Saturday, August 31, 2019 - Bob's Fishing Hole - Northwest River
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Between the weather and other stuff getting in the way, I haven't been able to do much kayaking this year. But today, the weather was perfect and I carved out a few hours to get on the water.
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I launched from Bob's Fishing Hole. Bob's is right on South Battlefield Boulevard just south of the Chesapeake Expressway. It's only $2 for a cartop launch from Bob's and it gives good access to the western part of the Northwest River. They have lots of fishing tournaments here and one was going on today, but they were all on the other side, so I didn't have any problems.
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Bob's has a little area along the shoreline to launch kayaks. The water level was high, so launching was easy.
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I went to the west and ducked under the railroad tracks and the Route 168 bridges. The railroad bridge is over a hundred years old and still in active service.
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As is typical on the Northwest River this time of year, there was lots of duckweed on the surface of the water. Duckweed makes the water look a bit "scummy", but it doesn't affect the paddling (other than it sticking to everything). Some aquatic vegetation makes the water difficult to paddle through, but since duckweed floats, it doesn't do that. Duckweed is an important food source for waterfowl and fish. It also creates cool patterns on the water surface.
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Since the powerboats had all gone the other way, I had a very peaceful paddle. I heard, but didn't see, lots of birds. And if you look closely, you can see a little bit of fall color creeping into a few places.
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The weather was perfect. Mid-80s, low humidity, no wind except for an occasional gentle breeze, and a mostly cloudless sky. I got some sun on my arms and legs since it's been a while since I've been on the water (which I probably will feel tomorrow), but it was worth it.
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Great day on the water.
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2 hours on the water and 3.5 miles on the GPS. Scroll below the pictures to see the track map.
