Blog

The new Jackson Kayak Kraken Review with Caney Fork Outdoors Fishing Team Jonathan Meyers. I recently had an opportunity to get a little time out on the water with one of Jackson kayak’s newest fishing kayaks, the 2015 Jackson Kayak Kraken. I will talk about the new features of the Jackson Kayak Kraken followed by my overall impressions of the Kraken. First, the Kraken comes ha …
read more

When I started paddling, I heard a lot about “working a river,” but I had no idea what it meant. (At that time, it was enough work just trying to stay upright.) Fortunately, there were plenty of more seasoned paddlers around who were happy to instruct me on what’s involved in the process. Now, in between challenging ourselves on harder rivers, my friends and I periodically have …
read more

I recently posted a trip report of my PFD on the Upper Nantahala. Here’s a video of some friends and me running one of the most fun rapids, Troll Hole, at Nantahala Outdoor Center’s Guest Appreciation Festival last weekend. Yes, it was easier this time! :) (Paddlers: Michael Neff, LC, Allison Ware, Pat Ross, Drew Bonham, Samantha Ruppelt, and Intervening Random Strangers.) …
read more

I love my paddling buddies more than – well, just about anything. Paddlers in general warm my heart, even if they’re just strangers passing by with boats on their car on the way to the river. They’re wonderful in so many ways – generous, free-spirited, courageous, irreverent, hilarious – much like Mary Poppins … “practically perfect in every way.” And then I read the …
read more

The setup: After getting my pool roll fairly solid, one of the people who had helped me get it that way, Samantha Ruppelt, posted on Facebook that she was doing a beginning creeking clinic. She didn’t specify which river. I contacted her and told her I was interested in joining, if she thought I was ready. We talked a bit about my previous experience, and she said … no. I …
read more