Thinking of heading to the Coast?

Well I am dying (hopefully not literally) to go to the coast and get my Xfactor salty.  I have yet to catch a fish on my new yak.  I am a newbie to the whole kayak and ocean thing.  I was thinking about going to Casper or Van dam beach, and go out a few hundred yards or so? and try to catch a ling.  Since I moved from Fort Bragg, got rid of all my dive gear (stupid move).  Question... Is it okay to go out if its calm and not wear any wet suit?  I have a full suit 3mm  water skiing suit... Will that be okay?

Thanks K.B.

i  think if its calm and hot you may be able to go with no suit. however, if for some reason you get dunked and fall out and are left chasing a kayak in wind or cold water you should always make sure you have the right gear. maybe rent a farmer john for this trip. make sure you will be warm enough if you fall out. better safe than sorry i guess. i cant stand cold water for a second. a shorty suit is better than nothing though.

john

A 3 mil farmer john with booties and a splash top & pfd are pretty much the standard wear for ocean kayaking around these parts for the reasons john mentioned. 

well It was a LITTLE!!! snug but I tried my old 3 mm suit on.  I will use it.  PS whatsa splash top.  Can you send a link for one?

THANKS

http://www.nrsweb.com/shop/product.asp?pfid=2571

I have tried 4/3mm  full surfing wetsuits on my yak, and although you'd think the arm action paddling a surfboard and a yak would be comparable, I nearly dislocated my shoulders trying to paddle the yak with them on.  
   For about 130 bucks, I think my new 3 mm NRS Ultra John is a great deal and it's warm and well made.  They have them at some kayak stores and I'd suggest trying them on, they don't make tall sizes, but getting it a little bigger made it fit well enough.
    If you have some old waterproof running pants, or can find some at the thrift store, they help with the evaporative effect of the water soaking the outer cloth of a suit, and it's much easier to get the fish/bait smell out of them than the suit.

Until you get your farmer john suit you can take the full wetsuit and just put it up to your chest. I did that the first few times on the water. It's uncomfortable but not painful or disabling. Its much safer than going without a wetsuit.

IMO: always dress to swim when your on a kayak