Product Review: Werner Cyprus: Hooked

by : William Ragulsky: Kayak Fishing Pro Staff, Werner Paddles

34.5" Bluefish Photo: Rob Choi

For over 50 years, Werner Paddles have set the benchmark in which all other paddles are judged. From Werner Furrer Sr.'s humble beginnings to the expansion of the company to its current home in Sultan, Washington, the goal of building a better paddling paddle has made Werner Paddles a driving force in the industry. As paddlers, a quality paddle is just as important as paddling the right kayak and a quality PFD. As kayak anglers, we can put ourselves at an advantage by using a paddle that efficiently propels us while giving us the energy to focus on persuing our angling passions. Whether it is paddling through tranquil freshwater ponds, raging rivers, serene flats, or boiling surf, there is always an advantage to having the correct paddle. For me, that paddle is the Werner Cyprus: Hooked.

Often times, the question is asked, what makes a quality kayak fishing paddle? Werner Paddles believes that "A great kayak fishing paddle is a great paddling paddle". Other Kayak Fishing paddles like to focus on things like rulers and hook removers, but do not keep with the thought that a paddling paddle is a paramount need for the kayak angler. Through innovative technology, top notch materials, and input from an amazing community of paddlers, Werner sets themselves apart.

Black Crappie and the Cyprus: Hooked

Paddle Design and Features:

The Cyprus: Hooked is part of the Werner Paddles Performance Core family of paddles, which have some very user friendly features:

• Extremely buoyant full carbon blade which with a smooth back face, resulting in effortless entry and exit of your strokes, with an added benefit of a very quiet and clean stroke.
• Smart View ferrule system, which allows for feathering of the blade to fit your paddle stroke, while giving you the ability to see what angle you have chosen. Additionally, with a flush-mounted paddle release button, you get the seamless feel of a one-piece paddle.
• Many times while Kayak Fly-fishing; your line tends to find any little thing to snag on. Making quality casts while your paddle sits on your lap or in a holder can be difficult. This aspect is a game changer as it decreases the number of snags your line can and will encounter.
• Dynel coated blade edges provide enhanced durability, keeping your paddle looking new even when encountering rigors such as rocks, shells, tree limbs, and pilings; the areas where fish often frequent.
• Full carbon shafts which complement the paddle blades, allowing for the lightest swing weights of comparable paddles on the market.
• Multiple straight-shaft options ranging from 1 to 4 pieces, ranging in lengths from 220 to 250cm, allowing for the right fit based on height, kayak width, and traveling needs.
• Extremely lightweight (23.25 ounces). That's less than a pound and a half!
• Sick graphics designed by fellow kayak angler and Werner Paddles team member Rob Choi (this is worth the paddle price alone).

Uses:

Being a High Angle blade, it provides enhanced efficiency (speed and less paddling fatigue) for high angle paddlers. In short, if your hands come to or above your shoulders, you are paddling from an elevated position, or a kayak in excess of 32" wide, this is the paddle for you.

Forward, High Angle Stroke

Excels in conditions kayak anglers often find themselves in such as:

• Punching through breakers in open water
• Chasing down a school of fish working the surface
• Gaining leverage and momentum in high wind or current
• Stand up kayak paddling (bedded bass, redfish on the flats, fly casting)

My experiences:

Over the years, like many kayak anglers, my paddling style has evolved. One day on a long paddle back to the launch point, I noticed my paddle stroke was at a higher angle than it had previously been. Luckily, my paddling partner had the right sized Cyprus: Hooked, and allowed me to swap for testing purposes. I noticed immediately that without adjusting my paddle stroke or cadence, I was traveling at a faster rate than I was with my Kalliste (Werner Performance Core Low Angle), with less fatigue. Furthermore, from a dead stop in an opposing current, it took less paddle strokes to get me moving forward which are conditions that drain the stamina from many kayak anglers. It was after this experience that I picked up my new Cyprus: Hooked.

Further trips in which I chased False Albacore from the North Carolina surf where quick entry and exit from the breakers can make your experience memorable (for the better or the worse), ran the James River in Virginia for Shad in high water levels and enhanced river flows with lots of eddies, and paddled long distances on the flats of the Virginia Eastern Shore for Bull Redfish in extreme currents over a period of 10+ mile trips solidified the choice I had made just months prior.

Virginia 46" Bull Redfish in conditions the Cyprus: Hooked Excels in. Photo: Rob Choi

Overview:

While this paddle by itself will not make you a better fisherman, or automatically correct any issues that you may have with your paddle stroke, it will provide you with an enhanced paddling experience. As kayak anglers, a quality paddle is your motor. The Cyprus: Hooked is like upgrading your car's motor from a 305 to a 450. But unlike a car where that enhancement may put you on a Top Ramen diet, the enhancement to a Performance Core paddle (MSRP $400 for a 2 piece paddle) will still allow you to eat like a king.