3/13 Reds in Whitecaps - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

blackcloud9 · 03-14-2010, 08:57 PM

FishinKid - GPS was on, believe me, I blew up the photo to full res first
to make sure there was enough glare for y'all.

I'd planned to fish the morning only and get back to the beach by noon,
but, that plan didn't work out.

I really hate to be in a kayak in whitecaps, and, especially landing in rough
seas. That was a long, long 2+ mile pedal in. At one point outside the kelp
there was an "open ocean wave" that became a whitecap on my stern. I
looked back into an 8' vertical wave face and somehow managed not to
bury the bow.

The surf zone terrified me, so I latched everything down, expecting to ride
a 5 footer. I waited for a huge set to pass and just layed into the
pedals, steered left then hard right doing a big zip zag with the rudder
following a channel in the sand bar. Somehow I managed to land
unscathed.

Lots of excitement for some rockfish. These will supplement my lobster
from tomorrow night (yet another swell window is at hand, just in time!).

Lobster season's last day is the 17th, Wednesday.

ful-rac · 03-14-2010, 09:17 PM

Nice Reds! I'd love to catch some rockfish on my yak, time to go search'n....thanks for the report!

Billy V · 03-14-2010, 10:04 PM

Have you tried the larger sailing rudder on the Revo ? I have one in the garage but have not installed it yet.

I always land with the peddles, not the paddle - and steer right up until the last moment.
Sometimes it gets dicey when I catch a wave that tries to burry the bow, I would think the larger rudder would help.

blackcloud9 · 03-15-2010, 10:02 AM

Hi BillyV -The Revolution is plenty agile enough for me with the standard rudder, but would turn sharper with the sailing rudder no doubt. Not sure if it would help in those "trailing seas" situations though. Best to just avoid those rough days altogether.

03-14-2010, 08:57 PM	#1
blackcloud9 Kayaker Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Big Rock, WindanSea, La Jolla Posts: 413	FishinKid - GPS was on, believe me, I blew up the photo to full res first to make sure there was enough glare for y'all. I'd planned to fish the morning only and get back to the beach by noon, but, that plan didn't work out. I really hate to be in a kayak in whitecaps, and, especially landing in rough seas. That was a long, long 2+ mile pedal in. At one point outside the kelp there was an "open ocean wave" that became a whitecap on my stern. I looked back into an 8' vertical wave face and somehow managed not to bury the bow. The surf zone terrified me, so I latched everything down, expecting to ride a 5 footer. I waited for a huge set to pass and just layed into the pedals, steered left then hard right doing a big zip zag with the rudder following a channel in the sand bar. Somehow I managed to land unscathed. Lots of excitement for some rockfish. These will supplement my lobster from tomorrow night (yet another swell window is at hand, just in time!). Lobster season's last day is the 17th, Wednesday. Last edited by blackcloud9; 03-15-2010 at 10:00 AM.

03-15-2010, 10:02 AM	#4
blackcloud9 Kayaker Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Big Rock, WindanSea, La Jolla Posts: 413	Hi BillyV -The Revolution is plenty agile enough for me with the standard rudder, but would turn sharper with the sailing rudder no doubt. Not sure if it would help in those "trailing seas" situations though. Best to just avoid those rough days altogether. Last edited by blackcloud9; 03-15-2010 at 10:47 AM.

03-14-2010, 09:17 PM	#2
ful-rac Emperor Join Date: May 2009 Location: Buena Park Posts: 3,649	Nice Reds! I'd love to catch some rockfish on my yak, time to go search'n....thanks for the report!

03-14-2010, 10:04 PM	#3
Billy V Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bay Ho Posts: 1,382	Have you tried the larger sailing rudder on the Revo ? I have one in the garage but have not installed it yet. I always land with the peddles, not the paddle - and steer right up until the last moment. Sometimes it gets dicey when I catch a wave that tries to burry the bow, I would think the larger rudder would help.