NorCal Kayak Anglers
Kayak Fishing Zone => Hookups and Fishing Reports (Viewable by Public) => Topic started by: Tote on July 16, 2006, 07:43:10 PM
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Arrived at the parking lot around 7pm Saturday. Two hours later than expected thanks to the logger jam they call the Bay Bridge.
A group of us walked over the the Brewery and had good food and brew and a great time at the table. Headed back the the parking lot where we geared up the yaks and put them on the beach. Nice bonfire with Ben ( Guitarzan ) providing the entertainment then Jackson ( CHUB ) taking over for a little bit too.
Launched a little after 6am into slightly foggy conditions. As I was launching it looked like someone fell out of their kayak right next to shore and was swimming it to the beach, maybe about 15 feet away when I saw him. Then I realized his yak was sinking!!!I When he puled his yak onto the beach I could see the waterline on the INSIDE of his kayak was almost to the top. I do not know who this happened to but I would like to hear the story.
My 1st time to HMB we paddled out of the harbor and followed the jetty rocks north. Decided to look for deeper water. Pretty intimidating looking at the big breaks that were in front of us, but after watching them for a little bit I chose my line and CHUB and I made it through cleanly only to find everyone else on the other side of the breaks too.
Fishing was slowwww. I got a big fat zero. Really had to watch the water with all the breakers around, but as the day went on it actually got nicer.
Headed back to the launch spot while CHUB fished the rocks on the inside of the harbor. He ended up scoring 4 small rockfish. I think Mooch got a pic of one of them.
I have to say it was the most fun I have ever had getting skunked. GREAT people, good food afterwards and quite a lot of nice raffle prizes too.
I avoided the Bay Bridge on the drive home and took Hwy 92 to 880, then 580 to 680 then 80 to 50. Only 11 miles longer than going over the Bay Bridge but shaved 2 hours off my time.
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To give you an idea of what it was like out there I have 3 photos taken in succession. Kind of a "now you see'em now you don't" because of the swells. These are all from the same perspective too. Sorry if it is a little blurred, there was a drop of water on the lens. Look closely and you can see a bunch of kayakers in not too far away.
(http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?option=com_gallery2&Itemid=81&g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=6558&g2_serialNumber=1&g2_GALLERYSID=12bfbf7ade3553e54eb7602d15777a6d)
(http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?option=com_gallery2&Itemid=81&g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=6561&g2_serialNumber=1&g2_GALLERYSID=12bfbf7ade3553e54eb7602d15777a6d/img]
[img]http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?option=com_gallery2&Itemid=81&g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=6564&g2_serialNumber=1&g2_GALLERYSID=12bfbf7ade3553e54eb7602d15777a6d)
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Hopefully this is the missinf photo
(http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?option=com_gallery2&Itemid=81&g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=6561&g2_serialNumber=2&g2_GALLERYSID=12bfbf7ade3553e54eb7602d15777a6d)
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Glad you had a good time Tote and thanks again for donating the RoRows!
I am a little spent from the long day in the sun and not enough water so I will keep it short for now.
It was an amazing turnout, we had 50 (!!!) kayakers at the event today. I think this is the largest turnout for a NorCal event to date!
The fishing was a bit tough with a pretty good swell pumping. I only manage one fish, a nice red. Freddie had the biggest stringer, he might have had a limit or close to it. Every else had 0-2 fish. However there where some pretty large fish. EyeAtBay had the largest rockcod I have ever seen in person, a 4.5lb brown rockfish. Here is a rundown of the top 3:
1. Javier Guerrero - 8.25lb Cabezon - $1000
2. Ben "Guitarizan" - 7lb Cabezon - Okuma Catalina reel and Convector rod
3. Scott Thornley - 6lb Ling - HookOne giftcertificate
Javier's cabezon was massive!! I will post some pics tomorrow after I have recovered.
Thanks again to everyone for making it an amazing day!
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Great pics tote, it was cool meeting you and your son, great to take him out in big water, and it was pretty hairy at times.
Well I think I lost my car/house keys in the parking lot where we spent the night, anyone see any extra keys?
Got some fat cab fillets, we're gonna grub out tomorrow! Anita got some great shots, ill post the tomorrow, Im beat, its been a long day. Thanx everyone for making it work! Ben.
And congrats to Javier for landing a $1000 cab!
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Where are the fish? Maybe the rockfish are fished out in local shore reefs? I am sorry I missed the Fun today but I was busy driving home from Disneyland. Good job to the winner, Chuck and Bill who did a great job even though I wasn't there to witness the success. . I can't wait for Elk!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jason
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It was cool getting to meet some of you guys finally! Even though I didn't win.... I still had a blast!
I'm looking forward to seeing the you guys at Elk next month!
Peace!
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first post here but I read the reports here all the time and they are all very good.
my brother and I arrived at the half moon bay harbor @ midnight and slept in our trucks till 5:30. woke up to find that we and the other fellow yak fishermen that arrived there while we slept were in the wrong place. Somebody there with a cellphone quickly found out the right location and off we went to Halfmoon Bay Yaught Club. Kneetoe and I were in the water @ 7 and trying to catch up to everyone that had already left. We didn't know were we were going, south or north, but figured our best bet was follow the pack. Ended up going north along the rock wall and fished some of the kelp beds at the end of the rock wall for nothing. I was using a metal jig for deep sea rockfishing and felt like I was going no were using in in the shallows. Kneetoe and I then went for it and followed the floatilla of other yakers brave enough to fish the water behind those killer waves (Mavericks). we methodically manuvered the swells and finally reached the outskirts of the floatilla. I continued using the jig where the water seemed to be surpricingly deep and cought nothing. kneetoe pulled up a kingfish and I decided to switch to a live bait rig which i baited with dead squid. I figuered king fish action was better than no action.
10 seconds later my pole goes bendo and I thought I was going for a sleigh ride but I didn't. Took my time bringing the fish to color and what came up was the most beautifull $1,000 dollar cabi I have ever seen. Cought a nice 24 25 inched ling that was hard to measure with all them sharp teeth threatning me and let him go. I also caught the bigest black rockfish i have ever caught and kept him.
here are some pictures that my brother kneetoe took.
Thank you all for making events like this happen.
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oops! didn't mean to post 2 pics of that guy holding a check.
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Set out from the harbor mouth, directly to the green bouy to the south. Marking blacks/blues around 15-20 feet all over the place. I stop for a bit, maybe a quarter of a mile shy of the bouy to see if I could catch some "bait" (small blacks) Sure enough, I pick up a couple in the 6" range, as well as one that went about a pound that I decided to keep. Headed a little further, pretty much at the bouy, and sent the line all the way down this time. It seemed like there was no current/wind at all, and thus no drift, so I'd move a little bit after 5-10 minutes of no action. After one of these short moves, Bam - my poor little modified $25 bass rod goes bendo. I make some headway, and then the fish takes out line. This repeats several times, and I've got the drag cranked all the way down on the ABU 6500 too. Finally bring the ling to the boat, and it measures 24". Give or take maybe 1/16". I measure it three times, with the same results. I play it safe and release it.
No more love for me in this spot, so I paddle out to the red bouy, not really marking any fish as I head out there. No love for me there after about 20 minutes, and no sign of fish on the fish finder. So, I paddle back to the green bouy, and now there is no sign of fish their, either. I keep at it, and eventually decide to head to the east side of the reef, rather than the west. First drop, and I have a 17-18" cab that later weighs just over 4 pounds. I give him the last rights, and now decide that it's time to start using the "bait". So I keep fishing without any action, moving slightly every 5-10 minutes or so. Still no luck so I decide it's time to head to Mavericks. I zip on over there, stopping along the way to fish some encouraging looking structure, but again no love. Finally make it to the 40-50 depth outside of the Mavericks reef. I Keep looking for fish on the finder, with hardly anything showing. What a change from Friday, and from the initial paddle out. Anyway, I switch to a diamond jig from the scampi, thinking that maybe a little noise might help. I keep getting the occasional snag, but the 6 oz jig frees itself easily. Until I get the mother of all snags. That after about 15 seconds of me just yanking and relaxing, yanking and relaxing, starts to come up. But there's no tugging whatsoever, just dead weight. My dad once brought up about a 10 pound rock on a party boat one time, so I'm thinking that it's happened again. Then I see the ling. I get the fish gripper in it's mouth, and this one goes an easy 26", so bonk bonk. Anyway, I keep fishing with the jig and a small black on a bait hook about 2 feet up, but get nothing more than 3 10-12" cabs that go back in the water. All of them hit the jig. I finally call it a day at 11:00 or so, after meeting up with Craig and Mike. I decide to take the shortcut rather than paddle around the jetty, so head to the beach and hump the kayak over into the harbor.
Random thoughts:
All in all, a good day on the water. Action for me was slow, but consistent.
Javier's and Bens Cabi's were just plain toads - way to go!
Freddie, that was an excellent stringer, in my mind the most impressive fishing result from the derby. I'd really like to pick your brain for good ideas.
Bill, your daughter is adorable. She obviously takes after her mom :)
Thanks again to Chuck for all that he did.
I also spoke to John Lull for a bit. He was the grey haired gentleman at the bar, with the Sea Gypsy t-shirt on. You may have heard his name mentioned in conjunction with the Tsunami Rangers. He also literally wrote the book ( or at leasty one of them) on sea kayaking safety. He was pretty impressed with the fact that we could get 50 people out for a kayak fishing derby.
I've got to get a beefier rod if I'm going to target lings. One that's about 6" longer, to make it easier to get around the bow of the boat. And a reel with some horsing power.
I'm also going to bring along a light weight rod and some smaller jigs, and see what I can do on suspended blacks. Heck, maybe even try out the fly rod. A three pound black on a 6 weight ought to be a hoot.
I also found something at the cleaning station at the harbor. Describe it, and I'll get it to you. Otherwise, the gear gods have smiled on me again.
Regards,
Scott
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Here's my story, I arived about 430 or so and began to mingle around the campfire and decided to start getting my stuff to gether, ended up launching right at 6am with craigh made a few short stops at the first reef for 1 little black and one large black early, we decided to head for deeper water and went twards the western green can paddled a little north of there and fished for a while and caught 1 black and yellow and that was it for me craigh however did alright landing one underling and several assorted rock fish.
All in all good day good party afterwards and alot of nice fish caught by the group. good prizes and good food you cant beat it cant wait to do it again.
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50 is a number that can begin to get the attention of the kayak manufacturer's to donate prize packages thru local dealers.
200 is the number for the event in Dana Point where mfg's have their latest model as a grand prize, such as, Hobie adventure fully outfitted with everything ($2600) went to the biggest fish winner who caught a puny halibut. Wilderness Systems, Cobra, and a new company making fiberglass sleek SOTs all donated a model.
So we should keep supporting Bill and others in building something over 5 years.
Craig
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How about uping the ante to 50 bucks? It will take 20 buck in gas. That would have made 2500 dollars for first place.
Thats a boat!
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That is an awesome picture of the cabezon. I like it's eyes.
Congratulations to Javier and sounds like a good time was had by all.
No way my stomach could have dealt with those conditions....
MolBasser
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I am bummed to have missed it. :smt011
as far as prizes...we all already have kayaks, I think cash is great!
1g is alota bait, gas, or lap dances....and $2500...well.... :smt007
g
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:smt013 :smt010 Planned to win the thing with a BIG Stripper...but my easy patch-job on the Oil Pan did not work out!So I spent the week end pulling the thing out instead of joining in to make the count 51 yakers.Sorry to have missed out!!!! :smt011
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1st Time on the Big Blue. I met Tim (surfer/perception guy) in the parking lot, and we were the last ones in. Tim was very familiar with the surf and the area and was good enough to take me under his wing....Strait to Mavericks... :smt100. Half way though he then asked if I would like to watch him surf some waves :smt104. Turned out to be just fine and Tim is a very personable guy (as everyone else there). Made it to the "EEL Man"s" secret spot and picked up a small rockfish(released) and Tim Picked up a 22/24" ling and 3/4 rockfish(released). Started to become difficult to keep down my breakfast, nausea,coughing,yawning and my "up to the neck Wetsuit" was not helping the sweat machine. Tim was quick to notice I was having trouble and he began to discribe in detail all the signs/symptoms of pucking as well as ways of doing so. :puker: It was great! REALLY..I even @ one point became snaged and was caught "weird" by a wave knocking me and my Hobie on it's side. I was either going over with a total capsize or I could jump out and leave the boat righted, I did the lader, everything worked out fine. Tim asked why I wanted to be Shark bait. Thank you Tim for taking me out there, I never would have done that on my. You helped me conquer some fears I had about Kayaking in the ocean, sorry about the writer's embellishment though, Thanks again Tim. Just to let people know, I stopped by the HMB fire dept to talk to "old friends" and learned that a boat with 4 people capsizes, all 4 were saved with no injuries, - the boat.
Thanks also to Bill and Chuck and every one else who made the event so great. I really love this sport and it was great to be with people who feel the same way as I do. I really feel that NCKA will become a force to be reckoned with and looked forward to the future. On that note, I just recently took on a 2nd job @ West Marine, I am working with a friend of mine (kind of high up the food chain) in getting West Marine up to speed with Kayak fishing and promoting the sport. I am pushing NCKA @ every opportunity and they ARE interested in us. I expect as this thing picks up they will become more involed....DANGLIN
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Many thanks to:
- ALL the sponsors that donated prizes :smt023
- Chuck and Bill for the "Organizing Efforts" :smt008
- Chuck, Brian G and Alex / Aliens for grill duties :chef:
- CCK and HMB Yacht Club for housing the event :smt023
= and especially to the 50 kayak fishermen who challenged and braved the HMB conditions!
Congrats to Javier for caching the $1000.00 Cabezon :smt002 (most expensive fish to date)
more pics to follow.....
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Congrats to Javier on his winning cab and also to Ben and Scott for rounding out the top 3. Fishing conditions were brutal out there. Big ups to all you first timers out there for your courage. A lot of bad things could've went very wrong. I'm glad that everybody had a great time. Thank you Bill for getting this together and to Chuck for all his work behind the sceens. With the turn out that we had, I only see bigger and better things for NCKA in the future. Yesterday was just awesome.
Stuie and I arrived a little before 6am. There were already a bunch of guys on the beach ready to go. We checked out the north end and paddled for it. Once there, the "White Hand of Death" was everywhere. Stuart askes if we can do it. I reply, "We got to thread the needle." He says, "You better thread it real good then..." Next thing you know... we're off paddling for our lives. A couple of minutes later as I'm approaching the first of many really, really big waves... I hear Stuie yelling... "I'm going around!!!" I thought to myself... $hit! But, I was already committed and had no choice but to go for it. I wanted to take some pictures of the insanity but, I didn't want to stop paddling fearing that I would get crushed. Going through, I kept my eye on the FF to see where the reef was coming up... I avoided places like that. It was pretty wild. I got really wet but had a fun ride. On the fishing front... it was pretty slow and go all day. I managed to produce a nice stringer of mostly blacks, a cab and a small ling. I released a bunch of smallies and two underlings. As hard as good structure was to come by out there... I still managed to donated two jigs to the ocean. I guess that's pretty par for the course for me though. The rig I used is pretty common... I had a hoochie teaser over either a diamond jig or a fishtrap. I caught fish on everything I threw down... just not anything big. All in all... another great day.
I think my body went into shock with the cold norcal waters... I got too used to the 80+ degree waters of the East Cape.
Freddie
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I think my body went into shock with the cold norcal waters... I got too used to the 80+ degree waters of the East Cape.
Freddie, does this mean you might start wearing a full wetsuit?
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It was great for me especially because of the large turnout, meeting everyone and newbies like me feeling welcomed, so anything that keeps that going (keeping the ante lower) I think is great too. Looking forward to seeing that cool review of the derby in WON!
Freddie is right... I think the day was even sloppier than could be captured in photos - swells seemed 6-8 feet easily, and came in quick sets now and then. And beyond that, we were a good 50 yds outside Maverick and I was still nudged by some big white caps - fun times! Well, at least in my scupper pro. whew.
Nice post and congrats on the cab, Javier! It was cool meeting you.
Ben and Scott great job - I think I have good karma now 'cause you two were the first people I kayak fished with ever!
And Chuck and Bill thanks for the hard work and making it happen seamlessly, raffle, sponsors and all. That's almost like whole day jobs i bet. And thanks also Bill for the props for me paying after the event... Speaking even more of good karma, Tote thanks for the RoRows! It's in the mail. You and your son are super nice.
Where can I get an NCKA sticker? I wanna buy one of those NCKA t-shirts also if i can.
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Where can I get an NCKA sticker? I wanna buy one of those NCKA t-shirts also if i can.
Just go to the home page - under NCKA store
http://www.cafepress.com/ncka
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On another note: LOST AND FOUND at the HMB Derby:
one large dry bag
one small right foot - neoprene boot
one left foot NIKE sandal
one wallet - returned to rightful owner
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That was a great tourney. Thanks Chuck and Bill for all your hard work, putting it all together. Congrats to Javier, Ben, Scott and the rest of the contenders.
Here's my version of the day:
After a brief 6 am social on at the Yacht Club, Fred, the Chef and I paddled out together and beached our yaks at the very northwest end of the harbor. We walked over to the beach peeked out to what appeared as calm conditions, however it was masked by a layer of fog. We contemplated humping our yaks over and re launching, but figured it would be a short paddle around with the same or less effort.
We re-launched and paddled toward the entrance. Just short, Fred and I stopped to rig our lines, while the Chef kept going. A group of kayaker's were hot on the Chef's trail, as he blazed through the reef. A few minutes later, we rounded the jaws and hugged the jetty, as we targeted the area below the radar tower. From the beach, we did not see any of these breakers, that we were going to soon encounter.
Fred & I stopped for a moment, and had the "Thread the needle" / "Gonna be a yard Sale" conversation, then he paddled like a mad man. I was right behind him, when I realized we were in a maze of boilers. I was struck by FEAR as thoughts of a cold swim and lost gear ran through my mind. I stopped, quickly radioed that I'm going around and paddled HARD. Fred kept paddling. Did he hear me? I hope he did and assumed there was no way he was going to stop and pick up his radio, which turned out to be the case.
I think it was Action (Jack?) next to me, who had never been in the ocean. Well, that ride was quite an introduction. InSeine (Jim) and his newbie buddy also opted for the more conservative/safe route.
In retrospect, the chances of getting rolled were probably higher going back in and getting hit from behind, rather than taking a wave straight on. However, when the adrenaline fades and fear strikes, the methodical/analylitical thought process, goes by the wayside. Besides, I saw too much white water in front/right/left, to keep paddling ahead.
We headed towards the green can and I kept going to fish a few pinnacles by the red buoy. I wasted a lot of time there without a bite. The structure seemed ok, but was void of life. I then paddled to the green can area and fished there, releasing a few small RF.
On the way in, I met up with Allen B and the Fred at the jaws, where I saw his Savage stringer. Nice job Mr. Savage! :fishing1 Unfortunately, its better to be lucky than good!
Now, where's the report of this brand new kayak that Sank? If that happened out on the reef, it could have been tragic. I'm very curious about the specifics. What brand, etc......
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Bsteves-
Wearing a full on wetsuit... might still be far fetched.
Freddie
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I'd like to know what Javier will do with the prize money....besides go to Disney Land :smt002 :smt003
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It was a great event and always nice to have company in the dangerous ocean, fishing the reefs. To bad, I could not stay for the BBQ due to HoneyDo tasks and the fact I dreaded the thought of the traffic on Hwy92 in the afternoon. There is only one thing I hate worse than work and its traffic. Got to meet some of the guys and met several on the water. It was my second time in the ocean on a kayak and I paddled out by myself towards the buoy. I have fished HMB many times but NEVER in the reefs. I always went around the buoys and now I know why.
After watching a couple of kayaks fishing behind the breakers off the reef near the buoy, I thought I was in the company of adventure seekers. There were several reefs that came up to less than 10 feet and they scared the life out of me. I noticed the depth changing on my sonar and suddenly I hear the surf break about 10 feet from me. I quickly grabbed my paddle and got the hell out. I pushed the mark on my GPS to make sure I knew where they were but there were at least two that came up pretty high and did not break until a big swell swept over them. I managed to hook and release 2 lingcod’s and one was around the 24 legal limit but my memory of last years prize drove me to bigger goals. The fishing was slow and there were only a few lings in the area. I used a large scampi and a treble hook with complete squid for bait, yes I was meat hooking for the big one. I tried the small gear with flies, iron, swim bait but did not get the results I was looking for and besides squid is the candy of the ocean and almost every fish out there eats it.
The Yacht Club was hard to find and I think a map might help in the future for those who have never been there. Thanks to all who coordinated and hope to see more of you in the water.
Luis
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I used a large scampi and 3 large hooks with complete squid for bait, yes I was meat hooking for the big one.
Did you mean you were using a big treble hook on that squid, becuase three hooks is a big no-no for rockfish.
28.55. Rockfish (Sebastes)
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(d) Method of take: Not more than two hooks and one line. For purposes of this section,
a hook is a single hook, or a double or treble hook with multiple points connected to a
common shank.
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Thanks again to the sponsors for a great time and a great raffle. Sponsors include:
California Canoe and Kayak
Okuma
Hook1 Kayak Fishing
Hobie
Outdoor Pro Shops
Holt of California (The cat hats!)
Norton Brass Rattler (fish grip people)
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Sounds like a fun time was had by all who participated. I hope to make it to one of these at some point.
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Oh and I forgot to thank everyone that brought food to the potluck. There was some great stuff there, Freddies Jambalya was very good!
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few more photos...
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I'll second Bill's props on the Jambalaya. Tasty! Thanks again Bill & Chuck for all your hard work organizing the event. Great people, great location, great food, great fishing - wait a minute, I'm getting a little carried away here! My friend Mark and I had a great time despite the slow fishing (at least for us). It seems like local knowledge (or at least a FF) were keys to success. I had neither. :smt013 PP turned out to be a great spot for us newbies, who could try the ocean but retreat to the safety (and smoothness) of the harbor and still have a chance at catching a fish (although we didn't). I too am anxious to hear the story of the sinking kayak - I saw the guy going down near the sailboat dock then bring it back to shore. He was telling someone about it once he got to shore but I didn't catch it - all I heard was that he wanted to find the guy who organized the tourny so he could get his money back! I'll be looking forward to more hookups with you guys at LM and HMB, so I can use my new Fish Gripper on some actual fish (tried it out on the kids last night though - works great!).
Andy
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more....
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and some more...
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Sounds like everyone had a great time except for the guy with the sinking Kayak? See you all at the Elk Tournament. :smt001
John
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My day started out at 3:am with little sleep and still beer buzzed from the neighbors party that lasted past midnight. I arrived at HMB Yacht club around 5:am. with Brian G. right behind me. We got the yaks set-up and headed out with the fleet of NCKA Yakers.
As soon as I got out of the jaws of the harbor I could barley see some of the guys, through the fog, already in the chop working there way into the fishing grounds towards the Maverick. I was hesitant to follow there course and at the same time I hear Stewart on the VHF that he was going around. A few minutes latter I see him appear on my starboard side. I was going to fallow him but was afraid that if I change my course I would get broadside and capsize. So, I just kept my bow toward the chop and headed straight to the green can and fished for an hour with just a few missed hits. Zero fish for me.
I started to feel a little sick after hearing Allen B. on the VHF describing the motion of the Ocean to Brian G. (That was good Allen and I usually never get seasick) Anyhow, I headed in after that and just hung out with Brian G. at the bar.
It was nice to see all the familiar faces and good to meet the new ones. Hope to see all of you again in the up-coming Elk event.
Thanks again every body for the great company shared! And thanks Bill for pulling my number to win the Hobie Polarized sunglasses. : :smt004
Alex :alien:
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Had a great time, 1st time at HMB to fish. Thanks James for showing me around, The swells and the rocks freaked me out a little. But I still had a great time. It was great being around all the fellow kayakers, great BBQ and raffle.
I came home with 5 rock fish, the last one was the biggest Blue/Black? (look the same to me) I've ever caught.
I was just trying to get the birds nest out of my reel, when it slamed my swim bait. :smt103
Congrats to the winners, and Thanks to Bill and everyone for a great day.
Craigh
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I started out fishing with Allen / scallen and James / Sharkbait. We paddled out of the Harbor and kept our eyes on the big waves braking on the reef line. I saw a window between the 2 boilers and Chris/cpyak joined me as we paddled through.....once we passed the reef line, we thought we were on the safe zone until we got hit by a surge of whitewater. I checked to see the dept on my FF and saw 8 FEET :smt118 We quickly paddled out that particular spot before another wave came in.
Allen and James came caught up after and we headed out for deeper water. We found a ledge that dropped from 30 to 55 feet and fished the area for about 20 minutes - no joy - so we paddled around hoping to find more drop offs. I saw a few kelp stalks in 20 ft and started casting an all black fish trap (that I had ordered from Bill) right past the stalk and retrieving it back up and down the water column. Sure enough, a fish followed my fish trap back to the yak and it had it's mouth on the paddle tail of the Ftrap. (should have put a stinger hook on the Ftrap - jmairey style) Since the fishing was slow, I decided to experiment and started to troll the black swimbait around the reefs. I managed to hook on to a nice black RF on the troll. I tried trolling for another half hour - no joy - and so I decided to drop an iron baited with a frozen squid head and began to catch smaller RF. At the end, I just kept one good black for the BBQ.
Paddled back and saw Mike's son, Jackson - fishing in the Harbor right next to the rockwall - he was keeping himself busy with the smaller rockfish. So I figured I'd slow troll my swimbait towards the HMB Yacht Club and hope for a Hail Mary Halibut...and all I got was a big glob of seaweed :smt011 I knew then it was time to quit and enjoy the rest of the day with my comrads = eating, drinking and story telling :smt003
Another great day spent with the NCKA crew :smt002
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Just a note to all the people that fished HMB for the first time this weekend. It is generally not that bad swell wise durng the summer months so don't let the conditions we had sour your taste for that place. That was the worse I have seen it, I think I saw mavericks break once while I was out there.
The fishing is generally better than what it was yesterday as well but I think the swell really messes with the bite there since a lot of the reefs are pretty shallow.
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Since the kayak and canoe lot was full of yaksters, I parked down the road and launched from
another beach in the harbor at around 6AM. Never fished HMB before, so I followed some
dude out of the harbor entrance and straight towards the green can. I'm glad he knew where
he was going! Fished for a while in the rock flats 50-60 ft for nothing. Then moved
closer to the breakers and began to hook a few small rock fish on a diamond jig or
swim bait. I didn't catch anything in more than 30 ft of water, seemed like the shallow
areas were where the fish were. I caught maybe a half dozen rock fish; some of them
pretty large. Also reeled in 1 cab on a swimbait but was too small. Hooked into something
else that felt pretty big. With my gaff at the ready this fish came off just beneath me
and I never got a glimpse of what it was. Around 10:30 or so I headed back towards the
horn at the harbor entrance, was too foggy to see anything.
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Congrats to Javier for catching that 1st place cab and winning the $1000 prize. He deserved it. I watch him and his brother Tony sticking in out in a mine field of boilers. It looks like it paid off big!
Congrats to Ben and Scott for coming close with 2nd and 3rd place.
Thanks to all of the participants. You guys are a great bunch. You helped make this our biggest event to date and it can only get bigger and better with your continued support.
Thanks again to our sponsors: CCK, Okuma, Hobie, Norton Bass Rattler, Outdoor Pro Shop. Thanks also to Tote, Alfredo, Chris, and Bill who contributed raffle prizes.
Thanks to everyone who contribute food for lunch. It must have been all good, because there was almost nothing left when I got to it. All I got was a small piece of cake or cobbler and that was delicious.
Finally, thanks to all that stepped up to help out during and after the event, and that incudes Stu's wife Sue, BrianG, Alex, and Sean.
:notworthy:
Chuck
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Congrats to the big$ fish! Missed y'all but thanks for all the good descriptions so I can at least imagine the good time everyone had.
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Got to town the afternoon before, met up with Mooch, Shawn, Jim and his wife Jessica Tote and his son CHUB and by the time we hit the brew co. for dinner, there were 12 of us. We had salmon fis-n-chips, halibut fish-n-chips and regular fish-n-chips. It made me wonder what people were going to target the next day. Epic morning, almost 50 kayaks in a line, like an invasion force. easy launch, very big water past the jaws, but got a little easier on out a bit.
Basically I was looking for underwater table-tops and fishing all around it, using big jigs. Probably sacraficed a lot of rf hits with the size, but was waiting for a lingasourus, or a cabzilla. Nailed the cabzilla on top of a 14 foot deep table-top on a 6 inch # 120 blue and silver knife-jig, no bottom hook, 2 stingers on the top with an extra split-ring. I knew he was a contender, if not the winner, when Javier nails another fatty 20 feet behind me and when he said it was 24" I knew my 20" was eased out of first. Hats off to Javier, you landed that big spiney fish with ease and patience in a big swell.Not an easy thing to do.
So thats when I started to want to puke. It took ALL my willpower not to chum. Headed back to easier water and tried for the winning halibut, but the halibut had different plans. 2nd place won me a killer rockfish combo from Okuma, the raffle got me the rad lip-gripper and a CAT hat for Anita. Had a GREAT time, thanx to all the sponsers and to the good folks at NCKA!
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The night before...
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Javiers thousand dollar cab.
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My 2nd placer
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Freddies "Savage" stringer...
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Check this out, The girls of NCKA...
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Not sure whos this is...
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or this...
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BTW, if anyone found any keys, pm me Ill call down there and ask tommorow, thier closed today. See 'yall real soon! Ben
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Ben did you set up the picture with the Girls? See the sign on the window.
Nice Job everyone looks like you all had a blast.
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Man, Freddy is just killin' it recently. Nice looking stringer there.
We need more NCKA hotty pics!
MolBasser
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Great pics everyone!!
I need some help answering a question between CHUB and I.
Anyone who saw the firepit has to admit it was a pretty cool design. My question is : Did the fire ring represent waves or fire???
Help end this debate please.
Tote
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Ill say waves.
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guitarzan, for somebody that doesn't fish the ocean very much your showing is impressive. great report.
Javier looks like a gunslinger! kind of cool that it was a cab shootout over the mav's reefs.
funny to think it can look like this in the winter
(http://www.hellblazer.com/media/mavericks.jpg)
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LESS FILLING!!! TASTES GREAT!!! LESS FILLING!!! TASTES GREAT!!! or should I be saying... WAVES!!! FIRE!!! WAVES!!! FIRE!!!... my vote is for waves... good luck with that debate.
Freddie
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I hadn’t planned on attending this event but I’ve wanted to try rock fishing. I thought I read somewhere that HMB usually had calm conditions when other places were still rough so that helped in the decision … 50 kayakers in what I thought would be milder conditions. Sounded like a good opportunity to take my first ocean adventure.
I had great plans on getting to bed early the night before so I wouldn’t be tired but all of the last minute things I had to do kept me up until 11pm. I woke up at 2am and needless to say I was a bit tired but I arrived at 5am which worked out well.
I saw Mooch doing last minute prep stuff on his kayak when I was ready to head out and asked if I could go out with him with the declaration that I was a newb to the ocean. Of course he made be feel welcomed and we soon paddled out.
My first thanks go out to Bill and Mooch, not for putting the event together or for letting me go out with them but for their posts that gave us newbes some insights on the danger of boilers and what to look for. Their posts stuck with me and I was very focused on the way out, making note of the 2 boilers that Mooch was leading us through.
As others have pointed out, the fishing was slow. I’m sure it didn’t help that I had a huge swimbait on hoping for … well a huge fish. I made a mental note to watch the time and start down sizing my bait as it got later without getting a bit. Once I was a little more comfortable on the water, I broke away from Mooch and headed to the Green can where I managed 1 20” ling.
While I was out fishing, I was wondering/hoping that these weren’t the great conditions that I’ve read about. I had planned on going back in at 11am but by 10am I was starting to feel a little sick and decided to call it a day. I’m glad to hear others describe the conditions as being rough.
Of course I’d like to thank Bill and Chuck for organizing the event, Mooch for letting me tag along, and a big congratulations to all of the winners. I had a great time and wasn’t planning on attending Elk but I may just change my mind on that one.
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I spent most of my time hanging out in calmer water. Had a great time. The wife and I enjoyed meeting and visting with you folks. This is a good group of people. Many thanks to Bill, Chuck and the others that helped.
Here's a few pics:
(http://home.comcast.net/~geosharks/hmb072006a.jpg)
(http://home.comcast.net/~geosharks/hmb072006b.jpg)
(http://home.comcast.net/~geosharks/hmb072006c.jpg)
(http://home.comcast.net/~geosharks/hmb072006d.jpg)
(http://home.comcast.net/~geosharks/hmb072006e.jpg)
(http://home.comcast.net/~geosharks/hmb072006f.jpg)
(http://home.comcast.net/~geosharks/hmb072006g.jpg)
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My first thought about the pit, was cool fire design.
So fire is my vote.
Craigh
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Here is my version of the report -
Fishing was slow as most people have experienced. In total, I have paddled 7miles. I managed to caught 9 fish. I threw back 6 small ones (browns + RF) and kept 3. The biggest brown weighed 4.5# It was nice. A marine biologist walked over and measured it, then he looked it up in his book. He declared it is 30 years old! Holy cow -- fish lifespan beats my imagination. :smt013
My highlights of the day were the moments of two fish unbuttoned. I had a good hit and set the hook. I pulled the fish up, but the fish would like to dive. Back and forth two times I got it under control. Before I saw the color, it went free. I guess it was a decent size Cab. 10 minute later, another fish hit hard. I pulled it up all the way next to boat. It was another Cab. All the sudden, it went side FAST toward my kayak. I tried stopping the sideway swimming, but no use. Bang - a big hollow sound, it hit the yak hard with its head. Hook came off. :smt010 A very smart fish! If the fish keeps doing the trick, it would live long. :smt002
Thank Mooch for taking picture of me holding brown RF. A keeper picture! :smt004
Eric
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I was one of the ones who almost lost a yak. Only mine was due to stupidity (leaving ther drain plug out), and the boat didn't fill up in the harbor, but going through the boilers! Thanks to Mike and Sean-Stallion for the help in getting it drained. I jumped overboard and inserted the plug, then used Mikes sponge to unload the water. Quite quick actually. That new boat of mine was really close to going down. :smt011
After 10 years in a fibreglass yak with no drain, I'm having a hard time getting used to closing one now.
I paddled almost all the way up to the Distillery for nada. A few PB's up there; 2 guys fishing live bait all morning for 4 rock fish!
I had an excellent time nonetheless! Thanks Bill and Chuck and everyone who's food I ate; thanks Bill's wife for my awesome sweatshirt raffle prize. Javier, don't forget the WAF when you spend that grand!
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As I was launching it looked like someone fell out of their kayak right next to shore and was swimming it to the beach, maybe about 15 feet away when I saw him. Then I realized his yak was sinking!!!I When he puled his yak onto the beach I could see the waterline on the INSIDE of his kayak was almost to the top. I do not know who this happened to but I would like to hear the story.
I was pissed :smt013...
Let me begin the story be telling you about my friend Tim who turned me on the the site a few weeks back. He had taken me out to fish on a kayak for my first time up in Northn California at Trinidad (close to eureka). We went out 7/2 and 7/4. I had borrowed Tim's friends gear who couldn't make it out with us. My first day out I caught a ling and a quite a few rock fish. Second time out I caught my 2 ling limit, one of which was the biggest of the two days at 11 llbs. Those two experiences had me hooked.
When Tim had told me about the HMB tourney, it was a no brainer. Since I did not own a kayak my options were slim. Tim had posted (last minute) and asked if anyone had an extra yak. There was almost an immediate response(Thank You to Mooch) to let me borrow his extra yak. Thanks again Mooch for the kind gesture to let me use your kayak, I am very sorry we called so late the day before to let you know that I had purchased a brand new Prowler 13 Ocean Kayak..(the yellow one for those of you who were still on shore to see me hit the soup and drag my half filled yak to shore).
Saturday, day before the tourney, and I need to purchase a paddle as Mooch didn't have an extra to lend me. I went with Tim to Aquan which is located in San Carlos across the street from the REI right next to the 101 on the south bound side. I found a paddle and then ventured to the vests. Grabbed a vest, and I went on a spree from there. I got booties, a wet suit, 2 rash guards, boat sponge and paddle leash and a few extras. Then we saw the "Anniversary Sale" get %15 percent off all kayak accessories when you purchase a yak. That's when I headed back to look at the yaks. It was hanging, as one of the floor models. I had the guy take it down, I then sat it in it and knew that I had to have it....plus I would have it for the derby. I ended up getting the Prowler, and the guy immediately took it out to my car after paying for everything. He heped Tim and I get the yak up on the new foam padded roof rack. Of course I didn't think to look at the bottom of the yak for deep scratches or holes. I was so excited about the new yak and for the derby the next day it didn't even cross my mind to check the bottom. That's like looking for a hole in the pair of jeans you really really want....anyhow i didn't look on the bottom and regret it.
Sunday, woke up at 4:20am. Tim picked me up we drive from Burlingame to HMB and get there around 5:25ish. We find the right place after some confusion, and start to get the yaks off the rig. The shore looked awesome, completely lined with yaks. I was excited and pumped to get out in the new prowler. I got in the prowler and set off at the shore. Tim took his time to get his fish finder ready and working as I stopped paddling a sat for a drift to wait for Tim. After about 3 mins Tim is in the water. He asks how the ride is on the new yak. I respond with..."I feels really rocky" I immediately start rocking to one side and when I correct to the other I almost fall in.....this goes on for the next 30-60 seconds when Tim was finally about 5 yards away. I then have to jump off to the right as I felt the yak sinking under the water as i was sitting on top. I lost 1 rod which i had also bought the day before and a box of 4 to 5 jigs I had also purchased. another rod fell into a bucket luckly and Tim was able to paddle to it's rescue before it was claimed by the bay. I then grabed my yak with one arm and paddled it in from about 20 yards out. I was ust about to the left of the flat with the 2 sea lions on it. I got the yak into shore and there were a good ammount of yakers still not in the water. Tim cruised in as well and we immediately started to investigate how my yak had took on so much water. Then I saw it. A huge gapping hole in the bottom right hand side. It was a thin looking cut into the bottom, which looked to be caused by something hard making a cut into the hard plstic. I knew I could not of caused the gash on the side. It was mounted on the rack in the parking lot of Aquan and then transfered to Tim's truck in the morning, then to the soft sand where we launched. We got the yaks back on the truck and we started back home PISSED AS ALL HELL!
I get to Aquan a little after they opened at 11AM thinking how we'd almost be coming back into shore at the derby. At that time I had pretty much done all my pouting and cursing that I was just so exhausted from the long morning. I went in and spoke with a different person than I had purchased the yak from the day before. I started to explain to him what hapened and how we were in a Derby and we couldn't go out and how I had lost a rod and gear. His face turned and I saw his expression which looked as if he knew about the hole in the boat. He then went on to tell me that he and the owner had found this flaw in the yak a while back and had slipped on letting some of the others at the store know about the hole in the yak (as it was to be deemd a floor model). He apologized and seemed very sorry for this misfortunate experience for me. I felt like I took a car off the lot and got it damaged even though I knew I couldn't have caused the cut. The weight taken off my shoulders was tremedous not only for me but for my good friend Tim who had sat in the store with me for 2.5 hours the day before buying the yak and gear. Overall it was shitty that it happened, but it could have been a lot worse for me. I am just glad that we weren't further out. I was glad Tim lagged on getting into the water for me to drift for a bit and let my yak fill will water. Aquan was very, very nice to me and told me they would contact Ocean Kayak to order a brand new yak for me. They also said that if I had any outtings in the near future that they would give me a free rental kayak, as they rent them as well. Aquan would reimburse me for my rod/reel and other gear lost. Kuddos to Aquan to stand up and take responsability. I was just glad that it wasn't worse. It was a long day.
I think it was Bill or Chuck who was collecting money in the morning...I think I left a note on your blue truck. Considering Tim and I got in and out of the water, I was curious if I Tim and I would be able to get a refund on our$25 entrence fee to the tourney? I would completely understand if we couldn't, but wanted to know for sure. If you don't want to respond in this thread, you can PM me when you get a chance. I look forward to posting and sharing/finding new information and hitting the water with some of you in the future. I think this site is great. Thanks again to Mooch!! I am looking forward to getting back out there ASAP.
~John Hog
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HOLY MOLY!!!!! That's an amazing story. I'm glad to hear you are safe and sound. Do you happen to know if the kayak was defective or damaged in transit? I'm sure OK would like to know about your experience and how it was/will be resolved.
I cannot believe the miscommunication at Aquan. That is negligent, but I guess I can understand how it could happen.
IMO, replacing all your lost gear is only doing what's right! They should also reimburse you and Tim the $50 entry fee and gas money as it was there negligence that caused you to lose the equipment and miss out on a special event.
Also, the free kayak rental is basically a loaner, since they already have your $$.
A couple of take aways from your incident (which could have been any one of us):
1. Always paddle with a partner. Stuff happens (whether its a gash, missing plug, boiler, etc)
2. Safety equip such as a PFD, farmer john (you reading this Mr. I don't get cold "Savage"?), and VHF are all worth their weight in gold compared to a FF.
Stuart
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Sounds like everyone had a great time even if it was tough fishing and conditions....bummed we had to miss it. Glad everyone made it home safe.
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John Hog~
I have to say that I am pissed just reading your thread. The majority of we kayakers take safety VERY seriously. It is literally our lives on the line when we are out there.
I would be willing to bet if you wrote a letter or two to the right people you would get a free kayak. Especially since they KNEW it was defective and still sold it to you. . Mistakes do happen. But this is more than just a mistake. If you bought a 230 cm paddle and they accidentally gave you a 220 cm paddle, that's a mistake. This is not a mistake. This is pure negligence and they should be more than happy to give you a free kayak.
Replacing your gear is the right thing to do, but they need to make up for their negligence too.
All of us on the board either saw or read what happened and we are all waiting for a positive outcome for you. Bring this to their attention and settle for nothing less that a free kayak.
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John,
Sorry to hear about your rough day on the water that is brutal. We do not have official policy on refunds but we did distribute all the cash to either pay the bills or for that $1000 cabezon.
Are you planing on going to either Elk or the Mendo event? Maybe we can work out some extra rafle tickets or something along those lines. Aquian should be the refunding your fees since it was clearly their fault you guys missed the event.
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John,
Sorry to hear about your rough day on the water that is brutal. We do not have official policy on refunds but we did distribute all the cash to either pay the bills or for that $1000 cabezon.
Are you planing on going to either Elk or the Mendo event? Maybe we can work out some extra rafle tickets or something along those lines. Aquian should be the refunding your fees since it was clearly their fault you guys missed the event.
Bill, no worries as I had figured that you guys had distributed the moeny accordingly. I do plan on asking Aquan for the $50 for our (2) enrtries. I am planning on doing more events, I just need to check dates and make sure I don't have anything planned. Guys, thanks for all the positive feedeback. I will see what they can give me, b/c as many of you said it was just very negligent on their part. I am stopping by there today with some receipts, we'll see what they have to say. I will keep you guys informed and let you know what the outcome is.
Cheers
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HOLY MOLY!!!!! That's an amazing story. I'm glad to hear you are safe and sound. Do you happen to know if the kayak was defective or damaged in transit? I'm sure OK would like to know about your experience and how it was/will be resolved.
Stuart, it was damaged in some way either at the store before I bought it (obviously), or it must've been damaged in the transit from Ocean Kayak to Aquan.
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John if you need a receipt for the derby just let me know and I will create on for you.
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I am totally jealous and wish I had not had family obligations down south that prevented me from coming out. I hope to make the Elk tourney. I fish most often for rockfish on the coast north of Elk. Glad to hear everyone had such a good time, in spite of the weather.....
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let me just say i had a good time once again with u guys got 2 the reef in saw rockhopper in a few guys hanging out what the hell is this about then i see the breaker,s holy shit :smt010
now what look around in say f it go for it man did i pay for that i was so wet from the wave let me tell u i was spiting up salt water all day but i did not flip i will never do that again i was so beat i had 2 take Monday off no love for me i like 2 thank the folk that put the event together
also Javier way 2 go
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hey everyone! :smt006 I have an awsome time at my first NCKA derby. Although condition wasn't the greatest and the fishing a little slow really I had a blast. I want to thank BILL ,chuck,and others for organizing the event. BTW congrats to the winner of the derby! Can't wait to do it again.
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Aquan has ordered me a new boat, and they reimbursed the derby fee's, rod and gear i lost. I just wanted to update you guys on how they handled the situation. I didn't get a free kayak which Tote would've liked. I most likely will be around for the Elk's tourney...hope to see you all there!!
John Hog
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Bravo to Aquan! Sounds like they took care of the situation.
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They should have given you a new Kayak, They are going to get there money for the kayak from OK per the warranty. Not to mention the law suit you could have filed if you were injured. They survived a huge error on their part. It is nice that they are reimbursing you the derby fee, the other equipment is the least they can do.
Jason
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They should have given you a new Kayak, They are going to get there money for the kayak from OK per the warranty. Not to mention the law suit you could have filed if you were injured. They survived a huge error on their part. It is nice that they are reimbursing you the derby fee, the other equipment is the least they can do.
Jason
i agree with this feeling completely. however, i worked at a shop remting scuba gear and in the fine print for our rental gear we pretty much were released from any liability if the person using our gear had any emergencies or even resulted in death. in this day and age any place renting anything will have this if they set up shop the right way. specifically the reason in a case like this. also when renting gear you pretty much state that you are physically and mentally able and are prepared to use this equipment come hell or high water including emergencies. basically you state you know what to do if and when anything can and shall go wrong.
usually there is a clause which states you have throughly inspected the item(s) you are renting and when you sign you basically state that you are good to go with that item. perhaps aquan did not have this portion in this case.
i think when drafting up a rental agreement this is the first thing shops take into account. if they were smarter they would have included any lost gear resulting from use in there as well.
i am glad aquan did take care of the costs involved though. that puts merit to their name as an establishment.
i am sure that they will now work something into the rental forms about lost gear from rental use and other miscellaneous things to keep it all out of their hands.
thats america for ya though, we love to sue people and as a business i hope they cover their butts. people can sue for pretty much anything. smart businesses operate under good legal counsel and that helps to keep them competitive in today's world.
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I don't know all the facts but I guess some clown sold him a floor model that had a gash? Liability up the you know what on that one. I would press them to get a free boat. By buying a new rod, equipment, and reg fee for the derby they are basically assuming responsibility for the mistake. If the boat had a defect from the Manu then it is the manu who is responsible not as much Aquan, but from what I heard that is not the case. I'm just glad everyone is ok.
By the way if it is a Manu defect then I would call OK and see if you could get a knew boat. I am pretty sure no one wants sinking kayaks on their resume.
Aquan =Overpriced, bad vibe, very bad vibe. If you need some Kayaking gear check out California Dive shop. Great white Kayaks, hook 1 They are super friendly and courteous.
Jason
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Just to clarify the situation, the Prowler was damaged in transit by the shipping company (a forklift put a gash in the hull). It was my fault for not making it clear to the ENTIRE staff that this was a damaged boat for display. Unfortunately the one person, who did not know, sold the boat. I have made every effort to correct the situation by ordering John a new boat, refunding derby fees and all his lost gear, and offering our apologies. As JohnGuineaPig pointed out, our rental form has a disclaimer for just about every situation including this and lost gear. However, I believe in what is the right thing to do in a given situation regardless of waivers. He is right in that we unfortunately live in a time when people think they can sue for any reason. This is not one of those situations and I hope most of you feel the same way and are turned off by that kind of chatter.
Vince
Aquan Sports
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So, I was wondering, will our boats really sink? Like to the bottom of the ocean? Or do they just not float so well when they are full of water?
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aquansports you should have made every effort to tell your ENTIRE staff
was the kayak a rental if not what does your form have to do with anything :smt011
the right thing to do in this given situation regardless of waivers is to refund his money
this was a very bad thing something like a new car with no brakes somebody could get hurt
so put you disclaimer in your pipe in smoke it
:smoke
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Clearly you are not referring to my personal opinion as chatter since sinking to the bottom of the pacific with hundreds of dollars of equipment isn't necessarily something us Kayak fisherman take lightly. Especially when someone knew the boat was defective, and although attempting to tell the entire staff you didn't get the word out enough. Result= sinking craft, loss of gear. Yes all things have been reimbursed but imagine if he didn't wait for his friend to gear up and paddled out to Mavericks before realizing his boat was a sinking. sinking boat with knowledge of defect = liability. Period. What the heck does a waiver form have to do with anything. This wasn't a rental. Alas, everyone is safe which is all that matters in the end.
Jason
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aaah i get it now, not a rental. well, that is bad. its unfortunate.
i guess there are no waivers for those now are there?
i'll smoke the disclaimer then...and shut my trap!
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Different product but same scenario: What if it was a Boston Whaler instead of kayak that was sold (with a hole on it) And that you had your whole family with you when the boat sank and no one got hurt. Would you sue?
thats a good question. a trick question might it be. i would not sue because boston whalers are pretty much sink proof.
If I had a bad one made on a Friday i would want the cost of the lost gear and the cost of gas etc. if there was no injury what would I have to sue for if they had already agreed to pay for my losses and rescue costs as well as replacement boat.
if my family was on board i would make sure i have all of the necessary items needed for signaling help and also attempt of self rescue like a really high output bilge life vests and hopefully catch that hole before gettin in the water.
the problem is that there are people who sue not just for lost gear but for emotional issues. one can sue for anything. a defect can bring a lawsuit but in life people need to be prepared for whatever their environment may bring to them.
i could have sued when i rented a faulty bcd for scuba diving and it would not allow for me to float but i knew what to do and dealt with it on my own. the shop agreed to pay for the lost gear and that was that.
i know some folks are real fond of lawsuits and yes its a fact of life for anything we do and participate in. however, in order to sue and win in a case like this you have to prove that Aquan knowingly let the kayak go out the door with the damage. I don't think any business would risk that.
Accidents happen and that is life. Nobody is perfect and no number of lawsuit will ever cure that.
Some people seem to look at lawsuits as a panacea for all human mistakes. Sure I would sue for something I believed in and was completely done wrong but people should also realize that mistakes happen. Everyone has had something or another happen at some point in time and things like this are not unique.
Sometimes its just more efffort than its worth and I would never trade time to deal with a lawsuit over time I could spend doing something I like. Whats time worth anyways and whats money worth to you? Is money really the root to happiness? If you win a lawsuit will life just be that much better?
Sometimes experience is worth more than money though. Im not rich and I can't even miss a day of work but I still don't remember the last time I thought about sueing someone.
We live in a world where people think technology will overtake common sense and everything equates to dollars. When accidents happen its almost a point of disbelief and people react in weird ways.
I am convinced that the reason the Coastguard has rules on the water is because half of the people out there on the ocean don't belong in the water in the first place. We have all know someone who is a potential drowning victim and lack common sense. They think their floaty vest and sealed kayak will save them. Basicaly most people live in a world where they dream of a great day's fishing with nothing going wrong and in the morning they are scrambling like sloths, out of shape and bitchin about the paddling, have crap all over the deck of their kayaks and stuff stowed in places they cant even reach.
The equipment does not make you what you are, its the knowledge of how to use the tools you have and the place you are at when conditions area perfect or when something goes wrong.
Sure I would have been pissed at the whole sinking kayak situation but you know that it didn't happen because Aquan wanted it to happen. It was a mistake. Aquan took responsibility for it and thats the way it is.
Sure in some parts of the middle East you would have your hand or foot lopped off with a machete and have your family threatened had you been the owner of a shop but as Americans I would like to think that we are more understanding and that we realize that there are risks involved in what we do.
Speaking of self rescue, I need to learn this myself and I should take a class. Sounds like something that may be useful someday.
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suing and lawyers suck and are for sissypantses. it is cooler to just punch somebody in the mouth.
that said, I hope john hog lets it go chooses not to sue or punch anybody in the mouth
and we can move on.
aquan, did you read my thread about sink-proofed kayaks?
What do you think about sit on top kayaks that don't sink so easily?
I mean kayakfishermen are foaming or pool-noodling their boats. It is retarded to leave such an
important thing to the end-user.
the comment about the whalers is offbase cause they are filled with foam and if you cut them
in half, they still float.
(http://www.whaler.com/Rec/images/CutUp_Why.jpg)
unlike with plastic sit on top kayaks.
affectionately yours,
john pool-noodle
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(http://www.whaler.com/Rec/images/CutUp_Why.jpg)
man, there is something funny about tht picture, it just looks like something out of a cartoon!
hehe... :smt005 :smt005 :smt005
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Lawyers rule! :smt003