Catch of the Day

Two mile tow, averaging an easy 3 MPH with two of us towing and boat motor up. We tried a sprint and got up to 4.5 MPH briefly. Notice the look on the girls face. We weren't sure if this was about being photographed or her companion running out of gas.


(Photo by Lee)

I'm pretty sure that she's just wondering "which one?".

How did it work out?? Catch and release?

Nice!

Why isn't the guy in the boat trolling under the free tow?

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Dr.SteelheadCatcher
Warrenton, OR

We released them at the dock (after the proper parading around the area) and are looking forward to catching them again soon. Maybe next time they will bring a paddle so they can participate in their own rescue!

Exactly -- he could have had about 40 minutes of good fishing and she could have been preparing their picnic lunch! Maybe they thought it was bad form to have a good time while we were "doing all the work", but in truth, we were having a great time cruising around around with our "prize"! We made a point to greet every one along the way and since most boaters don't believe a kayak can tow a motor boat, it's always enjoyable to observe the reaction.

A good catch like this is always the highlight of the day!

That's what I am talking about!!!!!! You did good... I bet that sprint at 4.5 MPH was labor intenstive and took a while to recover from the extra leg work!!!

Why didn't you give a paddle from each yak to each person in the boat and say get to work, swabbies!!!!!

We have some friends on the lake who were close by with whom we hold these little sprint races from time to time for fun and exercise. So we had an impromptu race with our boat in tow (thus the sprint) vs their 2-man canoe. They beat us as you might expect, but at least they had the good manners not to kick us out of the ball park!

They'd probably expect union wages! Seriously, if physical conditions called for their additional assistance, we would have issued the paddles without hesitation. But as with fishing, you want to bring the fish in without assistance (unless necessary) so you don't have to share the credit. There is an opportunity for a certain amount of bravado in moments like these that some of us enjoy in a demented way (speaking only for myself). Fortunately this was an unusually easy tow (light, clean boat, favorable winds, two towing). There are other times when you get much heavier boats, dirty configurations, headwinds or crosswinds, no help and you're pedaling like heck to maintain 1.5 MPH and directional control like this:

Priceless picture... I love the look on the girl's face! They should put that on the front of the Hobie catalog.

Since getting a Hobie I find I am actually quite popular with the "paddle girls" -- by which I mean girls with paddle kayaks. When they get tired, I will just pull up along side them, grab their hull with my hand, and paddle them along. It's actually nice because being right next to the person you can converse easily. When they're rested up, just let go and they are back on their way. No lines to fuss with.

And man, when the wind picks up, I'm as popular as Elvis at an all-girls concert!

Although I think the "paddle boys" are starting to resent all the female attention I'm getting...