Vet. New to kayak fishing south sound

Hello Everyone!

My name is Anthony I am very new to kayak fishing. I am a veteran and I am getting out of the military and I will be returning home to Washington next week. I will be in the Puyallup area and then moving to Olympia where I will be going back to school. I am disabled and I have a service dog who helps me out.

I was able to get an old town vapor 10 which has a huge cockpit that is plenty big for the both of us. Right now I am only set up to fly fish. I have an 8wt and a 5wt. Most of my gear I got through a raffle at project healing waters and from some of the guys I met through the outings with them. I would like to set up some spinning rods but I am on a very short budget being a student.

I still need to get my yak all set up and find a paddle for a decent price. I also need to get out before it starts getting cold and practice with my dog and get her comfortable. I have a feeling I will get wet a few times.

I don't know how many guys do it or if it is really worth it but I would like to continue kayaking all throught the winter as long as the water is calm. Rain and cold are no big deal. I don't have a lot I can do for exercise.

If anyone would be willing to help me get started after next week I could use the help.

Hey Anthony! Welcome to the site. Many of us fish every month of the year and it helps to have a dry suit or a dry top with waders. Check out heroes on the water WA. They have local fishing events and would be the perfect way for you to get some experience safely. They can help you get on the water and try out a number of different boats. What type of dog do you have? Is you boat a sit in kayak? I find it's far easier to kayak with my dog with her behind me, in my SOT.

Welcome.

I live in Olympia as well.

What sort of fishing are you looking to get into?

I don't really care what I fish for. I have always done catch and release. Any thing that puts up a good fight and is fun to fish for I guess. I am looking forward to some salmon fishing when I get there.

guys,
there's a small paddle shop downtown oly. just web search kayak shops olympia, you should be able to find it.
it's somewhere in the 4 ave district. hoping the crew from Puyallup/Graham/ Tacoma area chime in with other options.

OT Vapor= rec boat SinK.... still not a bad ride, Dino can vouch for that. former member PSR [ please send rescue] had one also i believe,

Glad to have you back with Anthony. Has anyone from the Purple Heart Association contacted you yet?

@noah

I have a lab/ Aussie mix. She is about 70lbs. My kayak is a sit in kayak. I have checked out HOW I actually talked with the director Jim Dolan before I even purchased my rig.

@WG

Yeah price point was a big figure for me. I was gunning for the new Slayer form Native and they were even going to get it too me for a big chunk off but it was still way outside my price range. I looked at every sit on top I could find locally and the main issue I found was that there wasn't enough flat space for my dog to sit comfortably and not have to re-adjust a lot. The vapor has a huge cockpit.

And unfortunately my condition started two weeks after returning from deployment and there is no way to connect it so I didn't get a purple heart.

We have a Heroes on the Water NWest chapter. We have a forum here on NWKA. We can also take individual vets such as yourself fishing. But, we have extra kayaks/gear and if you have a family they can come along as well.

You can also check us out on facebook.

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We have a Heroes on the Water NWest chapter. We have a forum here on NWKA. We can also take individual vets such as yourself fishing. But, we have extra kayaks/gear and if you have a family they can come along as well.

Already like it on Facebook and have even posted o see when the next event is. But if possible my wife and father in law are going through a tough one right now. My brother in law was the DNR river who died last month and I would love to take them out. If there is someone who has extra gear.
I would like to get involved as a volunteer as well once I get some more experience.

I have been practicing with my one year old in the living room trying to get her to sit still in my lap. I am hoping by next summer I can take her along for some rides

guys,
there's a small paddle shop downtown oly. just web search kayak shops olympia, you should be able to find it.
it's somewhere in the 4 ave district. hoping the crew from Puyallup/Graham/ Tacoma area chime in with other options.

Alpine Experience is the one, bit on the pricey side however. Cabelas in Lacey sells various recreational and SOT kayaks suitable for less. But the best deals seem to be used kayaks from craigslist, marinas that sell off their rental fleets etc

If anyone wants to add me in Facebook it is anthony Schuman.

Anthony,
While your in the Puyallup area, your welcome to come up here to Lake Tapps which is a great place for the first time out.  Around 15 minutes from Puyallup.   Flat water other than on warm days when the power boats get out around mid day where it can get a little choppy.  Water is warm so practicing getting in and out of the kayak / self rescue is actually fun.  Nice if you don't have dry gear yet.   
If your schedule will allow this or following weekends,  I have a couple extra fishing kayaks and associated gear if you want to bring your family members.
 I also have tons of fishing gear, some with the store tags still attached that unless I can find a fisherman to give to, will end up going to relatives who hate to fish.
 


 

Anthony,
While your in the Puyallup area, you welcome to come up here to Lake Tapps which is a great place for the first time out.  Around 15 minutes from Puyallup.   Flat water other than on warm days when the power boats get out around mid day where it can get a little choppy.  Water is warm so practicing getting in and out of the kayak / self rescue is actually fun.  Nice if you don't have dry gear yet.   
If your schedule will allow this weekend,  I have a couple extra fishing kayaks and associated gear if you want to bring your family members.
 I also have tons of fishing gear, some with the store tags still attached that unless I can find a fisherman to give to, will end up going to relatives who hate to fish.

I would love to take you up on your offer!! This next weekend won't be good for me though because I will be driving from TN back to wahington. And I know all about lake tapps spent many summer days up there. Maybe we can get together the next weekend. My email is Anthony.schuman@gmail.com if you want to get in contact with me.

We have a Heroes on the Water NWest chapter. We have a forum here on NWKA. We can also take individual vets such as yourself fishing. But, we have extra kayaks/gear and if you have a family they can come along as well.

Already like it on Facebook and have even posted o see when the next event is. But if possible my wife and father in law are going through a tough one right now. My brother in law was the DNR river who died last month and I would love to take them out. If there is someone who has extra gear.
I would like to get involved as a volunteer as well once I get some more experience.

I have been practicing with my one year old in the living room trying to get her to sit still in my lap. I am hoping by next summer I can take her along for some rides

We have 2 sit in kayaks and 4 sit on tops and gear. So, taking them would be no problem.

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Dude:
Welcome home.
I've got a couple of comments.

     Your boat looks like fun. I'm going to suggest that you give it a good workout before you get it all rigged up the way you want it for fishing. The biggest potential issue you MIGHT run into is getting yourself back into that boat if you go over, which is always a possibility. You should practice that a few times before getting out into any stretch  of water. A sit on top is quite a bit easier to re enter, if you should find yourself swimming. Still; practice first!
     I fly fish as well. My 12 footer is perfect for most of the kinds of water I want to fish. When you are ready to get wet, let me know.....I'd suggest Nisqually Delta as a place for you to start from. There is alot of open water, but also a lot of protected water as well, depending on tides. It's also a beautiful place to paddle, whether the fish are nice to you that day or not, in my opinion. Anytime you want, I'll meet you down there at the boat ramp and we can take a paddle and see if the cutthroat are out that day.
     I'm fairly new to kayak fishing myself. I'm no expert, but I've had fun learning from those with more experience and rigging up my 'yak to suit my particular needs and style of fishing/paddling.

Again, welcome home!

B