Kayaking the Texas Coast

Kayaking the Texas Coast PDF Author: John Whorff
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 1603442251
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description
“Few experiences compare with navigating a sea kayak through a large sandy bay lined with oyster-shell beaches, past golden sand dunes into rough ocean waters, then surfing back onto a wind-swept beach at sunset.”—from the Introduction Half of the nearly 400-mile Texas coastline is flanked by barrier islands. Behind them, large and small bays shelter estuarine marshes, oyster-reef communities, and sea grass meadows that teem with wildlife, creating a bird watcher's and angler's paradise. For an intimate encounter with these natural treasures, no other water craft can compare to a kayak. Veteran kayaker John Whorff’s Kayaking the Texas Coast is an essential guide for beginning and experienced kayakers to the many miles of shoreline that surround the shallow bays, lagoons, and islands of the Texas coast. Novices will appreciate this book’s detailed information about where to paddle and camp, what to see, and where to obtain additional information about safety and route planning. Accomplished kayakers will enjoy Whorff’s enticing route descriptions and other pertinent details on paddling the Texas coastline. Opening with an extended introductory text that covers kayaks and equipment, safety considerations and emergencies, camping dos and don’ts, and helpful resources, Kayaking the Texas Coast also lists useful websites and guidebooks. In the main portion of the text, the coast is organized into ten destinations, from the Galveston Bay complex in the north to Boca Chica State Park in the south. For each of these destinations, Whorff provides information on navigational aids, planning considerations, accommodations, and directions to launch sites before describing various paddling routes within each destination—around seventy routes in all. Each route is ranked for difficulty as “beginner,” “intermediate,” or “advanced.” Detailed maps and vivid photographs by the author complete the package. "Kayaking the Texas Coast is your must-have guidebook to the coastline and bays of the Lone Star State. Many miles of sea kayaking adventure are described, along with maps and discussion of the natural world encountered along the way. My copy will be riding in car and kayak with me. I look forward to seeing with my own eyes what the author has described and mapped."-- Natalie Wiest, founder and director, Galveston Bay Information

Kayaking the Texas Coast

Kayaking the Texas Coast PDF Author: John Whorff
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 1603442251
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 152

Get Book

Book Description
“Few experiences compare with navigating a sea kayak through a large sandy bay lined with oyster-shell beaches, past golden sand dunes into rough ocean waters, then surfing back onto a wind-swept beach at sunset.”—from the Introduction Half of the nearly 400-mile Texas coastline is flanked by barrier islands. Behind them, large and small bays shelter estuarine marshes, oyster-reef communities, and sea grass meadows that teem with wildlife, creating a bird watcher's and angler's paradise. For an intimate encounter with these natural treasures, no other water craft can compare to a kayak. Veteran kayaker John Whorff’s Kayaking the Texas Coast is an essential guide for beginning and experienced kayakers to the many miles of shoreline that surround the shallow bays, lagoons, and islands of the Texas coast. Novices will appreciate this book’s detailed information about where to paddle and camp, what to see, and where to obtain additional information about safety and route planning. Accomplished kayakers will enjoy Whorff’s enticing route descriptions and other pertinent details on paddling the Texas coastline. Opening with an extended introductory text that covers kayaks and equipment, safety considerations and emergencies, camping dos and don’ts, and helpful resources, Kayaking the Texas Coast also lists useful websites and guidebooks. In the main portion of the text, the coast is organized into ten destinations, from the Galveston Bay complex in the north to Boca Chica State Park in the south. For each of these destinations, Whorff provides information on navigational aids, planning considerations, accommodations, and directions to launch sites before describing various paddling routes within each destination—around seventy routes in all. Each route is ranked for difficulty as “beginner,” “intermediate,” or “advanced.” Detailed maps and vivid photographs by the author complete the package. "Kayaking the Texas Coast is your must-have guidebook to the coastline and bays of the Lone Star State. Many miles of sea kayaking adventure are described, along with maps and discussion of the natural world encountered along the way. My copy will be riding in car and kayak with me. I look forward to seeing with my own eyes what the author has described and mapped."-- Natalie Wiest, founder and director, Galveston Bay Information

Paddling Texas

Paddling Texas PDF Author: Shane Townsend
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1493016350
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
From the canyons of Big Bend to the cypress swamps of Pine Island Bayou, the waters of Texas have something for most every type of paddler and every paddling mood. One might float the diminutive Comal River, argued to be the shortest river in the world. Another might dig deep and follow the four-day, 260-mile route of the Texas Water Safari, which Canoe & Kayak Magazine referred to as “The World’s Toughest Canoe Race.” Whitewater is here too. Lakes are as well. And, the Texas Gulf Coast is home to sandy beaches, knobby mangroves, and sea grass flats. Meanwhile, Texas is home to some of the fastest growing cities in America. And, paddling is the fastest growing outdoor sport in the country. “Paddling Texas” is a guide for those who are new to either and all those who love both. Featured trips offer easy access, secure environments, good facilities, great fishing, superb wildlife viewing, and beautiful scenery. “Paddling Texas” gives recreational paddlers and anglers all the information they’ll need to paddle many of the best trips in Texas.

Bob Spain's Canoeing Guide and Favorite Texas Paddling Trails

Bob Spain's Canoeing Guide and Favorite Texas Paddling Trails PDF Author: Bob Spain
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 1623496195
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
Premiere paddler and Texas Canoe Racing Hall of Famer Bob Spain presents a thorough and personal guide to all aspects of canoeing. He opens with a brief history of canoes and canoe making in North America followed by an illustrated how-to section on proper paddling technique and posture. Instructional photos and drawings by Spain’s paddling partner and wife, Joy Emshoff, help make your first-time paddling adventure less intimidating and more enjoyable. Readers will learn how to hold a paddle, perform basic strokes, and improve their technique as well as gain important information on the various types of canoes available. A handy checklist in the back of the book outlines important safety gear and essential equipment to pack in your canoe for day trips and overnight expeditions. Both newcomers to the sport and seasoned paddlers will find Spain’s detailed descriptions of his ten favorite inland and coastal Texas paddling trails entertaining and helpful. He provides useful logistical information—such as launch and take-out locations—GPS coordinates, available camping sites, and suggestions for nearby paddling trails. These trails offer paddlers a unique opportunity to explore the state and its varied wildlife while promoting the importance of preserving waterways. Spain concludes with a discussion on pressing conservation issues—water pollution, urban growth, habitat destruction, invasive species, and natural disasters—and the role ordinary people can have in protecting these natural resources for future generations. (Printed on waterproof paper)

Kayak Fishing: The Ultimate Guide 2nd Edition

Kayak Fishing: The Ultimate Guide 2nd Edition PDF Author: Scott Null
Publisher: Fox Chapel Publishing
ISBN: 1607654598
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 586

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Book Description
With stunning new photography and contributions from 20 influential kayak angling pros, this edition provides new kayak anglers with a solid foundation of skills and concepts for a safe and comfortable entry into the sport. Experienced kayak anglers will benefit from a wealth of tips, tricks, and advanced kayak fishing techniques.

Canoeing and Kayaking Houston Waterways

Canoeing and Kayaking Houston Waterways PDF Author: Natalie H. Wiest
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 160344775X
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 186

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Book Description
Within about seventy-five miles of downtown Houston, some 1,500 miles of rivers, creeks, lakes, bayous, and bays await discovery. Canoeing and Kayaking Houston Waterways, by longtime paddler Natalie Wiest, is the perfect companion for anyone who wants to experience Houston’s well-watered landscape from the seat of a kayak or canoe. Before introducing readers to the quiet, green world that lies within and around the heart of the city, Wiest gives some pointers on water safety (including swimming and boating); on weather, flood stages, and legal access; and on an often unseen but always present paddling companion—alligators. She also provides a gear checklist for a day trip, a brief guide to boats and paddles, and a “sampler” list of easy places to paddle for true beginners. Presented in nine chapters, each organized around a river system or coastal basin and comprising a “suite” of paddling trips, the excursions described by Wiest offer a general description of the destination, directions (both driving and paddling), and details about the paddling conditions and access sites, which are all publicly owned or managed. Each chapter lists mileages, USGS gauging station numbers, and GIS locations when applicable. Also including ninety color photos and more than thirty detailed maps, Canoeing and Kayaking Houston Waterways offers both novice and experienced paddlers a helpful and enjoyable reference for experiencing nature at water level, in and around Houston. To learn more about The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, sponsors of this book's series, please click here.

Paddling the Guadalupe

Paddling the Guadalupe PDF Author: Wayne H. McAlister
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 9781603440219
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
For more than forty years, Wayne H. McAlister has canoed the Guadalupe River, sometimes called the “top recreational river in Texas.” In Paddling the Guadalupe, he guides readers down this 400-mile river whose waters spring from the limestone of the Hill Country in Kerr County, meander across the broad Coastal Plain, and finally empty into the Gulf of Mexico at San Antonio Bay. With the expertise of a life and career immersed in nature, he introduces readers to the places, people, plants, and animals—large and small, aquatic and terrestrial—that depend on the Guadalupe for either their livelihoods or their existence. With affection and humor (and sometimes aggravation), he wryly comments on the development and human activity along the river’s course, from the headwaters west of Kerrville to its mouth near Tivoli, just east of Refugio. For the traveler, either on the river or along its course, McAlister’s knowledge of the grists, sawmills, dams, bridges, swimming holes, and reservoirs bring the history of familiar towns—Comfort, Canyon Lake, New Braunfels, Seguin, Gonzales, Cuero, and Victoria among them—to life. His love of the natural world, which shares the river’s bounty, will inspire and enhance anyone’s experience of the Guadalupe, from the serious canoer to the family vacationer. Photographs taken over many years provide an intimate perspective, and sixteen maps help orient those interested in getting to know the river on a more personal basis. To learn more about The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, sponsors of this book's series, please click here.

Kayak Fishing

Kayak Fishing PDF Author: Joel Mcbride
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781565236561
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Kayaks are easy to paddle, affordable, and can get you into new and otherwise inaccessible waters. For these reasons and more, kayak fishing is one of the fastest growing sports in North America. Whether you're a new kayak angler interested in developing a strong foundation of skills or a seasoned kayak angler who wants to get the most out of your time on the water, look no further—The Ultimate Guide to Kayak Fishing is the most comprehensive instructional DVD on the subject. Let experienced and engaging hosts Captain Scott Null and Joel McBride share their wealth of knowledge with you, and discover how fishing from a kayak really is the best way to have a great time and land the big ones.

A Texan Plan for the Texas Coast

A Texan Plan for the Texas Coast PDF Author: James B. Blackburn
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 1623495784
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 329

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Book Description
In this powerful call to action, conservationist and environmental lawyer Jim Blackburn offers an unconventional yet feasible plan to protect the Texas coast. The coast is in danger of being damaged beyond repair due to the gradual starvation of freshwater inflows to its bays, the fragmentation of large tracts of land, and general public neglect. Most importantly, it is threatened by our denial that the coast faces major threats and that its long-term health provides significant economic benefits. To save coastal resources, a successful plan needs to address the realities of our current world. The challenge is to sustain an economy that creates optimism and entrepreneurship while considering finite natural resources. In other words, a successful plan to save the Texas coast needs to be about making money. Whether visiting with farmers and ranchers or oil and chemical producers, Blackburn recognizes that when talking about the natural environment in monetary terms, people listen. Many of the services we get from the coast are beginning to be studied for their dollar values, a trend that might offer Texas farms and ranches the potential for cash flow, which may in turn alter conservation practices throughout Texas and the United States. Money alone cannot be the only motivation for caring about the Texas coast, though. Blackburn encourages Texans to get to know this landscape better. Beautifully illustrated and accessibly written, A Texan Plan for the Texas Coast weaves together a challenging but promising plan to protect the coast through economic motivation, thoughtful litigation, informed appreciation, and simple affection for the beauty and life found on the Texas coast.

It's More Than Fishing

It's More Than Fishing PDF Author: Pat Murray
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 1623498155
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 122

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Book Description
“The only constant in fishing is that the fish are still trying to avoid being caught as hard today as they were 100 or 1,000 years ago. To improve as anglers, we must be willing to change and evolve.” It’s More Than Fishing is a how-to guide for Texas coastal fishing that addresses a number of key aspects of coastal angling, including the basics of patterning, fishing the Texas surf, choosing lures and baits, common myths and misconceptions, and what to keep in mind when hiring a fishing guide. In addition to these how-to elements, It’s More Than Fishing also includes insight and information from marine biologists, fishing legends, and guides about coastal angling and the importance of conservation. Author Pat Murray has spent more than two decades as a marine conservation professional and more than four decades as a Texas coastal angler, and he emphasizes the critical role of recreational anglers in protecting and enhancing marine resources. Each chapter begins with a handy summary to guide readers through the information, making it easy to jump around. Throughout the book, Murray reminds the reader that angling is part science, but it’s also part art. Similar to fine arts, culinary pursuits, and any other timeless crafts, angling is an evolving skill that has been in practice for centuries. Successful fishing requires a mixture of knowledge, practice, patience, and skill. Murray believes that if anglers view their pursuit as an art, they will not only invest in developing their skills, but their passion for fishing and ocean resources will increase along with their catches.

Texas Aquatic Science

Texas Aquatic Science PDF Author: Rudolph A. Rosen
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 1623492270
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
This classroom resource provides clear, concise scientific information in an understandable and enjoyable way about water and aquatic life. Spanning the hydrologic cycle from rain to watersheds, aquifers to springs, rivers to estuaries, ample illustrations promote understanding of important concepts and clarify major ideas. Aquatic science is covered comprehensively, with relevant principles of chemistry, physics, geology, geography, ecology, and biology included throughout the text. Emphasizing water sustainability and conservation, the book tells us what we can do personally to conserve for the future and presents job and volunteer opportunities in the hope that some students will pursue careers in aquatic science. Texas Aquatic Science, originally developed as part of a multi-faceted education project for middle and high school students, can also be used at the college level for non-science majors, in the home-school environment, and by anyone who educates kids about nature and water. To learn more about The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, sponsors of this book's series, please click here.