KAKU Kahuna: The next big thing

Move over Versa board, there’s a new kayak/SUP hybrid in the game and it is called the KAKU Kahuna. You may or may not have heard of the KAKU brand out of Tarpon Springs, FL, and if you haven’t you may want to pay attention!

I had the pleasure of taking the Kahuna out for a few spins over the last couple days thanks to Tally Yakkers in Tallahassee, FL and I was not disappointed! It comes in at 12 feet and 34 inches wide making it perfect for standing up and utilizing its spacious deck. With a weight limit topping at 300 pounds it can handle you and all your gear with ease. Fully stripped down the Kahuna weighs in at a mere 60 pounds so you can load and unload without breaking your back. Its roto-molded design makes it tough and rigid to withstand all the abuse you can throw at it, which comes in handy when fishing the oyster bar riddled flats here in N. Florida. Tired of standing? No problem. Outfit the Kahuna with a cooler and voila! Instant kayak! This thing even comes with an integrated mount for a Micro-Power Pole! What craft can boast that?!

The first thing I noticed when I hit the water was the Kahuna’s tracking capabilities! Wow! Even in a breeze it was effortless to stay on course and cut through the water thanks to its modified v-hull design. Transitioning from sitting to standing was the easiest I have encountered on a SUP. Casting, stooping, turning around all made easy by the Kahuna’s stability and simplistic non-slip deck. With multiple pad eyes, 1/4″-20 screw inserts perfect for mounting RAM balls or tracks and a 6 inch round front hatch, rigging options for the Kahuna become endless. I was easily able to attach my cooler, milk crate, rod holder and GoPro in a quick few minutes and was ready to rock.

Do yourself a favor and paddle this craft!

Demos can be had in Tallahassee by coming by Tally Yakkers or giving us a call.

https://www.facebook.com/TallyYakkers

850-879-0198

682 McDonnell Dr.

Tallahassee, Fl 32310

Click, click…BOOM!

It started as a typical day. I called up my fishing buddy the night before and made plans to go scout one of my favorite trout holes out at Alligator Point, FL. We made plans to fish the tail end of the incoming tide, slack tide, and the beginning of the outgoing tide. Due to some careless planning on my part (highly unlike me), we were put an hour behind schedule. That would soon prove to be irrelevant. 
 
It was when we crossed the Ochlocknee Bay bridge that I knew it was going to be a good day. Fifteen minutes later, we arrived at the launch. The water was like glass just begging for some topwater action! I donned my trusty topwater lure, a bone colored Bomber Badonkadonk, while my partner rigged up a white Gulp jerk on a chartreuse jig head — needless to say, he would quickly change his mind. 
 
We paddled roughly a mile to the first set of oyster bars that looked promising with lots of mullet present. The slight breeze was working in our favor as it drifted us perfectly parallel to the bars. It was about my sixth cast: click, click, click… SPLOOSH! Then zzzzzzzzzzzz, as the line smoked off the reel. I knew right away it was no trout! As I tightened the drag and methodically played and worked him to the boat, I finally laid eyes on him: an over slot, easy 30″+ redfish. It was also at that moment that I realized he was not hooked very well at all. Too big for my net, I slowly raised him to the surface, fish grips in hand, talking to myself in third person to take it easy and telling the fish that everything would be OK and that it’d all be over soon. And it was… too soon. The fish and I locked eyes, as if he were telling me goodbye, and with one shake of his head, he was gone.
 
That was not the way I wanted to start the day, but it did fill me with determination. After finishing my drift and landing a couple smaller trout, my partner was ready to get in on the topwater action. Soon after tying on a red/white/silver Top Dog MirroLure, he spotted a school of redfish while standing on his Liquidlogic Versa board. He crept in on them with me on my way. He chunked the MirroLure right into the middle of the school, and with a few clicks it was SMASHED! I followed suit and threw right behind him into the swarm of mullet and reds, and just like before: click, click… BOOM! A double hookup! This time a couple of slot 24″ reds, which made for a nice meal I might add.
 
By this time the wind started to pick up and the fishing quieted. We headed over to another area that produced for me on my last trip out here, but try as we might, nothing doing. After a little exploring, we decided to hit the first set of bars again before we called it a day. Same bars, same drift, stiffer wind, but this time it was time for the trout show! They came after that topwater in a very aggressive manner, so much in fact that I had one come up after it, missed, flew entirely out of the water and over my lure! Don’t worry, he came back! After managing to land several nice trout, the winds continued to pick up, and the tide started to rip out. It was then that we decided to call it a day, and make the short paddle back to shore. With a couple nice reds and a stringer full of trout, we chalked it down as a win and headed home. Until next time!
 
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