San Mateo coast, 10/11..."I paid my rent sir, honest!"

Well F******-A MAN!  Thats is one read I dont think I'll ever forget!  Glad all is well, and your yak didn't end up as a chew toy!

Funny thing that red seems to be universal among fishing lures! A Hi's Tackle guy mentioned that to me years ago and I have always had plain white surfboards/kayaks since then.


This is good for a look.

http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/sequence-of-the-week-white-shark-breaches-in-la_31125/1/

I'm still not convinced that the kayak color has much to do with it...the vis was 4-5 feet at most, and with the overcast sky the light was pretty dim.

I'll agree that the shallow water is a poor defense, but in reality, what do you do? Float there, paddle in shallow, or paddle out deep. At that area shallow seemed like the best place in the event something happened, as there is a beach and some homes there.

I wonder about the noise thing. Would a paddle slap on the water have startled it off (probably), be disregarded by it(possible, but no worse off than doing nothing), or entice it (this is what I would want to 100% avoid)?

Thanks for the comments all!

Seals communicate through grunts and slapping the water. I would just give respect where its due.

  I wonder if banging on your boat with your fish bopper or your paddle would have turned him off.

This sounds like the best idea I've heard yet.  Banging your boat like a loud drum should work.  I would think it's startling to any sea creature and uncharacteristic of any shark prey.

i didn't feel like we were in immediate danger so i didn't think we should make any noise to potentially aggravate the shark.  we ended up just paddling smoothly and stealthily - i imagine normal shark prey would be somewhat panicked in the situation and i did not want to emulate that. 

  I wonder if banging on your boat with your fish bopper or your paddle would have turned him off.

Why do we use RAT L Trap on Bass Fishing? Why do we Bonk the Rocks? Why live bait works best? Why some lures have some Rattler? Simply because any noise, sudden commotions and erratic movements attracts predators I think making any banging or erratic motions will just spell more trouble.. Its Science... DON'T DO THAT!! Remain calm and paddle with ease so do make any swirl or too much disturbance on the water.. then again it better not to fish when the landlord is collecting dues!    

i'm sure glad it worked out. i love my shark-shield.

Yeah, I think I'll stick to fresh water where I'm on the top of the food chain.  Good luck guys, be safe out there.

-beenfishin

Zoiks! Glad to hear the landlord just stopped by for a visit and didn't try and collect rent!

we ended up just paddling ... stealthily

While you might have felt stealthy, I'd have to believe that he just lost interest.  I doubt that you eluded him.

Michael

we ended up just paddling ... stealthily

While you might have felt stealthy, I'd have to believe that he just lost interest.  I doubt that you eluded him.

Michael

I agree, the fish lost interest after a few seconds.

The choices were paddle like hell, which didn't seem wise, or get the kayak moving with as much glide and stealth as possible, just to begin the journey in toward shore. The seconds when it was behind me were the longest, as I just kept thinking  "how can I prepare for the touchy-feely hit when if it grabs the boat like it did Dan's in 07?" I kept a vision of a powerful brace in mind, but I'm glad it didn't come to that.

Funny stuff comes into your head. In addition to Jack Burton in "little China", for some reason I thought of the "Dory" character from Finding Nemo "just keep paddling, just keep paddling......"
Stress makes your brain do weird things.

truth is your not safe anywhere!

I'll agree that the shallow water is a poor defense, but in reality, what do you do? Float there, paddle in shallow, or paddle out deep. At that area shallow seemed like the best place in the event something happened, as there is a beach and some homes there.

At least in shallow water, there is no danger of a vertical ambush from below.

  can't help but reread the post and enjoy the art work etc.  This is what this site is all about, sharing experiences on the water, both good and bad (in this case both) so that others can learn from it.  What a rush!