Long Point Provincial Park Kayaking

We just got back from a kayaking trip at Long Point Provincial Park. It was a weekend away camping for us, but we brought our kayaks to launch at the park and try some fishing. All weekend we had a strong North wind, but we managed to get out on the water Saturday afternoon for a couple hours. It was windy but manageable and with the sun out in a clear blue sky, it was actually warm. We were fishing with worms but didn't catch a thing. I suspect we were pretty shallow but we couldn't confirm since neither of us used our depth finders. We didn't think it wise to go too far out since it was choppy. On the return trip back to the launch, I paddled a little bit through the marshes looking for wildlife while trying to avoid the evil swans which seem to like attacking my kayak. Must have something to do with nesting season LOL. Anyway, it was a beautiful time out on the water and we enjoyed ourselves. The launch at the park is really nice, complete with  a fish cleaning station. Here are some photos:

Heading for Lake Erie

Boat Launch at Long Point

Set up for fishing

Dave kayaking

Dave's kayak

Kayaking through the marshes

Long Point Kayaking

Heading back to the launch

First Trip Out in 2013!

Welland River - May 2013

I finally made it out kayaking last week. At long last my days off work fell during nice weather!!! I launched at E.C Brown Conservation Area in Welland and headed West upriver. I hadn't paddled this direction before. It was a beautiful day with a weak west wind which was forecast to increase towards noon. Having that in mind, I decided without doubt to head west upriver then I'd have the wind at my back after I turned around. I left the launch at around 8am and returned around 11am. My trip was a total of 13km as per my GPS.
Here are some photos:

While I was on the water, two animals swam across the river in front of me. I couldn't get close enough to see what they were, but both looked to be beaver. I seen three herons and quite a few hawks with their young coasting on the wind. By far the coolest wildlife encounter was when a large carp jumped out of the water about three feet into the air in front of my kayak. It was only about 10 feet from my kayak! Very cool! It was a wonderful first trip of the season. The weather turned very warm by the time I got back to the launch but the west wind kept things nice enough. My plan to come back with a tail wind didn't work so well, as the Welland River turns so much, sometimes I was actually heading into the wind on my return trip. I can't wait to get out again!

Happy Kayaking!

Finally Heading out Kayaking!!!

After a long wait for the weather to co-operate and my work schedule to co-operate, I'm heading out this morning. I'm fairly certain I'll be launching at E.C Brown conservation area and heading west this time. I've launched there once and it was a great paddle! I found a new gps holder\mount but my fish finder is not quite ready. No worries, I'm just anxious to get out on the water! It seemed like when the weather was good, I was working and when I was off, the weather not so good. Finally! I'll post photos later.