“Now sit right back and hear a tale, a tale of a faithful trip that started from this tropic port aboard this tiny ship… with the Skipper too..”

Sorry, got that song in my head all week this week at OR.  The reason, our new Jackson Kayak Skipper kids fishing kayak.  At 9 feet long, 28 inches wide (give or take), with a cool new comfy mini hi-lo elite seat, all the cool RAM and YakAttack mounts daddy has and full freedom to paddle solo without daddy’s help (interference) this is one exciting product.

More info on the Skipper:   http://jacksonkayak.com/blog/kayak/skipper/

But hey, why have me rattle on like an old geezer, lets hear from someone more appropriate, Abby Holcombe.  Check out this awesome video!  Thanks Jameson (Redding) for doing all our vids here…

(Sorry for the corny title)

(Not really)

This will be a big year for the Kraken folks!  The long awaited 13.5 foot version of Jim Sammon’s signature craft has been introduced in up to three different configurations.  The shorter Kraken is fast as its older sibling, just as stable with a widened seating section and ready for any and all challenges a paddler wants to throw at it.  It busts waves out to swirling deeps, keeps you safe fighting those big game fish and is set up for all accessories you will ever need.

Speaking of accessories.  Both lengths of the Kraken, the 15.5 footer and 13.5 footer, will come in different accessory set ups.  Here’s the details of those configs:

Kraken 15.5 Pro Series (Note: the Pro version is available for 15.5 version only)

• Raymarine Dragonfly Fishfinder
• Navionics 2016 charts and Graphs
• Nocqua Pro Power Pack -a complete waterproof charging system!
• Buck Splizzors
• JK pump and Livewell

Kraken Elite

• Gear Tracks
• Rod Holders
• Elite Seat 3.0
• Sealine Gear Pouch
• Ram Accessories
• Plano Accessories

Kraken Standard

• Gear Tracks
• Rod Holders
• Elite Seat 3.0
• Ram Accessories

Check out this full walkthrough video by Jeff Herman from the floors of Outdoor Retailer!

I’ve been covering the Freestyle World Championships since 1997 under the moniker “Pollo” (Chicken in Spanish, derrived from Chicken Man, a nick name I got flipping BBQ Chicken for Wilderness Tours back in the late 80’s…).  My web site back then was RUchicken.com making the most of my apparent identity  Since the 2007 World Championships, the International Canoe Federation has been sanctioning the events, standardizing scoring and raising the criteria for running an official worlds.  This year’s ICF World Freestyle Canoe Championships were held on the very same river I first covered them on, the mighty Ottawa River up here in Canada.  No, there was no ice on the river.  In fact the scene was hot, sunny and awesome!   The headliner:  Jackson Kayak’s mighty team and their incredible 2016 Rockstar!

Team JK won a total of 13 of a possible 15 medals in kayaks (all K disciplines and the C1 class).  In other kayak classes Stephen Wright, an alternate, won the squirt boat class, with Clay Wright in second.  JK team member Claire O’hara took Gold in Squirt as well over Hitomi Takaku and Motoko Ishita. Dane won silver in OC1 (we can’t take credit for that boat).  This is the strongest team and best results we’ve ever had in a worlds.  Leading the way was Dane Jackson, with the afore mentioned silver in OC1.  He also got a C1 gold medal in a converted Rockstar ahead of JK team mates Seth Chappelle and Zachary Zwanenberg.  Zachary deserves TONs of kudos as he’s a newby in C1 and simply ripped it!  Dane got his big gold in Men’s K1 beating out JK team’s Mathieu Dumoulin and local hero Nick Troutman.  Mathieu was incredible all throughout this event as was Nick, who lead most of the rounds.  Emily Jackson got her Championship back with a decisive win over team mates Hitomi of Japan and Claire O’hara… none of them scoring higher than junior Sage Donnelly!!!  Sage took top score for any female on finals day leading a full JK junior women’s finals to a gold along side Darby McAdams and Sophie McPeak!  The junior men’s category had both Voorhees boys in the semi finals but only Alec in the finals.  Alec sustained an injury in his first ride but gutted it out for his last ride to come away with a silver.

EJ, Peter Holcombe, Isaac Levenson and I spent a lot of time writing and capturing these world Championships.  Our articles are found for each day, including video recaps and amazing Holcombe photos, here:

• http://www.kayaksession.com/category/ww-news/events/ – EJ video summaries done by Isaac, photos by Peter Holcombe
• http://www.canoekayak.com/news/ – Indiana James summaries, Isaac video recaps and Peter Holcombe photography

Final results
OC1 = 1 JK paddler:
Andrew Hill, Canada
Dane Jackson, USA (Jackson Kayak)
Jordan Poffenberger, USA

This morning I watched a viral video of 8 girls on their cell phones during a baseball game.  It was one of many reminders that our battle, as parents, against the digital age is ongoing and that we should never relax our efforts to get our kids out of the house, away from the iStuff and into the great out doors!  The challenges are many, but, in  my opinion its a lot to do with motivation.  So how do we keep our kids interested?  One of the founding principals of any educational process is to keep their exposure from a young age… positive.  This is especially true for my son Sambo (Sam).  He’s continually bombarded with so many cool things that it’s sometimes hard to keep kayak fishing up there in his priority list.

‘Positive’ comes in many forms but is the primary driver for any kid.  If he or she doesn’t like or enjoy the experience, or if something they are trying doesn’t have enough ‘ease of entry’ to it, they will push back.  Some pushback can be over come by diligent encouragement and the parent/teacher easing them around stumbling blocks, but having the right environment and tools to make the transition easy is key.  For us, already enthusiasts, its hard to believe that our kids wouldn’t like the things we like.  But in reality we have all gone through the same process they have to go through to become enthusiastic, usually lead by a family member or friend encouraging us along all the way.

So what are the motivating factors?  I see two:  Ease of entry into the sport and success.  Ease of entry is established by a positive learning experience.  Success is what motivates further development, more importantly further interest in developing.

The teaching side of things for kayak fishing for me has only one rule,  don’t make it complicated.  Teach them how to get the line in the water first, then teach them where and why they cast to where they need to cast.  The rest will follow along your own education as each day everyone fishing has to figure out where the fish are and what they’re biting.  Do that with your child.  Figure out the fish, location, water conditions and choose the bait and technique with them.  We do this, even as ‘experts’ ourselves every day we fish… even if it is subconsciously.   The real secret to teaching is to be positive in learning… “that was great, now try this” vs “you messed that up dummy, do it right!”.  Keeping it all fun where you laugh at mistakes makes all the difference in the world.

A real advantage for teaching kids to kayak fish these days is equipment.  The bad news for my parents was that, NOTHING was made for kids.  There were few kid sized paddles, performant life vests, nor kayaks.   fishing gear sized for kids were crappy little Scooby Doo rods and dumb little starter kits.  Kayaks were all adult sized of course.  If you have ever seen a kid try to paddle an adult sized kayak, with an adult sized paddle, its frustrating to watch.  It becomes a blocking factor in their development when they struggle to keep up, get tired manipulating the kayak and more.   Products like the Aquabound Sharkey, life vests like Kokatat’s Aires series and the new Jackson Kayak Skipper take all these frustrations away from the learning child.  They can keep up with daddy and mommy with relative ease and can catch just as big a fish and as many as adults can!

That brings us to Environment.  If you are not catching fish, well, your kid will not find too much satisfaction unless you’re a solid entertainer  I have a few places I go to for the easy hook up.  I do take my son to some of the harder fishing environments, but for the early stages of his kayak fishing life it needs to be continual adventure or those video games will win out on the ‘excitement scale’.  Success is a clear motivator for Sambo.  When the fish are biting, he’s the last one off the water.  When they are not biting,  he’s the first to say “how long are we staying out?”  No matter how many “fishing is 90% the chase, 10% catching” speeches you make, the fun factor is the catch for your kids.  The good news is that you don’t need constant lunkers to keep interest up, even sunfish will do.  Make it fun, challenge them, compete even.  For Sam, I didn’t give him a bobber and worm.  I gave him a full line of weedless soft baits.  Where worms and bobbers catch your tiny fish, these caught just as many fish, but bigger fish.  Bigger fish are impressive and no kid ever gets sick of catching fish over 2-3 lbs.

Bottom line is keep your kids motivated and soon enough they’ll be the ones shaking you awake to go do that sunrise paddle and fish.

Let me tell you, no, let my photo essay told you. I have witnessed breathtaking performance while I was at the 2015 ICF freestyle world championships.

The 2015 ICF freestyle world championships

They made it. They are now  on the bank of the Ottawa river. If they made it. That also mean they earned their spot in their country. Did the work to get here. Now they deserve to be among the best of our discipline, freestyle kayaking.

Beside being on a tight schedule. No way I wasn’t going to at least spend 2 days on the side of the river to cheers my friends. Immersed myself in the vibe and witnessed the 2015 ICF freestyle worlds on the Ottawa river. So that’s what I did. I packed my car for the 8 hours drive and I went.

Unfortunately, my life constraints have not allowed me to stay until the final.

Not much more to say here since a lot have been said since the world. Maybe my photo essay will tell a different chapter…

The photo essay

Here’s some of the photos, more to come in my next post:

 More on Flickr

You can find more (maybe you’re there!!!) on my 2015 ICF freestyle world championship folder on flickr:

And again, congrats to all the winners, the organizers and all the athletes!

Facebook patrick.levesque.kayak – Instagram patrick.levesque – Twitter @pat_levesque – pinterest patxlevesque – Flickr patricklevesque

DuCran river, Glissade section,  Quebec

It’s always fun rediscovering a place your love with a boat that make it effortless, the first one is the Glissades section of the DuCran river in northern Quebec and it all happen with the Jackson Kayak Zen 2015, such a nice boat.

Going for the first D: Alexis Paré going for Tight Fit in Oh Yeah!, a middle run boof, on the DuCran river in 2013

When I did the First D of the DuCran river in June 2013 (Simon Gilbert, Alexis Paré and myself), we weren’t expecting to find such a gem. A class III-IV runs with tons of slides, longs slides, 2 good drops for boofing and a small canyon with some nice ledge in it.

Going for the first D: Simon Gilbert and Alexis Paré in Haut Voltage on the DuCran river in 2013

The Rivière DuCran (« river of the edge ») is located 55km north of La Doré in Lac Saint-Jean, Québec. It’s one of the minor tributaries of the Ashuapmuchuan river. The Glissades section is currently the highest section of the run and you access it from a secondary road west of road 167. It’s the first road on your left (northbound) once you passed the Du Cran lake (around km 45, past the hill and the middle of nowhere telephone booth). The take out is at the first bridge, it’s the confluence of a small creek into the DuCran (you can see the river 100m away). You can also take out further downstream at railroad bridge, harder take out but you can 1 good class V slide). For the put in, keep driving and always keep your right on the main road. You will get to another bridge. This little unimpressive creek is the DuCran.

Going for the first D, the access road for the DuCran river in 2013

Put in for the Glissade section of the DuCran river, Quebec

Google map description here

Sadly, with such a nice river section came with a big challenge: finding the best flow for it. There’s no online gauge for the river, you have to make the drive to see it (and it’s already ½ hours aways from the closest town). We are slowly getting to know it better. After hitting a couple of times at low water, slightly higher low water, we came to the conclusion that this should be run when another river, the Aux Saumons (station 061909), raise above 18-20 m3/s (don’t waste your time below 14). On thing is sure, if everything if high around lac Saint-Jean this will be a good time to go.

Going for the first D: Patrick Levesque in Oh Yeah!, a middle run boof, on the DuCran river in 2013

Anyway, even when it was low water, we had a blast on the rapids of the DuCran. Here’s a GoPro video of a run in july 2015 (paddlers: Guillaume Morin and Patrick Levesque).

Some more photos:

Going for the first D: Simon Gilbert and Alexis Paré in Les Glissades, a series of linked slides, DuCran river in 2013

Going for the first D: Patrick Levesque lauching his Karma in Crunch, a boof into a small canyon (watch for trees into the canyon), DuCran river in 2013

Going for the first D: Alexis Paré in Crunch, a boof into a small canyon (watch for trees into the canyon), DuCran river in 2013

Going for the first D: Simon Gilbert getting a little air time in Bon départ the first drop on the DuCran river in 2013

Going for the first D: Alexis Paré in Bon départ the first drop on the DuCran river in 2013

Going for the first D: Alexis Paré sliding the left side of the third ledge into Love Tunnel, Patrick Levesque doing the safety. DuCran river in 2013

Going for the first D: Patrick Levesque and his Karma M into the entry of Haut Voltage on the DuCran river in 2013

Going for the first D: Patrick Levesque and his Karma M diving into Love Tunnel, the last canyon on the DuCran river in 2013

www.patricklevesque.info

We left Maui with our heads low and our kayaks dry, and boarded our flight to the Big Island of Hawaii. As the locals told us, Maui has streams and the Big Island has rivers, so again we were hopeful. That hope grew strong once we peered out of the airplane windows to see rivers and waterfalls scattered across the coast.

Once had arrived we got our rental cars organized, loaded the boats and gear and found whitewater 5 minutes out of the airport once we crossed our first bridge. Instantly our group vibes changed and the fire our of stoke grew to a blaze. We immediately geared up and headed to the river to laps the drops as many times as we could before the sun set down.

The next day we got up early to start our mission on the mighty Wailuku River. Our focus was on the Wailuku River being it has the biggest drainage and holds it’s flow the longest. After our experience in Maui we knew it was necessary to stick to the larger rivers, being that we still faced no rain even on the Big Island. It took us three day to make it from our Put-In, the Waluku falls, down to the ocean. Our first day consisted of hiking upstream to the Wailuku Falls, though after some serious scouting of the 40ft falls we all concluded that the nasty lip combined with low flows probably wasn’t a great idea. We continued down stream to find more massive low volume water falls, until we made it to Mini Pe’ePe’e falls. Mini Pe’ePe’e was as clean as an 18ft falls could get. The cleaner style lip became more common as we continued downstream over smaller waterfalls and through the Boiling Pots. We found out why that area was called the Boiling Pots- the infamous lava tubes. Watching an entire river go underground and pop up again is not ideal for a whitewater kayaker, so we went slower during this section to ensure the team was being safe and steering clear of the tubes. In the Boiling Pots section we found a clean 25ft drop that landed into a 10 foot pool with no exit. While the drop itself was perfect its exit made running it a tough call. The low water allowed us to set proper safety to ensure the team could run it and get pulled out of the water before reaching the end of the eddy.  After scouting down stream we decided that our best option was to call it a day and get out at the riverside parking lot before venturing into the canyon down stream. 

On day two we got ready to venture through the next set of canyons following the 25 ft falls in the Boiling Pots. Together we decided to get one more lap off the 25ft falls to start the day, and then worked our way around the lava tube and continued down a fun 15 foot slide with a bad cave on the right. Quickly we found ourselves at another lip, this one being a little bit bigger. The 55ft Raptor Falls had a complicated entry, little volume but looked like it could have a clean run. After much deliberation, Dane was full of spunk and confidence so he went first. Watching from the lip, Dane pulled off what looked like a perfect line, until he fell through the falls and hit the green water behind it and gave himself a slight concussion. After a radio conversation explaining exactly what happened, the rest of our group opted to cliff jump. We tossed our kayaks and paddles over the edge, waiting for the clear sign from Dane below, and jumped, careful not to slip on the take off. The scenery alone while paddling this river made it even more amazing. Tight canyons, clean low volume waterfalls followed the 55 footer, which brings us to our next sequence rapids- the ‘Hawaiian bobsled’, a tight narrow slide into a 15ft boof. Immediatley following the narrow ‘Hawaiin Bobsled was an amazing sequence which we dubbed- Pineapple Express. This rapid is a fun short canyon with a 10 ft slide followed by a 5ft boot, into a narrow canyon that ends with a 35ft drop. This became one of our favorite sections of the Wailuku because of the visuals and the fact the whitewater was epic. We finished day two with another roadside parking lot at Rainbow Falls.

Day 3 of paddling the Wailuku started early back at Rainbow Falls. Our original plan for the trip was to come run the famous 120ft Falls, though still cursed with extreme low flows we chose to set up a repel at the lip of the waterfall and continue our way downstream. Below Rainbow Falls we found tons of great waterfalls and fun rapids stacked up onto of each other. One rapid quickly became one of our favorites- a 20ft drop with a kicker at the lip that we named, ‘Hyper Boof’. This rapid was so much fun that we lapped it more times then I could keep track of. Just barely taking the favorite rapid title from Hyper Boof was the following rapid-  a twisting rapid that slides into a 90 bend and drops off a 10ft drop. We named this the ‘Shaka Brah’ which is the Hawaiin hand sign for ‘Hang Loose’. Later in the week we returned to challenge ourselves with different down river freestyle tricks off this awesome rapid. After a couple more slides we came to the the final canyon that ends into the ocean. The last drop has enough fingers and channels that each paddler was able to pick a different line as we dropped into the ocean. It was a crazy feeling to paddle in fresh water all day only to end it with getting splashed in the face by salt water. We celebrated the completion of the river with a couple surfs before taking out. We only had to walk a few feet across the street to our take out, which is also a Bar and Grill.

We ended our trip with a couple more laps on the Wailuku until the water dropped too low to even scrape down the amazing sections we had found. We finally and to put away the kayaks and pick up some surf boards as we spent out last days surf out on the ocean. Though we walked away from Hawaii feeling like the whole expedition was a success and we can’t wait to get back to explore some more.

Many people have asked me “why did you go from the excitement of bass boat fishing to kayak fishing?…Why did you downgrade?…” I’ve heard them all! But I always answer the same way: “…Life throws you curveballs and you have to lean how to swing at them and hit them successfully!”

Due to a certain event I was forced to sell my precious Bullet Bass Boat with a 250HP Evinrude engine that allowed me to rip the water at more than 83 mph (GPS), but knowing where my passion is, I was determined NEVER to stop fishing. So I decided to give kayak fishing a go.

If you have never tried it, you don’t know what you’re missing!

It is a relatively inexpensive sport. And I say “relatively inexpensive” because it can get as expensive as you want it to get, depending on how you want to rig your kayak; but a typical kayak will run from $300-$800, for just a vessel that will keep you floating on the water and take you from point A to point B, up to $1,000-$8,000 for a fishing-specific kayak, that comes from the store pretty much ready to fish. Your investment will increase the more you accessorize your boat. You can rig a kayak pretty much just like a bass boat! You can add fish finders, mounts for every known gadget on earth, electronic anchors, livewell/baitwell, even trolling motors! Having said all that, the cost of owning a kayak will never compare to the cost of owning a boat.

No trailer needed. What does this mean for you? Less burnt gas equals more money in your pocket that you can put towards purchasing more gear! As long as you have a good set of roof racks on your car you can transport one or two kayaks with a small auto. Also, this means that you don’t necessarily have to find a boat launch to get to the water. If you can find an opening that leads to the water you can drag your boat to it and start fishing.

Kayaks are “green machines”. You don’t need gas or a mixture of gas/oil to run them, making them easy to maintain and environmentally friendlier.   As long as your arms are strong and healthy you can run kayaks all day long. Being quieter boats they allow you to be in more direct contact with nature without scaring the fauna that inhabits it. It is amazing to see moose, deer, even bears coming to the edge of a lake or river to take a sip of water or catch the odd fish to feed themselves. You see nature in its purest form. Being able to approach your fishing holes in “ninja mode” means you won’t scare the fish away, therefore increasing your chances of catching that trophy fish!

 Kayaks are the ATVs of boating. The one thing I like the most about kayaking is the fact that I can fish almost any type of water. Imagine during the summer, after the spring thaw, the water levels of rivers and their tributaries start to go down. This means that at that time some fish –lots of them!- get landlocked between fallen trees and beaver dams. These “pockets” of water can hold lots of fish, and big fish! The only way of accessing these pools is by getting off your kayak and pulling it over the humps, portage around or run rapids and keep fishing. No way you’d be able to do that with a motorboat!

Kayaking has one drawback. As everything in life, kayak fishing has its pros and cons. We have talked about the benefits of this magnificent and rapidly growing sport. The only “negative” thing I’ve found when it comes to kayak fishing is the fact that you can’t cover as much water as you normally can with a motorboat. You are limited to the number of spots you can hit in a day because the average speed you can reach with a kayak varies between 2-4.5 mph. But taking your time working around a given area gives you countless hours of great satisfaction!

As you can see, kayak fishing has more pros than cons. It’s a great way of meeting people that share the same passion for the sport. Tournaments, although serious, are fun and usually end up in social events after the main event.

If you haven’t tried kayak fishing I invite you to do it. It’s just like they say in the industry: “Once you yak you won’t wanna go back!”

Keep those lines wet!

Roberto Briones “DrB”
Twitter and Instagram @DrBOutdoors
Pro staff for Jackson Kayak, Bending Branches Paddles, St. Croix Rods, Orion Coolers

March 30, 2016 – Jackson Kayak Announces Freestyle Sensation, Tomasz Czaplicki, to Team JK

Jackson Kayak is proud to welcome Polish legend, Tomasz Czaplicki to their whitewater team. Tomasz is a top contender in freestyle kayaking and known for his colorful combinations on the waves and holes of the world. He joins Jackson Kayak to begin his training in Jackson’s Rockstar freestyle kayak with aims at the next World Championships in 2017.

References:

• Bio: http://jacksonkayak.com/team-jk/regional-team/tomasz-czaplicki/

The 16 time Polish Champion has finished first in the European Championships and in the top 3 on the World’s stage. Tomasz arrives at Jackson Kayak on the heals of one of the most successful World Championships for the brand where, on the Ottawa River in Canada, it captured all medals but a handful. Tomasz joins an already strong European contingent for the 2016 season.

About Tomasz Czaplicki: From Jelenia Gora, North-West Poland, Tomasz seeks rivers around Europe and the world to compete on. He is a 16 time Polish Champion, Euro Cup Champion, Bronze Medalist at the 2013 World Championships and an accomplished Squirt Boat competitor. The bronze medal was Poland’s first ever medal on the world’s stage.

About Jackson Kayak: Jackson Kayak was founded in 2003 by Eric Jackson and Tony Lunt. Currently located in Sparta, Tenn., near the Caney Fork River, Jackson Kayak designs, builds, and manufactures leading whitewater, fishing and exploration paddlesports products. With the moto “Build it like it’s your own”, all of their products are Made in the USA in growing support of the local Tennessee economy. Market leaders in both the whitewater and kayak fishing, kayak manufacturing and strong in the exploration sector, Jackson Kayak continues to introduce new product lines each year; this year including a new SUP line are amongst 8 new products for 2013. Jackson Kayak’s success is largely due to delivering high quality products through paddlesports specialty shops globally; all supported by regional, national and international team members who are engaged to promote the paddling lifestyle.

More photos available

CONTACT: James McBeath 613-256-0598 james@jacksonkayak.com

First off, it’s exciting to be writing a letter of introduction into Jackson Kayak! Kayaking has been my life’s journey and to conjoin with a company of people whose passions parallel my own is a great feeling. It’s been a long amazing path to end up with a company I respect so much. In the following paragraphs I’ll explain what has brought me to Jackson Kayak and why this is an exciting partnership.

Decades in this sport has given me many lifetime experiences and sculpted my perspective and involvement in the whitewater industry. My goals in kayaking, aside from realizing the apex of my physical ability and performance, have been to heighten the sport of kayaking in participation, skill, discipline and innovation. In short, to give back to the sport which has given me everything. While extreme and expedition kayaking are the things which I will continue to be known for it’s really the simplicity of life on the river, joining a river on a journey of its own, and being in the presence of river people which are the aspects of paddling I will always hold close. Without a doubt we are involved in the greatest sport and lifestyle imaginable! I feel incredibly lucky not only to have paddling in my life but also to have been able to shape it into my career and continue to progress in this process, bringing me to Jackson Kayak.

When it comes to paddling hard class V whitewater and trusting your life to a boat, nothing can outweigh the importance of paddling boat designs you believe in. I’ve found myself more and more borrowing Jackson boats to paddle. First with the Super Star and then with the Karma and Zen I began realizing I felt more comfortable and was paddling more predictably well than ever in the Jackson boat designs. When I couldn’t get my boat on the plane to Zambia and borrowed a Zen to paddle the Minus Rapids and most of the Zambezi River my belief in the Jackson designs was cemented. I went from paddling hard class V and being gripped to doing it with the biggest smile on my face. The designs aren’t good, they are amazing, and I can honestly say paddling Jackson boats simply makes kayaking more fun for me and in turn makes me a better paddler.

It’s no surprise that a company owned and operated by paddlers are creating the best designs and doing more to support our sport than any other kayak manufacturer. Jackson Kayak as a whole maintains qualities that I admire most in people: integrity, hard work, and the honorable spirit of the people who are behind it. Jackson has an intrinsic dedication to the sport and the same qualities that make the Jacksons superstar athletes also creates the success of this company. To work closely with people I enjoy and respect is a dream come true for me and I greatly look forward to finding my place amongst an already stellar team of people.

Life’s journey, like that of a river, is rarely a straight line. After decades of paddling, running the highest waterfalls ever paddled, the biggest rapids on the planet, countless expeditions around the world, first descents, and more competitions than I can remember, I found myself wanting to challenge myself in a diversity of ways which would help me learn more about myself and the world around me. I sculpted the Wizard’s Eye Expedition to fuel the need to diversify my experiences in what I saw as the ultimate adventure. For me this expedition was one of the greatest educations and adventures I could imagine and it has turned out to be exactly that. Now three years and three quarters of the way around the world, the Wizard’s Eye has arrived back to the Americas and is nearing completion of her circumnavigation. Long passages and time at sea has given me perspective as to what I love most in life and where I want to invest my energy. Not surprisingly everything has come full circle as the circumnavigation nears completion. Kayaking is without a doubt where my heart is. I’m excited for the future in my kayak, grateful for the perspective I’ve gleaned from the Wizard’s Eye, and fired up to take my paddling career new levels.

With Jackson Kayak I look forward to lots of laughs, amazing days on the river, meeting new friends, and working hard to continue to build the best kayaking brand there has ever been!

-Tyler

I am now on the Road for the next couple months, with Emily and Tucker and we have decided to document our journey across the country as we get ready for the 2016 GoPro Mountain Games.

Stay tuned and watch the series ‘Road to the Mountains’ as we prepare for the 2016 GoPro Mountain Games with episodes on training secrets, interviews with athletes, and lots of fun and shenanigans along the way.

Well we finally made it to the west coast, and then drove north until we made it to Washington State. Our first stop was the North West Creeking competition. I have heard a lot about this event, though I had never been before. I arrived on Friday morning and it was pretty empty, I had to search to even find another kayaker to paddle the river with. Though by the evening the whole park was starting to fill in.

Saturday morning was a shocking surprise when I woke up to find a couple hundred car, trailer, tents and people that had swarmed and taken over the whole park. Registration started in the morning and even with the announced low water there were still at least 90 competitors for the Lower Lewis Race.

I ended racing in the short and long boat classes, and had a blast on the amazing river and tight little gorge. The run itself was a blast, but adding the excitement of the race made it even more fun. After an exhausting 10 minute race my arms felt like jello, though my hard work payed off with a win in both classes.

Though the real show began in the evening as the party kicked off with an amazing BBQ stake/chicken dinner. It didn’t take long for the Ninkasi kegs to start flowing and the music pumping. It was an amazing event and I can’t wait to head back next year!

Here is my winning short boat lap from the race.

We have finally made our trek out to the west coast, and then we kept driving north to White Salmon Washington. Once here we met up with some friends to enjoy the outdoors and get some creek race training in on the famous Little White River. Luckily fellow team member and good friend, Rafa Ortiz, was able to show me some fun lines, and a couple crashes.

The family is off to the biggest little city, Reno Nevada. Both Emily and I competed in the Reno River Festival and the National Championships for Freestyle Kayaking, where Emily took home the title National Champ, while I won the C-1, Slalom, Boater-X and took second in the Freestyle behind National Champ, Stephen Wright. So much fun to be had at the 2016 River Festival.

After a couple weeks of training and competing I figured it was time to get the whole family out on the water and take our 2 year old son Tucker out kayaking. Emily and myself, along with two close friends, Jason Craig and Phil Sheppard, took Tucker down the Truckee River in Nevada. It was a epic day of river fun with some train spotting, looking for animals like beavers, ducks and geese, and a great finish with some jungle gym fun in the park. I know Tucker had a blast, check out the video for yourself and let me know what you think.

It has been a LONG winter in Canada. All of our reels have been cleaned and greased…twice! Our rods have been collecting dust for several months now. Enough! It’s summer now and time to enjoy our favourite pastime. Time to get our kayaks out, wet some lines and wash some lures.

If you’re a lure-a-holic like myself, you probably bought as many, as you could possibly afford during the winter. But hey, we fish from kayaks and there is only so much we can take before our kayak starts sinking carrying the weight of our tackle boxes.

How should you prepare for opening day?

Choose a lake or river. If it’s your first time on that body of water do some research on it. Nowadays there is ample information on just about anything on the Internet. Find out what species live there; but most importantly what are those trophy fish feeding on.   Try to “match-the-hatch”.   Ask around and get some advice on the area; places where you can launch and which direction you should paddle. Fishing forums are great places to get some insight on different destinations. Study the map of the lake/river and choose your destination(s). Google Earth has incredible aerial views that you can zoom in/out to give you a better perspective of the terrain.

Check the weather forecast. You’ve been waiting several months for this day to come. The last thing you want is to have a bummer of a day by not preparing yourself for the elements. Fresh, quick-drying clothes are what you need, but also have light rain gear in case there’s a change in weather. Bring a hat/cap to protect your scalp from the sun. Polarized eye wear is very useful to protect your eyes from the sun, but most importantly, the polarizing feature of your “shades” is to reduce the glare of the water so you can see those fish swimming. And, last but not least, wear sunscreen. Melanoma (skin cancer) is not a very nice way to end your fishing career. That’s the doctor in me talking! Also, bring plenty of fluids. Paddling burns calories and your body sweats from both, the summer heat and exercise. You will loose electrolytes and you need to replenish them. Water and some electrolyte drinks are good to carry on your kayak.  You may also want to bring along something to eat.

You’ll need that tackle. It’s summer (finally!) and water temperatures are on the rise, which means that fish are getting more active, but those active fish are not necessarily the biggest. I personally like to bring along spinnerbaits and crankbaits to look for them. Once I know where they’re hanging I slow down my presentation with either wacky-style senkos or -my favourite- dropshot rigged with PowerTeam Lures JP Hammer Shads. The weight on the end of your line will depend on the water current: the stronger the current, the heavier the weight you’ll need. Slowing down your presentation means you’ll be taunting the big mommas putting the food in front of their noses. Fish are big because they’re lazy and don’t like to work hard to get their food; they’re opportunistic. Big fish are fat because they don’t burn as many calories. As for the lure colours you have to remember one thing: fish have their eyes located on top of their heads, which means that they look upwards. Therefore, if you have an overcast sky, it would be useful to bring along darker lures that contrast the clouds in the sky. Opposite is when you have a clear sky: bright colours work better most of the time (do not use blue). In murky water it really doesn’t matter what lure colours you use, as long as they are noisy or create enough vibration to attract them.

Never leave home without these items. Nothing frustrates a kayak fisherman more than forgetting his/her paddle. I have read numerous rants about friends forgetting their paddle after traveling a long distance to get to their fishing grounds. Touch wood, I have never forgotten mine, but it happens! When choosing your paddle keep in mind your height and the width of your vessel. There are numerous types of paddles in the market. They come in different lengths and materials used. They also come in an array of different budgets. You can get them less expensive with aluminum shafts, but they are heavier. I don’t recommend using aluminum shaft paddles because in colder weather they tend to cool down a lot and can be quite uncomfortable in your bare hands. Other types of paddles have fiberglass shafts. These are in the middle of the cost spectrum. They are better for colder weather and don’t get as cold as aluminum shafts. The best all-around paddles have carbon fibre shafts. They are light, which is helpful when paddling long distances, but they tend to be more expensive.  My paddle of choice is the BendingBranches Angler Pro Plus, with an adjustable carbon fibre ferrule.

The second item your should NEVER leave without and the most important piece of equipment is your PFD. It’s like your life insurance: you buy it and hope you never have to make use of it. If you’re on the water WEAR IT! It’s that simple. Every year many people drown because they forget to wear it. Your life is worth more than your investment in one. There are many brands out there. Like your kayak, try them out and buy the one that fits you better and comes with the features that you’re looking for to enjoy a fun day on the water. Kokatat, Mustang, Stohlquist and Astral make some of the best life jackets in the market.

Hopefully you find these tips useful for bass opener in Canada and always remember: “A bad day of fishing is better than a good day at the office”. Good fishing and see y’all on the water!

Well, this year was the highest water levels I had ever seen for the GoPro Steep Creek race. The Homestake creek course is usually notorious for being low volume, and tons of sharp shallow rocks. A normal flow is between 80-200 CFS (cubic feet per second), though this year the race was in the 600’s and we had several practice laps in the 800’s CFS while leading up to the race.

Though after putting in several practice laps, it finally came time for the race day. It was a great day, warm weather, sunny skies, and lots of racers and spectators, a perfect start for the 2016 Mountain Games. The water was high, powerful and fast.

The format was 2 runs with with best time counting, and then top 10 racers make it to a finals of 1 run fastest time wins. My first run felt pretty good, a couple very minor mistakes, but overall quite solid. I felt comfortable with my first run, though it still only landed me in 9th place. This had me a little worried going into the second rides and I knew I need to go a bit faster. Though my attempt at paddling harder and faster turned out a mistake as I bobbled and made multiple timely errors. I would have to stick with my first run time, which after everyone had finished their second runs, left me in 10th place. It was tight, but i had made it into the finals unscathed, which was more to say then most. The course had been handing out some beatings with the higher water levels.

Going into finals in last place enabled me to go first, being it is reverse seating, which helped me focus on my line and not let the announcers distract me with talk of the other racers. I tried to go harder, though focus my energy on being smooth. My line was feeling good, though I had a minor mistake, I kept paddling and trying my best. I finished feeling good, not perfect but good. Though I knew that there were 9 racers still to go, all who qualified with faster times then mine. I actually got out of my boat to watch the rest of the racers, and my good friends finish their runs. Everyone looked exceptionally fast, though I was shocked to find out I still finished in 3rd place.

After the day was done I was more then fired up to share the podium with my good friends Alec and Isaac, and exceptionally glad to walk away with only a couple starched knuckles. I can’t wait to come back and race again next year.

This video is about my NFC Race Run

SPARTA, TN (June 2016) – Jackson Kayak adds another solid performer to its extensive fishing kayak line. The Cuda HD is the ultimate choice for in-shore and lake kayak fishing. The HD version improves upon one of Jackson Kayak’s top-selling kayaks, the Cuda. The Cuda HD is longer, more stable and includes more high performance features than the original.

The Cuda HD will be shown at iCast in Orlando this week, booth 2321!

Kayak anglers will appreciate these Cuda HD features:

• Longer length – 12’10” for enhanced stability
• Increased width – 32.5” for enhanced stability
• Elite Seat 3.0 System with Hi-Low and Fore-Aft trimming for better comfort
• Rod tip tubes to protect gear
• New hinging bow hatch system
• Various standard RAM and flush mount rod holders
• YakAttack track systems to add accessories and customize placement within reach
• Standing pad for comfort when sight fishing
• Designed to easily add on Raymarine^® and Power-Pole^® accessories for customization.

The Cuda HD is designed for performance in in-shore and lake applications. The hull design features a low profile which reduces the effects of wind and faster hull design which provides a nice balance between speed and stability. A wider hull creates a more stable standing platform and makes the Cuda HD well-suited for larger paddlers, beginners and more gear. The new Elite Seat 3.0 System has multiple hi/lo positions and can move forward and aft for self trimming. A Plano^® box comes standard and fits comfortably in the underseat storage pockets. The seat can also be removed for use on shore.

“The Cuda has long been one of our top sellers as it fits into one of the most popular sizes and accommodates so many different waterways.  This year we decided to upgrade it with all the things our team and consumer base has been asking for.  The end result is a pretty amazing kayak to fish out of,” said Jackson Kayak Marketing Manager James McBeath.

The Cuda HD will be available at Jackson Kayak dealers in 2017. Manufacturer suggested retail price is $1,799.

About Jackson Kayak: Jackson Kayak was founded in 2003 by Eric Jackson and Tony Lunt. Located in Sparta, Tennessee, near the Caney Fork River, Jackson Kayak designs, builds, and manufactures leading whitewater, fishing and exploration paddlesports products. With the motto “Build it like it’s your own”, all of their products are Made in the USA in growing support of the local Tennessee economy. Market leaders in both the whitewater and kayak fishing, kayak manufacturing and strong in the exploration sector, Jackson Kayak continues to introduce new product lines each year. Jackson Kayak’s success is largely due to delivering high quality products through paddlesports specialty shops globally; all supported by regional, national and international team members who are engaged to promote the paddling lifestyle.

CONTACT: James McBeath 613-256-0598 james@jacksonkayak.com

SPARTA, TN (June 2016) – Jackson Kayak announces the MayFly fishing kayak, a boat that leads the way in being designed and built specifically for fly anglers.  This sit-on-top kayak is designed for fishing waters that range from trout streams, to lakes and ponds and inshore flats alike.  Jackson has developed a snag-free deck by making it difficult to hook a line around foot rests, storage and other key components, but without losing the Jackson advantage of a great fishing set up.  This kayak will feature some great new fly fishing specific accessories and features like fly patches, fly rod and hidden fly box sized storage.

Jackson Kayak will be showing the Mayfly Prototype at iCast in Orlando, booth 2321!

Kayak anglers will appreciate these MayFly features:

• Thoughtful design to aid in fly line management
• Longer length – 12’6” for increased speed and tracking
• Versatile hull design for flat and calm moving water fishing environments

• Increased width – 34” for enhanced stability while seated and standing, beginner-friendly
• New Elite Seat System with Hi-Low and Fore-Aft trimming for better comfort
• Rod tip tubes to protect gear
• New hinging hatches and footrest designed to be fly line friendly
• YakAttack track systems to add accessories and customize placement within reach
• Standing pad for comfort when sight fishing
• Standard accessories like RAM Mounts^® fishing rod
• Designed to easily add on Power-Pole^® accessories for customization

The MayFly is a clean and well organized kayak featuring flip-down down and snag-free fly box storage bins with integrated fly patches on sidewalls. An open footwell area makes it easy to stand and move around, and present a snag-free place to strip line.

The MayFly’s longer hull offers a versatile balance of speed and manuerability. Well-suited for flatwater, it can also handle calm moving water environments common to fly anglers. The wider hull is great for beginners and anglers who like to move between sitting and standing. The new Elite Seat 3.0 System has multiple hi/lo positions and can move forward and aft for self trimming. A Therm-a-Rest^® lumbar pad enhances seated comfort. The seat can also be removed for use on shore. Easily accessible storage areas on the deck, and bow and stern hatches to interior storage are secured with hinging hatches. The front hatch is designed as a paddle holder.

This new elite kayak will also come with the new Platypus^® Hydration System, a new feature to Jackson Kayak’s top fishing kayaks.

“Kayak fishing had matured to a point where there’s a kayak made specifically for nearly every fishing style and body of water – except fly fishing,” explained Jackson Kayak Brand Manager Damon Bungard. “There’s always something that got in the way. That time is over. As the specialty leader, we felt it was time to make a no-compromise fly fishing kayak with the features and performance demanded by both beginner and dedicated fly anglers. We’ve come up with a hull optimized to perform in still-water and in-shore conditions, prioritized stability for standing and casting and developed features focused on fly line management – like a snag-free footrest and hidden fly box compartments. The MayFly represents years of real-world experience kayak fly fishing all over the world, and says that yes, you too, may fly fish from a kayak.”

The MayFly will be available at Jackson Kayak dealers in 2017. Manufacturer suggested retail price is $1,799.

About Jackson Kayak: Jackson Kayak was founded in 2003 by Eric Jackson and Tony Lunt. Located in Sparta, Tennessee, near the Caney Fork River, Jackson Kayak designs, builds, and manufactures leading whitewater, fishing and exploration paddlesports products. With the motto “Build it like it’s your own”, all of their products are Made in the USA in growing support of the local Tennessee economy. Market leaders in both the whitewater and kayak fishing, kayak manufacturing and strong in the exploration sector, Jackson Kayak continues to introduce new product lines each year. Jackson Kayak’s success is largely due to delivering high quality products through paddlesports specialty shops globally; all supported by regional, national and international team members who are engaged to promote the paddling lifestyle.

CONTACT: James McBeath 613-256-0598 james@jacksonkayak.com