Fishing and Paddling Friday at Beaverdam Reservoir Part 2

I learned something today - I prefer SUPs to kayaks. The wind kicked my arse - I didn't stand a chance without a rudder (and I didn't have one). We did get back in one piece and I cast the fly to the fish around the floating dock - I really got to thinking on the drive back: why did I get the kayak? I got it because I could take the kids out with me if La needed to do other things. I got it because it seemed to be very compatible with the local/region waterways. I got it because it was another way to enjoy the water and way something new. Don't get me wrong - I have enjoyed using the heck out of it, but after today's episode in the wind, I realized I am a way better SUP paddler than I will ever be a kayak paddler - so I will be putting the Big Tuna up for sale. We'll replace it with a couple of SUPs (one for the kids, one for me) for non-surf paddling. More to follow. Back to the pictures and today's outing - I ended up catching more bluegill at the dock. Eight ended up in the tank - and there were several more that took the hook. There were also other types of fish - smaller, more aggressive against the fly than the bluegills - that I couldn't hook - next time. When we got back to the house, I started on another project I've had in my head for a while - widening the board rack. I'll post more on this tomorrow.

Friday Fishing and Paddling at Beaverdam Reservoir

We dropped off the van for maintenance and headed on over to paddle (La) and catch some fish (me and the kids). La paddled the whole lake (seemed like it) and the kids and I saw a good number of various types of fish. I pulled in three sunnies using my Helios 5wt/Hatch 4+/Orvis Power Taper 5wt (real nice setup - makes me feel like I know what I'm doing and can put the fly wherever I want to - it was worth the money - especially since I got most of the components on sale). Marlon had a striper on the line and was hauling it in - until it got off the hook close to the boat (dang it!!!). I had a few legitimate shots at some grazing carp - with the water a bit cloudly, I couldn't get them interested in the worm fly I was pitching. La was lonely so she hijacked the kayak, took both kids out on her paddleboard then had them jump off the board to swim around in the middle of the lake (they loved it - not to mention she bribed them with the promise to pay for half the cost of another iguana - that's another story). That's about the time the wind picked up...

Amphibious Assault Craft or Nurturing Mother Ship

Catch up post from last weekend. Beaver Dam Reservoir. We went looking for the dense population of carp we saw as the air temps just started to rise - but they weren't there anymore. We did see a bunch of schools of tiny fish (we didn't have a net fine enough to catch them to see what they were - but with the timing, I suspect they are hatching carp) and a few sunnies poking out from the newly grown grass - which leads me to the subject of the post. This kayak kicks butt - we rode right over the dense grasses and got in to the spots where the carp were hanging out (albeit a few weeks too late). But the kayak also offered tons of storage space to satisfy thirsty paddlers and hungry tummies. So this thing is both an amphibious assault craft and a mother ship that can carry the kitchen sink.