The first time I missed a 40-pound cobia by inches, I wanted to throw my speargun across Tampa Bay. Six feet away, perfect shot lined up, and I jerked the trigger like a rookie. That was 15 years ago, and that missed fish taught me more about spearfishing than any successful shot since. If you're […]

Last weekend at Lake Travis, I watched a guy struggle for 15 minutes trying to load his fishing kayak onto his truck. His face was beet red, sweat dripping, and I could tell his back was screaming. When I helped him lift the beast, I understood why – that monster weighed at least 120 pounds […]

I'll never forget my first kayak shopping experience back in 2019. Standing in that warehouse surrounded by dozens of kayaks, I felt like Goldilocks - this one's too long, that one's too narrow, and wait, how the heck am I supposed to fit in this cockpit? After testing over 30 different models that summer (and […]

Last spring, I spent three weekends stripping and refinishing my grandfather's 1960s beaver tail paddle. Standing in my garage, staring at rows of finish options at the hardware store, I realized I'd been using whatever was cheapest for years without really understanding the difference. That paddle taught me everything I needed to know about marine […]

I learned the hard way that proper kayak storage isn't just about finding space - it's about protecting your investment. Last winter, my neighbor's $1,200 fishing kayak warped beyond repair because he stored it flat on his garage floor. Meanwhile, my 8-year-old Wilderness Systems is still going strong thanks to proper storage techniques I'm about […]

I'll never forget the day I completely soaked myself at the Lake Travis boat ramp. There I was, trying to impress my kayaking buddies with a "graceful" entry into my new touring kayak. Instead, I ended up doing an impromptu split between the dock and my kayak, landing face-first in the water. Everyone got a […]

Last summer, I watched my 68-year-old mom step onto a paddle board for the first time. Within 20 minutes, she was gliding across Lake Austin like she'd been doing it her whole life. That's the magic of stand up paddle boarding – it looks intimidating but is surprisingly accessible to almost anyone willing to give […]

I'll never forget the day my buddy's kayak turned into a submarine off the coast of Monterey Bay. We were paddling through some decent swells when a rogue wave caught him sideways. His cockpit filled instantly, and within seconds, his entire kayak was underwater – except it wasn't. The bow and stern stayed buoyant, keeping […]

I'll never forget the sickening crunch I heard on I-95 just outside Jacksonville. My buddy Mike's kayak had just become a $1,200 projectile, cartwheeling across three lanes of traffic at 70 mph. The cam buckle on his front strap had slipped, and within seconds, his brand-new Wilderness Systems Tsunami was scattered in pieces across the […]

The first time I flipped my kayak while fighting a 5-pound largemouth on Lake Travis, I learned three valuable lessons: always secure your tackle box, expensive sunglasses sink fast, and laughing at yourself beats crying every time. That was six years ago, and since then, I've logged thousands of hours fishing from kayaks across Texas, […]