As summer comes to a close and the leaves begin to fall we struggle to find just one last night on the water. One last trip before things get cold and the kayaks are put away. Well if you're looking for a quick trip not to far away, look no further. Butler County Lake located just east of Douglas, KS doesn't offer much for fishing, at least on our account, but what it lacks in fish it more than makes up for in beauty. Relaxing in our kayaks as the sunset over that lake was something that could only be described by a picture. When outsiders ask us Kansan's why we live here. It should be a simple reply. Have you ever seen a Kansas Sunset.
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A few weeks back we had a Saturday morning free and thought, what better way to spend our time than on the water. So we loaded up and headed to South to a lake neither of us knew anything about. Just 45 minutes South of Wichita, and 10 minutes NE of Winfield lies Winfield City Lake. Or as some might call it Timber Creek Lake. While the lake does tend to attract a lot of the larger motor boats. There are still plenty of coves and canals for the average Kayak. I will say, we were not prepared for the crazy winds that day, nor did we know much about the lake. However, the people were friendly and always gave way to us coming through. We stayed around the far North West end due to the wind but after pulling our Kayaks out for the day we ran into the Game Warden who showed us that the North East end of the lake was definitly where we should have been. I guess as time goes on we live and we learn. Let us know if you've found a Kansas gem and stay cool out there as it appears our August might be much warmer. Apologies for the lack of posts. We've been busy hitting the water and taking advantage of the weather while we can. We hit a few of our closer traditional fishing holes such as Marion County Lake and McPherson County Lake Catching a few fish and cleaning up the waste as we go. Last Saturday, a group of us headed to Cowley County lake located in South Central Kansas. If you take I35 South to 166, head East towards Arkansas City you'll run right into it. Now we've always known Cowley County lake as a Great bass and crappie fishing lake with a spectacular view. It never has large boats and 3/4 of the lake is only accessible via water. The one thing we didn't realize is that it has one of the most amazing waterfalls (picture above) that i've ever seen and it lies hidden to only the few who know it's location, right here in Kansas. We literally Kayaked there two or three times prior and never knew it existed. If you're looking for the Waterfall via Kayak head west while on the lake towards the dam, it's just to the South. You can also get there from the road into the lake. While pulling into the lake, head West until you cannot drive any further. Don't give up looking, it's worth the searching. If you're looking for a great fishing lake with an amazing view this lake takes the cake. Check out the other images below and then tell us what you think when you check it out. Memorial day, the true start to summer and water activity for everyone living in Kansas. As we get our kayaks ready, scout our camping sites and load the cars down for the first three day weekend, in what seemed like an eternity. Let us not forget, the true meaning behind Memorial day and those who gave us the freedom to enjoy our lakes and beautiful state. We encourage everyone to be safe out there this weekend as it's usually a busy weekend. For lake levels and park information make sure you check out the following sites for additional information. 1. US Army Corp of Engineers: Kansas City 2. Kansas Wildlife and Parks While the lakes are still low and haven't begun to rise. We've found ourselves in two different lakes over the past weeks. We started our first trip out west with the newly filled and stocked Kingman county lake. We had heard good reports for fishing and wanted to check out the lake since it had been drained back in 2012. Although, the waters were still low and algae made kayaking a bit difficult. The fishing report was correct and the first fish of the season were caught. If you live in the West Wichita area and are looking for a quick get-away head west on 400 and stop off at Kingman. Last weekend, was the second lake on the tour and we headed to what Kansas calls the cleanest lake in the state, Wilson lake. Wilson sits as the third largest lake in Kansas just North of I70, approximately forty-five minutes west of Salina. The weather was perfect but the lake was down six and a half feet. If you are looking for a weekend camping trip you can't beat Wilson lake. Tent fee are a $10 a night however if you're not into camping and enjoy the comforts of a bed at night, the town of Wilson, Kansas also has the great historical Midland Hotel. We've included a couple images below of the lake levels but most importantly a photo of myself and Alex holding our stringer full of fish. Which now rest in our freezers. As the weather and leaves begin to turn, our kayaks yearn to hit the fresh waters of the great plains. This spring, we have set lofty goals of finding new terrain through our beautiful state of Kansas and plan to share our adventures with everyone who will listen. What started with a few advertising guys that enjoyed the outdoor waters has now become a group of professionals that call themselves the WaterRats. We seek the simple things in life and anything we can do along the way to help clean-up we're all in. In true advertising fashion, we not only named our group the WaterRats but we also developed a bit of an outlaw biker logo to go along with it. The WaterRats logo you see below will soon be on all our Kayaks for everyone to see. If interested in a water proof logo to place on your yak, let us know. As we continue to go with the flow we'll keep you all informed of the new terrain and the trash we continue to pick-up along the way. Enjoy the weekend and continue to pray that our waters rise with a little more rain. Sorry the delay, but our wet August has kept us at bay. The massive amounts of rain slowed us down but didn't stop all of us from hitting the Water this past weekend. Recently, a few of us headed to the quiet Marion county lake. Not to be confused with Marion County reservoir. Although the lake is lacking in creeks and streams to paddle up. It does merit some mighty fine fishing and a calm non-crowded water. If you're looking for a quick quiet get away, Marion might be the place. it's about 45 minutes from Wichita and offers a variety of calming vibes from what we call city life. Be safe out there on the creeks and rivers as they are flowing strong and waters are high in most southern Kansas areas. High waters cause high dangerous flow. As we continue to search for new locations while the Rivers continue to rise in Kansas. We've found fun and excitement right here in our own backyard. If kayaking around the Wichita area you must drop in for an evening or quick trip at the newly built stair step passage. The passage is along the Arkansas River and offers a quick fix to those long weekdays. The central location (right off of the Lincoln street dam) offers 300 feet of excitement at less than 5 minutes away. Check out the article from the Eagle here Friday, May 24th, a couple of us headed out to Marion County Lake to get a little paddling in along with some off-shore fishing. The afternoon started off a little windy, but Marion's quiet coves made paddling easier and the surrounding trees shielded us from choppy waters. After about an hour on the water, the winds died down, the clouds parted and the sinking sun came out with just enough light left to offer us a solid hour of dusk fishing. Our patience paid off, as we started hitting bass, blue gill and crappie using plastics and rooster tails roughly 20 yards off the shoreline. By the time we were ready to paddle in, we'd landed about a dozen fish and hooked at least another half dozen. All said, Marion County Lake shouldn't go overlooked by any kayaking anglers. The lake is big enough to offer a variety of fishing terrain, yet small enough to paddle almost anywhere you want to go. And the fish are there if you know where to look. It certainly lands a spot on our list of new favorite fishing holes and is more than accommodating for novice to experienced paddlers. |
Kansas KayakWe are landlocked kayak enthusiasts that love to uncover Kansas' true beauty in the water. Archives
November 2016
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