Hatch Dog on Big River

I've gone down an unexpected path in my kayak fishing explorations, which is I'm trying to learn how to fish out of a SIK.  So I went out and bought a 16.5 foot Dagger Magellan from Liquid Fusion Kayaks here in Fort Bragg.  I'm now learning how to use it, with the help from Jeff at Liquid Fusion.  My roll is far from "bomb proof."

Anyhow, one thing I learned from Jeff is that dogs that sit in hatches in closed deck boats are, not surprisingly, called "Hatch Dogs."  My 11-12 year terrior, Yoshi, is a full on Hatch Dog.  If she sees any kind of water type transportation, she just jumps on....... surfboards, kayaks, anything that floats.

Yesterday, with the wind howling on the ocean, we went for a paddle on Big River in Mendocino.  My first observations about these boats is how much faster they are than sit on tops.  Yosh and I paddled about 10-12 miles yesterday in a few hours - without really feeling strained at all.  However, my other observation is that these boats are not made to sit still:  When they are going they are stable.  When you sit still, not so much.  They feel kind of tippy.  I've been told that I might want to invest in some type of drop down pontoon stabilizers for when I'm actually fishing.  Yeah, I'm having a hard time imagining landing a big ling or salmon in choppy water on that boat.

Yoshi and I watched some interesting behavior by a red tail hawk while we were paddling up the river.  As we progressed up-river, and the channel got narrower, we kept herding up a bunch of coots, or mud ducks as my duck hunting buddies call them.  They would kind of fly-walk up 50 yards upstream and then land, only to do it again as we caught to them.  Finally, we had a huge flock of them going and as they skidded to a stop a red tail swooped in and just plucked one off the water and slammed it into the bank.  By the time we got up there, blood and feathers were everywhere.  The hawk gave me a "thanks, dude" look.  What's interesting is that about 45 minutes later he reappeared right above us.  He kept hopping from tree to tree directly in front of us.  I realized then, because many folks paddle up Big River, that this was not a new thing for him, and that using the coot herding results from yakkers was how he made his living.....at least partially.  Smart birds.

I'll keep reporting on my SIK - fishing progress, but for now:  Positive:  They are really fast, dry and warm.  Negative:  They're tippy when you sit still.

I highly recommend the Big River paddle.  The estuary runs for about 7-8 miles, which gives you up to a 16 mile paddle.  It's really beautiful.

Hatch dog pics:

My Beagle loves to Kakak but won't sit in a hatch Stands at the very tip, tail wagging and nose waving back and forth. Love how dogs can have a full body smile

Cool story & dog. Sounds like a fun way to spend a day.