Last spring, I watched my buddy's face drop as we pulled his vintage fiberglass canoe off the roof rack. There it was - a nasty crack running down the hull, courtesy of a hidden rock from our last river run. But here's the thing: that "disaster" turned into one of the best learning experiences we've […]

Last weekend, I launched my kayak at Dana Point Harbor when a marine patrol officer pulled alongside to check my registration. That five-minute conversation taught me more about California kayak laws than hours of online research ever had. After 15 years of paddling California waters from Crescent City to San Diego, I've learned that understanding […]

The sun was just breaking over the Cascade Mountains when I launched my kayak into Lake Roosevelt last spring. Within minutes of paddling out from Sterling Point, my fish finder lit up like a Christmas tree. Twenty feet down, suspended over a rocky ledge, was a school of smallmouth bass that would make any angler's […]

Last weekend on Lake Travis, I watched three boats work the same shoreline for hours without a single bite. Meanwhile, I quietly paddled my kayak to a submerged point 200 yards away and caught seven bass in 45 minutes. The difference? I knew exactly where those large mouth bass fish were hiding based on water […]

I'll never forget the sinking feeling when I spotted a 3-inch tear in my favorite PFD during a pre-launch inspection at Lake Travis. After 5 years of faithful service, that Astral V-Eight had finally given up the ghost. Standing there at the boat ramp with my kayak already loaded, I had to make a quick […]

I'll never forget the morning I watched my buddy land three hefty largemouth while I sat there fishless, throwing the same spinnerbait that crushed them yesterday. The difference? He'd switched to a tiny finesse worm on 8-pound fluorocarbon while I stubbornly stuck with my power fishing arsenal. That cold front had shut down the aggressive […]

I'll never forget that October night on Lake Travis when my buddy Jake and I learned the hard way about choosing the wrong campfire type. We'd paddled 8 miles to a remote island campsite, our kayaks loaded down with gear, only to realize our hastily-built teepee fire was burning through our limited firewood supply way […]

Last October on Lake Travis, I watched three boats work the same deep point for hours without a bite. Meanwhile, I quietly dropped a 3/4-ounce jigging spoon down 25 feet and proceeded to catch seven bass in 30 minutes. The guy in the $80,000 bass boat throwing a $30 swimbait wasn't happy when he motored […]

Last July on Lake Travis, I watched my buddy throw everything in his tackle box at a school of bass suspended 35 feet down. Nothing. Meanwhile, I dropped a Carolina rig straight down from my fishing kayak and immediately hooked up with a 4-pounder. That's when he finally asked the question every deep water newbie […]

Last April, I was standing knee-deep in Oak Creek's crystal-clear water when a 22-inch brown trout slammed my fly. The red rocks of Sedona glowed in the morning sun, and I thought to myself - this is exactly why I moved to Arizona 15 years ago. After exploring every fishable body of water from the […]