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Message
Kayakers- ever done a distance float?
Posted on 2/10/20 at 1:51 pm
Posted on 2/10/20 at 1:51 pm
I’m planning a “packyaking” trip in the next few weeks and was wondering what sort of times I could expect relative to distance covered in a day. I’ll be floating a 43 mile section of a decent sized river in the FL panhandle. Obviously no whitewater and nothing the size of the Mississippi, but it’s a decently swift current. There won’t be much “stop and fish” outside of camp, but I know I’ll throw as I go. Is it reasonable to expect to be able to complete this in 2 eight hour days? It averaged out to a little over a 2.5 mph average, which is probably about float speed with no paddling. Ive got a 10’ sit on top so it isn’t built for speed, just want to make sure I’m being realistic. 43 miles is doable in a weekend, right?
10
Posted on 2/10/20 at 2:18 pm to Riseupfromtherubble
There are a lot of variables but 43 miles is too far for 2 days. 43 in 2 would be Olympic training, not sight seeing and enjoyable to me. TPlan for time setting camp, breaking camp, cooking, enjoying.
My most enjoyable trips have been 5 hours on water. My longest single trip is 85 miles over 7 days on the Green River in Utah. My fastest trip was ~40 miles over 2 days on Buffalo River in Tennessee. It absolutely sucked as it was a complete rush for everything.
Edit: You should be able to find others' suggestions on local forums
My most enjoyable trips have been 5 hours on water. My longest single trip is 85 miles over 7 days on the Green River in Utah. My fastest trip was ~40 miles over 2 days on Buffalo River in Tennessee. It absolutely sucked as it was a complete rush for everything.
Edit: You should be able to find others' suggestions on local forums
This post was edited on 2/10/20 at 2:20 pm
Posted on 2/10/20 at 2:20 pm to Riseupfromtherubble
quote:
43 miles is doable in a weekend, right?
I would say no, closer to half of that. I agree it seems doable, and maybe its because we are usually drinking and screwing around, but generally it seems like we do about 1mph including stops and screwing around. If you are by yourself with a good long distance kayak, certainly that would be easier.
I would go on a short trip and time yourself honestly.
I've done the Choctawhatchee River in Florida. It was 23 miles and we did it overnight, so 2 days. Given there were like 8 of us. But it was 2 solid days. We didn't time ourselves. The choctawhatchee flows at like 2.5mph so we figured we'd knock it out quick. But we were ready to be done by the time we made our destination both trips, and we really didn't fish much (like almost 0) while floating.
I've also done numerous other shorter trips, 4-5 miles. That are usually 3-4 hour trips on smaller waterways.
FWIW, I freaking love float trips.
This post was edited on 2/10/20 at 2:22 pm
Posted on 2/10/20 at 2:22 pm to Riseupfromtherubble
We did the St. Croix River. It was 64 miles in 4 days, 3 nights. The first part was the Namekagon River and that had really good current but the last day and a half on the St. Croix River was really slow. We finished on the 4th day a little after lunchtime with no issue. We fished the first two days like you're talking about, just casting as we were floating.
Posted on 2/10/20 at 2:26 pm to Riseupfromtherubble
Do them all the time. But my trips are usually on the fall line of the south where these rivers have some speed.
I have paddled the same section of the PeeDee river three times from laurinburg Nc to cheraw SC.
I have done this 20+ mile section over three days just messing around fishing and camping, while getting the whole thing done in 5 hours after a howl dam release while paddling frequently.
Just remember that a man can fast for a a week. You’ll be fine if you take an extra day.
ETA.....Tie that kayak to a tree at night!
I have paddled the same section of the PeeDee river three times from laurinburg Nc to cheraw SC.
I have done this 20+ mile section over three days just messing around fishing and camping, while getting the whole thing done in 5 hours after a howl dam release while paddling frequently.
Just remember that a man can fast for a a week. You’ll be fine if you take an extra day.
ETA.....Tie that kayak to a tree at night!
This post was edited on 2/10/20 at 2:30 pm
Posted on 2/10/20 at 2:28 pm to baldona
quote:
I've done the Choctawhatchee River in Florida. It was 23 miles and we did it overnight, so 2 days. Given there were like 8 of us. But it was 2 solid days. We didn't time ourselves. The choctawhatchee flows at like 2.5mph so we figured we'd knock it out quick. But we were ready to be done by the time we made our destination both trips, and we really didn't fish much (like almost 0) while floating.
I've also done numerous other shorter trips, 4-5 miles. That are usually 3-4 hour trips on smaller waterways.
FWIW, I freaking love float trips.
That's actually the river I'm going to float. I'll be putting in just north of I-10 in Caryville and floating to my buddies houseboat, which is back in a lake off the main channel just north of the Hwy 20 bridge in Ebro. Sounds like I better plan for 3 days
This post was edited on 2/10/20 at 2:29 pm
Posted on 2/10/20 at 2:29 pm to Riseupfromtherubble
quote:
43 miles is doable in a weekend, right?
It's doable
Doesn't seem like it would be very enjoyable though
12-15 miles is generally the max I would want to do in a day
Posted on 2/10/20 at 2:34 pm to Riseupfromtherubble
The Wolf River east of Memphis has a section called the Ghost River Section. It's only like 9 miles. There is virtually no current and a decent amount is trying to navigate very narrow passages through cypress trees.
It's a 6-8 hour trip.
It's a 6-8 hour trip.
Posted on 2/10/20 at 2:34 pm to Riseupfromtherubble
quote:
floating a 43 mile
quote:
10’ sit on top
This is also going to be an issue. You are probably either going to not have enough room, be overloaded/tippy, or both.
Posted on 2/10/20 at 2:36 pm to AutoYes_Clown
quote:
This is also going to be an issue. You are probably either going to not have enough room, be overloaded/tippy, or both.
Shouldn't be. I do a lot of distance hikes so I'm pretty dialed in on my pack. I can get by on a 16-18 pound base weight for a week on the Appalachian trail no problem. I've been kayaking for close to 15 years now including some trips out in the gulf (and in this particular river)..I'm not worried so much about that. I've carried more weight in beer than I plan on bringing weight in total for this trip
This post was edited on 2/10/20 at 2:41 pm
Posted on 2/10/20 at 2:53 pm to Riseupfromtherubble
I'm new to yak fishing, bought my boat last May.
I've done a lot of lake fishing in that time but no rivers yet.
But I'm planning on several fish and float trips this year. So I've been researching gear and watching videos of different river trips.
There's a guy in the San Antonio are that does a LOT of river trips that has good videos. His youtube channel is skinnywaterboys.
For overnight trips where he is going at a "fishing speed" he estimates about 5-6 miles a day.
If you're just going to float and paddle, you could probably double that.
I have a 3 day trip on the Devil's River near Del Rio Texas planned for early April. We will cover about 18 miles in three days. At "Fishing speed".
I've done a lot of lake fishing in that time but no rivers yet.
But I'm planning on several fish and float trips this year. So I've been researching gear and watching videos of different river trips.
There's a guy in the San Antonio are that does a LOT of river trips that has good videos. His youtube channel is skinnywaterboys.
For overnight trips where he is going at a "fishing speed" he estimates about 5-6 miles a day.
If you're just going to float and paddle, you could probably double that.
I have a 3 day trip on the Devil's River near Del Rio Texas planned for early April. We will cover about 18 miles in three days. At "Fishing speed".
Posted on 2/10/20 at 2:56 pm to Riseupfromtherubble
quote:
I'll be putting in just north of I-10 in Caryville and floating to my buddies houseboat, which is back in a lake off the main channel just north of the Hwy 20 bridge in Ebro
That's pretty much the only stretch I don't know. I know from 20 to the bay well and I've floated from 2 to Caryville/ Hwy 20 multiple times. There's some sketchy people that hang out at the Caryville ramp so make sure to lock your stuff up or don't leave stuff in your vehicle.
There are really nice sandbars north of Caryville but they start to disappear south of Caryville.
Do a good search for "springs on choctawhatchee river". There's quite a few smaller springs you may pass. There's one by Holmes Creek for example.
Make sure to check the flow of the river obviously. It gets very fast when its high. If you are by yourself in a good long distance kayak, then you will probably be fine in 2 days. But its going to be a haul for sure. I'd bring crickets to bream fish with, that's one of the least used parts of the river so traffic should be pretty light.
Posted on 2/10/20 at 3:00 pm to baldona
Yea we actually made the run up to the spring yesterday in my buddies flats boat. We're up there a lot in the summer since he's got a houseboat there on the river. The river is obviously high and nasty right now and will probably rise another 5-6 feet by the end of the week. Even the springs were a little cloudy and it's usually crystal clear for half a mile or so on the run back to the actual spring.
I'll have a buddy going with me
idk about that
The cowford boat ramp there at highway 20 is usually packed on the weekends and there's a lot of houseboats in that area. I'll probably bring my fly rod as it's not necessarily going to be a fishing trip as much as a floating and camping trip
I'll have a buddy going with me
quote:
that's one of the least used parts of the river so traffic should be pretty light.
idk about that
The cowford boat ramp there at highway 20 is usually packed on the weekends and there's a lot of houseboats in that area. I'll probably bring my fly rod as it's not necessarily going to be a fishing trip as much as a floating and camping trip
Posted on 2/10/20 at 3:02 pm to Riseupfromtherubble
How much gear can you fit on 10 ft kayak?
Posted on 2/10/20 at 3:15 pm to upgrayedd
quote:
How much gear can you fit on 10 ft kayak?
I've got a soft kayak cooler that lies down in the back hatch- that can hold 24-30 beverages +ice. I've got a 55 liter pack that can go in the front hatch that will carry all of my food, cooking stove, electronics, sleeping system, and a change of clothes. I'll carry a fly box that will fit under my seat and have the rod(s) in the rod holder. It's really about using the space efficiently. The soft sided cooler is basically a fish bag that's made to fit into the back hatch, and then all of my other gear goes into a lightweight pack that I can strap down in the front hatch. Water will be sourced from the river and run through a sawyer squeeze filter.
My pack is made of dyneema, so barring a complete submersion it will hold up to paddle splash or rain and keep everything inside dry
This post was edited on 2/10/20 at 3:18 pm
Posted on 2/10/20 at 5:18 pm to Riseupfromtherubble
Really need to know the current to be able to answer that. I’ve done 36 in two days with plenty of current and still had plenty of time the second day for the drive. Seems like we did 28/8. Less current downstream.
Know if there are river gauges in this area?
Know if there are river gauges in this area?
Posted on 2/10/20 at 6:31 pm to TimeOutdoors
This is as of today, it’ll be higher by the weekend. Im a little confused by the forecast here because Alabama is getting piles of rain. I’m still at least 3 weeks out from the float though
This post was edited on 2/10/20 at 6:34 pm
Posted on 2/10/20 at 8:18 pm to Riseupfromtherubble
quote:
The cowford boat ramp there at highway 20 is usually packed on the weekends and there's a lot of houseboats in that area.
Yeah but a lot of those guys go South or not very far north. I’ve launched at 20 and gone north a decent ways, just not the 43 miles to Caryville. I’m saying from Caryville south for 20-30 miles should be fairly quiet. Not a lot of big boat ramps in that area and very rural. That ramp at 20 is one of the busier ramps on the river. It’s also steep as shite unless they’ve fixed it recently.
Eta: have you paddled your 10 ft yak for distance before? 10’ seems a lot but ocean going yaks can be 16-18’. Over the course of a long weekend a poor tracking kayak get old very quick.
This post was edited on 2/10/20 at 8:21 pm
Posted on 2/11/20 at 8:11 am to baldona
quote:
have you paddled your 10 ft yak for distance before?
Not this type of distance but I've floated several miles down Econfina before. It tracks pretty well, I've taken out on the choctawhatchee several times
Posted on 2/11/20 at 8:36 am to AutoYes_Clown
quote:
My longest single trip is 85 miles over 7 days on the Green River in Utah.
Details on this trip would be appreciated.
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