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Sunday 4 April 2010

Easter Kayak Launch



I mentioned earlier that I had invested in a kayak for getting afloat in pursuit of Fly caught Bass this year, and Easter weekend had been penned in as the inaugural launch date.
Leading up to the weekend, the weather hadn't been looking too promising, with high winds and heavy showers forecast. It looked like we might only have a small window in which to get out and have a bit of practice, learning to paddle efficiently and control the Kayaks before attempting to fish from them.
A couple of days before, the forecast showed a slight improvement, still with brisk winds but not so much in the way of rain or showers. A plan was quickly formulated.
Easter Sunday was the day, and the Kayaks were loaded onto the roofracks and off we went to our chosen launch site. There was plenty of other watersport activity when we arrived so we guessed we had picked a good day. Suited and Booted, we launched, with more than a little apprehension i can tell you!
The practice session went without too much of a hitch and we got our first taste of what the Kayaks had to offer and how they were going to perform in the future. As well as working on our paddle technique, we experimented with manouvering the Kayaks, and turning them. We also tried re entry into the Kayaks after falling out, as this is quite a difficult manouvre to attempt, but is very important in the event of a capsize. Our technique needs a little work but im sure it will come with time and practice!
Fitness is definately an issue, as i certainly haven't done any meaningful physical avtivity for many years now, and it will take time for me to achieve any sort of fitness level, and after the days paddling i had more than a few aches and pains!




A couple more practice sessions will follow, and then i think we'll be ready to begin Fishing from the Kayaks. Hopefully by then the Bass will be about in reasonable numbers as well!

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