New to the lineup of Bending branches Pro Series paddles is the Angler Pro Carbon. A milti-laminate full carbon fiber high performance light weight paddle. This is the first carbon fiber fishing specific paddle offered by Bending Branches.

Angler Pro Carbon First Impressions:

This paddle is light. Coming in at 24 oz it is now one of the lightest kayak paddles available on the market. Using a light paddle will extend your day on the water saving you energy with every paddle stroke.

The finish of the paddle is stunning. A mirror glaze on the blades brings out the woven fiber patterns. A smooth and comfortable shaft form fits to your grip but will not easily slip.

The paddle blade is noticeably wider and has a distinct angle and ridge on the front face.

The paddle is a 2 peice making it easy to transport when off the water. IT is simply assembled by joining the shaft together and twisting to lock in the desired length with the plus ferrule and snapping at the desired angle with the snap ferrule.

Available in both a snap button ferrule and the plus ferrule options. The snap ferrule is the most economical option and also less weight and allows you to feather the paddle at 0 & 60 to the left or right. The plus ferrule allows you to adjust on the fly +15 CM. The paddle can now be used with multiple kayak widths.

The new logo is very sleek and stylish with its white stencil on the black carbon blade.

Trust me this paddle is for the hardcore kayak angler. Brandishing a measuring strip in both inches and centimeters like all Bending Branches angler series paddles. The paddle itself becomes a fishing tool.

Carbon fiber although being light weight can still take a beating like fiberglass. Carbon however is stiffer than fiberglass so will not absorb any power from your stroke.

New Technology:

Bending branches made an advancement in technology on all of the Angler Pro Series paddles. The blade width has become wider and thinner from the previous pro series. This enables more surface area to get the maximum output from your paddle stroke! This along with the plus ferrule introduced 2 years ago makes it the most versatile paddle as you can adjust the length +5cm to your kayaks width and to your paddling style.

Review:

I have been using the Bending Branches Angler Pro Carbon since September 2017. Must say it has become my go to paddle! The lightweight is very noticeable on a long day of paddling and fishing. Much like the wood navigator paddle the Angler Pro Carbon has little of no flex in the blade which applies all of my paddle stroke with no loss due to flex of the blades against the water. I am able to reach my top speed faster with less strokes which is ideal while using a high end paddle.  I do notice the difference after paddling all day with Carbon compared to the previous years Angler Pro with the fiberglass blades.

The Angler Pro Carbon is rigid and tough. It will stand up to the test of time due to its high standard during fabrication. Bending Branches takes pride in every product they manufacture as it was being made for themselves. During my use of the paddle I made sure to push off rocks and mud banks and yes even oyster bars. The paddle held up and did not show any blemishes nicks or chips.

I love the plus ferrule option with this paddle as I do tend to paddle a few different kayaks which vary in width. This is a great option that bending branches offers and is worth the extra cash if you do paddle multiple styles of kayaks.

Although the high price there are so many pros for this new paddle. If you are a hardcore kayak angler or enjoy just paddling the high angle style I would highly recommend picking up an Angler Pro Carbon. So head down to your local kayak shop that carries Bending Branches paddles and check one out for yourself!

Specs:

Snap Ferrule – 25oz Available in lengths 230cm  240cm  250cm  260cm

Feathers to – 0° & 60° (L or R)

Plus Ferrule – 26oz Available in Increments of 10cm lengths from 230-245cm  240-255cm

Infinite Ferrule 360° Feather

Price:

Snap Ferrule $399.96 MSRP

Plus Ferrule $424.95 MSRP

Link:

https://bendingbranches.com/products/angler-pro-carbon-snap-kayak-fishing-paddle

The Plastic Hull gives this product a 5 star rating.

The Lunchbox Paddle Park was invented in 2016 by Charlie “LunchBox” LaBar prostaffter of Eddie Line Kayaks and The Kayak Fishing Store. The original concept came from using gear tracks a T bolt and a Yakattack RotoGrip Paddle Holder to offset the paddle holders from the track area. Stowing the paddle away has always been a challenge on many kayaks. Now with the new track mounting V grip style paddle holders the paddle will lay across the entire length of track. This unfortunately renders use of the track useless for mounting any additional accessories.

About:

The LunchBox Paddle Park arms are fabricated from 1/2″ black starboard. The plastic is very rigid at this thickness but is soft to drill for adding paddle holders and other accessories. They are track mounted using a T Bolt and plastic knob. This allows them to be stowed easily for kayak transport. You can mount the YakAttack RotoGrip™  or any other V style paddle holders to the arms.

The Paddle Park can also double as a ParkNPole Holder! If you have ever tried to stow a YakAtack ParkNPole you know how awkward it can be.  Simply add on the YakAttack ParkNPole Clip Kit with Anti-Pivot Mounting Base and Security Straps to the center of the arms. No more shoving under bungees trying to get  it out of the way of your paddle stroke. Neatly stowed at the gunnel and easily accessible.

The Paddle Park Use:

The Paddle Park first of all has the ability to be track mounted on the gunnels of a  kayak. Most fishing model kayaks come standard with these tracks from the factory. The paddle parks are designed to position the paddle holders offset of the gear tracks. The paddle park allows for quick and easy access to your paddle while keeping it out of the way from the remainder of the tracks for mounting other accessories. The system is handy for stowing the paddle all day on peddle style boats or motorized kayaks where the paddle is not needed 90% of the time.

Most of all I really like the ease of stowing and accessing the paddle. A simple lift from the Rotogrips and your ready to paddle. Align the paddle in place, push down and the paddle is locked in and stowed.

The paddle park stows while traveling. You can simply rotate the Paddle Parks to align with the kayak. This way they are not protruding. The Paddle Parks are easily transferred to other kayaks with gear tracks installed on them.

Customization:

Changing out Hardware:

Furthermore I decided to countersink 1/4-20 bolts into the starboard to give a flush mounting of the RotoGrips. The Paddle Park is not countersunk from the factory. You can swap out the Plastic Knobs with Screwballs. This also allows the mounting of additional RAM Mount accessories. These include camera mounts a fish finder mount etc.

Adding a YakAttack Park n pole mounting kit is a great option. In addition you can stow your parkNpole right next to your paddle for easy access.

The Paddle park can be used with other manufacturers paddle holders such as:

Native Cam-Lock

Rail Blaza G-Hold

The Paddle Park is only available at The Kayak Fishing Store

Living in Delaware we don’t typically see many Red Drum in our waters. Traveling for the opportunity to target these game fish is exciting. Fortunately its only a 140 mile drive south from my home! It’s only a little over 2 and a half hours to make it to the trip to Cape Charles Virginia. I’m spoiled since I have been driving maximum an hour to the water all my life and now it has become my backyard. This drive is worth it though. This is the story of A Fourteen Hour Fishing Trip.

After Work Fishing

Midway through October 2017 and the days have been still warm. I have been getting out after work here and there for the evening Striped Bass bite close to my work. Some good fish but it’s still like summer. The size of the fish is still 30″ and below. Tuesday Oct 10th during an evening on the water I sent Joe H a text giving him a fishing report. He called soon after informing me that he was planning a trip to fish in Virginia for Sunday. The weather looked good so I decided to ask if it was cool if I met up with him there. The trip was on.

The Plan:

Photo by Joe Hosler

Meet up at 06:30 near the Eastern Shore Wildlife Refuge Boat ramp Sunday. Then go fishing targeting reds. Simple enough!

The Chesapeake Bay can get rough in this area but I loaded my Jackson Kayak Kilroy as i feel it is the best suited for saltwater creek style fishing. The kayak has a Torqeedo Ultralight 403 installed for those days when you need to get back quick or against a river style current ripping tide. It comes in handy!

Sunday Fishing Day!

Out the door by 3:45 am on the road. It’s still raining and foggy. The misting and fog finally became intermittent around 2 hours in.  I can spot the deer peering into my headlights while passing through heavily wooded areas. Warm coffee and maximum concentration. Thinking to myself how much i love my 2016 Ford F150 over my old truck. Waze on the consul broadcasting the distance traveled and my ETA its 6: 30 to start but traffic light s and such made it more like 6:40.

I arrived and everyone was there gearing up. It was just starting to become light. There was an eerie yellowish cloud as the sun hit it from below the horizon. We hit the water and fished a small creek. It was slow fishing only with a few small Speckled Trout.  So we crossed the channel and begun fishing that area. The tide was on its way out. A few more trout early. Paddling through the shallows I went as far back as I could. There were oysters all over in the sod banks. Not sure if these are edible or if they are even legal to harvest. I found one laying on the bottom and picked it up to examine it. They were pretty small and flat but i put it back and went back to fishing.

There was no water only an inch or two. I circled back and figured id throw some casts at a drop off I saw on my way in.

First cast reeling slowly bump bump across the bottom and bang fish on! Great fight on my bull bay rod paired with the Abu Garcia Revo Inshore casting reel. Peeling drag running towards the kayak and back deep again. A great fight to land a 23 inch healthy Red Drum!

Released him and caught a few more on that drop until there was inches of water left. The clouds had finally broken away to sunshine. It was nice and warm now as everything begin to dry out. The tide slowed to a crawl so did the bite. Managing a bunch of Speckled trout a few more reds and small Striped Bass. At this point it was 12:30. We realized we were now landlocked. We fished for another half hour on a slow bite until finally dragging the yaks across the sand bar to return to the launch.

I took a detour to go take a few photos of a large chunk of drift wood that had washed up on the sandy part of the island. As an amateur photographer I spot these things and have to get there to grab a few photos. This particular piece of drift wood i spotted from a mile away in the morning on the way across the channel. After getting my shots using the Torqeedo I went back full throttle. 6.5 mph most of the way. A following sea made it a bit strange.

Fortunately the drive home wasn’t so bad. I was worried that id be exhausted as I have been in the past coming back from really long fishing days in the summer heat. Arriving home around 5 PM the concluded the fourteen hour fishing trip.  Will defiantly be doing this trip again in the future.