I don’t know about you, but I have been going stir crazy with being cooped up at home!
I want to go kayak fishing, but am worried about crowded boat ramps and just plain ignorant people… I worry about outdoor activities getting shutdown, not just here in Virginia but other states as well.
Are you all doing okay? I’m just checking…
Are there any places to launch from that are not crowed? That would be my choice.
I did a short recon trip yesterday and discovered an inland lake about 20 minutes south is free of ice. I also know of two small secluded access sites to the lake so that will be my first 2020 paddle.
Alas, winter has returned here and the forecast calls for wind and snow through Thursday of next week, so now it’s a waiting game.
I never use boat ramps. A winter pastime is searching along shorelines in Google Maps looking for small village parks or dead-end roads leading to the water. Amazing what you can find.
Here in North Idaho 60 miles south of the Canadian border, I paddled our local lake 2 days ago for my first day of the season. The lake is drawn down by 10 feet in winter and begins refilling on April 1. It is 110 miles around and about 1150 feet at its deepest. This time of year there is zero crowd. I launched at Sandpoint’s City Beach with no other boats in the vicinity. But I did see coots, cormorants, eagles, buffleheads, common mergansers, and Canada geese (of course).
I got the Hobie Rev 13 out and ready. Headed out to a local, secluded pond this weekend for first fishing kayak fishing excursion this season. Going for freshwater bass and pickerel.
Sunny and air temps in the 50-60 range this weekend.
sing
Yes, the usual stir craziness that I often feel after having been off the water over winter seems to be cruelly extended by this enforced idleness lately. I think I have a nice little run near home scoped out that I could do without a shuttle by taking a two mile hike back upstream to the car via a little used rail road line… But what I really miss is the long slow days spent out doors, lost in the rhythm of the paddle strokes , the lazy shore lunches, watching the sun set over a small fire on a river island… all those things that go with paddling - by canoe or kayak.
And then yesterday I got an Email from my girlfriend’s daughter. It reminded me of some of what I enjoy most about paddling. It can be found off the water as well, yet I, for one, rarely take the time to appreciate it. So now many of us are experiencing a slower pace on land than we’re accustomed to and that perhaps there is a bit of art involved in adapting to it. Have you folks encountered the Cloud Appreciation Society? Check out this guy’s talk - it might offer a means of achieving some respite from our concerns that is similar in nature to what at least some of us have come to love and associate with paddling.
BTW, did you see that moon last night? Remarkable.
I , and the neighbors , am fortunate that we are in full spring mode. Planting, trimming, mowing and loving the sunshine. People are doing chores like those you would get to someday. The guy across the street is pressure washing his driveway while his girlfriend is working on skin cancer in the backyard.
After our very wet winter it is great to do anything outside.
Let me send you some love.
The ice went out last week. This means of course two days of howling north winds followed by…
SNOW! Lots of snow
200000 households in Maine without power. Nor internet nor cable. And tonight we learn the effects of social distancing. Because they cannot send more than one guy in one truck if they need a crew of four they send four trucks and are trying to stay six feet apart during repairs. And there are not a surplus of trucks.
Took our mind off the pandemic. We were lucky. Offline only for 27 hours and without power for five. Most affected have been told it could be a couple of days to a week or more.
Been too busy snow clearing and trying to navigate bogs of roads( ours are dirt roads) to even think of kayaking !
We had a cool front
Come through today
So I’m going to load up a boat
Throw in my fly rod
And find me spot
It won’t be my favorite fishing spot
But it will have to do
Or I’ll go bat ship crazy by next Wednesday
KM, if that’s love , you can keep it and we should send some of ours your way.
I got out yesterday with one of my buddies. River was local so we were able to set up our own shuttles thanks to our wives. Socially distant at all times. Even so, it was nice to get out.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/eckilson/albums/72157713836853398
We will take it… Oh but please don’t enclose tornadoes. Those scare the willies out of me.
We have very few tornadoes and those we have are small.
Doing fine so far in central Florida! Lots of lakes accessible from grassy lawns in uncrowded parks. No shuttle needed. Good clean exercise away from the crowds.
NE Florida today was 15+/- mph winds from the south and 82 degrees air temp. Water temp in the river was 81.5 a day or two ago. We have “summer” to most of y’all. Boat ramp traffic was medium for the four ramps.
We paddled around to the canoe club with the dogs for some deep water retrieves. The puppy, 38#, is too enthusiastic. She wants to retrieve the crab trap bouys on the way. Interesting balance situations. The senior dog was tolerant and just laid there.
Turned out the “secluded” pond was a bit more visited than I would want. The dirt parking area which can accommodate maybe twenty cars was pretty full. With my Honda fit, I was able to squeeze into a small space between two trees. The cars in the foreground, on the path leading to the pond, were parked illegally.
While there were lots of folks walking the trail circulating the pond, I was one of three actually out on the 200 plus acre pond. Just as well… The water was still pretty chilly. No one dressed for immersion (I only had on synthetics) but everyone had a PFD on.
sing
I never really quit paddling, even though our useless Governor wants everyone to stay in their house. Some parks and launch sites are closed, but I found out some are open. I took my big boat out for the first time this year and it was great. I didn’t even see a single sea lion, but I heard one.
A whole bunch of other people found out this particular park is still open and were out getting some sun and showing off their speed boats and performing acrobatics on their souped up jet skis. It was not a quiet day at the beach. I did make sure no one got within coughing distance times ten.
China should be made to pay dearly for this crap they have done to the world.
I can kayak as usual. What I miss is having food and drinks with friends at the funky little waterfront bars and restaurants.
Yes. Ditto the post paddle refreshment. I am usually alone but I still like to go sit somewhere, eat/drink and bask in post paddling afterglow. 
sing
Ditto… Grayhawk and Sing.
