Intro and paddle boat review

Hi Folks,

I've been paddling since 1968 when I built my first kayak out of
plywood. It was a plan out of Mechanics Illustrated called the Plyak.
Great boat at the time and logged a lot of miles on it. I've continued
to paddle over the years and for at least a decade, made a good living
at it. Most recently as Paddle Trails Coordinator for Berkeley County,
South Carolina. Got paid to explore all of the waters in the county,
map the streams, and write a paddle trails book as well as create a
website for the county. You can see it here: www.berkeleyblueways.com

My current kayak is a Walden Adirondack. It is one of the rotomolded
poly Yaks, about 12' in length, with a huge cockpit and one of the most
comfortable seats in the industry. It is a sit inside Yak which I prefer for
paddling all seasons. Extremely stable, tracks very well with almost no
tendancy to weathervane in contrary winds. Has more than adequate
dry storage aft for a nice shore lunch or an overnight trip. I've really
enjoyed this boat and would recommend it highly.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...cture10001.jpg

Warm regards, Jim

I began paddle fishing in the early 90's in a canoe, before I started fly fishing. When I started the fly fishing, I joined the Tampa Bay Fly Fishing Club and was introduced with a "Phil is here because he wants to catch bass on a flyrod from his canoe." What followed is the addiction :wink: .

After fly fishing the Tampa Bay area for 10 years in both salt and fresh, I moved to Orlando and switched to kayaks. I have a 16' Wilderness Systems Tarpon T160 and Hertiage Featherlite (9.5').

Here is a picture of the WS Tarpon:

http://bellsouthpwp.net/p/h/phmorril...HING/MyYak.jpg

And my [url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=11122:e39d9] Featherlite[/url:e39d9].

-Phil

I started paddling when I was about 16. A friend of mine had a canoe and we had access to a "wild" lake that was still full of stumps and trees. We'd spend hours on that little lake and I'm proud to say, we never had a quarrel about paddling technique. He liked the front, I liked the back and it worked. :)

I bought a fiberglass canoe from a co-worker in about 1995 for $50 because his wife was kicking him out (too drunk too often). We used it a little bit over the years ands I even bought a trolling motor for it, but it was far too heavy to load all the time and it's sitting in the back yard chained to a fence post.

About a month ago I bought a SIK (sit-in kayak) after reading about many people who enjoy flyangling from them. Mine is an America 11.0 by Perception. It's a discontinued model, but that didn't seem to drop the price much. :( I built outriggers for it last week because my son dumped over in it about 2 weeks ago. He did a great job getting out, but he was a little shaken by it.

The outriggers are homemade and can be seen at [url=http://www.lunceford.org/fishing/yakrig.html:011be]My Yakrig Page[/url:011be] I tried them out today and they work great. Only one minor addition to them, but it was no surprise. I left the floats bars loosely attached to the ourigger arms and they rotate above the bar when in the water. One screw through the bar and "tee" fitting will stop that from happening.

My next little project will be building a cart so I can haul my gear to the water inside the yak. I'm really enjoying flyyaking and am looking forwards to adding a fishfinder and rodholder one of these days.

Hi, I'm Budd and it has been 5 weeks since I have been paddling. (Crowd yells "Hi Budd!!)

Some of you will understand that, and some won't. If you don't you are in good company.

I have had a canoe or kayak since the late 70's because I like sneaking into the skinny water where the fish live. The 'yak pictured below is my newest. It is a Perception Sundance 12. Chosen for it's huge cockpit. It tracks wonderfully and is easy to handle and I am looking forward to being able to use it again once my Cardioligist says I can. I recently had Heart Bypass surgery and am limited to picking up a maximum of 5 lbs. The picture is the day I got it but I will update it with a lake shot as soon as possible.

My fish of choice is the Bluegill and I have made a sport of finding the big ones. Here in Western Kentucky it is easy to find Bluegill water, but harder to find BIG Bluegills. I have a few spots in the back of the bays on Kentucky Lake that lend themselves to big BG and LMB. I fish these spots during the week, owing to when I work, I work retail and seldom have weekends off. This is really a good thing given that any boat around here with less than 300 HP is rare and the weekends are scary on the Big Lake.


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y27...ewKayak001.jpg
Clint (aka Bluegill Budd) in Western Kentucky

Hi, i think i'm going to like this paddling forum... i've always had some kind of canoe. some weighing more than they should. after hitting a few bridges shooting the spring high waters through town. anyway, the other day i found a used yak (sot) ocean yak -scrambler-
i've only had it out a few times, once on the pond so my wife could give it a try. and exploreing more of one of my favorite rivers.
So after letting my brother and his son do a quick lap in the yak, He (they) went out and bought two new yaks today. So now i have some paddleing partners untill i can upgrade and pass the scrambler on to my wife :D

:D I went flyfishing with my neighbor and son to the Lower Mountain Fork River in SE Oklahoma about 11 or 12 years ago. This was in July and the weather was, as usual for this time of year, really hot. The fishing really sucked and we saw some people shooting rapids in canoes. On a day with the temperature in the 90's, that looked like more fun than anything else we could do, so we rented some kayaks. After being dunked a couple of times going over small waterfalls, I just had to have some type of paddle craft. After doing a lot of research and weighing all the pros and cons, I decided on a canoe as being the most practical for my needs. I bought a Wenonah Adirondack in Royalex. I have used it on several rivers here in Oklahoma and also in Arkansas and Missouri. I have tried to fish from it , but as I am usually by myself in the canoe, I find it a little difficult to hold my position in the current and cast and retrieve at the same time. Thusly, I usually just use my canoe to move from place to place, park the canoe, and get out and wade while fishing. A couple of years ago, I purchased an inflatable pontoon craft, and have also found this a pleasant way to go down river. At this time I am not using the canoe nearly as much as I used to, probably no more than twice a year. This is primarily because I am not getting any younger, and it's just getting harder to lift the canoe on top of my truck, and while I am not getting any younger, I am definitely getting more lazy. I still, however, enjoy my time messing about in boats. I may yet get a kayak.

Larry Compton

Hi all I am dennis and I've been fishing a canoe off and on for 27yrs,OH MY GOD,( I just added that up) I started in the Air Force with base rentals the old grummans.Now I have a Pelican roto molded plastic (same company makes colman).15.5 ft with outriggers from canoe gear,wished turk had of made his before I BOUGHT mine. :oops:
Those dern things were the cost of a good rod!!!!!.I fish southern Illinois.Mostly gills and a few bass or crappie but havn't been much this season as hernia sugery will definately stop the loading issue till FALL!!!!!!!

BTW Thanks Jim For this forum!!!

Dennis

I fish from my Creek Company ODC 816 inflateable pontoon boat during the cooler months of the year mostly but I also fish more often from my fishing buddy's motorized (2.5hp 4stroke Yamaha) 17 foot square stern Grumann aluminum canoe (yes, we do paddle even though its motorized). I fish from the ODC 816 and the canoe mostly on the rivers, creeks, and canals but sometimes on the lakes. I occasionally fish from my sister and brother-in-law's 20 foot Bentley aluminum pontoon boat on Lake Jackson (right now the water is too low under the US 27 bridge to get from Little Lake Jackson to Big Lake Jackson). Water levels on the lakes here are pretty low right now.

BTW, I am currently searching for an affordable 14ft. square stern canoe.

Pelican offers a square stern ramx(rotomolded) plastic canoe. Most places offer them for 700 but you might find them cheaper. Canoes prices seem to have gone up in price with the cost of gas.People in my town have been selling thier boats and buying canoes right and left.Last yr we were 1 of about 6 canoes in town now they seem to be coming out of the woodwork!!! :? Go figure we have one family that sold a big pontoon boat and now have 3 canoes.They use the cost of gas as thier reason BUT they still drive a HUMMER to the grocery store. :shock: :shock: :shock:

Dennis

been Putsky-ing about in a canoe for .... 19ish years (fly rodding for 17 of them) - just about quit as I couldn't keep the damned thing straight. Never added one and one to get flyfishing outta a canoe until a local FFer mentioned it. Never thought it stable enough - but thought to give it a go a couple years back. Now in a 17.5ft Coleman (RAMXX), a couple drouge chutes, 3 gallon jug, and knee pads it's great (ok, add the fishin buddy 1200, dual rock anchors, bla, bla, bla and more toys).
Forget sitting on the seat - straddle the 3gal jug, and you get a comfy sit, and a means to control stability with knees about 2 ft apart. I had thought I'd need an outrigger - nah - only in windy conditions - and by that time - it's too windy to cast.
I still tube it most times, but every now and then, there's time to paddle and glide :)

darrell,

Quote:

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Pelican offers a square stern ramx(rotomolded) plastic canoe.

---

It also weighs 114lb.s :shock: and is a 16 footer :(.

I think I'll try to find a used Indian River fiberglass (Eagle model).

I just realized I've been paddling for 34 years. Good lord. I started in Girl Scout camp in the Adirondacks in aluminum Grummans in the 70's and moved on to leading trips on the Mississippi River (also in Grummans) in the 80's. Ah, the sound of ice breaking against an aluminum bow! We'd paddle for 8 days from near the headwaters down to Saint Paul. Great fun. In the 90's I borrowed friends canoes once in a while while I spent way too much time in school and not nearly enough time on the water. Then I went to the darkside... had a sailboat and then a speedboat. I dabbled in kayaks for a while.. first a Ocean Kayak Drifter, then a Folbot, then a Pungo 140. Last year I decided I missed single-blading simplicity. And I wasn't having fun lifting the heavy boats onto my car rack. So I regressed and bought an old fiberglass hull tandem canoe and rebuilt it. It was a great project and now I've got a great tandem fishing canoe. I also bought a kevlar Hemlock Peregrine solo canoe which is my joy. It only weighs 32 lbs. and is a fantastic solo fishing platform. I've had it out locally and up in the Adirondacks and I'm hoping to let it drift on the Ausable during the August fish-in. Meet Amelia...

http://www.dianemaluso.org/canoe/amelia.jpg

If you want to see some more, including the tandem restoration, have a look at this [url=http://dmaluso.photosite.com/Album14/?page=1:ee237]photo album[/url:ee237].

Jim, great new forum.

My wife and I bought our first canoe only in 2001 so we are relative newcomers. We wanted a big stable tandem boat so we could both fly fish at the same time. Found the Old Town Discovery Sport 15 and it fits the bill very well. A tad on the heavy side, but hey, now we don't need the gym membership. 8)

Jim

Hey Folks,

Great replys! Keep them coming. Love to know more about who is
paddling, what and where. :D Warm regards, Jim

Great postings so far. Let me introduce myself to this board.

Name; Jim Smith

Location: Conyers, Georgia ? about 30 miles southeast of Atlanta

Paddling: Off and on since I was a kid, as a primary fishing transportations 2 years

Boat: Hobie Outback (I love it)

Primary fishing: Warmwater lakes and ponds

Customization: Anchor/drag system - The only additions I?ve made to my kayak so far is to add a chain drag/anchor. This is simply a 24 inch piece of heavy chain that I cut into two pieces; one 18 inches long and the other 6 inches long. I have the 6 in long piece tied to my floating nylon anchor rope and the 18 inch piece clipped to the 6 inch piece with a heavy duty carabiner. That way, if I only want to slow the drift rather than anchor my boat, I unclip the 18 inch chain and the 6 inch piece acts as a drag.

Future changes ? I want to add a rod holder that allows me to take two rods without risking the tip of the spare rod if I get near brush etc.

Jim Smith

Jim,
I?ll borrow your format.

Name: Jim Wilkening

Location: Sanford, FL

Paddling: Since 1965 when I was 16 yrs. old

Boat: Mohawk 16 foot tandem, and Mohawk 14 foot solo canoes

Primary fishing: Saltwater Flats (Indian River Lagoon System), St. John?s River, and various lakes throughout central Florida

.

I just bought a Hobie Outback. I have had a Perception Swifty for about 5 years andl love to fly fish out of it. I fly fish in the mid Atlantic area western PA up to Cape Cod. I just got the Hobie last Thursday and have not yet put it in the water. I hope to get it in at Lake Arthur (Moraine State Park) within a week or so.

I tried the Hobie out at test day earlier this spring and fell in love with it. At first I thought it was a little too radical, peddling a kayak, but once I tried it, oh my :D . What have folks added to their hobies for fly fishing? I still have my other kayaks for the kids.

John Mundinger, Helena, MT
I have been paddling a canoe for as long as I can remember. My grandfather introduced me to a canoe when I was pretty young. I think of him just about every time that I get on the water.

My current boat is a 16 ft. Nova Craft Prospector in the Royalite layup. In my opinion, that hull and in that construction is well suited for paddling on running water.

http://people.montana.com/~jmundinger/canoe.jpg

Been paddling for around 12 years, Started off in an Old Town Discovery 16.
Sold that before it killed my fishing with the bro in-law....

Own two Hobie's these days, a Float Cat 75 Expedition and my greatest investment to date The Hobie Mirage Outback. Hands down the best piece of equipment I've bought for my fishing in the past 10 years... :!:

Just hope for more opportunities to get it wet... :!:

Soon as I find a Pentax dealer I'll get some pics posted.

http://www.flymaker.com/bbGallery/Flymaker2.jpg

Above: FlyFishing Santa Monica Bay in a Wave Witch Horizon


Howdy. FlyMaker2 here. I have been fishing from kayaks since the mid-70's when I built a Folboat from a kit. I fished the mountain west in it and enjoyed the boost to my freshwater catches in that neat boat. Built another Folboat 10 years later and had a partner in it who loved to paddle-troll for trout. We would even fish opening day, Jan. 1st, at Topaz Lake in Northern Nevada in the Sierra. It was very cold and we dressed like Eskimos. We sure did catch a lot of trout limits from our kayak then. I remember the shore anglers cheering us on as we would land a fish, because they didn't enjoy powerboaters very much :D

Many moons have past and now I am located on the shore of the mighty Eastern Pacific Ocean and have fished many places along the coast on the inshore fishery. I have kayak fished in Baja Mexico and that is kayak fishing heaven. The family owns 5 kayaks at the moment and all are sit-on-tops. Two yaks are rigged for fishing and three are liesure craft for fun in the sun and water play.

http://www.flymaker.com/bbGallery/Horizon.jpg

I have what I feel is the ultimate sit-on-top. It was custom built by Hunt Johnson for me and it is ultra light and ultra fast. Expensive? Yes indeed. Hunt Johnsom makes the Wave Witch series and he has plans to make a Fish Witch-which would be bigger than the Horizon Model that I have now.

My custom has built-in through-the-hull sonar with Wet cell transduecer, a Vexilar Fish Finder, and a Garmin GPS. It is a real pleasure to paddle and is easily 2 MPH faster than the rotomolded sit-on-top designs (I've owned a bunch) due to Hunt's superior hull designs and his craftsmanship.

http://www.flymaker.com/bbGallery/rack.jpg

I've done some really fun things with kayaks, such as building the rack above and sticking it on a dive ship and filling it with fishermen's kayaks. We went out to the backside of Catalina Island for an overnight fishing adventure. The rack is in my backyard and still serves as yak tender.

My best catches off kayaks include Stripers, Trout, LMB, panfish and about 2 dozen saltwater species (not a lot by any means). The fish that gave me the biggest battle - by far- was a large Black Skipjack Tuna on 10# test. They are particularly tough fishes. My most glorious catch in the salt was a 35# Roosterfish. Both of those prizes were caught on conventional gear. However, one of my fodest kayak angling memories is fishing in Lake Mead's Overton Arm with my younger brother in the Folboat and filling an icechest with plump Bluegill. What a feast that was!

I have many mentors to thank along the way. You know Eskimos started this yak fishing. I flyfish more than not nowadays.

[url=http://www.flymaker.com/bbGallery/Blacktuna.jpg:21423]Poor Image of Black Tuna In Baja[/url:21423]


Anyways-I like kayaks, obviously. I was more into it a few years back. Planning some more trips to the mountain lakes soon, so still have the bug after all of these years. Oh Yeah-Almost forgot; we have a Spring Creek Hopper II Pram and that counts as a paddling Craft too. Planning to use it more in the future years on stillwaters.

Rich

I think I posted this on another thread but since this one is the official "post what you paddle" ...

I've been paddling for a few years in an Old Town Guide series 147 canoe. I took up kayaking in the last 2-3 years by purchasing a new WS T-140 and picking up a used WS T-120. (Both Sit On Tops)

I use two anchors instead of a trolley system on the T-120 as it was rigged this way when I bought it. I just need to figure out a way to store all that line while the anchors are in.

I'm thinking about going with the retractable dog leash for the 140 and the trolley system.

The paddles are not "full blade" paddles. I would like to "test drive" the full blade but for now I think the ones I have are easier on my shoulders, both of which have been operated on in the not too distant past.

Name: Jim Meier

Location: currently Fresno CA, from MO, moving to Sac :)

Paddling time: First cannoe trip when I was about 3 mos, cannoing ever since. Recently got a WS Pungo 140 for solo trips, this has proven to be counter-productive as I now have to get a yak for the wife :roll:
Love to fish from the yak, have 2 rod holders, 2 paddle holders, ancor cleats, and extra deck bungees. The Pungo is a great boat for me, stable, fast, and with room for gear and the dog. The best thing about yak fishing is exploring new places and catching fish while doing it.

Jim

My names Eric I live in Lewiston Idaho, my paddling started in boy scouts when I was 12, I went through scouts and then skipd the next 30 years or so, Last year I found a 14 foot coleman canoe at a garage sale and picked it up for $125.00 I use it on a local lake (in oregon it would be a pond) and fish for Crappie Bluegill and trout from it. The state record Channel Cat came out of this pond so perhaps one of these days I will get towed around the lake. :P

thanks for the great tips, Im looking forward someday to finding a yak to go along with the canoe, problem with the canoe is it weighs so much it is hard to get on a car top with out two people to fight it.

Eric

I have been canoeing for many years and kayaking for about 5.
My canoe is a Ranger Otter 16' Fiberglass canoe and my kayak was a Pungo 12' Classic. I just upgraded to a 12' Duralite. It weights only 40 lbs which is great.

I do canoeing and kayaking in rivers and lakes and also kayak in the salt.

jed

In the late 1980s some of us were sitting around after a tremendously delicous dinner drinking wine. One of the guys was looking at a hunting magazine with a photo of a guy canoeing back with a dead deer in his canoe. They were glamourizing the deer, I was drooling at the canoe. I let it drop that building a cedar strip was a long time dream. A few months later one of the guys called saying a buddy at work had a strongback he would sell for $25 just to get it out of his garage. I didn't know what I was getting into, although less than a week later I had purchased the strips and started my first canoe. Took me several long months, and therauputic ones at that, since I lost my job in an ad agency in the middle of the building. My wife and I launched it in 1992 and I've been fishing from it since. I've since built ten as fundraisers for CURE (curemnriver.org) and for private individuals. Still fishing from the original one although the newer ones are incredibly more sound. I mainly fish alone using a stadium seat against the back thwart. To go places fast I used a long kayak paddle. To manuever I use a traditional canoe paddle. It turns on a dime, and glides through the water with the greatest of ease. I have adapted Joe Hyde's anchoring system. Wasn't a bad $400 investment. JGW

One of my fishing buddies and myself got together to buy a 14' canoe for $100 or so in 1963. It was built by a local guy as a hobby. That was at age 16 in Oklahoma. We capsized in the Illinois River and lost our gear a couple of times in that canoe. We really didn't know what we were doing. I also took my future wife out in it a few times. Naturally, after we got married, she wouldn't get in a canoe.

After I joined the Coast Guard and got married, my buddy bought out my half.

It was a lot of fun, though. Now that the family is grown, I guess I'm returning to the things I liked to do a long time ago.

Just wanted to revive this intro post so some of the newer Paddling folks could introduce themselves. Also, if some of the "older" folks on here have changed their rides or anything else, please bring us up to date.


:)

my first fishing craft was a barge of a canoe that my dad made when I was in 3rd or 4th grade it was an orange crate canoe from a plan in popular mechanics. the canoe was coated with fiberglass and weighed a ton. My father was not a fisherman but me and my brothers took that craft all over Utah fishing for trout in the high mt lakes and the for carp in the brackish water where the mountain rivers emptied into the great salt lake.
When we got a little older my brothers and I found a nice old canvas on wood canoe that was in bad shape but we fixed her up and again gave her a coat of fiberglass and had a real nice canoe for the next several years. Since then I have had numerous other canoes and currently have two canoes four kayaks and one pontoon boat. I mostly fish out of a 12 ft sundance kayak. It works great in the rivers here in Arkansas. I usually paddle from place to place and then get out and wade fish, but in high water I fish directly from the kayak

After due diligence(read searching high and low) I have a Necky Santa Cruz SIK. I've been out in it only twice because of the water temperature and my ineptness.
Springtime's a-comin' and I'm looking forward to getting
much better acquainted with my yak. I haven't measured her, but have heard 12'and 12'6" both given as the length. I'll prolly check sometime if it becomes an issue of concern. :roll:

Apparently I missed this before, but that worked out alright because I got to read every post till now!
My name is Erik, and I hail from one of the great canoeing states in this country.
I started canoeing as a kid, more than 20 years ago, but my love affair with canoeing began in the BWCA. Since going off to college and now, ten years later, I somehow fell into a recreation degree which, thankfully, encourages recreation.
I will never turn down a kayak, but am primary a single blade paddler and an ACA Canoe Instructor. For the last 5 years or so, I have led teenagers on BWCA trips for 8 days every summer. I have had great opportunities to paddle Seligas, Chestnuts and Old Towns and find nothing better than a canvas boat.
I am a traditionalist when it comes to boats, but am in the process now of purchasing a Royalex Bell for tripping.
My most memorable place to paddle beyond the BW was Byron Bay Australia, where dolphins were swimming in and out of our kayaks.
I can see there is a lot of experience here, and I want to say thanks for the wealth of knowledge on this forum.
-Erik

Hey y'all I'm Thomas from the Central Hill Country of Texas. I'm a Damn Yankee that moved here in 1999 from the Western PA. area where I paddled for about 40+ years. I've fly fished for more than 50 years and have tied flies for around 12 years. I own a Sports Pal Canoe which I know is a slow mover, but so am I. This canoe meets my needs with it's square back style (which I can place a electric motor on if I like), foam interior (won't sink), wide and very stable (meaning I can stand witout worry), and 13 feet long. I purchased this canoe on line from Myer Boat Works of MI. and just love it.

Wife and I paddled tandem whitewater in the 70's. Had kids in 80's. Put them in canoes in rivers in 90's and started smallie fishing. Bought a pair of old town loon 120's in later 90's and continued fishing/paddling. 2003 started flyfishing from yaks. 2004 bought a tarpon 120 and continue to chase smallies on a flyrod. Will probably get back to canoe roots with a small solo job shortly. I just hate this stuff.

I've kayak/fished/camped since the late 70's from a River Runner sit in kayak. I have just bought my first ever SOT, the Tarpon 120 for exactly the same reason as this fellow river flyrodder, cbyak from Indiana. We have a lot of good smallmouth waters here in Ontario, Canada

Quote:

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2004 bought a tarpon 120 and continue to chase smallies on a flyrod.

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Hi Jim, Nice Walden Yak. They made those right up by me . Too bad the company folded . ( I know the guy who bought allot of their left over stock though).

As for what I'm paddling, a little of everything! I've got a fleet of canoes from 11'6" to 18'. I like them all for one purpose or another. However, here is a pic of my latest love. IT's a sweet Stowe Manfield and it's sweet. 15' x 38" and only 56#.
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2.../stowe5bow.jpg
For Yaks, I have settled on two favorites. An origional WS Pungo and a OT Loon 138 ( Two actualy, one with rudder, one without). I also like the protected but roomy interior and storage of the SIK's. No yak/paddling shots handy but I'll try to get some as soon as it thaws :-(
Great thread!

Dave

Hello all - LONG time lurker - I'm Ron from SW of Chicago and I've been stuck on kayaking for a couple years now. I was able to purchase a Pungo 120 from a store called Galyans' when it was closing/converting to Dick's sporting goods. That was three years ago. My interests have always been in fishing and the outdoors but I got sick and tired of boats, motors, trailers, oil etc etc etc. My Pungo and I have been in some really interesting places in Illinois and Wisconsin and I actually do much better fishing out of it than I ever did in a boat. The problem is I could care less whether or not I actually catch a fish anymore - just the solitude of paddling along is great therapy to me.

Two of my good friends also bought yaks - One is a Perception America and the other a Dagger Blackwater - which has been rigged with a depthfinder and rod holders, etc. I've had enough of that and prefer to just bring along my flyrod or a light spinning rod and troll a small spinner, jig etc.

My daugher and I will be paddling the 50th CanoeMarathon down the DesPlaines river this coming May 20th. Just wondering if any of ya'll will be there as well. This is my first time but I understand that they have somewhere between 600-800 paddlers that attend this event - really looking forward to it.

Well - if I can ever figure out how to post pictures I will. Got some good ones of me and my buds!

Peace - Happy paddling - and Mr. Hatch - thank you for a wonderful forum - I really enjoy your pictures and articles!

Ron

Welcome Ron,

Glad to have you aboard!
Warm regards, Jim

I have been fishing for a very long time but only very very recently have I taken the kayak plunge. Last weekend bought a Wilderness Systems Pamlico 100 because I could not beat the price and there it was, just asking to be bought.

Have yet to take her out but plan on doing so really soon.

Double R to bad we live so far from each other, because we two old guys could hook up and go fishing. I hope you enjoy your new top water ride. The Catfish and Bluegills are just starting on their beds here in Central TX. and are running about 3 weeks late. I fish mostly Stillhouse Lake and Belton and have done very well at both.
Hobo

I've been paddle fishing since 2000 on a regular basis. I use several different paddle craft. I own an Old Town Penobscot and Pack solo canoe as well as a dust collectiong Loon 138 kayak. My current honey boat is a Wenonah Prism kevlar solo canoe that weighs in at 34 lbs.

I just purchased a Hobie Outback kayak and it is damned awsome!

I look forward to getting an Ultimate 12 canoe shortly for dragging through some rocky mountain streams here.. this is just great. I have a big boat but it is hardly getting used.