New Kayak invention

Beach inventor puts a new angle on fishing


July 22, 2008 - 3:06PM
Jennifer Rich


Shawn Gregory has a knack for enjoying the simple things in life - and he's found a way to make them even simpler by inventing the fishing kayak and putting a new spin on the beach cart.


The Seagrove resident first engineered the kayak two months ago out of the desire for a more economical way to fish.
"We've caught over 35 kings in the last few weeks," Tony Mennillo, a long-time friend of Gregory, said.


The modified kayak provides a new and challenging way to fish that beats the usual drawbacks of fishing from a large boat.
Gregory is able to fish anywhere from a quarter of a mile to three miles offshore by getting around with paddles or a small electric motor that hooks up to a battery on the kayak.


This approach makes sense to Gregory, because there is no expensive gas to buy, it is environmentally friendly and it allows him to make a quiet entrance to his fishing zone.
This design has allowed Gregory and Mennillo to successfully catch king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, dolphin, bonita, pompano. They are now angling for tarpon.


Fishing on the kayak is an adventure from start to finish, as the pair catch their bait on their way to the big fish. Minos, herring and hard tail are caught on the way to their destination.
Catching the big one aboard the kayak is a carefully choreographed effort.
"You have to fish with someone you know and you have to know the species," Mennillo said.


Once a fish is reeled in close enough, a hand gaff is used to pull the fish the rest of the way in.
"You are basically sitting on a surfboard hooking your bait. Then you gotta bring 'em to the surfboard." Menillo said. Once you reel in the big one, like a king mackerel "You have to hold the kings in the water until they die, because you sure can't hold 'em in the boat between your legs."

They inevitably try to avoid a blood trail in the water to avoid curious sharks. On their excursions, they have spotted hammerheads, bull sharks and sea turtles.
Hopes for the fishing kayak are high.
The friends will see what the kayak can do this year at the 60th annual Destin Fishing Rodeo.


"We can win," Mennillo laughs.
In the meantime, Gregory will add more equipment to the kayak to get it geared for wreck fishing. He plans to use a GPS system to locate known reefs and chart the spot with a machine.
In addition to Gregory's new spin on fishing, his unparalleled beach cart makes fishing from the beach more convenient.
"I always used to carry stuff to the beach," Gregory said. "Now I can load this up and even pull it on a bike."


With limited fishing access on the beaches, Gregory's cart allows him to fish in more places with ease.
Beach carts are mass produced in different variations, but Gregory's design has a few advantages.
Instead of heavy pneumatic tires, Gregory's cart is successful because of light Roleez tires that were purchased on an axle. To that, he added a lightweight aluminum frame that allows him to carry fishing gear, a cooler, beach chairs, an auxiliary pump for tire repairs, sand flea rake and even an eight foot ladder tower for sight fishing.


Other carts on the market use Roleez tires and are made of aluminum, but not many are as light and carry such large items in an organized fashion.


Gregory's inventions are a work in progress and a reflection of his philosophy that he and Mennillo share.


"If people live here and are not taking advantage of the natural resources around them, then they are missing it."

Found a pic for ya, man. I like the way he has everything rigged. :clapping:

http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?t...nnel=991863289

I like his roll-eez setup, but the rest looks a little crowded to me. The surf where he launches is probably a little milder than it is up here. My biggest focus is travelling as light as possible in case you eventually get dumped by big surf or a swell. Can lose a lot of gear that way, best to travel with the minimum.http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...cons/icon3.gif

Correct dogfish. Looks if he gets it in the water it will automatically roll over.

Here is another one from SailboatDick

Sailboat **** I have a Aquaterra 13’ Big Kahuna S.O.T. kayak. I like to fish in the ocean and we have a lot of big sharks around here in South Fl. and I don’t want to be IN THE WATER with one that has an attitude from a hook in his mouth. So I came up with a set of outriggers that have worked super for the last six years. I can sit on the side of the yak if I’m snorkeling and not tip over , I could probably stand up in it but I don’t know what for unless I wanted to fly cast. I think the over all length is important as the pontoons have to be far enough aft so as to not interfere with your paddle stroke. Mine are 30 “ aft of the seat back. I ‘m not even aware that they are back there, every now and then if I’m doing an extra long stroke or maneuver of some sort I will just touch the forward end of the ama ( pontoon ) with the blade of my paddle. They are seven feet across from ama to ama . I made them so they will break down in two pieces for transporting and storage purposes. I am not against drilling holes in the boat but if I can work around not making any new holes and using what is there , That's a plus. This is the reason the two forward running stabilizer legs of PVC are so long. Shorter ones should work but you will need them to keep the pontoons from pivoting. I am a “KNOT NUT “ and any place I can use a proper knot I will. I used a taught line hitch in a short length of nylon line attaching the stabilizers to the existing eye straps for the seat . I used a PVC oven that an electrician uses to bend the PVC into a banana shape. I believe that you could Just boil some water and put a PVC tee into the water for a few minutes and soften it enough to make an acute angle of 4 or 6 degrees in the tee that would serve the same purpose, and that is to keep the ends of the amas out of the water so waves would not dictate the motion of the yak. The webbing has to be fitted tightly to the volume of the boat and a small diameter shock cord to keep it from slipping aft off the taper of the stern. Instead of the expensive quick release pin that holds the two pieces together you could just insert a small bolt through the fitting and it will not require a nut as it should not work it’s way out. The length of the akas ( Arms ) out from the side of the yak should be around 24 “. You can glue it all together except for the short vertical piece. This dimension requires another person to look at the amas while you and all your normal fishing gear are loaded aboard. The amas want to be clear of the waters surface lets say 2 “ or more so as not to create any drag whatsoever . I used two five foot long noodles ( Kids swim Toy ) and cut each in half making the length of each ama 30 “ for floatation and it has more than enough volume for my 6’3’ , 210 lbs.
Good luck building yours, Sailboat ****

Like the pontoons, nice stable setup.

my how things have evolved. Check this out would anybody purchase one?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...;v=uA9Vw-ShU3g