Tucked up a river mouth on Long Island Sound is a workshop where Joe Harasyko is turning wrenches to modify some seriously tricked-out rides. The creations he is dialing in with lights, electronics and gear aren’t of the four-wheeled variety you’d see rolling out the garage doors in a scene from Vice Grip Garage though. Harasyko is the rigging manager for Black Hall Outfitters, a paddling shop in Old Lyme, Connecticut that does a booming business in customized fishing kayaks. One of two full-time riggers at the shop, Harasyko is in charge of transforming stock kayaks into some of the most elaborate bass sleds you’ve ever set eyes on.
Rig my ride: How kayak customization boosts the bottom line
Black Hall owner Gene Chmiel says the shop has been customizing kayaks for around five years, and as participation in outdoor sports soared the desire for tricked-out fishing kayaks has followed suit. Now it’s a mainstay of his business, with no end in sight.
During that time kayak fishing has continued to grow, both in overall participation and as a share of the recreational fishing market. The Outdoor Industry Foundation reports that 47 million people went fishing in the United States in 2017, of whom five percent fished from kayaks or other non-motorized craft. Five years later in 2022, those figures had grown to 52 million anglers and six percent using kayaks. That’s more than three million kayak anglers in the United States alone.
Customization Goes from Joes to Pros
While some kayak anglers are drawn to the quiet simplicity of a paddle and an old spinning rod, many more get into kayak fishing to catch fish with every bit of high-tech firepower a 14-foot hunk of floating plastic will carry. One look at the multitude of DIY rigging projects on YouTube will prove just how resourceful and obsessive kayak anglers can be. They want kayaks that can go toe-to-toe with full-size fishing boats, and they’re ready to pay expert riggers like the team at Black Hall for them.
“It’s where the sport is going,” Chmiel says, adding that not everyone has the confidence to start drilling holes in perfectly good kayaks. “There’s a small percentage of people willing to do it themselves, but a lot of people are intimidated by it,” he says.
Even with boats that already cost a few thousand dollars off the shelf, Chmiel says custom rigging is a service customers are willing to invest in. He estimates half the kayaks Black Hall sells have some degree of customization. This translates to about 15 rigging jobs per week, with the more elaborate setups pushing the total sale and service toward the $10,000 mark.
Black Hall is one of a growing list of shops around the country building custom fishing kayaks. Another is Westbrook Supply Co. in Atlanta, Georgia. Owner Fletcher Griffin says customizing fishing kayaks has been a part of the business since he opened the shop in 2017, but rigging has really taken off in the last two years. He’s also noticed something interesting in the demographic of anglers who’ve been seeking out builds.
“These elaborate fishing kayaks are pulling people from johnboats and bass boats, not necessarily from a paddling background,” Griffin says. “Guys are coming down from the bass boat world and embracing the kayak scene. A paddler sees the price of these custom kayaks and they may think that sounds like a lot, but it’s all perspective. When you’re coming from a $50,000 bass boat, a fishing kayak is just more economical and there is less to deal with.”
Rigging to the Stars
Shops like Westbrook Supply and Black Hall Outfitters are garnering wide notoriety for their work. Black Hall is shipping boats from Connecticut to buyers as far afield as Texas and Montana. They’ve even done some work for celebrity figures.
In spring 2023, Harasyko built out an Old Town AutoPilot 136 for New England Patriots Hall of Famer Tedy Bruschi. The kayak featured Boonedox Landing Gear, Lowrance radar, a Power-Pole, interior lights, and a spotlight just to get started. The fact Bruschi, who is a boat fisherman as well, is investing this much in a kayak says as much about the work of Black Hall as it does about the rising tide of elaborate kayak builds.
“He found out about us and brought his boat in,” says Chmiel. “Now he’s a friend of the shop and totally into kayak fishing. He’s even recommended us to other NFL players.”
Chmiel, who spent 20 years in marketing prior to starting a kayak shop, sees this as just the beginning to future growth of customizing fishing kayaks.
Black Hall is already fabricating and 3D printing their own parts to fill gaps in what’s available on the market in terms of bars and mounts. For Chmiel, going the route of the car world and rigging these rides was an obvious move for his shop, and one he suggests to other retailers who can support it.
“We saw the opportunity and we’ve been active in pushing it out. Any time in retail you can add those additional sales and have those incremental rings it’s all upsell. The need is there, and it creates a point of difference for the shop.”
This article was first published in the 2024 issue of Paddling Business. Inside you’ll find the year’s hottest gear for canoeing, kayaking, whitewater and paddleboarding. Plus: forty years in the Four Corners, robotic kayak rentals, building the Paddlesports Trade Coalition and more. READ IT NOW »
Westbrook Supply Company owner Fletcher Griffin working his kayak rigging magic. | Feature photo: Westbrook Supply Co.
