Eric Harrison

Kayak Fishing

Age	48
Hometown	Arlington, MA
Experience	First off, I am a fisherman who kayaks. I have been fishing for about 40 years and been a hardcore fisherman for more than 30. In the last 8 years, I have morphed into a die hard kayak fisherman. I fish year round in the Boston area and have fished every month of the year for the last few years. Yes, you can use your yak as an icebreaker! I do most of my fishing from 9 to 5—that is 9 pm to 5 am! Keeping vampire hours on the water lets me fish heavily used waters all alone and my primary target is striped bass, a fish that bites best at night. Boston Harbor is my home fishing grounds; there are some very strong rips (and interesting standing waves when the tides and winds oppose each other) and beautiful areas to fish very close to the city.
Achievements	On the board of directors of New England Kayak Fishing.com. Kayak Corner columnist for On the Water magazine. Regular contributor to On the Water magazine. 2008 Jamaica Bay Kayak Fishing Tournament Grand Slam first place. 2009 New England Kayak Fishing Monster Striper Contest overall first place. 2010 New England Kayak Fishing Striper Shootout: biggest fish overall and first place artificial division. 2010 New England Kayak Fishing Monster Striper Contest overall first place.
Biggest Adventure	Fishing at night year round in Massachusetts is always an adventure! I have done quite a few crazy things in the name of fishing—I have taken mako sharks from a zodiac and fished up and down Baja. I have definitely become more sane as I have aged and my yak fishing trips have been much more tame than my boat fishing days. One very memorable night a few seasons back started out with an iffy weather report. The remains of a tropical storm were on there way, but a buddy and I figured we could fish for a few hours before it hit. We launched in relatively calm winds at 1 am, but by 3 am the winds had kicked up considerably and the waves had gotten much larger. Fortunately, we were just outside Boston Harbor and we could paddle into the harbor so we didn’t have to do a surf landing. As we came around the point to enter the harbor, we realized that the fishing was going off and we pulled the yaks on to the beach so we could surf fish. Of course, that was when the lightning started! After catching a bunch of fish, we flipped our yaks to drain the water out (it was now a complete downpour) and started paddling back to the ramp. Of course the wind had notched up quite a bit, at full speed we could barely move at 1 mph even though we were hugging the shoreline. And the rain was hitting us so hard that it felt like people were throwing rocks in our faces. After we made it back to the launch, we promised ourselves that we wouldn’t do that again…until next time!
Safety first	Yakfishing is a risky sport, especially when you do it alone in the middle of the night. Safety is always a top priority for me and I carry and use all my safety equipment. PFDs are the most obvious safety item and I always wear mine, but when you fish cold water year round, your choice in dry gear makes a big difference too. I joined up with the Kokatat team after using their apparel for years. I had to throw away one of my favorite fishing dry tops not because it was worn, but because I couldn’t stand the smell! (note to self: wash them frequently!). I am a big fan of the Kokatat Supernova Angler Paddlesuit which I use 10 months of the year here.
Website	www.newenglandkayakfishing.com

Kokatat

Eric Harrison