Wayne Bradby Fishes Bonafide Fishing Kayaks

I met Wayne Bradby in  2008 at the Jacksonville Kayak Fishing Tournament in Jacksonville, Florida. When I met Wayne the JAX tournament was one of the biggest kayak fishing events in the world.  They would draw 300-400 kayak anglers from all over the world. They had anglers from the UK who came almost every year I attended.  

Wayne is a kayak fisherman.  Wayne was one of the founding members of the Tidewater Kayak Angler Association (TKAA) where he was the treasurer up until 2019. Over the years Wayne has supported many charities by attending kayak fishing tournaments where the proceeds went to one or more charities. He attended the Jacksonville Fishing Classic twice where he placed 4th in the red fish division during one of those tournaments; TKAA Charity Tournament five times; Catchin’ for Kids twice; Forgotten Coast Kayak Anglers (FCKA) Charity Tournament twice, Kayak Fishing Classic at Jamaica Bay, NY twice. He also won the Hook, Line and Paddle Charity Kayak Fishing Tournament in Wilmington, NC in 2011. From 2008 to 2019 Wayne was the TKAA Tournament Director where the proceeds went toward  Heroes on the Water and Project Healing Waters charities.

In addition to supporting charities, Wayne and the anglers at TKAA do an annual Virginia Beach Trash-n-Fish Cleanup. Click Here for a link a short news blast on the cleanup. According to Julio Avila, WTKR News, the waterway was very clean as reported to him by the kayak anglers who participated in the cleanup. 

As a master kayak angler, Wayne Bradby has been on the Pro Staff of many fishing kayak brands like YakAttack, T-Reign, PrecisionPak, Hobie Polarized and Malibu Kayaks. Today he is on the Pro Staff of Bonafide Kayaks and YakAttack.

He fishes from the Bonafide SS127 kayak. The SS127 is a sit-on-top kayak with great stability which allows the angler to stand up and fish. It is 12 feet 7 inches long. The longer the kayak the better it glides through the water. Bonafide does not offer a peddle or trolling motor as an option. But you can get the top of the line battery powered electric motor from TORQEEDO. Torqeedo is a German brand that makes electric outboard motors. They came out with their ultralight weight motor in 2016. Wayne has the Torqeedo 1103 AC with a 3 Hp trolling motor mounted to his Bonafide SS127 fishing kayak. This battery powered motor has a range of up to 30 miles. The Torqeedo Remote Throttle shows the miles you have covered and the amount of battery you have left.  The miles covered and battery life are updated as you move through the water. 

The actual mileage you get depends on the weight of the kayak angler and all the gear on board, the speed of travel and the wind. The faster you go the more battery power it uses. I suspect having never owned a battery powered trolling motor kayak, there is some water trials necessary to learn just how far you can go before the battery runs out. 

Wayne Bradby is also an accomplished writer. He has written for BLADE magazine where he was a regular contributor. This is Australia's Paddle Culture Magazine.

Hot off the press Wayne was interviewed by Julio Avila, WTKR News, as part of a news segment on July 21,2020 about new people trying out kayaking as a way to social distance during the COVID-19 pandemic. The news segment focused on kayaking safety. 

You can find Wayne on Facebook and LinkedIn. And if you are lucky enough to be launching you kayak from the Owl Creek Boat Ramp in Virginia Beach, you just might run into him. 

Until next time, be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors.