HMB 7-18

Fished the shoal between the green buoy and the breakwater this morning with Lunker and Orca4. Conditions were unbelievable: sunny, no wind, and only an occasional swell. Kept 2 kelp greenlings, a gopher, and a black and yellow. Also very carefully released a sculpin. 

Orca4 was only there to break in his shiny new kayak, so he mostly followed us around. Around 1pm, he headed in while Lunker and I continued to fish.

After another hour of fruitless jigging, I was ready to call it a day. I looked around for Lunker, and saw him clinging to his capsized kayak. I raced over, and saw that he was struggling in the water wearing an unzipped PFD, and unable to right his kayak. After I talked him through the process of righting his kayak and self rescue, he was finally able to get back on his kayak. But he had lost all his gear: rods and reels, tackle box, bait... I was able to recover whatever was left floating. But the rods and reels are at the bottom of the bay.

Lunker was very lucky today. Had the conditions not been as nice as they were, he would have been in serious trouble even after just a few minutes of immersion wearing a t shirt and jeans. I hope this experience did not scare him off the water for good.

Very sorry to hear about lunker going for a swim and losing all his gear.  Hope u ok lunker.  No radios?  Jeans?  Many questions have I.

Lesson well learned today... I appreciate the assistance Krusty. Looking forward to another outing  I will be doing things a little differently.....

Expensive lesson.  Good to hear there was company around and they seen you go over, that coulda been real ugly.  Saltydog wrote a pretty good article on what you would likely need before hitting the salt, its stickied in the safety section.  Worth a read......especially after the reality check.

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Wow that's a close call.  Glad to hear you came back safe and ready to try it again another day.  Krusty you are a hero!  Was it a sneaker wave that got you?

I'd like to hear some details about how you went down Lunker. Glad Krusty was there to bail you out and that you are OK. Sorry  you lost your gear. That's tough.

-FF

FF.. Inexperience mostly... Had a fish on my line and brought him in. My stringer was snagged and when i reached behind me the next thing I knew I was in the drink. I will set up completely different on my next trip ..

I tend to feel most disoriented on a yak when I'm turned around like that...or looking up. I've had plenty of "Oh $hit" moments where I was doing the exact same thing and felt like I was a split second away from tipping. Mostly happens when I'm not paying enough attention to what the swell is doing.

What were you wearing when you fell in?

-FF

t-shirt & jeans... won't be wearing jeans again.

t-shirt & jeans... won't be wearing jeans again.

Ya, a T-Shirt and jeans are obviously not ideal for full immersion in cold salt water. A dry suit is definitely at the top of my list of yak safety gear that I want.

In the mean time I go out in a farmer john wetsuit with booties, a rash guard, a paddle jacket and of course a PFD. I also keep my portable waterproof VHF radio attached to my PFD in case I get separated from my yak for any reason. At that point I can at least call for help if I either can't get back in your yak if I'm injured or become separated from it for some reason.

I'm glad you made it OK and are here to tell your tale.

I'd also like to recommend a kayak safety class to help you learn how to properly return to a seated position in your yak without help in case this happens again.

Be safe out there.

-FF

I definitely need to upgrade my gear and also intend to practice flipping the yak back over and getting in by myself. As far as stability, what is the general consensus about adding training wheels to the YAK?

You will learn stability in time....lol,just keep everything leashed until you have it mastered.  Leave the training wheels at home.

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what is the general consensus about adding training wheels to the YAK?

Sidekick amas would be nice for sight fishing or added stability. Glad u r ok. Hope it wasn't too costly of a lesson... i've got insulation foam on my rods, as too many leashes can

Dude glad your ok. Lose the jeans and tee. Sorry about your gear.

Go side sadlle if ya need to get to the back of your boat. With the proper clothing and footwear dipping your feet in the water to sit sideways wont bother you. You could also throw a foot over either side (one foot each side) while fighting a snag or fish. This will keep ya from going over if your line breaks.

Uh NO!

Sorry to hear about what happened. The conditions were so perfect. That was my first time out on my new "SHINY" Trident 13. I saw your post, and figured it would be a good idea to paddle out with someone else even though I wasn't fishing.

Like Iceman told Maverick, "Never leave your wingman". Thanks Krusty for being there to help out.

I'm building up my fishing gear and will be ready next time.

Nice to meet you both.