It’s been a while since I checked on the folks at Paddler Magazine and I was psyched to see they’ve whipped up a
short, but solid guide to kayak fishing.
The links cover bonefishing in Florida to sites in Texas and Yakfishing.com a discussion forum about coastal kayak fishing with an emphasis on Southern
California. The Yakfishing site also provides links to fishing regulations, fish identification and local weather.
There are also links to guides all around the country. All good stuff. Made me want to bail for a while and do some
serious kayak fishing.
Blue Planet: Gourmet Kayaking in Canada
Erik mentioned that we’re not covering paddling as much
this time of year, for obvious reasons, but we will continue to offer suggestions on great trips you can take when the
weather improves. Here is a unique kayaking excursion that may leave your mouth watering as well. Hosted in conjunction
with Edible British Columbia, kayaking adventure company
Blue Planet organizes a 3-day
Gulf Islands Gourmet Kayaking Weekend that
includes a menu of locally sourced organic vegetables, wild British Columbia fish, pasture raised poultry, artisan
cheeses and creative desserts paired with BC wines. 2006 trip dates include two each in June and July, and one in
August, at a cost of $549 USD for what sounds like a
fabulous itinerary full of
fitness and good food.
One for the Road: The Frozen Coast
As a sea kayaker and as someone who has been to Antarctica, I was
very pleased when I stumbled across a photography book called
The Frozen Coast.
This is one of those picture books that will have you shaking your head and going, “No way” as you stare at the
breath-taking colors and the mind-blowing scale of the place. And when you realize that these photos were taken by a
bunch of guys in kayaks, well, it makes the whole thing even better.
The images in this book do a great job capturing the brutal charm of the Antarctic Peninsula. This epic journey is
undertaken by Kiwi Graham Charles who kind of stumbled upon the fact that paddling the Antarctic was one of those
things that hadn’t yet been done. So let’s do it, he said. Why not? Why not, indeed. So Charles wrangles up a couple of
buddies and undertakes a 528-mile voyage that resulted in this fine, fine paddling book.
Kayaking Baja
We haven’t done a ton of paddling posts lately because, well, we’re kinda out
of paddling season. But while you may be getting ready to take your skis to get tuned, I figured I’d drop in one last
cool story about paddling, just for the helluvit.
Here’s a piece on kayaking
Baja that has all the elements of a good travel tale. Justin Pope, a Bostonian, finds himself in sunny Mexico
paddling hard miles and sleeping on rocky beaches as he and some buds paddled around Isla Carmen. They wanted whales,
but got dolphins instead, which would be fine by me. They make it OK, not that there was any doubt, but the trip took
its toll on Pope. A self-made vegetarian, he says once he got back the first thing he ordered was a big ol rib-eye.
Good man.
Paddling Gear
If you’re a paddler and you’ve never checked out
REI’s online paddling section, you’ve been missing out. There are reams of useful information here about everything
paddle-related, from boats, to spray skirts to,
dry bags and so on. As a native West coaster, I have to say I favor REI over its right coast equivalent,
EMS, though both are good. Still, I just like the philosophy behind the REI brand
(it’s a coop) and I’ve always found the people who work in the stores immensely well-informed. So, anyway, just thought
if there were any paddlers out there, they might be interested in taking a look at the REI site.