Had some recent crap go down in my life and looking for some good outlets...

Kayaking and camping and a combo of the two sound pretty appealing to me, but I'm pretty green. Not quite ready to pull the trigger on buying a brand new kayak yet, but would consider a used, reliable one in good shape. Also investigating the must haves to pull it all together.

Any good recommendations on where to go to find like-minded folks? Anyone around San Antonio that would like to go on some, at the least, day trips.

Also, yes I realize we're entering colder weather but my enthusiasm persists!

PACK does a lot of fishing, but they may know people that do touring or expeditions as well.

You can kayak any time of the year with proper preparation.

If you are going to be camping or taking overnight trips, i'd Recommend a 13-15 foot boat with good storage and capacity. There are lots of choices. You can probably find a used one on pack or TKF forums or Craigslist or an REI used gear sale or even here from time to time.

Used yaks will be least expensive starting out for sure. Look at website for Texas kayak fisherman (tkf). Has lots of good info. There used to be a San Antonio tkf group, probably still around. October is a great fishing month.

PACK used to do a big camp weekend at the old airbase on matagorda island from port o'connor That looked very fun.

I have a kayak and canoe. The canoe gets used way more for camping. Just might be worth considering. The kayak is nice and small but I can handle loading/unloading/paddling my canoe by myself. And I have room for a large igloo with steaks, cheese, eggs, and several cans of 95% water.

I've only bought used. I just watched Craigslist and researched what ever came up until I found a deal.

I'm like minded folks and right up the road in NB. I've done plenty of canoe camping/fishing trips but almost completely green with tripping in a kayak.

There's nothing like getting into nature to clear the head.

I did the demo days at ACK, found a brand I like, and check craigslist and TKF daily. Trying to be patient.

I'll keep an eye on this thread.

Also just got myself and the wife used fishing kayaks, live in SA. Haven't gone fishing or camping yet with them, just taken them out for a couple outings on rivers. Very interested in fishing/camping with it though. Won't be going out till spring as my fall is packed with Aggie games, hunting, and weddings.

If you want to go big or go home and completely immerse yourself... Sign up for a Texas Water Safari crew looking for fresh blood.

Or be a little more reasonable and tag along with some people from TKF when they do group outings.

Salt of the water said:

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If you want to go big or go home and completely immerse yourself... Sign up for a Texas Water Safari crew looking for fresh blood.

Or be a little more reasonable and tag along with some people from TKF when they do group outings.

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Organized a trip (day trip) to the San Marcos river and did the Luling paddling trail.
Holy crap, I'm in love. We had a great time and the San Marcos is not an overpopulated river by any means. We at the entire stretch to ourselves.

The Texas Water Safari is the ultimate goal, but I know I'm not there yet.

By next spring I'd like to have enough gear and be seasoned enough to be able to pull a permit and do the Devil's River from Baker's Crossing to Lake Amistad...minimum of 4 full days.

I've looked into the devils river but didn't get to it before I moved out of state.

A lot of recs I saw said get out while it's still river and not go to the lake. The last stretch is supposed to be brutal

I can't PM you but you can reach me at my username AT gmail.com.

I'm thinking about doing Nichol's landing this weekend.
Right now, I rent gear from ACK in San Antonio.

CharlieBrown17 said:

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A lot of recs I saw said get out while it's still river and not go to the lake. The last stretch is supposed to be brutal

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Hm. I'll have to see what that's about. I've talked to a few that said it was a good trip but that it's a step up from many of the other inland trails in Texas. Not sure what that means exactly...

AggieArchitect04 said:

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Salt of the water said:

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If you want to go big or go home and completely immerse yourself... Sign up for a Texas Water Safari crew looking for fresh blood.

Or be a little more reasonable and tag along with some people from TKF when they do group outings.

---

Organized a trip (day trip) to the San Marcos river and did the Luling paddling trail.
Holy crap, I'm in love. We had a great time and the San Marcos is not an overpopulated river by any means. We at the entire stretch to ourselves.

The Texas Water Safari is the ultimate goal, but I know I'm not there yet.

By next spring I'd like to have enough gear and be seasoned enough to be able to pull a permit and do the Devil's River from Baker's Crossing to Lake Amistad...minimum of 4 full days.

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Check out putting in a Bergheim Campground. That stretch of Guadalupe between there and the State Park is excellent and rarely crowded. Especially after Edge Falls Rd.

The wind is supposed to be killer.

I was planning to go less miles per day to fish more

If you're interested, I have a 3 time used Tamarack Angler 100 I would sell for $150. I'm moving and won't be taking it with me. Located in Frisco.

email sent.

Heading to Baffin Bay this weekend, but after that, I'm in.

Going today! I was reading a guidebook and saw where they had 2 Class II/III rapids. Haven't done that yet so we'll see what happens.

How was it?

When the water is moving alright there's a bend, drop and a boulder to contend with that is VERY interesting. Plus the spring/waterfall is always a highlight.



If we get another weekend before December with temps above 80 I might try and get in another trip.

It was awesome.

"Dogleg rapid" was a good test. Abrupt ~3ft drop with, as you mentioned, good sized limestone to get hung up on. We didn't scout ahead. I was first down, got snagged between two rocks and got sideways but recovered.

Saw that waterfall in your pic. I took quite a few photos. I'll see if I can get them uploaded to share.

Overall, beautiful day and beautiful trip. Great scenery. Quiet and calm. Thanks for the recommendation. It was definitely what I was after.

Did you make it all the way to the State Park? In peak summer season they stop doing that half of the trip since the park gets very difficult to get in an out of.

Yeah. We went from the campgrounds all the way down to the state park. Guys at Bergheim told us the river widens and slows after Edge Falls Rd but we didn't notice much of a difference...

If you get an opportunity and don't mind someone tagging along...

Give me a call. I'll kayak with you.

Me & a friend are likely hitting the San Marcos on Sunday. Email if interested d e v o n h a n n a a t g m a i l

II'm in! Lets do it!

I'll email you to get the details.

AggieArchitect04: If ya get interested in Kayaking in Salt Water, try these guys in Port Aransas, TX, they are pros and have been around for years: SlowRide Guide Services. https://www.slowrideguide.com, 361-758-0463

AggieArchitect04 said:

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If you get an opportunity and don't mind someone tagging along...

Give me a call. I'll kayak with you.

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Will do. Looks like it will be in the spring, though.

I'm fairly new to this as well, bought a kayak but haven't used it nearly as much as I'd like.

Speaking of the San Marcos River, maybe a dumb question, but is it safe with all the rain? What's the best way to tell if conditions are good for kayaking a river besides direct observation? I know for most (all?) rivers, discharge rates and gage heights are often listed right?

Don't be too proud to start and realize conditions are above your level and quit and head back to launch.

Did that more than once when I was new.

dustin999 said:

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I'm fairly new to this as well, bought a kayak but haven't used it nearly as much as I'd like.

Speaking of the San Marcos River, maybe a dumb question, but is it safe with all the rain? What's the best way to tell if conditions are good for kayaking a river besides direct observation? I know for most (all?) rivers, discharge rates and gage heights are often listed right?

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Frequent some of the Texas kayak fishing web sites.

Look at the river flow sites and make your determination based opinions average flows versus current conditions.

You can scout the river or, if available, call an outfitter. They seem to keep a good tab on river conditions.

San Marcos should be okay I believe.
I'd stay away from the Llano for a while though. ;-)

It was a great trip Sunday! Thanks OP for joining us. I'm still embarrassed I managed to find a way to get soaked.

For anyone else watching this thread, we did the San Marcos from Martindale to Staples. The water was up a little but still very slow. It seems like the fishing would be fantastic, but either I was throwing the wrong jigs or it was the wrong time of day... I got skunked. It's real scenic with mostly ranch land and few houses. Overall, it's a great 4 hr trip if you just feel like relaxing.

I had a great time. A few riffles but nothing too serious. Yes the river was definitely up. Looked like a muddy, rainwater but still fun. Relaxing and a good current the whole time. I feel like I'm on borrowed time with turning over.

Racer X, I'd be down for going again and anyone else who wants to join feel free.

Going out tomorrow.
Who's with me?!