BASK Delta Paddle

If you are a sea kayaker or an aspiring sea kayaker and would like to paddle the greater San Francisco Bay Area and beyond then you need to join BASK. Bay Area Sea Kayakers is a club made up of volunteers who have a passion for paddling and sharing their knowledge and skills. The club promotes skill development and offers opportunities to hone your kayaking skills. All members are encouraged to contribute in whatever way they can. One way BASK members can contribute is to initiate paddles and the paddles can range from rock gardening to flat water trips around the bay area.

Last week I led a BASK paddle to Sherman Island and seven of us paddled approximately 8 miles from Antioch to Sherman Island County Park. We started out on calm waters at slack tide and headed to the maze of sloughs and marsh covered islands that make up Sherman Lake Waterfowl Management Area. After a stretch break on a sandy little island, we headed to the park for a restroom break. As we headed back to the launch the wind came up and made for a bumpy but fun ride home. It was a great day and I'm looking forward to initiating more Delta paddles!

After the paddle, six of us headed to Hazels for some grub. Hazels is a great little diner that offers old fashioned sodas and milk shakes. If you order the Willy Burger I can guarantee you won't leave hungry!

Middle River & Little Mandeville Island

I've been paddling quite a bit lately but this is the first chance I've had to post in over a month. I love the Delta! You can paddle the same area every day and each time you're on the water it's a new experience.

After launching from Holland Riverside Marina, we spent some time paddling around Little Mandeville Island and Middle River today. Our intentions were to make it to Mildred Island but we were doing more chatting than paddling and soon realized we weren't making much progress and the currents would soon turn against us. We reversed course and headed back on Middle River where we discovered a shady sandy beach where we could stretch and cool off. It was in the mid 90's today and the water felt great!





This area has so many small islands and coves that offer endless exploration. We saw a couple of flocks of White Pelicans, Great Blue Heron, Snow egrets and lots of turtles. The beach we stopped on was alive with the chatter of what sounded like hundreds of birds.

We made our way back paddling the southern edge of Little Mandeville until we reached Rhode Island. There's a small entrance on the north shore of Rhode Island where you can enter the center of the submerged island. I've paddled here several times but today it was a rather unpleasant experience. I'm not sure if it was due to the low tide or not but there was a really bad oily smell in the air and the current leading into the island was literally black. I've never experienced anything like this before and wish I knew what was the cause. We quickly departed the inner island and made our way back to Old River where we rode the tide and small wind driven rollers home.

Another awesome day exploring my backyard!

I've been kayak fishing here the past couple of weeks and the fishing has been great. Last week I caught nine stripers in  under three hours! They were all shakers and released for another day but two or three were nearly 18 inches and all of them put up a great fight.







Check our calendar for upcoming tours or contact me to book a custom tour including kayak fishing tours. We also have rentals available with advanced reservations!

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Antioch to Sherman Island Waterfowl Management Area

We had an amazing day on the water today! We launched from the Antioch Marina boat ramp just before 8:00 am and caught what was left of the slack tide. There was barely a breeze and only small riffles disturbed the water surface. We paddled across the San Joaquin River and headed east towards Kimball Island.

Cabin Slough

We paddled against a gentle current until we reached Cabin slough where we caught the outgoing tide that led us to an entrance into Sherman Island Waterfowl Management Area. I carried a marine chart and topo map and had planned our route ahead of time. I'm thankful that I also had the US Topo Map ap on my phone to track our progress with gps. I don't believe the physical map and chart have been updated lately and the invasive weeds had many channels blocked. In fact, the original route I had planned was impassable.







I highly suggest having a gps if you plan on exploring this area. The area has multitudes of sloughs and channels to explore but it is very easy to get lost or disoriented. We ended up following a channel north that opened up to more small waterways and the gps with the Topo map ap helped us find open water.

Once in open water we headed to a small island with a nice sandy beach to stretch and have a snack. There are actually two islands across from Sherman Island County park that make nice stops when the tide is low enough.

Sacramento River

After a short break we headed southeast following the riprap to Mayberry Cut. Once we reached the cut we stayed left and followed the edge of  Donlon Island until we reached an opening and decided to do some more exploring. We ended up spotting a raccoon walking on top of primrose to reach a tule covered island. Fish were jumping all morning and Caspian terns were catching lunch. We exited Donlon Island and made our way back to the San Joaquin via Mayberry Cut.

If you stay on Mayberry Cut the current here can be very strong as it meets the San Joaquin River. It was moving at least 2 knots as we paddled and there were lots of eddies and swirling currents that kept our attention. We saw 4 otters swimming against the current next to shore and then we spotted them on the muddy shore but when they saw us they quickly returned to the water and disappeared.

We reached the San Joaquin and it was moving at a good clip so we caught the current and it made for an easy ride home. This area is so beautiful and has unlimited exploring possibilities. At lower tides there are many potential landing spots. I am blessed to have this true wilderness area in my backyard!

WARNING: WINDS ABOVE 8 MPH CAN CREATE 1-3 FOOT ROLLERS COMING FROM MANY DIRECTIONS - ALWAYS CHECK WEATHER FORECAST AND DRESS FOR IMMERSION!

Sherman Island Waterfowl Management Area

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Disappointment Slough, Tinsley Island & Fern Island

It was another beautiful day on the Delta! We launched from Kings Island Resort at 10:15 with low tide predicted at 11:00 am.  The temperature was in the mid seventies and there was a gentle breeze to keep us cool.

Disappointment slough  was anything but a disappointment. The slough  was dotted with many small islands surrounded by coots, ducks, heron and  egrets. We made our way to Tinsley Island in just under an hour.

Tinsley Island is a private island owned by the Saint Francis Yacht Club. We paddled around the island ever so quietly taking in the lush green vegetation and the elegant yachts moored at the docks. The only sound was the gentle splash of our paddles and the chirping of swallows and other birds filled the air.

After we rounded Tinsley we found a lovely beach on Fern Island where we enjoyed a quiet lunch. After lunch we continued our paddle around Fern island where we discovered the Delta Yacht Club and a beautiful old restored tug boat called the Brave Duck. I love wooden boats. There's something about them, a charm, that gives each a unique character and personality.

Fern Island was amazing. The island is flooded and paddling within the island we met up with  a flock of white pelicans. There were also coots and heron and egrets and I even spotted an osprey. Fern Island is adjacent to Headreach Island which is next to Tule Island and there were many entrances to hidden passages that just begged to be explored. We entered one such passageway and I escaped near disaster as my boat slid on top of a submerged steel fence post. I quickly reached a narrow beach to check the bottom of my boat and make sure I hadn't sprung a leak but in my haste I dropped my GoPro and hadn't noticed it float away. Thankfully after a brief search, Gina located my camera and we carefully exited the area.

We passed the easternmost tip of Fern/Headreach/Tule Island and entered the Stockton deep water channel. I'm amazed how large ships can pass through what seems like a small channel. As we entered the channel we spotted a couple of geese with some new babies. We tried to catch up to them but the current was moving at a pretty fast clip against us so we decided to cross the channel and make our way home.

We covered just over 8 miles and I look forward to returning to do some more exploring!

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Paddling & More....

The past couple of weeks have flown by and it's hard for me to believe Spring has sprung. We've taken advantage of the warm weather and have been paddling our hearts out.


A couple of weeks ago I was privileged to guide 31 paddlers, most of whom belong to the Sacramento Paddle Pushers, to Franks Tract, Old River and Sandmound Slough. It was an awesome sight to see so many kayaks and one canoe on the water exploring Bethel Island! We started out with flat water but when we reached Franks Tract the wind had picked up and we encountered some good chop which livened things up a bit. We had several yachts pass us by giving a chance to surf for those that dared. We spent several hours exploring and everyone had a great time.





The kids have been on spring break so we spent time kayak fishing and picnicking on sandy Delta islands enjoying some family time.

This past weekend my oldest daughter and I participated in Sierra Rescues' 16 hour Wilderness First Aid and CPR course in Coloma. We are now certified in WFA and CPR. If you are interested in taking one of their courses, I strongly encourage you to check out what they have to offer. Our instructor, Jess, made the class a fun learning experience and we'll definitely return when we need to re-certify.



Be sure and check our calendar as we have some great tours coming up including our Moonlight Paddle on the Delta April 4th. We rescheduled our special Elkhorn Slough tour for May 9th which is a must do paddle if you enjoy lots of wildlife. We also have rentals available with advance notice and we'll even help plan your paddle and drop the boats and gear off for you!

Find Your Adventure.......Go Kayaking

Collinsville

Our third attempt to reach Collinsville was a success! It was an absolutely amazing day to be on the water.

We launched from Sherman Island County park at 2:30 and paddled with the outgoing tide on glassy waters. There were showers earlier in the morning and the sky was filled with beautifully textured clouds. The sun peeked through the clouds once in awhile lighting up the windmills dotting the deep green hills. As we paddled closer to Montezuma Island, a stiff breeze came up against us and the waters became quite choppy very quickly.








We attempted to pass through Montezuma Slough on the north side of the island but decided to turn around due to the low tide and hyacinth. I'm not sure if that part of the slough is navigable, maybe at a higher tide. Montezuma Island has quite a few sandy beaches covered with driftwood that make for a good lunch or stretch stop. As we left the island behind us we could see Collinsville about 500 yards away. The tide had changed and we now paddled against the current and a headwind but we were determined and after some effort we made it to our destination. The shore-front was lined with very tall pilings and high docks that reminded me of a commercial fishing port. We saw a few buildings but no people as we searched the shoreline.

According to Hal Schell's Guide to Cruising the California Delta, the sleepy town of "Collinsville was named after C.J. Collins, who settled in the area in 1859 and surveyed for the town in 1861. Collinsville had even earlier beginings. Between 1846 and 1849 L.W. Hastings ran a ferry from the Collinsville area to Contra Costa and it is thought to have been the first ferry on either the Sacramento or San Joaquin Rivers." At one time Collinsville was home to nearly 500 people and "was a regular port of call for steamboats, a thriving fishing village where Italian was heard everywhere. It had at least two fish canneries, hotels, saloons and other businesses."





There is so much history among the delta just waiting to be revisited. As I paddle along sandy shores and tule covered islands, I imagine what it must have looked like 200 years ago. I don't think too much has changed when it comes to Collinsville.

After a few pictures we turned around with the wind at our backs and headed to Montezuma Island for a snack and stretch break. It was nice to relax on the sandy, driftwood covered beach. After our little break on the beach we launched back onto the Sacramento River and headed back to the put in. The wind had died down but there were some nice surfable waves that helped move us along at a good clip.

It was a very relaxing day on the delta. Next time I plan on paddling a little further up Montezuma Slough along Van Sickle Island. The Delta offers an endless supply of paddling opportunities where sights and sounds change every time you hit the water.

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Wimpy's Run!

We had a great trip down the Mokelumne River yesterday for Wimpy's Run! After figuring out the shuttle, we finally got on the water just before 2:00 pm and rode the outgoing tide to Wimpy's Marina.

The weather couldn't have been better as we launched from the Cosumnes River Preserve. The wildlife must have been in hiding because we didn't see much other than some turtles and a Great Blue Heron. I threw my fishing line behind me and trolled down the river but never got a bite. The lack of wildlife didn't spoil the day because just being on the water surrounded by lovely scenery was enough.

We traveled just over 5 miles and made it to Wimpy's in time for an early dinner. The food was delicious and the company even better and I can't wait to do it again!

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