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| Crow Wing 1080 Pro-Angler |
As most of you know, I prefer fly fishing on foot. I took Tim Holschlag's stream side class a few years back and really got into wading rivers and streams. Wading is simple......I like simple.
I decided to make things a little more complicated by adding kayaks to the mix. We attended an event on the St Croix river last week called Kids on the Water. The event gave kids an opportunity to try a variety of different watercraft. My boys tried sit in and sit on kayaks, paddle boards, various types of canoes and the Hobie Craft kick boat. I was shocked how quickly the boys took to the kayaks! Within 2 minutes they were cruising all over the river with confidence. After the event we decided to make the investment in kayaks.
Crow Wing Kayaks
A local outdoor show called Minnesota Bound highlighted a company called Crow Wing Kayaks up in the Brainerd lakes area. Crow Wing manufacturers lightweight, stable, sit on top kayaks with a large cargo hold capacity. After the event on the St. Croix we know who we were going to call for kayaks.
We called Jim Bergquist at Crow Wing and discussed our options. After some thought and budget review we opted for the 1080 model. We purchased four 1080's total, three Explorers and one Pro-Angler. The specs for the kayaks are listed here. All four fit into the bed of my pickup, no need for tie downs or roof racks.
Canine Friendly
The family wanted to have the ability to bring our german shepherd with us on floats. The Crow Wing's large cargo area holds all sorts of things, including dogs!
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| Crow Wing 1080 - Canine Friendly |
We haven't taken our dog yet. I'm sure the first few times will be an exercise in patience, but she will eventually get used to the idea of riding.
Family Memories
Fishing will be fun, but the family memories will be priceless. My boys are getting bigger and bigger and next thing you know they'll be off to college. No phones, Ipods, XBox....just us, the river and the dog.
We have a Crow Wing 1080 Pro-Angler in our fleet of kayaks too. I'm sure if you check out my blog posts under the "kayak fishing" label you could see some pics of it in action. We've taken our smallest dog (an 18 lb terrier) out in ours, and I would say it is dog friendly... but maybe not for a bigger dog like a Lab.
ReplyDeleteIt's cool to see someone else with a Crow Wing. I may have one of the few that cruises the waters of the South... and I know I've never seen another one in person. I bought mine from Ebay in 2008 when the 1080 was pretty new, direct from Crow Wing.
Hi Jay-
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting a reply. Cool to see another Crow Wing owner. Jim Bergquist bought Crow Wing Kayaks in September and I'll have to say he has been great to work with.
We compared the Crow Wing to others in the marketplace and the Crow Wing was the clear winner for us. Just a really good product with a great owner.