Shark encounter - what to do

[rhyak]

Originally Posted by rossman

If you read the first hand accounts of sharks attacking kayaks, none of them say 'I saw this shark and all of a sudden he attacked me" (except for that last fool).

Thats not completely true the 20ft that took a bite out of my yak. The kayaker that got hit two hours before was circled first and then had a bite taken out.

I would say get some cool photos and share with family and friends. Unless its trying to bite you which most of these recent encounters have just been HH and Makos then your good a white be a little more worried but unless the thing is big just be glad your on a kayak and not a surfboard.

[swinginFish]

15 years fishing LJ - over 400 go outs.

New lessons learned yesterday:

• Bonito at LJ these days can be really big (I'm talking 12-15 lbs) and fight like - well, really big bonito (They're also stupendous fish to eat if kept cool right after killing and bleeding).
• Seals are filthy, foul-breathed creatures that rip off nearly every piece of bait you acquire (well, we already knew this, but my therapist says it good to vent).
• It takes less than 20 seconds from the time bonito blood hits the water to when a previously unseen (that day, at any rate) celebrity hammerhead find its source.
• It takes takes about 20 minutes to come down from the adrenaline that rushes through your body once you realize the stinking pinniped you thought was stealing your briefly hung, bleeding and PB bonito was actually LJ's celebrity hammerhead.
• I've reason to believe a slap on one's reaching hand's wrist from a thrashing hammerhead's pectoral fin is less painful than a bite from its mouth.
• It's best to look first rather than just grab for your hung game clip when there's thrashing next to your kayak.
• Sometimes game clips give way when yanked by the twisting force an 8 ft. celebrity hammerhead (I suspect sometimes they don't as well).
• It takes about a minute for your hands to calm in order to get your brought-along-for-the-first-time-ever divers trident out and ready for a jab at a now-well-fed, yet decidedly curious, celebrity hammerhead.
• Celebrity hammerheads don't like to hang around after eating the entire source of that which attracted them to your yak in the first place.
• It probably pays to poke a celebrity hammerhead before he eats your prize fish rather than after (if you can poke it at all).
• It's good to be able to write this in the first-person rather than no longer being able to write ... if you get my drift ...
• Superstition be damned (i.e., "don't make nests for eggs you haven't laid"), it's time to get a fish kill bag.

Avery

[TJones]

Originally Posted by 1morehobby

A little praying won't hurt.

[TJones]

Originally Posted by Mwhitcraft

I've considered getting a bangstick, just in case. I've shied away from the idea due to fear of accidentally shooting my leg off if I flip or get jostled too much. In a kayak, you are more likely to bump the firing end than you are when diving.

How secure is the safety on these? Does anyone know how likely they are to misfire? How difficult is it to remove the safety in case of an emergency?

The stick has never seen water due to probability of blowing a hole in yak or self . As you can see in photo the clip . The firing pin is hair pin sensitive .

[alanw]

Here's what you do - record that hammerhead with his teeth on your Bonito attached to your gameclip, then report it to the news

http://ktla.com/2015/09/17/video-cap...aA34zqjjMlR6yl


http://ktla.com/2015/09/17/video-cap...ff-dana-point/

[Mwhitcraft]

I'm trying to be serious here. I don't plan on reporting anything to the news or doing anything to endanger our ability to fish. I'm just looking for some practical advice, so I don't become a hamburger for an aggressive shark. I do NOT believe that all shark sightings are dangerous, but I DO believe that sharks are vicious predators and should be treated as such.

Originally Posted by alanw

Here's what you do - record that hammerhead with his teeth on your Bonito attached to your gameclip, then report it to the news

http://ktla.com/2015/09/17/video-cap...aA34zqjjMlR6yl


http://ktla.com/2015/09/17/video-cap...ff-dana-point/

[HobieScot]

At least the life guard clarified how the treat the sightings.

If the shark is 8 feet or smaller and not displaying aggressive behavior then they will post warning signs. If the shark displays aggressive behavior then they will close the beach.

Either way these reports making their way to the news need to stop. They serve no beneficial purpose for any of us or to kayak fishing as a whole in our local waters


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Shimano Penn]

Cambria, Moonstone Beach, Leffingwell Launch, last summer. My first time ever in the ocean in a kayak. Solo. My "buddy" didn't show so I had to try it alone or bag it. Made the surf launch okay after watching three others do it. Half way to the kelp, not far offshore at all, BIG gws shows up. Just cruising by, showed no interest in me at all. It was awesome, magnificent really. I felt so lucky to be there. I just stopped paddling and drifted as he passed by. Of course if it were heading straight for me at full speed I might have soiled my shorts but it didn't, it just swam across my bow maybe 10-15 yards away. Not knowing any better I thought "So this is what ocean kayaking is like!" When I got back to the beach that afternoon F&W was there along with 15-20 onlookers, it had been sighted many times in the area all day long. Estimated at 20'.

I look at it this way, what are the odds I will ever in my life be that close to something like that again ? I'm safe now, right ?

[paddle man]

HAS ANY ONE THOUGH ABOUT THE FINS ON MIRGE DRIVE SEAL FLIPPERS TO SHARKS ?