The sun was just breaking over the Lincoln Memorial when I pushed off from Thompson Boat Center for my first paddle on the Potomac. After years of kayaking lakes and rivers across the country, I wasn't prepared for what DC offered - monument views from the water, cherry blossoms reflecting in the calm morning surface, […]

Last Saturday morning at Lake Cachuma, I watched a guy land a 12-pound largemouth bass using nothing but a beat-up spinner and 20-year-old line. Meanwhile, three boats away, someone with $5,000 worth of gear hadn't had a bite all morning. That's California fishing for you – it's not about having the fanciest equipment, it's about […]

Last summer, I watched my paddle slice through water so clear I could count individual rocks 20 feet below. The Wood River's turquoise current pushed my kayak through a corridor of aspens while Mt. McLoughlin loomed in the distance. After paddling in 15 states, I can honestly say Oregon spoiled me – and it'll spoil […]

I'll never forget my first time kayaking the Mountain Fork River in southeastern Oklahoma. The morning mist was lifting off the water when I spotted a bald eagle perched on a dead snag, surveying its kingdom. That moment – paddle frozen mid-stroke, heart racing – sold me on Oklahoma kayaking forever. After 15 years exploring […]

Last April, I found myself paddling the Kansas River at sunrise, watching a bald eagle snatch a fish from the water not 30 feet from my kayak. The mist was rising off the water, cottonwoods were budding along the banks, and I thought – why did it take me so long to discover Kansas paddling? […]

The first time I tried drop shot fishing, I was anchored in my fishing kayak just off a rocky point on Lake Travis. After struggling all morning with Texas rigs and getting nothing but short strikes, I tied on a drop shot out of desperation. Within ten minutes, I'd boated three chunky smallmouth that had […]

Last Saturday morning on Lake Travis, I watched my buddy struggle with his brand new Heddon Spook for nearly an hour. The lure just wouldn't walk - it kept coming straight back like a submarine periscope. By the time I showed him the slack line trick, he'd already spooked every bass in the cove. That […]

Last April, I watched the sun paint the Blue Ridge Mountains gold while paddling through morning mist on Lake Moomaw. A great blue heron stood perfectly still on the shoreline, waiting for breakfast. That's when it hit me – after 12 years of paddling every corner of Virginia, from the wild dolphins of Virginia Beach […]

Last July, I watched the sunrise paint the limestone cliffs of the St. Croix River gold while paddling my fishing kayak through glass-calm water near Taylors Falls. A bald eagle swooped down 20 feet from my bow, snatching a smallmouth bass from the surface. That moment – just 45 minutes from Minneapolis – reminded me […]

Last September, I was paddling the Upper Iowa River when a fellow kayaker from Chicago pulled up beside me at Chimney Rock. "I had no idea Iowa looked like this," he said, staring up at the 300-foot limestone palisades. "I thought it was all corn fields." I hear that a lot. After 20 years of […]