NorCal Kayak Anglers
Kayak Fishing Zone => Safety First => Topic started by: Eddie on December 02, 2017, 11:03:39 PM
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Thursday looks like high tide at 12:30pm. What is the m.o. for stair landing besides timing and jumping off and dragging up kayak out of swell in 5 seconds flat?
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I'd stay out until 3 PM :smt001
There might be some beach left at 5.6 at noonish but not much.
But you'll still need to make it to the stairs.
Timing, Timing, Timing
Have your GoPro running :smt003
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I'd stay out until 3 PM :smt001
There might be some beach left at 5.6 at noonish but not much.
But you'll still need to make it to the stairs.
Timing, Timing, Timing
Have your GoPro running :smt003
GoPro humor...dang...I'm a lil' scared...sharks...stairs...wind will pick up by three but at least I'll be all puked out by then. We'll see....thanks :smt006
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I try to land on what little beach is there and not directly onto the stairs. That can damage the yak to easy.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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skateboarders knee pads and elbow pads and a full-face motorcycle helmet. the bicycle riding helmets provide no protection for the jaw. hope this helps :smt001
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What about launching? No Beach water up the stairs jump in kayak and slide down stairs right into water?
Paul
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What about launching? No Beach water up the stairs jump in kayak and slide down stairs right into water?
Paul
I'm guessing get as close to the edge as possible with foot grounding and throw out like a surfboard and mount while paddle ready to move, not sit in danger zone and working it...must launch out...I have no idea...
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What about launching? No Beach water up the stairs jump in kayak and slide down stairs right into water?
Paul
You got it.....be careful you don't want to eat it at the base.
Keep in mind there are large rocks scattered all around that area.
It's no joke....remember it's OK to just not go.
Safety First!
I don't like scrapping up my yak so I time it and stand in the water and then jump onto my yak as Eddie described. But I'm a diver and am in a full wetsuit.
It's worked a few times but its sketchy as fuck.
Jim loves posting his pre stair launch pic Im sure he'll post it.
Not for the timid.....
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The waves coming in are powerful. Awesome force. My arms tightening up just thinking about paddling out.
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It's OK not to go.
Safety First buddy!
If you go make sure all you gear is tied down solidly.
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I saw a couple guys launch a small aluminium boat off the stairs it was pretty crazy lol. They carried down the boat and the outboard and took off
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It's OK not to go.
Safety First buddy!
If you go make sure all you gear is tied down solidly.
Very true. I got rolled pretty hard once and snapped my paddle in half. DidnÂ’t even look bad. ItÂ’s all about timing as the bigger waves come in sets.
Or you can just sit out and enjoy the scenery like CDM said. You donÂ’t want to end up on YouTube as the what not to do guy.
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About a month ago I stood on that "ramp" and a voice in one ear said, "Maybe it isn't such a good idea to launch, it's already over the stairs and it's going to be higher on the way in. And look at those swells, sure, they're pretty small, for surfers, but they are constantly rolling in, no real breaks." The voice in the other ear said, "Oh you've launched here dozens of times, sometimes the tide was as high, though maybe not the surf, and there's a tiny patch of sand there that will probably still be there when you come in. It's great fishing, and nothing in life is without risk; it's not real choppy out there, go for it."
So I did, I was able to get the yak down off the stairs to the side and launch form the sand. The fishing was crap; the swells were little foothills, and I tried everything, and after a while I figured that there was no point in delaying the landing, and I might need a little extra time. So I headed in, and stowed everything valuable and tried to time the swells, but, again, no real let up. There was a tiny piece of sand to the side of the stairs that I aimed for, and rode a knee-high pretty well for a few seconds before the death turn and roll started. I bailed out in thigh-high water and fell down as the kayak headed for the concrete, so I sloshed up and grabbed it on the water side, only to have another swell turn it so I was on the beach side; another wave, and I'm doing the "From Here to Eternity" roll in the sand hugging the kayak, which flipped on top of me after banging my shin pretty hard. I finally got it under control and on my feet, dragged it up to the bit of sand, collected a few loose items like my lunch and bait coolers, then sat down on the seawall and panted for about 15 minutes.
It took me a good 45 minutes to get all my stuff up the ramp, and then I basically threw the kayak on the highest stair next to the railing, let it bang and scrape until I got up above it and dragged it higher, adding some new scrapes to it. It took me two days to get that very fine sand out of everything I was wearing. The kayak had about a gallon of sand in the wells, and a little even got inside, though none in the reels.
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About a month ago I stood on that "ramp" and a voice in one ear said, "Maybe it isn't such a good idea to launch, it's already over the stairs and it's going to be higher on the way in. And look at those swells, sure, they're pretty small, for surfers, but they are constantly rolling in, no real breaks." The voice in the other ear said, "Oh you've launched here dozens of times, sometimes the tide was as high, though maybe not the surf, and there's a tiny patch of sand there that will probably still be there when you come in. It's great fishing, and nothing in life is without risk; it's not real choppy out there, go for it."
So I did, I was able to get the yak down off the stairs to the side and launch form the sand. The fishing was crap; the swells were little foothills, and I tried everything, and after a while I figured that there was no point in delaying the landing, and I might need a little extra time. So I headed in, and stowed everything valuable and tried to time the swells, but, again, no real let up. There was a tiny piece of sand to the side of the stairs that I aimed for, and rode a knee-high pretty well for a few seconds before the death turn and roll started. I bailed out in thigh-high water and fell down as the kayak headed for the concrete, so I sloshed up and grabbed it on the water side, only to have another swell turn it so I was on the beach side; another wave, and I'm doing the "From Here to Eternity" roll in the sand hugging the kayak, which flipped on top of me after banging my shin pretty hard. I finally got it under control and on my feet, dragged it up to the bit of sand, collected a few loose items like my lunch and bait coolers, then sat down on the seawall and panted for about 15 minutes.
It took me a good 45 minutes to get all my stuff up the ramp, and then I basically threw the kayak on the highest stair next to the railing, let it bang and scrape until I got up above it and dragged it higher, adding some new scrapes to it. It took me two days to get that very fine sand out of everything I was wearing. The kayak had about a gallon of sand in the wells, and a little even got inside, though none in the reels.
Thanks for the story. Very vivid and detailed. No stair landing for me on Thursday. We will fish someday.
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A fell down as the kayak headed for the concrete, so I sloshed up and grabbed it on the water side, only to have another swell turn it so I was on the beach side; another wave, and I'm doing the "From Here to Eternity" roll in the sand hugging the kayak,
Tom that is going into my Big Book of Best Kayak Fishing Quotes.
Bushy
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I am very familiar with those lovely stairs! :smt005
Stair launch is way easier than stair landing...
For launch, I find the easiest way is to slide yak all the way down stairs as far as you can, then jump down in between breakers onto sand/boulders and then pull yak onto water when next wave comes in and then go quick...
For landing I try and bail off before bottom stair and race up onto stairs with bow line in one hand and paddle in other then pull up yak onto stairs...
Obviously avoiding the super high tides, or choosing a diff spot on those days will make your experience a little easier.
:smt001
:smt006
Sincerely,
Jim
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About a month ago I stood on that "ramp" and a voice in one ear said, "Maybe it isn't such a good idea to launch, it's already over the stairs and it's going to be higher on the way in. And look at those swells, sure, they're pretty small, for surfers, but they are constantly rolling in, no real breaks." The voice in the other ear said, "Oh you've launched here dozens of times, sometimes the tide was as high, though maybe not the surf, and there's a tiny patch of sand there that will probably still be there when you come in. It's great fishing, and nothing in life is without risk; it's not real choppy out there, go for it."
So I did, I was able to get the yak down off the stairs to the side and launch form the sand. The fishing was crap; the swells were little foothills, and I tried everything, and after a while I figured that there was no point in delaying the landing, and I might need a little extra time. So I headed in, and stowed everything valuable and tried to time the swells, but, again, no real let up. There was a tiny piece of sand to the side of the stairs that I aimed for, and rode a knee-high pretty well for a few seconds before the death turn and roll started. I bailed out in thigh-high water and fell down as the kayak headed for the concrete, so I sloshed up and grabbed it on the water side, only to have another swell turn it so I was on the beach side; another wave, and I'm doing the "From Here to Eternity" roll in the sand hugging the kayak, which flipped on top of me after banging my shin pretty hard. I finally got it under control and on my feet, dragged it up to the bit of sand, collected a few loose items like my lunch and bait coolers, then sat down on the seawall and panted for about 15 minutes.
It took me a good 45 minutes to get all my stuff up the ramp, and then I basically threw the kayak on the highest stair next to the railing, let it bang and scrape until I got up above it and dragged it higher, adding some new scrapes to it. It took me two days to get that very fine sand out of everything I was wearing. The kayak had about a gallon of sand in the wells, and a little even got inside, though none in the reels.
That's crazy! We took one look at the water splashing on the stairs and left with our poles dry. I went for a roll in the sand about a month ago and it was no fun. Your roll above reminded me of mine - lol, I'm still finding sand here and there in all my stuff and I lost a pole. :smt010 My other reel got so much sand in it that I had to replace it. I'm glad I had the "reel" protection plan on that one because it definitely came in handy.
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I am very familiar with those lovely stairs! :smt005
Stair launch is way easier than stair landing...
For launch, I find the easiest way is to slide yak all the way down stairs as far as you can, then jump down in between breakers onto sand/boulders and then pull yak onto water when next wave comes in and then go quick...
For landing I try and bail off before bottom stair and race up onto stairs with bow line in one hand and paddle in other then pull up yak onto stairs...
Obviously avoiding the super high tides, or choosing a diff spot on those days will make your experience a little easier.
:smt001
:smt006
Sincerely,
Jim
Bail before bottom stair but still on concrete? I can visualize the concept, but what a practice. I guess my anchor trolley acts as a bowline if I unclip it, but prolly should have a separate bowline for such a moment. Will not be practicing soon but want to fish that spot prepared and know that sometimes not going out is still an option. Thanks for the tips ya’all!
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I am very familiar with those lovely stairs! :smt005
Stair launch is way easier than stair landing...
For launch, I find the easiest way is to slide yak all the way down stairs as far as you can, then jump down in between breakers onto sand/boulders and then pull yak onto water when next wave comes in and then go quick...
For landing I try and bail off before bottom stair and race up onto stairs with bow line in one hand and paddle in other then pull up yak onto stairs...
Obviously avoiding the super high tides, or choosing a diff spot on those days will make your experience a little easier.
:smt001
:smt006
Sincerely,
Jim
That's the pic :smt001
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I am very familiar with those lovely stairs! :smt005
Stair launch is way easier than stair landing...
For launch, I find the easiest way is to slide yak all the way down stairs as far as you can, then jump down in between breakers onto sand/boulders and then pull yak onto water when next wave comes in and then go quick...
For landing I try and bail off before bottom stair and race up onto stairs with bow line in one hand and paddle in other then pull up yak onto stairs...
Obviously avoiding the super high tides, or choosing a diff spot on those days will make your experience a little easier.
:smt001
:smt006
Sincerely,
Jim
That's the pic :smt001
:smt005 :smt044
This is my other fave SWS beach pic...Hotplate taking a digger back in 2010...
:smt005 :smt044 :smt005
:smt006
Sincerely,
Jim
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I refuse to go to SWS on stair launch/landing days. Most people here won’t go either. The people you see saying they did are very skilled or crazy or both, and in the case of Spearfishers, just about everything he has is stored inside the kayak.
MBK is almost always easy. Have fun there lol.
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I refuse to go to SWS on stair launch/landing days. Most people here won’t go either. The people you see saying they did are very skilled or crazy or both, and in the case of Spearfishers, just about everything he has is stored inside the kayak.
MBK is almost always easy. Have fun there lol.
True!
ALL my stuff is inside my yak...
MBK is for sure a safer, more mellow launch/landing on big/high tide days...
Too bad no one ever catches any nice fish over there.....
:smt002
http://aoty.norcalkayakanglers.com/catches/2378
http://aoty.norcalkayakanglers.com/catches/4108
http://aoty.norcalkayakanglers.com/catches/1376
http://aoty.norcalkayakanglers.com/catches/2340
http://aoty.norcalkayakanglers.com/catches/2355
:smt006
Sincerely,
Jim
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Is this a problem only for very high tides or does the beach get covered on every high tide? I'm hoping to get out there before the end of the month but it sounds like I'll have to time it right.