Paddling fundamentals

Who wears thigh straps while kayak fishing? I have never seen anyone? If you can right your boat and climb back in. I give you a solid B+. That is the one skill you really must have. If you want to use your paddle upside down thats o.k.with me. I won't judge you for it.

I would like to try them out. Not for the ability to roll because all the gear on the deck is far to problematic, but rather for more control.

Who wears thigh straps while kayak fishing? I have never seen anyone? If you can right your boat and climb back in. I give you a solid B+. That is the one skill you really must have. If you want to use your paddle upside down thats o.k.with me. I won't judge you for it.

Yeah, I don't think thigh straps are going to get popular any time soon.  But much (most?) of the stuff we were talking about doesn't require them.  If I can find them, I'll bring my cheap pair to Albion for people to play around with.

-Allen

Who wears thigh straps while kayak fishing? I have never seen anyone? If you can right your boat and climb back in. I give you a solid B+. That is the one skill you really must have. If you want to use your paddle upside down thats o.k.with me. I won't judge you for it.

Yeah, I don't think thigh straps are going to get popular any time soon.  But much (most?) of the stuff we were talking about doesn't require them.  If I can find them, I'll bring my cheap pair to Albion for people to play around with.

-Allen

Did I just read this correctly. Your bringing you cheap strap-ons to Albion for people to try. 

Glad I'm missing this one.

 

Braces have to do with paddle positioning, not the boat. If you have good bracing strokes you wont need to bail. Thigh straps slip over your knee and give you more control with your paddle strokes and boat control with your hips. If you capsize straighten your legs and the straps release. Easy and effective.

Oh, ok, bracing being using the paddle for leverage. That would be good that straps release easily, I wouldn't want to fumble with unbuckling something in that scenario.

Here Jesse, watch this video from the trinity. I was using thigh straps on the Jackson coosa. I still managed to flip with the straps but you'll see how you fall out of them. They add a lot of boat control and can make paddling in the river a blast.

Who wears thigh straps while kayak fishing? I have never seen anyone? If you can right your boat and climb back in. I give you a solid B+. That is the one skill you really must have. If you want to use your paddle upside down thats o.k.with me. I won't judge you for it.

Yeah, I don't think thigh straps are going to get popular any time soon.  But much (most?) of the stuff we were talking about doesn't require them.  If I can find them, I'll bring my cheap pair to Albion for people to play around with.

-Allen

Did I just read this correctly. Your bringing you cheap strap-ons to Albion for people to try. 

Glad I'm missing this one.

Booyah!

-Allen

I have used thigh braces on my tarpon for touring and they are super nice to have in that use. For fishing I just skip 'em but maybe I'll try them out again this weekend.

strap in & hang on!

Jeff, Thank You for the visual. I must admit that I feel more comfortable in the ocean than the sac in Redding, let alone the Trinity. Have any plans on river technique? I would absolutely be down for that.

Who wears thigh straps while kayak fishing?

This guy.



 I thought that I'd be critiqued on how weak my set up form was instead of posting something that isn't applicable to kayak fishing. My interest in rolling the SOTs doesn't take away from the value of being able to get back into your boat in a more standard fashion. I was hoping to add something a little more challenging and focused on boating skills. There are lots of topics for the JV players to participate in and plenty of pretenders to line up to share all of the knowledge that they have learned on the web. Thats great! Folks are having fun here. But for those who are balls deep into kayak fishing, eventually , "What is a stable kayak?" may become uninteresting and might begin to feel stagnant.

I did title the thread "Paddling fundamentals" and not rolling the SOTs. So I will stack some skills together  and create a short video of me struggling to roll and also struggling with a reverse compound- feathered reload, edging,  T-stroke draw/pry, sculling draw/brace, C-stroke transitioning to stern rudder, and other maneuvers that I am not that good at. All on my list.
Except the sculling draw. That I do well. And the T-stroke.
Yes, it could be lame, but what a few might find interesting is that Im attempting these skills in both the now popular elevated chair position and the standard low seat positions and in various boats.

Charles, I really appreciated your comment regarding when you could be prepared to roll or brace and when you would not be, like being rod in hand, tying knots, or eating.
You are right. I won't even be able to brace.
Just for the sake of a fun counter point,  I have started working on the hand roll.
I have a lot of work ahead of me so the next time that I participate in this thread I hope to have interesting visuals to share. Im a new videographer type so be patient. Im slow.
Thanks again! to those who were supportive.

Greatly appreciate the thread. More power to those who attempt and master a rare skill and share their reasons as to why. I have been tempted to use a SIK for ocean fishing in that the simplicity of paddle and vessel and spray skirt is very appealing but before I try that my rolling abilities will have to be a whole lot better than they are now. Wet exits and remounts on SIK's offshore are to be avoided.

Terry, I dont think anyone was bagging on you for posting your rolling skill videos. I think its cool that you can roll your boat.I was trying to make the point that learning to roll is not necessary to kayak fishing but learning to get back in your boat is critical. i don't know who you are calling a pretender but i don't think i have ever paddled with you before.

Hydrospyder:
Im glad you started this thread, paddling fundamentals should be a sticky in safety IMHO.

Im definitely getting some thigh straps for the stealth, because, like you said, it puts you more in a connection with your yak.  And with the shapes of the hull and a 26" beam rolling should be fairly easy. Stoked to try at least.

Like i said in another post, im just getting a pic, not a video of you attempting a roll. So I cant give any feedback. Id like to check it out, just to see what your doing rather I can help or not.

The benefits to learning how to properly paddle a kayak are immeasurable. Confidence,safety, etc. If folks learn the strokes, practice them and get proficient, then there are literally thousands of miles of river no bigger than class III, which opens up a plethora of fishing opportunities. Surfing becomes fun rather than an ass puckering fear of yard sale, and the big blue becomes a lot less intimidating. I love the kayak part of kayak fishing, and norcal is one of the best places to capitalize on both.

 I don't think you are a pretender at all Jack. I will confess that I was disappointed that you took the thread in the direction that you chose. I know that you have been paddling a long time and that we have done a few of the same rivers. I was hoping for your input as to how I can get the big boats rolled rather than it not being applicable to kayak fishing. I needed your help.

I apologize for the threadjack. I guess i didn't like the direction the thread was going either. It felt like a lecture on the inadequacies of our members paddling skills by polepole.