Family new to kayaking

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Alf
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Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2018 11:44 am

Family new to kayaking

Post by Alf »

Hello All I have been lurking the forum for some time now while navigating through purchasing our kayaks, paddles, life vest etc. We have now purchased and rigged two kayaks for the water one feelfree 13.5 and recently a perception Tribe 13.5 Tandem. I have taken the Feelfree out on a few fishing trips with my brother in law and had a blast. But this would our first time out together as a family for the first. I will likely paddle the tandem with my two kids 7&4 and my wife would be on the Feel Free by herself. We have a few locations in mind but still have not really decided on any location yet. We are looking to get out on the water this weekend and hoping to get some input from experienced folks who have taken kids on the water for the first time and good launch locations. We are hoping for good experiences for the kids and just overall spending some good quality time together. Thank you all in advance!

Edit:
Sorry forgot to mention area... We are in the Clear lake, Pasadena area.

-Al
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crusher
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Re: Family new to kayaking

Post by crusher »

I've never paddled Clear Lake, but I'm guessing there are a lot of boats. I suggest avoiding heavily boated areas due to wakes for the kids and wife until they are somewhat comfortable.
To me, the standby place for safe, shallow, no boats, is Galv Island State Park, at the westernmost launch. 29°11'50.40"N 94°57'58.54"W From there, you can paddle out and hug the shoreline of Carancahua Cove and the restored areas around there.
I'm guessing there are some protected areas closer to home in the Pasadena, Baytown and Kemah areas, but I'm not familiar up there.

I think the key to not scaring your family away is to have a calm paddle the first time or two. I'd also avoid predicted winds over 10-12 mph their first time. Check tide, wind, weather sites before you go and plan accordingly. If you want your own man sport going forward, by all means find a good choppy area with wind and plenty of boat wakes to make a challenge out of it.
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Ron Mc
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Re: Family new to kayaking

Post by Ron Mc »

Alf wrote:...We are hoping for good experiences for the kids and just overall spending some good quality time together. ...
-Al
It's a drive for you, but we've had wonderful family times at Lighthouse Lakes.
It's a simple paddle to get across Aransas Channel on the Marker 60 pass - straight across from the Gazebo launch.
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Great skinny hard pack to wade, easy paddling into LHL, don't have to paddle far, and great wade fishing in the Marker 60 pass on a falling tide.
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You can get a 2-br Comfort Suite on Aransas Causeway.
Image
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day-trip into Port Aransas
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Another tradition is pier-fishing Fulton Beach pier just after sunset - the two closest lights put you on the nursery trout.
Fish it with ultralight tackle, small unweighted clicking cigar float, 3' leader, 1/0 kahle or croaker hook, and tiny live shrimp.
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We could turn up 60 of these before packing in and going for ice cream.
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mwatson71
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Joined: Mon Mar 28, 2016 2:03 am
Location: 77005

Re: Family new to kayaking

Post by mwatson71 »

I second Galveston Island State Park. It is not far from you and it is where I take all of my newbie paddlers. Paddling in the area mentioned above is nice as well as paddling in Lake Como area when the boat traffic is light. My older kids have been paddling and fishing with me there since they were 7-8 years old.
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JaimeInTexas
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Location: clear lake

Re: Family new to kayaking

Post by JaimeInTexas »

Are you looking to also fish from the kayak on this outing?

Clear Lake has a lot of boats but Mud Lake, you can lunch from the Clear Lake Park ramps, is a good place. Clear Lake Park, north side, is a really good park with floating docks. Easy picnic area and, if the kids are old enough, you can let them paddle under supervision.

Armand Bayou is a good place but, if seeing gators is a problem, do not launch there.

Galveston's East lagoon is good for paddling only or for fishing.
Alf
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Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2018 11:44 am

Re: Family new to kayaking

Post by Alf »

crusher wrote:I've never paddled Clear Lake, but I'm guessing there are a lot of boats. I suggest avoiding heavily boated areas due to wakes for the kids and wife until they are somewhat comfortable.
To me, the standby place for safe, shallow, no boats, is Galv Island State Park, at the westernmost launch. 29°11'50.40"N 94°57'58.54"W From there, you can paddle out and hug the shoreline of Carancahua Cove and the restored areas around there.
I'm guessing there are some protected areas closer to home in the Pasadena, Baytown and Kemah areas, but I'm not familiar up there.

I think the key to not scaring your family away is to have a calm paddle the first time or two. I'd also avoid predicted winds over 10-12 mph their first time. Check tide, wind, weather sites before you go and plan accordingly. If you want your own man sport going forward, by all means find a good choppy area with wind and plenty of boat wakes to make a challenge out of it.

Crusher thank you for the suggestion. We are going to give this spot a shot tomorrow morning. We are really looking for a nice and easy spot for all of us to enjoy and it sounds like this is it. Thank you again for your input it is greatly appreciated!
Alf
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Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2018 11:44 am

Re: Family new to kayaking

Post by Alf »

JaimeInTexas wrote:Are you looking to also fish from the kayak on this outing?

Clear Lake has a lot of boats but Mud Lake, you can lunch from the Clear Lake Park ramps, is a good place. Clear Lake Park, north side, is a really good park with floating docks. Easy picnic area and, if the kids are old enough, you can let them paddle under supervision.

Armand Bayou is a good place but, if seeing gators is a problem, do not launch there.

Galveston's East lagoon is good for paddling only or for fishing.
Jaime we may bring a rod or two with us but i think the focus will be on getting comfortable and having a good time on the water. I am sure my daughter will want to drop a line to see if they can catch something at some point on the trip. I thought about Armand bayou but as you mentioned if may freak them out a bit as this will be their first time out. Thank you for the reply we really do appreciate all the input!


-Al
Alf
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Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2018 11:44 am

Re: Family new to kayaking

Post by Alf »

Ron Mc wrote:
Alf wrote:...We are hoping for good experiences for the kids and just overall spending some good quality time together. ...
-Al
It's a drive for you, but we've had wonderful family times at Lighthouse Lakes.
It's a simple paddle to get across Aransas Channel on the Marker 60 pass - straight across from the Gazebo launch.
Image
Great skinny hard pack to wade, easy paddling into LHL, don't have to paddle far, and great wade fishing in the Marker 60 pass on a falling tide.
Image
You can get a 2-br Comfort Suite on Aransas Causeway.
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
day-trip into Port Aransas
Image
Another tradition is pier-fishing Fulton Beach pier just after sunset - the two closest lights put you on the nursery trout.
Fish it with ultralight tackle, small unweighted clicking cigar float, 3' leader, 1/0 kahle or croaker hook, and tiny live shrimp.
Image
We could turn up 60 of these before packing in and going for ice cream.
Image

Ron MC

This looks like a great place to be and lots of fun! We wont make the trip this weekend but will definitely do it in the next few weeks. Thanks for the suggestion!
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Ron Mc
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Re: Family new to kayaking

Post by Ron Mc »

watch the weather - no fun for kids to get in the water if it's chilly

I'd say most of our trips to LHL were spring
Alf
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Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2018 11:44 am

Re: Family new to kayaking

Post by Alf »

Hello everyone I wanted to give an update on our first trip out on the water as a family. We chose to hit up Galveston Island State park, which turned out to be a great recommendation! Winds were a bit strong Saturday morning but slowed down a bit in the afternoon. We gave it a shot in the am but I made the call to beach the yaks and just do some light fishing from the beach. This gave the kids some time to play in the sand etc and the wife and I sometime to just veg out. Once the winds slowed down a bit we got on the water again for a light paddle around and called it a day. I can't thank you guys enough for the recommendations, we really had a good time out and about!!


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Ron Mc
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Re: Family new to kayaking

Post by Ron Mc »

thanks for the report.
Raising two girls, I always took them places they could play if they didn't want to fish - you want these activities to be remembered as fun and never as a chore.
Sometimes they'd fish 10 minutes, sometimes none, and other times would want to hit every spot they could remember and fish for 3 hours.
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