Man I’m sore!  Stiff winds in both directions.  
 

yesterday a buddy and I huffed it to a spot that looked great on google earth.  Our efforts were rewarded.  We found a great spot.  Submerged trees only kayaks can navigate.  Bass boats were blasting past us.  (Boat wakes in the trees are interesting)

 

I think we did eight miles. I’m not at the electric motor place in my life, but the thought did cross my mind.   This spot will get great as we warm up weather wise and the bass get more daylight hours. 
 

CBD laced pain ointment to the rescue. 
 

next time I’m gonna track my miles w GPS. 

That's the kind of places I love getting to in the kayak. Last year I was fishing in a forest that was flooded with 3 feet of water, it was an awesome experience.

 

My range in the kayak is usually 3-5 miles but I've done ten or so a couple times. I try to launch as close to the place I want to fish as possible. Not sure if I'll ever get a motor on mine, as I like the exercise. ?

We typically float downstream point a to point b so sometimes 12-15 miles. Usually 7-10 makes a nice full day . Sometimes the water is so fast you can do 10 miles in 3-4 hours 

Most of my half day trips have been 4-6 miles traveled. 

Sometimes I go a whole half mile. But that is because the fishing is good and I like that spot. But if I am paddling 3-5 miles is a good range. Any sustained paddling of over a mile or two on open water with wind and waves does start to get tiring (plus takes 30 min to an hour); I would rather troll and that slows me down even more. If I am planning an overnight or multi day trip, I would plan for 8-15 miles depending on conditions.

 

I am looking to upgrade to a much lighter and nicer paddle, and hope that makes padding those longer approach distances (of say 2-3 miles) more manageable. I also study maps to see if there is any way to drag my kayak to a closer launch point.

Thanks.  Great responses

 

id like to add. I was on my kayak for 9 hours.  Only beached to strip off clothing layers and “nature walks” which was zero walking.  Just beached it. 

I did 14 miles this past Saturday, mostly graphing on Lake Murray in preparation for a KBF Open this coming weekend.

14 minutes ago, They call me “Gaiter Salad” said:

I was on my kayak for 9 hours.

If I know I'm in for a full day, I'm more likely to put some distance on odometer since I have more time.  It's hard to drop an hour paddling into a 4 hour trip, so that will figure in as well.

Depends. Moving water I usually like about 8-10 miles. A lake where I'm actually paddling... we don't have very big lakes so 2-4 miles total probably. I can usually put in close enough to where I want to fish that I just simply don't have a lot of paddling. 

IDK. I paddle around a 30 acre lake, whatever that is. But sometimes I skip half of it if I know the fish prefer one end.

On a river with decent cover and water level, 10 miles is a long way to fish if they're biting at all, even if you start at dawn.  Of course the water you're fishing will vary.  But on the upper James, upper Potomac, and Shenandoah, my trips are rarely more than 10 miles, and are often 8 hours or more.  On the Susquehanna, I can paddle across the river and back to the put in at times, so I expect those are only a couple of miles, but 0 miles vertically.

On currentless water, it's all over the place.  I've gone as far as 13 miles round trip, but sometimes I start fishing 100' from the put-in.  Most fishing kayaks require a lot of paddling to cover a little water.  You might want to look into a lighter (or even bent shaft) paddle if you're going to be doing 8 miles.  If you had good luck, it's a good kind of sore, though.

25 minutes ago, CountryboyinDC said:

On a river with decent cover and water level, 10 miles is a long way to fish if they're biting at all, even if you start at dawn.  Of course the water you're fishing will vary.  But on the upper James, upper Potomac, and Shenandoah, my trips are rarely more than 10 miles, and are often 8 hours or more.  On the Susquehanna, I can paddle across the river and back to the put in at times, so I expect those are only a couple of miles, but 0 miles vertically.

On currentless water, it's all over the place.  I've gone as far as 13 miles round trip, but sometimes I start fishing 100' from the put-in.  Most fishing kayaks require a lot of paddling to cover a little water.  You might want to look into a lighter (or even bent shaft) paddle if you're going to be doing 8 miles.  If you had good luck, it's a good kind of sore, though.

What is the “currentless water” you speak of?  I don’t think I’ve ever paddled it haha

 

the closest I’ve ever come to currentless would have to be in Michigan I guess but there was a river coming into and going out of the lake . 

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

What is the “currentless water” you speak of?  I don’t think I’ve ever paddled it haha

I guess it's all relative.  Obviously we'd probably agree that there's current on the Ocoee and Gauley throughout the majority of their course, but is there really current on Smith Mountain Lake that affects your paddling?  I understand it's an impoundment of the Roanoke River (and Blackwater Creek).  But the current is theoretical for the purposes of paddling IMHO, but of course it matters for fishing.  So I consider most of the small reservoirs I fish and a lot of the tidal Potomac currentless, even if I realize they truly aren't.

 

If you're looking for true currentless water, there's a bunch of it in Boundary Waters Canoe Area.  And mosquitos that make the ones in Louisiana seem docile by comparison.

17 minutes ago, CountryboyinDC said:

I guess it's all relative.  Obviously we'd probably agree that there's current on the Ocoee and Gauley throughout the majority of their course, but is there really current on Smith Mountain Lake that affects your paddling?  I understand it's an impoundment of the Roanoke River (and Blackwater Creek).  But the current is theoretical for the purposes of paddling IMHO, but of course it matters for fishing.  So I consider most of the small reservoirs I fish and a lot of the tidal Potomac currentless, even if I realize they truly aren't.

 

If you're looking for true currentless water, there's a bunch of it in Boundary Waters Canoe Area.  And mosquitos that make the ones in Louisiana seem docile by comparison.

Yeah I’m guessing some highland reservoirs we have might be like smith moutain lake. They move but at a snails pace. The current effects the bite more than the paddle . I’ve got several friends always trying to drag me to those boundary waters 

1 minute ago, TnRiver46 said:

I’ve got several friends always trying to drag me to those boundary waters 

Do it man!  Just not in May.  And not with your 70 lb Old Town Appalachian.  Get a canoe light passes through, a paddle that makes a stirring spoon seem heavy, and the lightest camping gear you and your buddies have.  It's a great time, some of the best camping you'll ever experience.