers and groupers. Although he could see the water start to swirl around him, the waterspout did not touch down.
Another time, an 11-foot hammerhead shark came to the surface and circled Special.
"He was curious," Special said. "He was seeing what I was doing in his territory."
Powerboaters also can be curious. Both men said boaters usually steer clear of them, but sometimes they run by just to wave at them and occasionally they come extremely close just to see what extreme kayak fishing is all about.
Steve Waters can be reached at 954-356-4648 or swaters@SunSentinel.com
Joe Hector and Nathan Special have a term for when they paddle three to five miles offshore in their kayaks to catch kingfish, dolphin, tunas, sharks and amberjacks:
"You test your limits," said Hector, a personal trainer and graphic designer who lives in Pompano Beach. "Your endurance, your strength not only are you fighting fish, you're fighting yourself."
Those physical and mental challenges are far different from the ones the muscular 28-year-old encounters in the gym. The challenges begin in the early morning heat when Hector and Special lug their 12-foot kayaks and all their fishing gear across State Road A1A to launch off the beach north of Pompano Pier.
As they paddle out, they battle the wind and the waves as well as the heat and the current, which can be taxing even on calm days.
Add having to fight a big fish to the mix, especially one that tows you farther offshore, and you've got yourself a workout. One that will have your body aching and your brain questioning the sanity of kayak fishing.
"You don't really know how light these kayaks are until you get stuck in a current in the Gulf Stream," Hector said. "I'll tell you, we've got swung all the way to Deerfield before we knew it, to the point that we had to paddle onshore and walk. But it's all worth it."
"I like the kayak fishing because you can cover it all," added Special, 23, a Fort Lauderdale resident who said fishing is his full-time hobby. "You can do anything from inshore to the first reef, mid-depth to all the way offshore, depending on how crazy you are."
The two men got into extreme kayak fishing by accident. They went out to fish for snappers and groupers on the reef, not too far from shore. They didn't take into account the west wind and the current, which carried them offshore, where they caught huge kingfish. That's all it took to get them extremely hooked.
"We caught it on the outgoing tide, and the next thing you know we're sitting about two miles off, catching 30-, 40-pound fish, and we were only going for little snapper and grouper," Special said. "That was a breakthrough for us."
That was about a year ago. Hector and Special now fish out of their kayaks three or four days a week.
When they're not offshore, they fish at night by Hillsboro Inlet for snook and tarpon, but most of the time they're on the ocean. Among their goals is to catch sailfish from their kayaks this coming winter.
"I've fished all my life on a boat, Nathan's fished on boats," said Hector, who grew up saltwater fishing in New Jersey. "You're just always looking for something new and you kind of just tweak your hobby around a little bit. You get a kayak and here we are. We're out here, miles off, [enjoying] insane fishing. It's what we do, man, it's what we do."
Special used to fish out of a kayak when he lived in Melbourne, going after redfish and sea trout in local rivers. After moving to South Florida, he was talking about fishing to a friend when Hector overhead him, said he had a couple of kayaks and invited him to go with him.
They were out last Friday off Pompano Beach, paddling southeast, then north, each of them trolling live pilchards from two spinning rods. Special caught an undersized grouper on the way out. Hector caught a Spanish mackerel about three miles offshore and landed a barracuda on the way in.
For them, that was a slow day. Most days they catch at least a kingfish or two, and some days leave them counting their blessings.
A few weeks ago, Special got stuck under a funnel cloud while the two were fishing the reef at night for snappers and groupers. Although he could see the water start to swirl around him, the waterspout did not touch down.
Another time, an 11-foot hammerhead shark came to the surface and circled Special.
"He was curious," Special said. "He was seeing what I was doing in his territory."
Powerboaters also can be curious. Both men said boaters usually steer clear of them, but sometimes they run by just to wave at them and occasionally they come extremely close just to see what extreme kayak fishing is all about.
Steve Waters can be reached at 954-356-4648 or swaters@SunSentinel.com
Offshore kayak fishing an adventure
Joe Hector has caught everything from snappers and sailfish to dolphin and wahoo
