Pier 30 Live Streaming Surfcam

The good folks over at Pier 30 Bait & Tackle have put up a nice, live streaming beach cam on Surfside Beach

The next time you visit Surfside be sure to stop by Pier 30 and say hello to TJ, Robbie and the rest of the gang.

DIY Alaska big game hunting

Scotty Lamkin, a long-time Alaskan writes a great piece about hunting Alaska on your own for the bargain price of about $3,500. He makes a compelling argument and I’ll have to put the Alaskan hunt on my bucket list.

As a former professional Alaskan hunting guide I want to give you some of the information you need to get your Alaskan hunt underway in 2010. I’m talking about information you won’t get anywhere else. Most guides want to sell you a hunt- I don’t; I want to help you do it yourself! Coming from Kentucky 30 years ago, I knew how to hunt like most of you. Same rules apply here it’s just a LARGER place to apply them. What you don’t know is the terrain, the weather, and the logistics. You’ll need some help with that.

I didn’t realize that hunting for most Alaskan big game requires a guide. Moose, Caribou, Black Bear, and Sitka Blacktail Deer are the only game that can be hunted legally without the use of a guide. If you are an experienced hunter but have never hunted Alaska, Lamkin recommends saving about $5k by booking a river hunt without a guide. The experience, he argues, is invaluable when it does come time to hire a guide for the more exotic game in Alaska.

After reading Lamkin’s article I am definitely down for some Alaskan big game hunting. You Betcha!

USPA National Skydiving Championship

Went out Saturday to the USPA National Skydiving Championship held at Skydive Spaceland in Rosharon Tx. It was a beautiful day, blue skies, mild temps, and a vibrant crowd.  The size and scope of this event, held in little ole Rosharon, was astounding. Even more surprising than the size of  the competition was the sheer number of first time jumpers that were constantly going up and coming down. It’s great to see an adventure business right in our own back yard doing such a good job.

Here are a few pics from the Saturday afternoon activities:

Surfside Surf Report

There has been a couple of low pressure systems hovering around Texas and with all the rain we have been having over the past few days it was a nice break yesterday to have some mostly sunny conditions. I was out visiting a friend at Bastrop Bayou where I store my kayaks and decided it was a good idea to throw a yak into the back of the truck and shoot down to the shore. I keep a close eye on the surf charts and I knew there had been enough surf  to make the ride out to Follets Beach worth it. I have been jonesing for several weeks as all we’ve had is flat surf conditions. Typical summer conditions, I know, but come on. Where are all the tropical systems caused by global warming when you need them? I was really counting on surfing some tropical waves this summer.

Coming over the Surfside bridge I could see the water was beautiful; blue and green with tiny flecks of white caps interspersed as far as the eye could see–a result of the stiff SW breeze blowing at15-20 knots. Yes there were several kiteboarders out too.

I was in the water by about 2:30 and surfed for about an hour and fifteen minutes before tiring out. With such a stiff breeze you have to paddle constantly or you will quickly be a few miles from your truck.  It’s best to have someone follow you in a vehicle so you can expend your energy on surfing and not so much on fighting the wind and current to stay in the vicinity of your ride.  I can usually paddle for quite a bit longer but the lack of any surf over the past 8 weeks has  me out of ocean kayaking shape.

There were some rideable waves ; nothing too big but past the 3rd sandbar on the  outer sand banks you could catch a nice wave if you were patient and got lucky. There was  almost enough punch in the waves to get you to the reform, but  not quite. If you can get on a wave on the outer banks and stay on it to the 3rd sandbar, stay upright through the breakers and  catch a reform on the 2nd sandbar… let’s just say you will be out of breath, literally and figuratively. It’s a lot of work, but it’s a hell of a ride.

Wait for your wave and get on it!

Kiteboarding at Surfside Beach

I’ve been seeing several groups kite boarding at Surfside quite a bit this year.

Bastrop Bayou Trash Bash

Join in and help clean up Bastrop Bayou at the Bastrop Bayou Trash Bash Event

Join the next Trash Bash® Event
Saturday, March 28, 2009!

Once a year thousands of volunteers gather along the Texas waterways to do their part in cleaning up the environment and participate in the largest statewide event to educate the public about the importance of our water resources.

Time Trash Bash is a half day event and begins between 8:00/8:30 am in the morning and ends at 1:30 in the afternoon. Start time, registration and end time vary from location to location. Please go to the individual cleanup sites for details.

How to…
To get started, pick a cleanup site near you.Volunteer at any of the sites and receive:
Free Lunch
Entertainment
Door Prizes
T-Shirts

Go to TrashBash.org for complete information.

San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge: Winter Tour

I have been having some difficulty uploading hi-res (DVD quality, not hi-def) videos to YouTube but I managed to get a lo-res version up. The quality is not great but is decent I guess considering the file is only 50 meg. It would sure be nice to be able to upload better quality so fine details are preserved and the sky is not splotchy.

Winter Tour is a composition of clips from several days out at San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge during January 2009. Bird Park South is what I call SBNWR, as you will see why.

The music is William Tell Overture – Finale, Eine Kleine Nachmusik – Allegro, and 1812 Overture – Finale.

Sora Rail – San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge

A short video snippet of a Sora Rail I spotted at San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge. First one I’ve ever seen, which is always a big event.

34th Annual Houston Fishing Show

The 34th Annual Houston Fishing Show (link) will be from March 4 thru March 8, 2009 at the George R Brown Convention Center in Houston (map). Billed as the largest consumer fishing show in the nation, this show is a must see if you you are interested in one of the greatest outdoor recreations ever invented.

To whet your appetite here is a list of seminars available on opening day:

• Filip “Fishman” Spencer – Shallow Water Kayak Rigging & Fishing
• Lynn Smith – Fishing the Port O’Connor Area for Trouts & Reds
• Will Kirkpatrick – Pre-Spawn Bass — Rayburn
• Tommy Countz – Spring Fishing in Matagorda
• Radio Personalities Mickey Eastman and Bennie Hatten – Come Meet the 610 Outdoors Show

See the info page at the link above for a complete list of seminars and schedules.

I’m thinking I might check out the opener on shallow water kayak rigging. I’m sure I could use a few pointers, and I know Cap’n Popeye could use a couple.   Like don’t use your paddle to push off a mud bank.

Bastrop Bayou Parade of Lights

Bastrop Bayou Parade of Lights came off without a hitch. The after party at Marlin’s Marina was a lot of fun even though I got stuck with three checks, which was a pretty good trick by someone seeing as what a tight wad I am.

There was only about fifteen boats this year, down from almost 30 last year, but size doesn’t matter when it comes to the Bastrop Bayou Parade of Lights and after party. After we vacated Marlin’s we retired to the Mayoral Residence and sat around at an all night bonfire drinking beer and Yaegerbombs and telling outrageous lies.

Most of the photography and video was with available light only since I don’t use flashes but even though  it was nighttime there are some decent photos and some video that I will put into a short movie or slide show and post at the magazine.