IT’S A MUGGY February day in south Florida, and pro kayak angler Kristine Fischer is on the water, fishing during a break between tournament stops. She’s hunting big bass, casting a Texas-rigged 4-inch creature bait and working it through thick hydrilla growing up from the lake’s bottom. Her sonar shows a sizable blip. Fischer casts to it and waits. She’s anticipating the feel of weightlessness, which means only one thing—a largemouth is gulping her bait. In an instant, Fischer rears back in the seat of her kayak to set the hook with so much force that if there were no back to the chair, she would tumble out of the kayak and into the water.
“Oh God, it’s a big one. That’s a giant. I can’t control it. OH MY GOOOOOOODDDDD!”
Fischer is known for her excited reactions when she hooks into a big fish (you can watch many of them on her Instagram or YouTube channel, which has almost 50,000 subscribers). And at this moment, she is full-on losing it as an 11-pound bass—her second of the day—takes line. It’s running through the weeds as Fischer leans from one side of the kayak to the other, fighting to land what will be her personal-best bass. The fish tapes out at 26 inches and weighs 11.8 pounds, ¼ inch longer and a few ounces heavier than the PB bass she caught using the same bait just hours ago.
Kayak fishing has become widely popular over the past decade, and 34-year-old Fischer has been one of its strongest ambassadors because she works to promote it. She writes about fishing and has a strong social media presence. Her GoPros are rolling while she fishes in tournaments, and later she’ll create