My heart nearly jumped out of my chest the first time I saw those two eyes and nostrils breaking the surface, maybe 20 feet from my kayak. It was on the Wakulla River in North Florida, and that gator must have been 8 feet long. But here's the thing - after 15 years of paddling […]

Last summer on Lake Travis, I watched a friend struggle to hold his line in a stiff crosswind. His kayak kept weathercocking despite frantic paddle strokes, and he burned through energy fighting the wind. That's when I paddled over and showed him the stern rudder technique - a game-changing skill that transformed his frustrating battle […]

Last weekend at Devil's River, I watched a guy drag his $2,000 composite kayak over rocks for 200 yards. The sound of fiberglass grinding against limestone still haunts me. When he finally reached the put-in, his hull looked like it went through a cheese grater. Here's the thing about portaging a kayak – it's not […]

Last Saturday morning on Lake Travis, I burned through 450 calories in just one hour of moderate paddling - and that was before the wind picked up. If you're wondering whether kayaking counts as real exercise, I've got news for you: this sport torches calories while you're having the time of your life on the […]

Last Saturday morning on Lake Travis, I watched a guy in a $3,000 carbon fiber kayak struggle to load his boat onto his SUV while I stuffed my inflatable into a backpack. He looked at me like I was crazy - until I beat him to the water by 20 minutes. After testing over 30 […]

I'll never forget the first time I stuffed an inflatable kayak into my backpack and hiked 8 miles to a hidden alpine lake in the Rockies. My buddies thought I was crazy hauling the extra weight, but their jaws dropped when I pulled out what looked like a rolled-up sleeping bag and transformed it into […]

Last Saturday on Lake Travis, I watched a guy lose his brand-new fish finder - and the monster bass that just hit his line. The culprit? A poorly mounted accessory that couldn't handle the sudden movement when he set the hook. That expensive electronics package went straight to the bottom, followed by some choice words […]

Last weekend at Lake Travis, I watched a brand-new Hobie disappear in my rearview mirror. Not mine, thankfully – but the guy behind me learned a $2,000 lesson about proper roof rack installation. His J-cradles weren't tightened correctly, and 70 mph on Highway 183 was all it took to send his kayak cartwheeling across three […]

Last weekend at Lake Travis, I watched a fellow paddler struggle to load his brand new Wilderness Systems Tempest onto his roof rack. After 10 minutes of awkward positioning, he finally asked, "Should this thing go upside down or what?" That simple question sparked a 30-minute impromptu lesson in the parking lot about proper kayak […]

The sun was just breaking over Lake Murray when I landed my first keeper bass of the day. As I held that beautiful 3-pounder, dripping and gleaming in the morning light, I faced the same challenge every kayak angler knows too well: now what? That morning taught me a valuable lesson about storing fish on […]