Boating Geek

  Benefits of Kayak Fishing  For most people, the decision to use a kayak for fishing comes after being a successful angler. In other words, the skill for fishing has been developed but the way to get to the fish is being changed. There are several basic reasons that people switch to or add kayaks to their fishing routine. • First, kayaks are much easier to transport and store than other boats.  • That leads to the next advantage which is cost. A kayak is much less expensive than any type of motorboat, to begin with, and it does not require much maintenance or expensive gasoline to propel it. Registration fees and permits may also be much cheaper. • For the avid fisherman, however, the greatest advantage of a kayak is stealth. There is less of a shadow, no noisy motor and the ability to move into very shallow water.  While those three points are all valid, there is also the likelihood that you truly want to experience the peace and quiet that fishing from a k...

KAYAKS, CANOES, AND PADDLEBOARDS  what boat should you use? I cannot answer that. People often ask me exactly that question. Why not ask me who you should marry? Things to consider when looking for a vessel include your physical size, your fishing style, where you intend to use the vessel, whether you'd prefer to paddle or pedal, how well it paddles, whether you enjoy fishing alone, its cost, its weight, how you intend to cany it, its storage capacity, how comfortable it is, the aesthetics of its use and more. Everyone has different needs. My fishing style when paddle fishing includes a lot of wading. I want a sit-on-top (SOT) kayak because I can easily get off of and on to the kayak. One of my kayaks is an Ocean Kayak Drifter (no longer made) purchased in 2003. Designs have improved a lot since then. I still like that old boat for two reasons, though. First, my boats are carried atop my car. That one weighs fifty-five pounds, and I can lift it. Second, the boat is fairly vid...

Every now and then I watch extreme sports on TV. You know, the skateboarders who fly off those half pipes, the motorcyclists who jump their bikes and do all sorts of crazy things while the bike is in the air—X Games stuff. It's fun to watch and it looks like even more fun to do.  That is, it looks like fun if you have the skills to do it without killing yourself. Every time I watch it, I can't help but wonder how any of those people tried those stunts for the first time.  It's easy to get the same feeling upon seeing pictures of divers at the extreme end of the sport of scuba diving. Prepared to dive to great depths in frigid water, they have tanks containing different gas mixtures hanging all over them. The slightest mistake or distraction, such as breathing from the wrong tank at the wrong depth, could have fatal consequences. Are they crazy? How did they get to that level of competence? The answer is that they progressed slowly. For most of us, the simple act of br...

As THE SAYING GOES, there are old divers and there are bold divers, but there are no old, bold divers. I have no idea where the saying came from. It could have originated from a wise old diver who wanted to make a point about the foolishness of youth, but I think it was more likely first proclaimed by a young person as a way of thumping the chest and announcing to the world, "Look at me, I'm young and bold." I think this because the corollary, "Look at me, I'm old and cowardly," just doesn't sound right. Whatever the case, now that I'm what must be considered an old diver, the saying doesn't seem quite as pithy to me as it once did. Of course, being old does not necessarily mean being smart, but it does give me a perspective on the evolution of the sport of scuba diving that younger divers might not have. People  ask What it feels like to scuba dive? Is it worth getting scuba certified? Why do you like diving? What do scuba divers do? ...