Hard Learning... - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

ful-rac · 07-14-2013, 08:17 PM

Yeah glad your still alive. Hearing about the situation from robys perspective...definitely made it sound alot worse. He had a better vantage point, so he could see the whole situation/disaster. Spectra wrapped around body, flipped kayak, hooked seal, night time, waders on....this could have turned out really bad...glad it didnt.

About that PA rope ladder.... Definitely not my idea, but a damn good piece of safety equipment for PA owners. Makes re-entering the PA just too easy. I tested it out this weekend and once you get your foot on it, all you have to do is lean forward and your back on. Ill post some pics tomorrow....

mrJB · 07-14-2013, 08:39 PM

Jim -

After getting wrapped up in rigging after pitchpolling a Hobiecat many years ago, I always wear a diver's knife strapped to my leg for those type of emergencies. No sense in having a knife in your boat when you need it in the water; good to have either on your vest, leg, or any other easily accessible place. Glad it all came out OK...

JB

bus kid · 07-15-2013, 05:56 AM

$hit Jim, Glad your ok.

jruiz · 07-15-2013, 06:57 AM

Glad you're okay Jim.

Old Man in the Sea · 07-15-2013, 07:46 AM

I have a safety t-handle line cutter in my pfd but realize now that I need to add a loop for my wrist so I don't lose it cutting line from my feet...and I also need a new wader belt today...

walrus · 07-15-2013, 08:01 AM

Thanks for the safety lessons, sorry you had learned the hard way, making it easy for the rest of us.

I heard of three incidents since June first where having a knife accessible has saved the day. All three incidents also involved using braid. I'm moving my knife from the PFD pocket to an easier to reach in a hurry place...today!

Thanks again, and truly sorry for your misfortune.

roby · 07-15-2013, 08:14 AM

First off, I’m glad everything worked out and I’m glad Jim posted so others can learn from the experience…

It was about 11:45 when you got hit. I was so excited I first looked at my fish finder to see if there were any WSB marks. In the corner of my eye I saw Jim slide off his kayak and then I looked at his fishing line and saw it surfacing to a big splash 50 feet away. It was definitely a seal. In the next moment, his kayak flipped over and about 6-8 seals started to splash around us. I’m not sure if the seals were being aggressive or not. The scene of Jim in the water, his kayak flipped and the seals jumping with just my head lamp on us made for a surreal moment. In my mind I was thinking, “This could get ugly real fast.” In a few minutes I saw the seals heading towards the squid boats.

Jim tells me right after the flip, “My braid is wrapped around my leg.” I immediately tell him if he needs my knife so he could cut the braid.

Like the true angler that Jim is, he says, “I think the fish is still on.”

Fortunately, there was nothing at the end of his line and we proceeded to get Jim back on his kayak. He was tangled up real bad. Not only was the braid around his legs but it was wrapped around his kayak. Jim tried to flip the kayak but it seemed the braid and his filled up waders were not allowing the kayak to get flipped easily. Braid has great properties for fishing, but at this time it was working against us.

I remember one thing Jim told me that night that stood out in my mind. He said with his waders filled up with water he really couldn't move. Any effort he put towards swimming/treading was not effective (it was suggested later that he take his waders off).

Eventually when the kayak was righted we could tell his kayak had a substantial amount of water in it. It wasn’t filled but there was enough water to make it tippy. I had to hold his kayak while he got back on, but he did it with much effort since his waders were filled. Jim pumped out his kayak and assessed what was lost and started to re-rig his rods; I pedaled around and picked up a couple items I saw floating around.

Jim was in the water for a decent amount of time. We were lucky there was hardly a breeze and that it was virtually a lake out there that night. Jim’s a die-hard kayak angler and he handled everything in a calm, cool way.

Overall, it was a great learning experience.

07-14-2013, 08:17 PM	#1
ful-rac Emperor Join Date: May 2009 Location: Buena Park Posts: 3,649	Yeah glad your still alive. Hearing about the situation from robys perspective...definitely made it sound alot worse. He had a better vantage point, so he could see the whole situation/disaster. Spectra wrapped around body, flipped kayak, hooked seal, night time, waders on....this could have turned out really bad...glad it didnt. About that PA rope ladder.... Definitely not my idea, but a damn good piece of safety equipment for PA owners. Makes re-entering the PA just too easy. I tested it out this weekend and once you get your foot on it, all you have to do is lean forward and your back on. Ill post some pics tomorrow.... __________________ There's nothing colder than yesterday's hotdog.

07-14-2013, 08:39 PM	#2
mrJB Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: O.C. Posts: 352	Jim - After getting wrapped up in rigging after pitchpolling a Hobiecat many years ago, I always wear a diver's knife strapped to my leg for those type of emergencies. No sense in having a knife in your boat when you need it in the water; good to have either on your vest, leg, or any other easily accessible place. Glad it all came out OK... JB __________________ "I Brake for Halibut"

07-15-2013, 05:56 AM	#3
bus kid Team Keine Zugehörigkeit Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Way out there Posts: 2,854	$hit Jim, Glad your ok. __________________ Não alimente os trolls------------Don't feed the trolls---------------インタネット荒らしを無視しろ

07-15-2013, 07:46 AM	#5
Old Man in the Sea Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Bay Park Posts: 569	Thanks for the post Jim... I have a safety t-handle line cutter in my pfd but realize now that I need to add a loop for my wrist so I don't lose it cutting line from my feet...and I also need a new wader belt today...

07-15-2013, 06:57 AM	#4
jruiz Large Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: La Verne, CA Posts: 1,011	Glad you're okay Jim.

07-15-2013, 08:01 AM	#6
walrus Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Baja fish camp Posts: 478	Thanks for the safety lessons, sorry you had learned the hard way, making it easy for the rest of us. I heard of three incidents since June first where having a knife accessible has saved the day. All three incidents also involved using braid. I'm moving my knife from the PFD pocket to an easier to reach in a hurry place...today! Thanks again, and truly sorry for your misfortune.

07-15-2013, 08:14 AM	#7
roby CEO of Team Roby Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 905	First off, I’m glad everything worked out and I’m glad Jim posted so others can learn from the experience… It was about 11:45 when you got hit. I was so excited I first looked at my fish finder to see if there were any WSB marks. In the corner of my eye I saw Jim slide off his kayak and then I looked at his fishing line and saw it surfacing to a big splash 50 feet away. It was definitely a seal. In the next moment, his kayak flipped over and about 6-8 seals started to splash around us. I’m not sure if the seals were being aggressive or not. The scene of Jim in the water, his kayak flipped and the seals jumping with just my head lamp on us made for a surreal moment. In my mind I was thinking, “This could get ugly real fast.” In a few minutes I saw the seals heading towards the squid boats. Jim tells me right after the flip, “My braid is wrapped around my leg.” I immediately tell him if he needs my knife so he could cut the braid. Like the true angler that Jim is, he says, “I think the fish is still on.” Fortunately, there was nothing at the end of his line and we proceeded to get Jim back on his kayak. He was tangled up real bad. Not only was the braid around his legs but it was wrapped around his kayak. Jim tried to flip the kayak but it seemed the braid and his filled up waders were not allowing the kayak to get flipped easily. Braid has great properties for fishing, but at this time it was working against us. I remember one thing Jim told me that night that stood out in my mind. He said with his waders filled up with water he really couldn't move. Any effort he put towards swimming/treading was not effective (it was suggested later that he take his waders off). Eventually when the kayak was righted we could tell his kayak had a substantial amount of water in it. It wasn’t filled but there was enough water to make it tippy. I had to hold his kayak while he got back on, but he did it with much effort since his waders were filled. Jim pumped out his kayak and assessed what was lost and started to re-rig his rods; I pedaled around and picked up a couple items I saw floating around. Jim was in the water for a decent amount of time. We were lucky there was hardly a breeze and that it was virtually a lake out there that night. Jim’s a die-hard kayak angler and he handled everything in a calm, cool way. Overall, it was a great learning experience.