Robert Field has no home. Well, he has a home but it\u2019s a travel trailer that goes wherever the fish are biting. This is the way it\u2019s been for Robert over the last five years as he\u2019s worked to make kayak fishing his life. He first got into the sport when a long-term relationship came to an end and he needed something more. \u201cI started fishing from a kayak and fell in love with it,\u201d he says. \u201cThree years later, it was my full-time job.\u201d Now Robert produces a weekly YouTube show, boasting some 90,000 subscribers.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d2kl15j267vxtq.cloudfront.net\/duct-tape\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/31175110\/RobertField-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
So you got into the sport pretty fast. How have you found the learning curve? I was looking for the float anchor line that I was attached to when I lost focus and flipped the kayak. The bait lid was open so I\u2019m floating in a pool of mullet blood and chunks. The visibility is two inches. It took me three minutes to get the kayak righted. A lady from the beach saw me flip and sent the Coast Guard. I was fine by the time they got there but I produced a vid called Eight Golden Rules of kayak fishing highlighting all the stuff I did wrong. The video has 5 million views.<\/p>\n What has been your best day on the water? Tools of the trade: <\/strong>\u201cThe Chinook PFD makes my life so much easier<\/a>. I use it even when I\u2019m not in a kayak. You can store your rod while you\u2019re changing gear. It just organizes you.\u201d<\/p>\n Chad Hoover is a storyteller. And he tells those stories by going on adventures and bringing his YouTube audience with him. Using a small crew of filmmakers, mostly whitewater kayakers, he brings imagery and lip-ripping action to fishermen everywhere.<\/p>\n So, is your YouTube channel mostly about teaching people to fish? Sounds like you love rivers? We can relate. You\u2019ve had some pretty crazy\u2014and hilarious\u2014moments in your kayak. Want to share a few? So, I laid my pants across the kayak and slipped in for an aqua dump. When I finished, hanging on to the side of the kayak, I looked up and my pants were gone. Nowhere to be found. It was 7:30 am when we left the beach but we came back at 2:30 pm and the beach was full of people. I didn\u2019t have anything to cover up with so, I just said, \u2018f*** it\u2019 and landed the kayak like I owned the place. Now, normally it takes a couple of trips to the car to unload all my gear but I made that a one-and-done deal. Beachgoers got a good view that day!<\/p>\n Tools of the Trade: \u201c<\/strong>The Chinook, hands down. I love all NRS gear but the Chinook is a wearable tackle box with everything I really need, right at my fingertips. And I\u2019ve seen it save people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n Jameson Redding has made chasing fish his life. Whether small mouth bass in his home state of North Carolina or redfish on the Gulf Coast of Florida, he\u2019s ready to go after whatever is biting at a moment\u2019s notice. And he\u2019s done that by becoming as proficient behind the lens as he is in front of it, using self-taught cinematic skills to propel his life on the water.<\/p>\n What was it about filming and camera work that drew you in? Like the Jackson clan, you\u2019ve taken your family on the road. How does that work? Tools of the Trade: <\/strong>\u201cI love the Sidewinder Bibs for cool weather and cool water<\/a> and I have the Chinook PFD rigged with everything\u2014from line-cutters to radio\u2014and it\u2019s there for me in case of emergencies.\u201d<\/p>\n We\u2019re pretty sure Ron Champion has heard this before, but could a tournament fisherman possibly have a more suitable surname? Especially one with a record like Ron\u2019s? The Tennessee native who now lives in Richmond Hill, Georgia with his wife and two children is one of the best kayak fishermen in the competitive bass fishing realm and pretty much feeds his family off tournament winnings. \u201cI\u2019m a diehard tourney angler,\u201d he says. But what, exactly does that mean?<\/p>\n Kayak fishing tourneys have taken off? So, the sport is kind of like golf. You have to really study the places you\u2019re fishing and almost use an analytical approach, right? What\u2019s the craziest thing that\u2019s happened to you during a tournament? Tools of the Trade:<\/strong> \u201cThere is not a better lifejacket on the market for a 6\u20194\u201d, 315-pound guy than the Chinook.<\/strong> And the Boundary Boots<\/a> are pretty much everything I need as far as footwear goes.\u201d<\/p>\n Brooks Beatty is a lifer. He\u2019s been fishing near his home in Charlotte, North Carolina for as long as he can remember and has grown up in the fishing industry. And while he may not be front and center, fishing every tournament, he\u2019s become an influential force in the sport.<\/p>\n So what\u2019s your niche in kayak fishing? What is your favorite aspect of the sport? It seems like weird things always happen on the water? That\u2019s Mother Nature, though. If you don\u2019t go, you\u2019ll definitely never know.<\/p>\n Tools of the Trade: \u201c<\/strong>The Sidewinders are up there. They\u2019re key when I\u2019m filming and I\u2019m really impressed with how breathable and tough they are. Plus the Osprey inflatable paddleboard is fun to fish off of.<\/a> \u201c<\/p>\n Gene Jensen is a teacher and there\u2019s no doubting his ability to get people amped on fishing. The YouTube celeb has found a niche in the sport that wasn\u2019t being filled, creating a place for himself in kayak fishing that would be tough to replace these days.<\/p>\n What\u2019s your favorite type of fishing? Your students (viewers) get pretty excited about your stuff.
\n<\/strong>I\u2019ve had a few funny moments. Five months after I started fishing I thought it\u2019d be a good idea go out in the ocean off Texas and fish for sharks. Alone. I landed a six-foot black tip shark. I\u2019d had the kayak anchored down but I unclipped when I caught the shark. The seas got rough while I was fighting it; I didn\u2019t know a tropical storm was rolling in. That\u2019s how much of a newbie I was.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d2kl15j267vxtq.cloudfront.net\/duct-tape\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/31175108\/RobertField_Adam-Fisk-credit-100x100.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d2kl15j267vxtq.cloudfront.net\/duct-tape\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/31175109\/RobertField-4-100x100.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d2kl15j267vxtq.cloudfront.net\/duct-tape\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/31175106\/RobertField_JKMediaHouse-100x100.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n<\/strong>One of em\u2019 was in Portland, Oregon during the pilot season of my show, Field Trips. I was driving from San Diego to Seattle, fishing the whole way. We were fishing for salmon on the Columbia River, so I was using light tackle and 25 pound test line. I hooked a 275-pound white sturgeon and fought it for two hours as it towed me up and down the river. She breached 50 feet in front of me and I didn\u2019t know what it was. The entire experience was amazing.<\/p>\nChad Hoover (Tennessee)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d2kl15j267vxtq.cloudfront.net\/duct-tape\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/31175119\/ChadHoover-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>I teach people but it\u2019s more like entertainment, \u2018Fast Times at Ridgemont High\u2019-style. I concentrate on the inspirational aspect of it all, making people want to do what I do with high-end imagery, drone footage and slow-mo.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>I\u2019m a kayak bass-fishing guy. My favorite thing is fishing rivers\u2014they\u2019re harder to film because you\u2019re constantly moving and you have to really choose your spots to get footage. But for the tranquility of it, getting away from people, the skill it takes, catching fish out of moving water, I love it.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d2kl15j267vxtq.cloudfront.net\/duct-tape\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/31175118\/ChadHoover-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>I\u2019ve seen all sorts of things in remote areas, like people running for their lives in domestic disputes (that was scary) to getting lost in the dark and fog and unknowingly sleeping a few feet from my truck (that sucked). The most funny was when I was fishing off Virginia Beach and all of a sudden my stomach flipped. I had to go to the bathroom.<\/p>\nJameson Redding (North Carolina)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d2kl15j267vxtq.cloudfront.net\/duct-tape\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/31175112\/JamesonRedding_JKMediaHouse.jpg\")
\nHow did you get into kayak fishing?
\n<\/strong>Living in North Carolina, I was always looking for ways to access places to catch small mouth bass on rivers. Whether that was wading or using a canoe. Then two buddies and I got kayaks. One thing led to another and I started fishing tournaments and fell in love with it. Now I make a living at it and it\u2019s been almost a decade. I think the connection with fishing from a kayak is very intimate. When you\u2019re in a regular boat, you\u2019re not gonna get pulled around by a fish. In a kayak, it\u2019s the perfect balance of chaos, dealing with current, wind, fish, and keeping up with the tackle. A bad day of kayak fishing is still a day of kayaking.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>I realized early on that no one truly just fishes for a living. It\u2019s about what you can offer: either you\u2019re winning tourneys or doing public speaking. I kind of started playing with cameras and enjoyed capturing the great moments as much as being a part of it. I went to the Google and YouTube schools of editing and filming. I got a lot of advice from producers and videographers and incorporated that advice into what I was doing.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d2kl15j267vxtq.cloudfront.net\/duct-tape\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/31175111\/JamesonRedding2_JKMediaHouse-100x100.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d2kl15j267vxtq.cloudfront.net\/duct-tape\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/31175114\/JamesonRedding-5-100x100.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n
\n<\/strong>A lot of athletes travel with a trailer and camp\/sleep in a hammock or tent, but I don\u2019t feel like that allows you to ramble and chase opportunities. You\u2019re always trying to come home when it\u2019s happening somewhere you didn\u2019t expect. When my wife got pregnant with my son two years ago, I didn\u2019t want to miss his growing up so we made the leap last year to a full-blown Class A motorhome. Living on the road is such a challenge but it\u2019s fun. I don\u2019t miss opportunities to go where the fishing is good and I don\u2019t miss seeing my family and watching my kids grow up. We\u2019re still figuring it out to make sure the balance is there\u2014I have a tendency to chase every fish\u2014but it\u2019s working and we just added a daughter to the mix so this season should be interesting.<\/p>\nRon Champion (Georgia)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d2kl15j267vxtq.cloudfront.net\/duct-tape\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/31175031\/RonChampion_Hobie-Shoot-2.jpg\")
\n<\/strong>In 2014, the sport really made a jump. It seems like every year since the payouts have doubled. I focus on higher profile events with the most media coverage. I fish out of a glass boat and do it well but I just enjoy fishing out of a kayak. It\u2019s made me a better angler. Fishing out of a kayak makes you slow down and learn the area you\u2019re in. And it\u2019s a lot of travel but it\u2019s worth it, especially since the money has gotten a lot better.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Lake study is key to winning. Just like golfing, you\u2019re reading a green\u2014fishing is the same thing only you\u2019re reading what the bottom of the lake shows you. I had 16 different state fishing licenses last year so I\u2019m fishing waters I\u2019ve never fished before. In shallow water, you can pretty much throw out a beer can and catch fish but once you hit ledges in the bottom where it moves to deep water, it\u2019s a whole other animal. For big events, you put a lot of study time in, using Google Maps and researching the places you fish (in regards to bait and tackle and what works).<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d2kl15j267vxtq.cloudfront.net\/duct-tape\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/31175104\/RonChampion-1_Hobie-Photo-Shoot-100x100.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d2kl15j267vxtq.cloudfront.net\/duct-tape\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/31175032\/RonChampion-2-100x100.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d2kl15j267vxtq.cloudfront.net\/duct-tape\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/31175033\/Ron-Champion-3-100x100.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n<\/strong>You\u2019re not a true kayak fisherman until you\u2019ve flipped your first boat. I\u2019ve been flipped three times and I\u2019m a big dude so it\u2019s hard to get back in. The first time I flipped at a tourney I was in a hybrid canoe\/kayak and I hadn\u2019t been out 10 seconds when I went in. I had no extra clothes and I was out for eight hours in 45-degree weather. I froze to the bone and it was the most miserable fishing day of my life.<\/p>\nBrooks Beatty (North Carolina)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d2kl15j267vxtq.cloudfront.net\/duct-tape\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/31175013\/Brooks-Beatty_Blog.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>I\u2019m with Jackson Kayak Media House and work full time on video production and photo work across the industry. I miss the tourney scene, though. There\u2019s a lot of traveling involved with filming. And it\u2019s not like you just win a paddle or kayak at tournaments anymore. You can win life-changing money.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>It\u2019s kind of a two-part answer. There\u2019s this awesome tradition of community: for example, these boondoggle events where kayakers get together and everyone\u2019s cooking great food and hanging out, socializing at one spot. It\u2019s like summer camp for kayak anglers. Then there are the rodeos, where 15 or 20 people will do an overnight float on a section of river and just fish and camp. Overnight fishing trips are amazing and in my mind, kind of embody what the sport is all about.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d2kl15j267vxtq.cloudfront.net\/duct-tape\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/31175102\/BrooksBeatty-3_JK-Media-100x100.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d2kl15j267vxtq.cloudfront.net\/duct-tape\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/31175120\/BrooksBeatty1-100x100.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d2kl15j267vxtq.cloudfront.net\/duct-tape\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/31175103\/BrooksBeatty-2_Eric-Atkins-100x100.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n<\/strong>There\u2019s always crazy stuff happening: I\u2019ve almost gotten caught in strainers, I lost my kayak, had giant, 10-point bucks cross the river in front of me. About five years ago I was out with Chris Funk, Paul Lebowitz and Drew Gregory down in Florida and I was throwing this frog imitation out and this owl kept swooping down to try and capture it. It would grab it and if I didn\u2019t pull it back it would have flown off with it.<\/p>\nGene Jensen (Georgia)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d2kl15j267vxtq.cloudfront.net\/duct-tape\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/31175014\/thumbnail.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>My personal favorite are the trips where I\u2019m learning stuff that I can then teach people what I\u2019ve learned. I was recently down in Louisiana fishing for redfish. I\u2019m not a huge redfish angler, and as I was learning how to fish for them, in my head I was figuring out how to put a video together to teach other people.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Yeah, the most rewarding part of my job is when people message me something like, \u2018you helped me catch my first fish,\u2019 or \u2018you helped me teach my son how to fish.\u2019 In my book, there\u2019s nothing better. There really are a lot of dads out there that want to take kids fishing and don\u2019t know how. My goal is not to be a kid\u2019s hero, but make the parent the hero by teaching them how to fish and pass on that knowledge.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d2kl15j267vxtq.cloudfront.net\/duct-tape\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/31175015\/Gene-Jensen-2-100x100.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d2kl15j267vxtq.cloudfront.net\/duct-tape\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/31175117\/GeneJensen-1-100x100.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n