So why don't people kite Strawberry?

[kentmerrell]

Looks like there's a pretty decent forecast for Strawberry. I've never been. Why don't people kite there?
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapCli ... =graphical

[Ralph Morrison]

There's no reason you can't ride at Strawberry. The problems are, the lake is surrounded by sagebrush so finding a clean launch could be tricky. It's a big lake and you wouldn't want to launch in offshore winds. You'll need to go with a friend because there won't be anybody else there. The winds can be elusive, it can be blowing on one part of the lake and not others.
If you put the time in and learn how to make it work it could be awesome. The water is really clean and the scenery is nice. The water is probably a decent temperature now too. Your first couple times up there might be in the name of exploration but if you fish you could combine the two.

[bradbarton]

Not to mention you will have to deal with the wrath of the billion old onry fisherman that look down upon you if they even see a ski or wakeboard in your boat.

[BrettPalmer]

I go fishing there sometimes and it seemed like the wind picked up almost every afternoon that I've been there. I'm fairly new to kiting, but plan on going up there more often to check it out and look for possible launches. The only downside is how far away from salt lake it is.

[Rick McClain]

Well,
It's only about an hour and a half away; about the same as Sulphur Creek and less than Yuba. Hey, as you guys accrue information about the lake, how about adding the information to our UWA map. I, also, have thought about sailing up there, but had no upfront information on it. It looks like it ought to be great sailing. There are a couple of easy access points, mostly used by fishermen, right off the main highway on the north shore, and, of course, over by the marina, too. I've looked in the early spring, but not made it back to sail there.
Rick McClain

[spencer7]

haha, all of my water kiting experience is on strawberry... which out of five or so attempts amounted to about two days of decent wind. The first time I had never done it before so I just drug around for a few hours, and the second time there was a thunderstorm approaching so I got a good hour of solid wind but had to get out in a hurry once it got close. Personally I love it up there, plus Ive heard that the snowkiting can be good as well once the lake freezes over.

It does seem to get some decent wind, but as mentioned above, some areas will get windy while other are totally stagnant. I never really found the sagebrush to be too much of a problem, because its nice and shallow in a lot of places, so you can just walk out in the water a bit, then launch.

As far as the oldies go, they always seemed more curious than anything, and usually you wont see anyone around you anyways, which in my mind is a major plus. I did however ask the visitor center the first time about kitesurfing and they just stared at me like I was speaking in another language

[Ralph Morrison]

Where did you launch from Spencer?