CJ Strike Sunday Report - Lots of waiting, nuking late

[Will Hise]

Did anyone make it out anywhere yesterday (Sundey 5/17)? I'm really curious to hear times and conditions. 

Eddy, Jim S, Jason W, and I chased around the smoke from the Airshow accident. Started in the Bruneau arm but the wind died right as we got wet around 2pm. We sat and watched some crazy weather sit right over the area. Rain, squalls, and directional changes. We almost gave up but all of us ended up back at the usual spot in CJ. Glassy water after the storms finally cleared, but then within about 10 minutes (around 5:15pm), it was 25mph+. We all got out for some good fun in some crazy strong and gusty winds. 

Eddy managed to figure out (mostly) my insane camera settings and snapped some pics of the mayhem. Eddy and I winged on 3.5/3.6m wings and I could barely hold it in the gusts. Kiters were on 9 and 10m kite and twintips.

I'm very curious if anyone was at the river, lowell, or even LP. Did the same storms affect the wind there? What times was it blowing?

Thanks!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ioY8AFZ1KQc1fpVZ7

--Will

[Gabe Miller]

I went out to Gotts Point on Lake Lowell. I am leaning to wing so it was a rough experience with the swell and wind direction and holes/gusts. Got blown way down wind with a long and unpleasant effort to get to a brutal shore full of bushes. 

I need to go somewhere with flat water where I can get blown down wind and walk back up. Any recommendations?

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[Will Hise]

Lake Lowell (Lake Lull) can be really tough. It's hard to find clean wind out there. And you'll find the carp to be quite a problem once you start foiling. Speed bumps that will throw you off your rig. 

The closest decent option is Lucky Peak in the mornings. You can put in at Turner and get blown downwind to Barclay. A bunch of us did that while learning to wing. It's not great because you're in a wind shadow unless it's a very windy morning or you paddle out into the main wind, but it has proven results. You might be able to thumb a ride on a waverunner upwind too. LP blows on clear early mornings when you see east winds forecast on our sensor: https://windalert.com/spot/93670

It's also possible at CJ Strike as NW wind will blow you to the campgrounds. You can also put in on the west side upwind of Black Sands resort and if you come back before losing too much ground (before the Black Sands resort boundry), it's shallow and easy walk back upwind. Let me know if you need exact map locations

Ultimately, nothing around here is that great and you have to put in the hours or find someone with a boat to follow you. It's not a bad idea to take a trip somewhere for a few days to get things worked out. Hood River should fire up soon and is great for lessons and getting the basics figured out.

Also, if your board is feeling too small and the chop is knocking you off, it's not a bad idea to borrow a really high-volume board for a session or two. Something you can really stand on easily without sinking. I think there are a few in town. These boards are really hard to foil, but will get you standing and schlogging back and forth to figure out wing control. Stick with it! You'll be ripping upwind in no time!

--Will 

[Taylor Grant]

Friday and Saturday down this way was pretty awesome. Saturday was pumping pretty good, and got Western a couple different times. Our little kite group in this area is growing though, so super excited about that! 

Sent from a tiny keyboard.

Taylor Grant

Grant 4-D Farms

208.431.3265

tay...@grant4dfarms.com

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From: kiteboa...@googlegroups.com <kiteboa...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Will Hise <will...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 19, 2026 3:21:00 PM
To: Gabe Miller <gabriel....@gmail.com>
Cc: kiteboardidaho <kiteboa...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: CJ Strike Sunday Report - Lots of waiting, nuking late

 

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