I took my new kayak out to a local lake to get used to it as I've never been in one. I initially planned on practicing re-entry but it was too late in the day when I arrived.
I was surprised at how wobbly it was when I first got in. I had to work some some unused stabilizer muscles before I got used to it after a few minutes. I was also surprised at how slow it was to paddle across the lake. I only got to throw the hook in a few times but did end up catching a nice little blue gill. The poor guy swallowed the hook but I think I was able to remove it without causing much damage.
My biggest take away from the trip was that I need a stake-out pole. I kept getting blown away while fishing the shoreline. If you dont know, a stake-out pole is basically a stick of some sort you can push through your kayak's scupper holes into the ground to stay in place. I'll DIY that somehow. My initial thought was just a piece of PVC cut at 45 degrees but that may not be strong enough. I'll post up some details when I get something worked out.
I was surprised at how wobbly it was when I first got in. I had to work some some unused stabilizer muscles before I got used to it after a few minutes. I was also surprised at how slow it was to paddle across the lake. I only got to throw the hook in a few times but did end up catching a nice little blue gill. The poor guy swallowed the hook but I think I was able to remove it without causing much damage.
My biggest take away from the trip was that I need a stake-out pole. I kept getting blown away while fishing the shoreline. If you dont know, a stake-out pole is basically a stick of some sort you can push through your kayak's scupper holes into the ground to stay in place. I'll DIY that somehow. My initial thought was just a piece of PVC cut at 45 degrees but that may not be strong enough. I'll post up some details when I get something worked out.