Gunk-Holing the Massasauga

[Grandpa Jim]

Just back from four great days up the east side of Georgian Bay from Penetang to the Massasauga Park area. Weather was perfect and we managed to work our way east from the Sans Souci area well back into the Park to Port Rawson Bay. I'm embarrassed to place a report under a "fishing" heading as we took the spinning gear but ended up not even wetting a line. Locals we talked to reported that the bass and pickerel (fishing) had been great all season. We ended up exploring the myriad of bays and inlets with our kayaks in the region we used as a mooring base. Surface temps reached 79.5 degrees which made for great swimming (o.k. - lazy floating!) to cool off during the hot afternoon periods. Enjoyed a great battered pickerel lunch at Henry's on our run home yesterday. Arrived home to find my eldest had been over to turn the A.C. on Friday morning and had generously left a supply of pickerel and rainbow fillets he'd caught on a Lake Erie fishing outing the previous day. I'm trying to get something in this report about fish but that's about the best I can do on this occasion. This was actually the first time we'd explored the Massasauga as we had always by-passed the park on previous trips with a more northerly destination in mind. We'll definitely be back.

There was little indication on this outing of any recession threatening the economy. The number of very large yachts and motor cruisers was overwhelming. The interesting thing was that many of the boats we saw had added kayaks to the obligatory dinghy. Some had the kayaks lashed to the front deck while others had stainless J-hooks clamped to their bow rails with kayaks fastened securely on their sides in the same position the kayaks would be for garage wall storage storage. I plan on adding rod holders to my kayak prior to our next outing so, hopefully, there might be some first hand fishing content in forthcoming sequels.

[John]

Thank you Jim
Spent many a day in Port Rawson as it was one of the stops on my musky milk run or just to laze the day away. It really is a great place for kayaks as you are never too exposed. The last time I was there it had become an anchorage for a lot of cruisers. Before the park you would rarely see another boat and now you are rarely without company.

Glad you had a great time.

[RockandTroll]

Didn't happen to get a pic of how those j hooks work on the bow rail did you?
Does the kayak itself end up hanging in the inside or the outside of the rail. I have been thinking about getting one and have been thinking about how to transport it on the boat.
Sounded like a good cruise. Used to do that a lot when we had a bigger boat and kept it at marina in penetang.
Mike

[The Kayaker]

Sounds like a fun time Jim!
Good luck mounting your gear.

[Grandpa Jim]

R&T,
       The racks I mentioned were mounted on the inside of the bow rails, which would protect the kayaks while docking the big boat under adverse conditions. No pictures, sorry. They were simply stainless or aluminum J-Hooks with two composite clamps on each hook designed for secure fastening on a one inch bow rail or stanchion. The ones I noticed were identical with a protective foam pad covering the cradle where the kayak nestled securely. I'm assuming they are commercially produced, perhaps Yakima?? On the larger boats, these provided very neat storage and would appear to offer no interference whatsoever to anyone going forward to deploy an anchor or to tie off to a mooring buoy. I checked my current West Marine catalogue but nothing shown there beyond standard roof-top carriers and stackers.

[RockandTroll]

Thanks for that info.

[John]

Jim
Have you ever towed your kayaks behind the boat with just a rope?  One of the things I would like to do is kayak the out shoals ie Umbrella Islands, Limestones, etc. That's a long way to paddle from the nearest ramp. I thought of towing the kayak then anchoring the boat and heading out. 

[Grandpa Jim]

John,
        I've always carried the kayaks on the hardtop, upside down on foam pads which are actually designed for use with the flat cross bars that come as part of most factory roof racks. I've towed my 17' Alumacraft canoe behind the boat from Owen Sound to Tobermory and back. Amazing what one will do to insure the canine component of the family is able to be ferried to shore through shallow water to answer nature's call. The key was using a bridle fastened to each side of the fore thwarts and experimenting with the length of the tow rope (stretchy polypropylene) to ensure the canoe was in the calm, flat water of the wake. Also some weight in the back of the canoe kept the bow up and tracking was very stable. I was able to tow at 24 mph with no concerns. I think the kayak would be a trickier matter due to the lack of a keel and tie off points for a bridle. If you were satisfied with towing your kayak at a relatively low speed it just might work. Interestingly, the warden and I cut a trip short this morning and headed home a day early due to the weather. We did a quick tour of the Bay Moorings Marina while away and were quite surprised to see the significant percentage of both power and sail boats with kayaks aboard. The variety of tie-down procedures was equally amazing but all seemed to be secure.
         I have a pic or two of our system for the kayaks but I just can't get past the album stage of the process you outlined on the Simcoe site. I got a pic (laker) into the album and thought I had copied the recommended URL but the preview failed to show the pic. I know it's me and not the system. I'll see later if I can get it to work here with a pic that shows how the warden has successfully altered the fishing vessel TALISMAN into a bona fide pleasure craft.

[John]

You can always send it to me if you are not sending from home.

Remember, even if you paste the pic URL you still need to highlight it and click the image button above the smilies.