Search found 21 matches

by PaddleBear
Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:18 pm
Forum: Why we do this
Topic: Beginnings
Replies: 0
Views: 40460

Beginnings

Janet and I were out hiking along Lake Hodges one day in April, 2018 and we found a duck hanging from a tree by a fishing lure in its mouth. It was out over the water and we could not get to it. We tried to call for "official" help, but could find none. We finally flagged down a fishing boat, but th...
by PaddleBear
Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:14 pm
Forum: Why we do this
Topic: Health benefits
Replies: 0
Views: 29071

Health benefits

We are here to protect the lives of birds and wildlife, but it is not a one-sided deal. We also derive very real benefits from our work. Physical Health We usually include a moderately long pedal as part of our day. Sometimes it is at the beginning before we start work or sometimes it is split betwe...
by PaddleBear
Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:09 am
Forum: Fishing Line Retrieval
Topic: Finding Fishing Line
Replies: 0
Views: 39562

Finding Fishing Line

In this posting I will try to help you learn where and how to find fishing line. Fishing line is made to be as invisible to the fish as possible. That makes it difficult for the birds to avoid and tough for us to find. It helps a lot if you know where to find it and it helps a lot more if you go slo...
by PaddleBear
Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:07 am
Forum: Fishing Line Retrieval
Topic: Retrieving Fishing Line
Replies: 0
Views: 28453

Retrieving Fishing Line

How you go about retrieving the line depends on exactly how and where it is located. Line that is up in the brush out of reach we pull down with a boat hook on an extendable pole. Sometimes if it is lightly draped it can be lifted off with the upper prong of the boat hook. Sometimes you have to brea...
by PaddleBear
Fri Jun 14, 2019 2:18 am
Forum: Transport
Topic: How do you transport your boat to/from the water?
Replies: 0
Views: 39066

How do you transport your boat to/from the water?

This is one that I cannot tackle by myself. I can tell what I do, but there are just too many ways to transport a boat and I only have direct experience with my own. Here's what I do. Please post what you do so all of us can benefit by it. I have a pickup with a canopy on the back. This would be sim...
by PaddleBear
Fri Jun 14, 2019 1:59 am
Forum: Kayaks, Canoes, etc.
Topic: What about canoes or other boats?
Replies: 0
Views: 28437

What about canoes or other boats?

Canoes Well this is kayaking for the birds, but "for the birds" is the most important part and we welcome anyone who will come out and help. If you've got a canoe, use it. I owned canoes for decades and if I had owned one a year ago when we started this, that's probably what I'd be using now. Canoe...
by PaddleBear
Thu Jun 13, 2019 10:46 pm
Forum: Tools and Equipment
Topic: Flotation
Replies: 0
Views: 28272

Flotation

It is important that your tools float or are tethered because you will eventually drop everything. If it doesn't float and isn't tethered you will only drop it once. Some things already float, or will at least float long enough to retrieve them. I suggest float-testing everything before you use it s...
by PaddleBear
Mon Jun 10, 2019 9:12 pm
Forum: About Us, Rules, etc.
Topic: About us.
Replies: 0
Views: 39978

About us.

Kayaking For The Birds is a group of volunteers dedicated to reducing bird and other wildlife deaths by becoming hooked or entangled in fishing line. Our approach is positive, not negative or confrontational. We focus our efforts on removing the fishing line that accumulates along the shores of lake...
by PaddleBear
Mon Jun 10, 2019 9:01 pm
Forum: Feeling Good
Topic: Five ways kayaking for the birds makes you feel good.
Replies: 0
Views: 39317

Five ways kayaking for the birds makes you feel good.

"A bad day on the water is better than a good day at the office." Or something like that. As of today I've been out 108 times and every one of those times I have come home feeling better than before I went out and much better than other days when I have stayed home. We usually start or end our "work...
by PaddleBear
Mon Jun 10, 2019 8:32 pm
Forum: About Us, Rules, etc.
Topic: What's in a name?
Replies: 0
Views: 28719

What's in a name?

What do we call ourselves? At Lake Hodges we are technically volunteering for the City of San Diego. The only volunteer job that their bureaucracy acknowledges at this lake is "quagga mussel inspector". So that's how we have to sign up. I've never inspected for a quagga mussel. It's just how we fill...