great day for a paddle

[Ron Mc]

spent 3 days at Estes Flats with too big tides and big wind.
Drift fishing the morning high tides was marginally successful.
This is coming into Palm Harbor canals in my dad's McKee after some morning bobbing

There are green lights on the canal bottoms, and night fishing off the dock was fantastic.
You could walk on the bait, and we were sight fishing big specs with threadline tackle (and a few little reds).
My daughter and I both have 7'9" Japanese tetra rods for salty threadlining.

The last morning my daughter and I took our kayaks across Estes flats
Here's my Tarpon 160 rigged to go (I took two fly rods, but never even assembled one)

heading out

our first stop at sandy point - my daughter's boat is a Redfish 10 with a skeg for steering downwind

we made it all the way across Estes flats, and finally found the fish, near the first cut to Outside Beach (and the big bay),
but two guide boats had beat us to the hot spot.
They were backed up against the island with the gamefish schooling the bait into them - we would have broken it up if we had paddled into it.
We watched them take big reds and trout

After one boat left, it all shut down.
This is us leaving, and also a typical view for me - my daughter charges at everything, bike or kayak

touring the duck blinds looking for fish sign

anyway, watermelon is good

we stayed in a great house - great place to take the girls and a perfect vacation house for a family of 4 or 5
http://www.vrbo.com/113634
the patio has afternoon shade, which went very nicely with the breeze.
btw, if you guys like this stuff, spring break or early fall are the best times to fish here.

[john elder]

Nice fish-less day with the daughter, Ron!

[Ron Mc]

she caught redfish off the dock at night - she's very athletic and while she loves to catch fish, she prefers the paddling part - and the fillet table - I think she's going to be a surgeon. I honestly can't keep up with her even with my fast boat, though I still set the pace on a 20-mi bike ride. But I'm going to have to save up and buy a Werner paddle for me, too.

[Ron Mc]

btw, that trip above was not even close to a bust. We caught a few fish drifting with my dad.
The canals have green lights on the bottom, and you could walk on the bait that the wind blew in at night.
We could see and sight-fish big specs over the green lights, and I caught 2 big ones, 20" and 22", had a couple of lures bit off, and had a half-dozen tails bitten off.
This was the lure that worked over the green lights, Storm wild eye shad in 1/8 oz, blue - it exactly matched the size of the bait and blue is always the best night-time color. Fish see most colors as monochrome, but blue is a distinct color for them.

[Ron Mc]

adding to this thread with some more paddling photos.
This morning, my daughter and I paddled the perimeter of Boerne City Lake.
Nice little lake with no motors, making it quiet and peaceful.
This is about showing the function of the skeg. Also the maiden voyage of my new Werner Camano paddle, which is a hoot.
The launch - there's a kayak near the far bank, giving you some sense of size.

Heading out into the wind. This reservoir is high at the headwaters of Cibolo Creek, and almost always has big wind.

Her paddle is a Werner Shuna, shaped for high-angle, hard strokes.
My new Camano is a lower angle touring paddle, though slightly larger blade area than the Shuna.
oops, left her behind for a change - didn't know I was doing this, but was enjoying the new paddle

I was also paddling with pretty good form and feather (but had her set with proper feather, also).
But it's mostly about closing the gap in the paddle performance. While the swing weight of Werner paddles is phenomenally light, it's the design of their blades that puts more into the water and drags less on your entry and exit.
Here's going downwind with the skeg deployed - the wind is stiffer than it looks, though we're partially protected near this bank

The skeg is actually for the sailing mechanics. She sits far enough back in this boat that her body acts like a mainsail, windcocking the boat to point it upwind, especially with the lift of her hard paddle strokes.
The skeg extends the keel, resisting spin and tracking the boat better downwind.