Earth Day Paddle In Trash Out Event

It's a beautiful afternoon for our sunset Earth Day Paddle In Trash Out Event at West Neck Creek in Virginia Beach. We are all set up and so excited for the turnout of volunteers arriving shortly. With all of the boats we loaned out for free, a family of five with two canoes, and a couple with their own kayaks, we should be able to pull a lot of litter from the creek today.

Our first group, a father daughter team, are all geared up and eager to launch.

And they are off! This is their first time kayaking and they are extremely excited to help out while experiencing a kayaking trip on West Neck Creek.

Our second group is all ready to go! This father son team is also on their first kayak trip and excited to lend a helping hand with our clean up.

This couple just moved to the area and were happy to help out. We were sad to hear that one of their boats was damaged in storage, but happy to loan them one of ours so they could both make it out with us.

This family of five from Maine came equipped with two canoes and a lot of enthusiasm!

Right from the start they were taking advantage of the low water from the recent North East winds and were collecting litter from the banks.

Our last volunteer is on her way. We are excited to see how much litter this group can collect!

My son Logan thought it was the perfect time to try out dad's kayak for the first time :)

 The thunderstorms were approaching from the West but good thing we were in the clear until the event was over. The storm clouds created some picturesque views in the sky and everyone was off working hard on the creek.

We ran into one of our happy volunteers on her way back to drop off a load of litter at the launch site so she could head out and get some more.

 How do some of these things get here? An entire tire and rim was pulled from the mud and loaded up on the kayak.

Everyone one has returned and we are all amazed how much debris we have pulled from the creek in a hour and a half. From cellphones, to tires, to a front door and bags of bottles and broken glass, this Earth Day event was a huge success! We are extremely pleased with the turnout and the amazing effort everyone put forth in helping to leave our waterways a little cleaner than we found them! Taking on the world (and litter) with a paddle! Adventure Kayak Tours!

Twelve Months of Kayaking April Edition

Continuing our tradition, we selected West Neck Creek in Virginia Beach, Virginia for our April edition of The Twelve Months of Kayaking. Spring has definitely arrived here at West Neck Creek. Conditions were perfect for a day long paddle and nothing but glass as I launched out from West Neck Marina.

Heading North, I  passed under the West Neck Road bridge, immediately spotting a cormorant sunning himself on an old Cypress tree root.

Casting along a shallow cove, I landed my first large-mouth bass of the day early in this paddle. The water is beginning to warm slowly and the fish are on a feeding frenzy before they get on their beds.

All the Osprey nests on the creek are extremely active this time of year. The females are beginning to sit on their nests and the males are busy hunting on the creek and rebuilding the nests.

West Neck Creek is one of the best locations in Virginia Beach to get an up close view of Osprey, especially in the Spring.

Now traveling on the West side of the creek I landed another large-mouth in the shallows. Today the conditions were perfect to catch these hungry predators.

From around the point, two very curious Canadian geese swam right up to my kayak to see what all the commotion was about.

These two guys appeared to enjoy my company. They followed right along side of me for quite a while as I traveled South down the creek.

Heading North I witnessed an amazing site as I was approaching the bridge again. Dozens of swallows were gathering around the top of a tree creating a hypnotic pattern.

The weather was amazing and there was barely a ripple on the water the entire morning. I found another favorite spot of mine untouched and I began to work the shore line on the way back to the marina.

My third large-mouth of the day and I could not be happier with all the success I was having, even with the water temperatures hovering around 58 degrees.

Two more visitors showed up to investigate, members of one of the local families of otters. They didn't seem pleased I was invading their fishing grounds. Lucky for them I always practice catch and release!

Well it's time to head back to the marina. I've worked up an appetite today and one of my favorite things about arriving back at this launch area is the slow cooked BBQ provided by Blackwater Trading Post Catering. I'm excited to see the evidence of Spring finally showing its face in Virginia. Another day, another month, exploring the waterways of Coastal Virginia. See you all on the water!

FISH ON! and on and on and on......

After two unproductive fishing adventures at Northwest River, I decided to head to my favorite little piece of heaven West Neck Creek. After a quick stop inside the marina to say hello, I was armed with a drop shot plastic worm and a 3/4 spinner lure and ready to go!

I was about to hit the creek when I looked up and saw a bald eagle soaring overhead, being hurried out of the area by a nervous Osprey.

 OK, I'm finally on the way! Perfect conditions today on this beautiful creek and I'm hopeful that today is going to be a successful day. The winds are 5mph from the SSW and I'm headed straight across the creek to my first stop. A point I often catch small mouth bass on, a few casts in and I've already had two strong bites and two fish get off the hook right before I got them in the boat.

I quickly head off south down the creek to one of my favorite coves in the area. There are days I can fish this one area exclusively all day.

 After a few casts towards the cord grass I landed a heavy bowfin. He put up quite a good fight pulling my boat around for a few minutes before I finally got him in the kayak. FISH ON! This day is already off to a good start! Headed slightly north I remained on a float with the wind and landed a striped bass,

and then another,

and another,

and another,

and another!

The stripped bass were on a feeding frenzy and the spinner bait was their food of choice.I decided to take a break, this was a little overwhelming, and my favorite thing to do around lunch is to head back to West Neck Marina to get some of Steve's (owner of Blackwater Trading Post Catering) homemade bbq. As I approached the point entering the marina cove, I decided to cast a few on the shore line and hooked up with a beautiful large mouth bass!

I was close enough to the marina that I decided to keep this big guy alive until I got back so I could find someone to take a picture for me. As I glided into the ramp I was greeted by an incoming fisherman who began to tell me about his bad luck fishing today and I had to break his heart by asking if he would'nt mind taking a picture of me with the bass. He was gracious enough to help me out.

I immediately let this guy go for someone else to catch him and I was headed off for lunch. Before long I was already ready to get back on the water to continue this epic day on the water fishing.

Nothing much had changed since I left the creek. I landed at least five or six more stripers in the first thirty minutes back on the water.

My poor spinner bait was taking a beating today but holding strong! Mary Page called and after hearing about all my success she was headed down with our daughter to spend her afternoon with me on the water. I headed back to the marina once again we staged a tandem perception kayak and headed back out again. As we headed south down the creek, same bank, same result, another largemouth!

Farther south, once again striper....

striper.........

striper!

 Well, I could sit here and catch these hungry fish all day but its time to end the day by paddling down to the intercoastal and watching the sunset on a beach there.

We have arrived!

Once you experience a sunset on a beach of your own, you will realize why there's no life, like life on a kayak.

Well, we are headed back to the marina. A truly epic day fishing to say the least, and spending the afternoon watching the sunset, with loved ones is priceless. Another day well spent,taking the world on, one day at a time with a paddle.