Blog Article · Kayak Fishing ·Nov 26, 2024

Growing Into Kayak Fishing, with Luis Delgado

7-minute read

A member of our ProStaff team, Luis Delgado discovered kayak fishing as a way to explore and fish in places he’d only dreamed of, even though his family faced financial hardships. Now, he’s been able to turn his passion into his job.

Luis Delgado stands in the water next to his fishing kayak with a nice bass and his rod

Luis Delgado, kayak angler and Bending Branches ProStaffer

We sat down with Luis for a Zoom call recently so he could tell us his background and story. Here’s our conversation with Luis Delgado:

BENDING BRANCHES: Tell us how you first got into kayak fishing.

LUIS: I grew up fishing on a golf course where my dad worked, he cut the greens. When I was a certain age, I would sleep at the front door of the house so he wouldn’t leave without me! He would go to work at five in the morning to cut the greens before the golfers got out there. So I’d go with him, and he’d cut me loose on the golf course ponds. I would fish for nine hours a day while he worked. And he would take me out on weekends sometimes.

Fast-forward to 2019, I found this gentleman on YouTube talking about kayak fishing. I just put a post on Facebook—something about how I’d like to get into kayak fishing. This guy from our local church gave me a kayak—an orange Sun Dolphin, one of those you can get from Walmart.

I remember my wife and I drove to pick it up in her mom’s SUV. We had to put all the seats down and I had to ride in the back because it didn’t fit! We didn’t have a way to transport it.

That’s where it all started for me. I first took it out into our local parks and started slowly getting into the sport.

BRANCHES: How did that change your fishing?

LUIS: It changed everything, especially access. The ability to pick a spot and launch from there, if it’s public or you have permission. That was the biggest beauty for me.

My dad had a lot of wealthy clients from the golf course who hired him to do their landscaping. Some of them were on Lake Lanier and would give us permission to fish from the bank. There was so much wooded area that I never had access to. But having a kayak, I could put it in right there and paddle to that area. Having the ability to have proximity like that really fascinated me.

BRANCHES: What was your journey to improving your gear?

LUIS: It was fun in the Sun Dolphin for maybe a month! Then I went down a rabbit hole and started looking at other stuff. I discovered there were sit-on-top kayaks you can stand on. Pedal drive kayaks that can go hybrid, where you can pull the pedal up and paddle. Or certain kayaks for really skinny water that are still stable.

I really focused on using social media as a resource to start to build a strong community and following where I could put myself in a position to then pick up some partnerships and sponsorships. Within two years I got my first free kayak, and then I got a couple more.

I focused super hard on turning social media into a kind of side business to now it’s slowly becoming what I do full-time. This is my job now. I create content through it. I guide through it. I get to take people out on the rivers with it, and tournament fish. It’s been such a major thing.

That’s been my journey—building that following, building relationships with other companies to the point that has now allowed me to manage social media pages for other fishing companies. I’m completely engrossed in the industry now and really enjoying it.

Within the first few days of having the Sun Dolphin, I set the goal and never let it go.

BRANCHES: What have you learned along the way?

LUIS: Oh my goodness. There are so many things I’ve learned, and just had epiphanies while on the water. Moments where I’ve been riding against current and thinking about the challenges of life and how you can find ways through it. And there have been moments when you realize this current is too strong, I’ve got to change my strategy.

I would say the first thing is that kayak fishing and kayaking directly translate to life and the challenges of life. The ups and downs, the journey.

Number two, I’ve learned to have an absolutely open mind about the sport of fishing, period. In the bass fishing industry specifically, there are a lot of beliefs and mindsets that you have to “do this” or fish “this way” to be successful. It’s such a tight community and once a wave starts shifting one way, everybody’s moving in that way.

This year, in 2024, I told myself I’m going to be as open-minded as I can because that’s why I fell in love with this sport. I can access any body of water, fish any type of style, rig a kayak however I want. So that’s how I’m going to approach everything else.

The third thing has been how beautiful it is to be outside, period. Especially when you’re floating down a river. You just kind of take everything in and realize how special it is. Our ancestors have been doing this for a very long time.

BRANCHES: Do you kayak recreationally too?

LUIS: I do. I enjoy taking my family—my daughter, my in-laws, my wife. I’m not going to lie, though…it’s very hard for me when we’re at a spot where I know there’s fish!

BRANCHES: Are you mostly a river angler or do you fish on lakes as well?

LUIS: I’ve got a big kayak for lakes because I do enjoy competing. It pushes me to grow and continue to challenge myself and evolve as a person and as an angler. So I do have rigs for the lakes, but my true passion is being on skinny water. Even if there’s a big tournament and they have river access, I’m going to lean more towards that.

BRANCHES: How did you get involved with us?

LUIS: I was on the Savannah River in 2023, my favorite river here in Georgia. I was out there with my father-in-law and my wife. I was turning against the current—just a simple turn, nothing fancy—and my paddle snapped in half.

Luckily I had a friend who loaned me his Bending Branches paddle. You can immediately feel the difference. I could feel the quality. So I went down another rabbit hole and learned about the quality and the difference in the material.

I met other anglers who were using Branches paddles and saw how happy they were about it. So that led me to reach out and try to make a connection. I just got the Angler Pro in Copperhead. It’s so cool! I want to order another one for my lake setup.

Luis Delgado with his Bending Branches Angler Pro kayak paddle

BRANCHES: What would you tell others who want to get into kayak fishing but money is tight?

LUIS: Don’t be afraid to start with a more affordable option, which is what I did. Don’t be afraid to accept a trade-in kayak or a basic edition. I would encourage people to first simply start and fall in love with the sport more than the equipment itself.

Once you’ve developed that love and passion for what you’re doing, that in itself is going to create a way for you to continue to grow in it. I always tell people that success is a byproduct of your personal growth. Your most sincere intentions.

It’s such a great sport to just simply get into first and allow that passion to open up other avenues and ways to make things happen.

Thanks for Luis Delgado for his time with us! Follow Luis on Instagram for lots of great kayak fishing photos.