5/13 am close encounters of the furry kind

[madscientist]

I got out a little after 6:00. More or less the same story as yesterday. Did have a freaky encounter with the knothead. He raped a spanish off the sabiki then came back for my trap rigged deep bait. Takes it and I get ready to tug. Instead, he pops up a few feet away with my trap hook and spanish dangling from his mouth. then he swims right under me, rolls, and stares at me. I got a little freaked out so I tried to paddle off. HE FOLLOWS ME. Right behind the yak, with my line hanging out of his mouth. I turn towards a boater and speed up. He finally falls backa bit and I engage the drag and give a hard tug to rip it out. Not sure what his plan was but having a 400lb dog with my hook in its mouth, knowing that he knows I put it there, well, a little intimidating. Got the hell out of dodge after that.

Saw a few spots of YT. Bait puddling everywhere, then galloping with a few big boils/splashes, then gone. Water was good outside, mixed brown and green inside. No current. Nada.

Surf was pumping on the way out and in. Lots of tourist devastation at the launch. Second day in a row I got lucky and hopped a little one all the way to the beach, with foamers crashing behind me. Got another two bags of macs for shark chum, highlight of my day. guess my new sig should be..."keeping LJ safe for YT, one bait at a time"

[lamb]

Scary... Was it that white headed dog? He was the only one I had a problems with lately. The rest of them seem to be happy with the abundance of bait. He seems to be working his territory... further down South, below the 1/2.

Welcome to "Can't Catch Fish" club!

[dos ballenas]

paying you dues mad? thanks for the report, ill be on it tomorrow... need to pay up some myself

[fishin steve]

Tks. Brad

[rdahl]

Had an aggressive one try to board me last weekend. It came up a foot from the yak, raised itself up to look to see if I had anything to eat, then he came up to the bow and tried to get on. First I slapped the water hard with the paddle, nothing-no fear from this dog, then poked him away. He came back again and I had to smack him. Then I paddled away like a scared puss until he left me alone. Sounds like a school bully story. Seems they are getting a little more bold each year. Damn beasts.

[yellowtail55]

Originally Posted by rdahl

Had an aggressive one try to board me last weekend. It came up a foot from the yak, raised itself up to look to see if I had anything to eat, then he came up to the bow and tried to get on.

You should have brought a paintball gun...

[JrBasser]

nice. I had a fatty furball swim right into my line that day, nice clicker run :-)

I was the kind who talked to you on the beach when you were bagging macs.

[Afran]

Knothead is a fucking asshole.

He picked me on Friday. Ran the flyliner, bit the body, left the head (standard). I started heading in and he was on the chase. Bottom bait goes screaming, Knothead comes up with my mac.

Basically he followed me in from the outside corner to past the inside of the hotel. He was way to comfortable, tracking me the whole way. Cruising under the yak, cruising next to me with his head out of the water. Ponded him off on a group of guys and went in.

I don't like him.
He should die.

[madscientist]

Originally Posted by Afran

Knothead is a fucking asshole.


I don't like him.
He should die.

I share those sentiments. That thing has crossed the line from a nuisance to a danger. They relocate bears that develop a taste for household trash. This guys fate should be the same. I'd say relocate him to Guadaloupe Island, he'll be very content.

I'm thinking about getting a slingshot but I'm not completely sure it would do anything other than piss him off. Might try from a boat, not sure from the yak.

[dgax65]

Originally Posted by madscientist

I'm thinking about getting a slingshot but I'm not completely sure it would do anything other than piss him off. Might try from a boat, not sure from the yak.

I would think that any "less than lethal" option poses a risk of pissing him off, rather than driving him away. There just aren't many options on a kayak if they decide to go after you. I don't think I'd want to risk using a sling shot. Unless you hit them on the jaw or in an eye it probably won't hurt them that much and those are the areas that you aren't supposed to injure. I think that the best deterrent would be pepper spray. Injuring a sea lion might prompt it to attack. Pepper spray would cause irritation and interfere with its breathing. It would then be less likely to come after you (disclaimer: not a marine mammal behavior expert....just a gut feeling). I bet it would only take getting sprayed once or twice and a sea lion would start avoiding kayaks. There would also be less chance of negative publicity; no noise, no lasting injury, nobody getting shot accidentally with a sling shot.
I think I'm going to go buy some OC spray. If Knothead mauls me on Saturday, disregard everything that I posted here

[umoa]

i was wondering, if someone does get mauled (imo just a matter of time), would we have the same response as a cougar mauling? go out and kill the bastard? or would it be like a shark attack where it would be "you were in it's territory sucks to be you"?

[madscientist]

Originally Posted by umoa

i was wondering, if someone does get mauled (imo just a matter of time), would we have the same response as a cougar mauling? go out and kill the bastard? or would it be like a shark attack where it would be "you were in it's territory sucks to be you"?

If it were one of us (fisherman), my guess is the latter. If it was tourist, I'm betting the economic intrests would compel the former.

[esdees]

I believe they're opening up children's pool to people again today. I wonder if that will drive some of the dogs away. At the very least, it should make them less comfortable with humans.

[BT]

Originally Posted by dgax65

I think I'm going to go buy some OC spray. If Knothead mauls me on Saturday, disregard everything that I posted here

Dgax,

Just remember the wind! You wouldnt want that blowing back in your face and be out of commision on the water! You would have to get pretty close for it to be effective, especially with the watered down store versions.

You are also a pretty crafty guy...maybe a paddle with an OC Spray canister incorporated in the handle near the blade, with a push button trigger?

BT
BTW - my first post on here....I just noticed that. Been reading for a while.

[Sarcastic Fringehead]

Aside from the occasional pest of a sea lion stealing some bait and cruising closer to your yak than you might be comfortable with, has anyone seriously been attacked by a sea lion? Seems like a lot of talk about a relative non-issue to me. Sounds a bit like a bear that has learned to raid garbage cans- only without the imminent threat posed by their being a nuisance. Just my opinion, but I'd say, get over it, they aren't that big a deal.

Dan

[lamb]

I've had one bump the bottom of my kayak last year.

Sorry I disagree there - if we were strictly whale watching or sightseeing, I would say Sea Lions are not that big of a deal.

We're there primarily to fish; sea lions steal our fish and our bait. In my opinion, they are a major pain in the ass. About the biggest problem we as kayak fishermen have, aside from the weather/conditions.

[dgax65]

Originally Posted by Sarcastic Fringehead

Aside from the occasional pest of a sea lion stealing some bait and cruising closer to your yak than you might be comfortable with, has anyone seriously been attacked by a sea lion? Seems like a lot of talk about a relative non-issue to me. Sounds a bit like a bear that has learned to raid garbage cans- only without the imminent threat posed by their being a nuisance. Just my opinion, but I'd say, get over it, they aren't that big a deal.

Dan

Over the last several years a number of people have been injured by sea lion. They have been known to snatch fish from people on docks and boats; leading to bite wounds. Sea lion also aggressively protect their haul out spots. Males are aggressive and territorial in the mating season. There are probably 250,000 California Sea Lion on the west coast of the US and in Baja, with the population increasing at about 5% a year. Their numbers are increasing and commercial/recreational fishing is reducing their food supply. They are smart and have learned that people in kayaks and boats can provide them with an easy meal. And on top of all that, their protected status over the last 35 years seems to have eliminated any natural fear of humans. Given all of these conditions, it only stands to reason that there will be an increased number of interactions between sea lion and kayakers. Due to the vulnerability of a person on a kayak any encounter with an aggressive sea lion has the potential for severe consequences.

You're correct in that there is a lot of talk about something that hasn't happened often; just as there is always a lot of talk about GWS attacks. People like to talk about things that are dangerous. And most people do "get over it." I don't know anybody who says "Nah man, I'm not going out today. Too many dogs." It doesn't mean that you shouldn't discuss how the risk might be mitigated.

BTW: When I started kayaking in 2002 I never worried about sea lion. I thought they were cute little harmless furbags. I changed my mind after an encounter with an overly aggressive male that porpoised over my kayak at full speed. I had paddled too close to his haul-out on Zuniga Jetty and he chased me for a good hundred yards. It scared the crap out of me when he shot over my forward hatch at eye level. I can only imagine what would have happened had I caught that dog in the noggin.

[Sarcastic Fringehead]

I think most people seem to be unaware that the sea lions are there to fish also. Like I said, everyone makes a huge deal about problem sea lions and how they need to be shot etc. when all they're basically doing is figuring out the best way to get their next meal. Yeah, it's a pain if they're repeatedly stealing bait or posturing for you to get out of their space. But I think the public menace/ imminent threat status that most kayak fisherman are giving them is going a bit far. I've been fishing and diving in LJ for 8 years and aside from having a 20 lbs. pup try to leap aboard, or having the occasional bait stolen, I've never had an issue, nor have I ever heard of any kayak being upset by one or anyone being bitten out on the water. Maybe it could happen, but it seems highly unlikely- and my guess is that if it does, the person probably brought it on. Just my two cents. Fish and enjoy the wildlife.

[madscientist]

Originally Posted by Sarcastic Fringehead

I think most people seem to be unaware that the sea lions are there to fish also. Like I said, everyone makes a huge deal about problem sea lions and how they need to be shot etc. when all they're basically doing is figuring out the best way to get their next meal. Yeah, it's a pain if they're repeatedly stealing bait or posturing for you to get out of their space. But I think the public menace/ imminent threat status that most kayak fisherman are giving them is going a bit far. I've been fishing and diving in LJ for 8 years and aside from having a 20 lbs. pup try to leap aboard, or having the occasional bait stolen, I've never had an issue, nor have I ever heard of any kayak being upset by one or anyone being bitten out on the water. Maybe it could happen, but it seems highly unlikely- and my guess is that if it does, the person probably brought it on. Just my two cents. Fish and enjoy the wildlife.

Yeah, you are right. We are all fricken idiots that don't know that sea lions eat fish. Sheesh.

I have seen the knothead grow increasingly aggressive and fearless over the last couple of years. I truly believe its just a matter of time until he decides he can get a fish out of someone's lap, and if he is successful once I think we'll have a real problem. An animal that has become so accustomed to humans is no longer "wildlife" and should be managed accordingly.

[Sarcastic Fringehead]

Maybe "unaware" was the wrong wording... "seem to forget" might have been a better choice. Whatever- I wasn't calling anyone an idiot. My only point is that I've come across plenty of floating sea lions in my time out on the water that were shot by some fisherman who didn't want them around. Seems lame to me. Maybe this sea lion is truly a menace. I don't know. I just take exception to some people's rancher mentality that all the wolves and bears should live only in zoos where they won't bother anyone or their food.