Something you may not know about me is that I'm a bit of an amateur movie critic. I abhor going to the theater – $12 bucks to get in – $10 bucks for a bottle of water and a popcorn – having kids sit next to you while  texting the entire time, only to be subjected to a horrible film, is very disagreeable to me on so many levels.

That’s why I have my own theater set up at home. Not really a high tech, blow back your hair package. But you’d be surprised at how good of a movie watching experience you can get out of a 40 inch, high definition flat screen TV, a theater in a box surround system, and a quality Blue-Ray player.

So, when I had the opportunity to watch Kayak Kevin’sDVD’s, I jumped at the chance.

He sent both “Kayak Fishing The Chesapeake Bay” and “Kayak Kevin’s Chesapeake Bay Tour” for me to watch and review.

Kayak Fishing The Chesapeake Bay – After being involved in the music industry for so many years, I can appreciate the do it yourself efforts. This movie is a bit raw around the edges however, Kayak Kevin and crew laboriously show the extreme yet beautiful areas where they fish (and catch) a wide variety of popular gamefish, techniques, and “how to’s”. The editing is what I’m most impressed with and am glad that they took their time to give this movie a professional touch. On the down side, the rumble caused by the wind in an unprotected microphone can be annoying in some places and forced me to lower the level of my subwolfer – although, I think this may have been left and not turned down in order to convey the windy conditions they were fishing in.

The rawness is a welcome change to some of the more polished efforts out today because, in my opinion, it adds a bit of realistic tension to what you’re watching.

Overall Content – Good
Video Quality – Good for a do it yourself feature!
Editing – Excellent
Sound – Thin – requires you to turn up your volume to understand the dialog.
Soundtrack – Good – Home Grown music isn’t always a bad thing.

Would I recommend? Yes! To folks who are into kayak fishing. I only wish that I had a dedicated group of friends like Kayak Kevin to film some of my fishing trips….
Kayak Kevin’s Chesapeake Bay Tour – This movie documents Kayak Kevin’s month long touring journey of Chesapeake Bay. The format is a bit different than the previous film in the sense that it has quite a bit more POV (Point Of View) shots – akin to the SurvivorMan Series.

In the second Kayak Kevin installment, he demonstrates how he packs his boat, how he rigs his gear and where he goes grocery shopping while long distance touring. The footage is more serene and beautiful, making this kayaker want to get the boat out, load it with camping gear, and head out on a tour of my own! As much as I LOVE kayak fishing, this feature seems to be relaxing and enjoyable…even though the conditions may not be. Kayak Kevin tells of the history of his stops and shows on the map just where he’s at, and where he’s going….which, by the end of this movie, you hope it’s going out in his kayak to obtain more footage for a third installment of Kayak Kevin Movies.

Overall Content – Very Good – Informative.
Video quality – Very Good – Not quite Blue-Ray quality, but not bad for a do it yourself film.
Sound – Good – Better than the first.
Soundtrack – Present, and used more as background support, which I think was a good decision for this movie.

Would I recommend? Absolutely! Not only a good story, but it makes you want to get your kayak out and set it up for long distance touring!

About the Author: Rob DeVore is a Pro Staff Member at Yakangler.com and an outdoor writer from the Tampa Bay area. He writes for various fishing publications and is the host of The Late Show on the Kayak Fishing Radio Network. Rob also is the author of ABadBackcast.com