Haven't had time to update in a while, things have been busy here at the Tallapoosa Paddling Company.  Where to start.  I went on a little exploratory trip with a good friend of mine on the Little River in Cherokee County Georgia a couple of weeks ago.  Since I let him do the navigating we ended up with about 5 miles of flat water on Lake Allatoona.  I was paddling the Jackson Riviera and as usual it was the bomb as far as comfort and ease of paddling goes.  Speaking of the Jackson Riviera, that has been a hot commodity around the shop lately with people calling and requesting to rent that particular model.  So much so that I ordered 5 more this morning for the fleet.  I had people standing in line to paddle it on Sunday.   Tallapoosa Paddling Company was a sponsor on the 18th of June for the Georgia Kayak Fishing Association's Lake Acworth Tourney.  Legends in Kennesaw also was a sponsor of the contest.  We had a good turnout and by sheer luck I got to fish in it also..in no other than the Jackson Coosa of course.  Safe to say I let one of the other guys win with only one fish to weigh in.  It was all good fun and if your a fisherman check out GKF they are all a first rate group of fishermen.  I finally got my rental Jackson Kayak DayTripper 12's in on Friday and since it was a slow day around the shop I decided to test one out this afternoon.  All I can say is that it is big and stable.  You can hold a ton of gear without any stability issues as well as a small child sitting up front.  Great boat...I can see this boat being used to haul all the coolers and other items down stream with a group trip.  It was also comfortable as just a solo boat.  Easy to turn, stable and pretty light for a boat that size.  I liked it so much that I ordered one for myself.  Even though I have a shop full of boats that I can paddle I don't have a boat that is just mine anymore...can you believe that.  Its gonna be in a special color for the tripper line, I am hoping to use it for a little duck hunting this winter.  

Some of you may not know this but I paddle every boat that I have in my inventory to sell as well as all of my rental boats.  Call it old fashioned or whatever but I want to make sure that everything  that I sell or rent is a quality product and that I can match you up with the right boat and know first hand what I am talking about.  As far as quality goes, I don't have to worry about that with any of the Jackson Products, but every boat paddles different..  The only boat I can't personally test is the Jackson Mini Tripper, but I do have an experienced kid paddler for that test.  That being said, I took the day yesterday to relax after the grand opening weekend and test a boat at the same time.  I took out the Jackson Coosa.  For those of you who don't know the Coosa is a fishing kayak designed by professional kayak fisherman Drew Gregory.  I have met Drew and he knows what he is talking about when it comes to kayak fishing and fishing kayaks.  There has been a lot of hype for this boat and they have been scooped up faster than they can be built sometimes.  After all the hype I was honestly looking for something to complain about.  I spend a total of 9 hours on the boat.  On the lake, paddling upstream on a creek, in shallow water, deep water, and on the river.  This is the best designed fishing kayak for 90% percent of the waters that the state of Georgia has to offer.  The only reason it is not 100% is that with the high seat it gets pushed around a little in the wind so you give up a little on the coastal waters.  But have a calm day on the coast and its 100%.  Everything from the layout to the comfort of the seating to the ease of standing up, it gets a big thumbs us.  I have a Coosa that you can rent, take down the river and see how you like it.   That is if you can get me out of it!!!!!.    

Thanks everybody that stopped by yesterday for the first official day the shop was open.  I met some wonderful people yesterday, put some first timers on the water, and talked about a lot of boats..what could be better.  Once again thanks for your time and if there is anything I can do to make your paddling time better don't hesitate to ask.  If I can 

Grand opening Saturday May 28th.  We have been busy getting things together for the opening on Saturday, to include renting boats before the official opening.  Things have been a bit hectic around here but it is well worth it to make sure all of you yes, you my future clients have a good time on the river.  I went to the Jackson Kayak factory on Thursday the 26th and picked up 13 boats for the retail side and a couple of rivera's for rent.  I have three Coosa's, Riviera's, Ibis's as well as Daytrippers and Mini Trippers in stock.  

The trip to Jackson was awesome I got a grand tour of the factory and got to see what makes Jackson Kayak the company that it is.  When they say their boats are hand built they mean it.  When the boat comes out of the mold one person takes the boat and does the build out from start to finish.  There is no assembly line operation going on there.  They really follow their motto hanging up on the factory floor...."Build it like you own it".  I saw first hand that Jacksons are a quality kayak built by quality people right here in the south in Sparta Tennessee.  The thing that amazed me the most was that pretty much all of their hundred or so employees are paddlers...if thats not the best quality control I don't know what else is.

The float on Saturday 5/21/11 was a success we had a great time exploring the river from the Water Authority bridge on Hwy 100 to Liner Rd.  The river was running at the perfect level and the weather couldn't be any better.  We managed to pick up 3 garbage bags full of trash as well as a couple of larger items like chairs and old chemical barrels.  Although we were working to clean the river it didn't stop us from enjoying one of the best lazy river floats in West Georgia.

This week has already been a busy week...so busy in fact that I haven't had a chance to get on the water this week at all (poor me I know).  At least I feel a little better about that since the weather has been a little colder.  I have been busy selling boats (good thing) and doing a little painting around the shop.  The paddling will begin this Saturday with the Tallpoosa River association floating from the Water Authority to Liner rd.  We will be cleaning up the river and enjoying the water.  So far we have at least 9 paddlers so it should be a good time.  For info you can contact me on the side or email me at   eric@tallapoosapaddlingcompany.com

Took a fishing trip this afternoon on the river.  Nothing really big, but we caught plenty of fish....another happy client.  He was able to catch a mini grand slam.  Largemouth, Redeye and Spotted Bass!!!

Paddled Horseshoe bend today and the rope swing was getting plenty of action!!!!

Tallapoosa Paddling Company hosted the kayak pingpong game at the Haralson County Relay for life.  It was a big hit with the kids!!!!  And harder than it looked

Tallapoosa Paddling Company will be at Relay for Life in Haralson County tonight hosting the Kayak game!!!!