Introduction Last summer, I paddled the Pembina River just as the sun broke through the morning mist, and I'll never forget how the water looked like liquid glass between those towering valley walls. North Dakota might not be the first place that comes to mind for kayaking adventures, but after spending three months exploring every […]

Last Saturday, I watched a fellow paddler score an incredible deal on a $1,200 touring board for just $400. The catch? He knew exactly what to look for. After buying and selling dozens of used paddle boards over the past decade, I've learned that the right knowledge can save you hundreds of dollars—or prevent costly […]

Last April, I watched my depth finder mark a massive school of bass suspended over a submerged roadbed 30 feet down in O.H. Ivie. Three casts later, a 14-pound largemouth nearly yanked my rod from the kayak. That's when I knew Texas wasn't messing around with their ShareLunker program. After 20 years of chasing bass […]

The 3-pound smallmouth hit my drop shot like a freight train, nearly pulling me off my paddle board. As I scrambled to keep my balance 200 yards from shore on Table Rock Lake, I realized this sup paddle board fishing guide approach had just unlocked a whole new world of fishing. That was three years […]

I'll never forget the first time I tried kayaking upstream on the Shenandoah River. My buddy Jake laughed as I fought the current head-on like a salmon trying to spawn, burning through energy faster than a teenager's phone battery. Twenty minutes in, I was gassed and had barely made it past the first bend. That's […]

I'll never forget the day my buddy Jake's PFD failed him on Lake Travis. We were out fishing, and when he jumped in to cool off, his ancient life jacket - one he'd inherited from his dad - barely kept his chin above water. That was my wake-up call about PFD maintenance. After testing dozens […]

I'll never forget the day my buddy Mike flipped his kayak in Lake Travis without wearing his PFD. The water was glass-calm, he was "just paddling close to shore," and his life jacket sat uselessly bungeed to his deck. Watching him struggle to right his boat while treading water in 15-foot depths changed my whole […]

The morning mist was still clinging to the Susquehanna River when I launched my kayak from the Shady Nook access point last October. As my paddle cut through the glass-smooth water, a bald eagle soared overhead – just another typical morning of kayaking in Pennsylvania. After 15 years of paddling every major waterway from Lake […]

I'll never forget the first time my tabby, Captain Whiskers, jumped into my kayak at the boat launch on Lake Travis. There I was, trying to load my fishing gear, when this furry little adventurer decided the cockpit looked like the perfect napping spot. That spontaneous moment launched a three-year journey of paddling together that's […]

Last July, I paddled out from Edgewater Beach just as the sun was painting Cleveland's skyline gold. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame gleamed in the distance while freighters cruised past, their wakes gently rocking my kayak. That's when it hit me – Cleveland might just be one of the most underrated kayaking destinations […]