Native's Ultimate 14.5 is the ultimate for me

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Native Watercraft's Ultimate 14.5 fishing machine.

For those of you who might not know what I'm talking about, the Ultimate is a kayak. It just might be the best fishing kayak on the market. I say this with reasonable certainty I've paddled just about every fishing kayak out there.

And I'm not easy to please.

Sure, I'm sponsored by Native, but you've got to understand that it wouldn't mean a thing if I didn't love the product. Why would I want the sponsorship if Native was inferior?

Truth is the Native is on top of the world when it comes to fishing kayaks.

Here are my reasons:

1. Roomiest kayak you can get. You can tote a whole lot of gear and more. On full-day charters, I carry a 36-quart cooler in the bow. And it's full of ice, food and drinks.

2. It tracks extremely straight; you rarely have to make a paddle correction.

3. No other kayak offers the stability without add-ons such as pontoons. I can stand up and pole my boat. I can stand up and fly cast. I cant stand up and battle a hefty snook or redfish.

4. It's as fast as any other boat in its class -- maybe even a little faster.

5. It drifts slowly.

This is an area that most kayak anglers don't even think about. A couple of years ago, I was fishing with Capt. Al White down in The Everglades. I was in my Native and White was in another brand of kayak. We were fishing a long canal just off Alligator Alley. I was slowly fishing along while White was 100 yards down the canal.

"I thought you were anchored," said White.

No, I was just leisurely drifting along. The slow drift makes for easy fishing -- especially when you're using a fly rod.

Believe me, I've tried to find out what flaws the Ultimate might have. The only thing I can find is that it will take on water because it's not your traditional "sit-on-top" (SIT) kayak. There are no scupper holes through which water can exit.

So, I carry a hand bilge pump -- just in case. I've never had to use it, but I have it.

Another kayak manufacturer claims its boat offers "hands-free fishing." Big deal. I've got hands-free fishing in my Ultimate. I can drift along, cast and make direction changes without taking my hands off my fly rod. With the paddle sitting across my lap, I can dip a blade in the water and manipulate it with my elbow and never interrupt my fishing.

Anyway, if you really are a fan of peddling, Native offers a peddle version. They even offer a model with a trolling motor.

I'm not saying the Ultimate is for everyone. That would be about far-fetched. I believe it is, but it's ill conceived that all anglers think alike. That's why there are so many manufacturers offering so many models.

I like to stand up and fish. I like to stand up and paddle my boat. Sight-fishing always has been a big part of my world.

The Native Watercraft Ultimate 14.5 allows me to do what I love.

Snook and spotted seatrout plentiful

I was after snook, spotted seatrout and redfish. Those are the eligible species for our Fall Fly Fishing Challenge on Saturday.

So, I launched my Native Watercraft Ultimate 14.5 and hit Bishop Harbor at about 7:15 this morning. No need to be on the water before dawn. Our captains' meeting is scheduled at 6:30 on Saturday and we can't leave for our destination until after it's over.

This morning was awesome. A heavy fog blanketed Bishop Harbor as I paddled to the northeast side. I had a mullet imitation tied on my 8-weight and a Super Hair Clouser on the 6. My plan was to cast for redfish and snook, then hit the trout.

I found a good snook early. The fish hit about 30 feet out from a mangrove island in about 18 inches of water. I knew it was a formidable fish. First thing it did was run for the mangroves, pulling me and the kayak with it.

I back-paddled to get the fish away from the trees and had the snook under control in just a few minutes. Turned out to be a large snook than I first thought. I estimated it at 30 inches as I was getting ready to release it. I later caught a smaller snook on the same fly.

Before I got out of Bishop Harbor, I found plenty of small seatrout around grass patches. I caught and released 15 or so, then headed out into Tampa Bay where I hoped to find a few redfish on sand bars.

Redfish were scarce. I caught several more trout and saw a few snook. But the reds eluded me.

Seems to always be that way in this tournament. I won the Trout Division one year and won the Snook Division twice. One year I did managed a slam (snook, trout and redfish), but the red was tiny. It's the only redfish I've taken in this event.

Maybe tomorrow I'll find a few hungry reds?