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Ok, I did post my fishing report on the August M&G thread, but here’s the other story at OC on that Saturday afternoon.
We had been fishing over four hours along the south jetty near the inlet. After floating around leisurely and talking a bit with JJoley (we were about 250 yards from the inlet and next to the Assateague Bay entrance), he decided to go in. I said I’m going back to the inside of the jetty to do more fishing. I went to the same area the three of us were fishing earlier. It was early afternoon.
After drifting toward the inlet with no bites, I started back up along the jetty. Didn’t realize the current was so strong. I paddled (with e-motor at full throttle) fairly hard for about 20 minutes and gained less than a hundred yards. Built up a sweat. I still needed another hundred or so yards to get out of the current, so I waved at a boat (I think it was a bass boat) and asked the two fisherman for a tow (towing shouldn’t be too difficult, right? WRONG!). He said OK.
When he came around and threw me the rope, we were about 30 yards from the inlet. I held on and we went forward. After moving a few feet, I let go because the yak went askew. On the second pass, the boat came next to me and the owner secured the yak bow toward the bow of his boat. My yak was starboard and parallel with the bass boat. I held the boat stern/side with my left hand. As we started forward I said to go slowly. He said he had to give it more throttle because we were not making ground. I heard the motor roar. The turbulent waves hitting the boat and yak was too much, and before I knew it, my yak rolled over with my bow still attached to the boat. Like a rolling alligator, the yak threw me into the water.
My head never went underwater, so I turned, swam and grabbed on to the stern of the yak. I worked my way to the boat, so I ended up holding the sterns of the boat and yak. Within a minute or so a jet ski with a tail platform came by. I got onto the platform and then transferred to the bass boat with no problem.
Two of us in the boat were holding on to the yak. The yak was nearly filled with water, so we could not upright or lift the yak. The boat owner was going to tow the yak to the beach, but he was concerned that the drag would tip his boat. There were several jet skiers around. One of the guys said we should call the Coast Guard for assistance. I felt a bit reluctant to have them called, but someone called them.
After about five minutes, the CG boat arrived. The crew pulled my yak onto their boat and secured it. I then transferred from the bass boat to the CG boat. We started to head in. By that time we were out about a mile and a half from the inlet.
This could have been more serious, but it still made me rethink the way I approach yak fishing. So, here’s some thoughts.
Lesson Learned and Thoughts:
- Currents can be deceiving. Although I have nearly three years experience and have battled many currents in the Bay, the OC inlet turned out to be too strong at the time.
- It looks easy, but unless you know how to do it, don’t get towed.
- This one is a reminder about wearing your PFD. It worked great in the current/waves. My head never went underwater.
- When in a potentially rough situation, secure your things. I have and use leashes a lot. Guess what? I didn’t secure two of the three poles and my tackle bag. Yep, I lost two rods/reels, couple trays with lures and other stuff. But the most critical was the yak’s pod cover, which was not fully secured.
- Don’t count on the SOT yak to float or to be uprightable. My Prowler Trident yak probably would have floated had the pod cover been fully and tightly secured (the pod compartment is below the yaker’s knees at mid yak). When the yak rolled, the waves knocked the loose cover off and water immediately poured into the 24” X 7” hole in seconds. Also, the 50 pound battery was still connected to the motor on the yak. This weight didn’t help, but even if the battery broke loose, I still had water pouring into the yak. When I installed the motor system last year I was going to put a quick-disconnect adapter on the power cable. I never got around to it.
- If you’re caught in a current, you could ride it out. The CG crewman later said if you end up miles away, call for help. If I drifted out I could have done this since I had my floatable marine radio with me. You could also ride the current diagonally and come around to the beach. (Instead, I just had to get that tow
)
- Jet skiers can appear to be a bit pesky zipping here and there, but they can also be a helpful bunch. There were several jet skiers around the bass boat ready to help. One guy offered his tail platform for me to climb on. Another guy retrieved many of my belongings from the drift. Still another guy jumped into the water to help keep my yak from sinking. He also used his whistle to signal passing boats to slow down, and he yelled at them, “No wakes!” So, thanks to those jet skiers!
- Thanks to the bass boater guys too! It wasn’t their fault. They actually only wanted to help me with the tow.
- I drove three hours to OC, fished over four hours straight, battled strong current, got tossed from the yak, did a little swimming, loaded the yak back on the car and drove back home. When I got home, I wasn’t all that tired. I do exercise five times a week (weight lifting, running, biking ,etc). I also get a good night’s rest before I go yak fishing. Yeah, so what!?!? My point, folks, is you should be physically prepared for a possible sticky situation on the water.
- One more. Thanks to the Coast Guard! The were professional (They didn’t even scold me).
I lost fishing gear, but more importantly, I’m fine, with no injuries. Ok, Ok, I made some dumb moves. I think this incident had some good though. It made me rethink my approach to yak fishing, and made me a better yaker, I hope. And I hope my experience helps you become a better yaker too.
Thanks for reading. See you on the water soon.
We had been fishing over four hours along the south jetty near the inlet. After floating around leisurely and talking a bit with JJoley (we were about 250 yards from the inlet and next to the Assateague Bay entrance), he decided to go in. I said I’m going back to the inside of the jetty to do more fishing. I went to the same area the three of us were fishing earlier. It was early afternoon.
After drifting toward the inlet with no bites, I started back up along the jetty. Didn’t realize the current was so strong. I paddled (with e-motor at full throttle) fairly hard for about 20 minutes and gained less than a hundred yards. Built up a sweat. I still needed another hundred or so yards to get out of the current, so I waved at a boat (I think it was a bass boat) and asked the two fisherman for a tow (towing shouldn’t be too difficult, right? WRONG!). He said OK.
When he came around and threw me the rope, we were about 30 yards from the inlet. I held on and we went forward. After moving a few feet, I let go because the yak went askew. On the second pass, the boat came next to me and the owner secured the yak bow toward the bow of his boat. My yak was starboard and parallel with the bass boat. I held the boat stern/side with my left hand. As we started forward I said to go slowly. He said he had to give it more throttle because we were not making ground. I heard the motor roar. The turbulent waves hitting the boat and yak was too much, and before I knew it, my yak rolled over with my bow still attached to the boat. Like a rolling alligator, the yak threw me into the water.
My head never went underwater, so I turned, swam and grabbed on to the stern of the yak. I worked my way to the boat, so I ended up holding the sterns of the boat and yak. Within a minute or so a jet ski with a tail platform came by. I got onto the platform and then transferred to the bass boat with no problem.
Two of us in the boat were holding on to the yak. The yak was nearly filled with water, so we could not upright or lift the yak. The boat owner was going to tow the yak to the beach, but he was concerned that the drag would tip his boat. There were several jet skiers around. One of the guys said we should call the Coast Guard for assistance. I felt a bit reluctant to have them called, but someone called them.
After about five minutes, the CG boat arrived. The crew pulled my yak onto their boat and secured it. I then transferred from the bass boat to the CG boat. We started to head in. By that time we were out about a mile and a half from the inlet.
This could have been more serious, but it still made me rethink the way I approach yak fishing. So, here’s some thoughts.
Lesson Learned and Thoughts:
- Currents can be deceiving. Although I have nearly three years experience and have battled many currents in the Bay, the OC inlet turned out to be too strong at the time.
- It looks easy, but unless you know how to do it, don’t get towed.
- This one is a reminder about wearing your PFD. It worked great in the current/waves. My head never went underwater.
- When in a potentially rough situation, secure your things. I have and use leashes a lot. Guess what? I didn’t secure two of the three poles and my tackle bag. Yep, I lost two rods/reels, couple trays with lures and other stuff. But the most critical was the yak’s pod cover, which was not fully secured.
- Don’t count on the SOT yak to float or to be uprightable. My Prowler Trident yak probably would have floated had the pod cover been fully and tightly secured (the pod compartment is below the yaker’s knees at mid yak). When the yak rolled, the waves knocked the loose cover off and water immediately poured into the 24” X 7” hole in seconds.
Also, the 50 pound battery was still connected to the motor on the yak. This weight didn’t help, but even if the battery broke loose, I still had water pouring into the yak. When I installed the motor system last year I was going to put a quick-disconnect adapter on the power cable. I never got around to it.- If you’re caught in a current, you could ride it out. The CG crewman later said if you end up miles away, call for help. If I drifted out I could have done this since I had my floatable marine radio with me. You could also ride the current diagonally and come around to the beach. (Instead, I just had to get that tow
)- Jet skiers can appear to be a bit pesky zipping here and there, but they can also be a helpful bunch.
There were several jet skiers around the bass boat ready to help. One guy offered his tail platform for me to climb on. Another guy retrieved many of my belongings from the drift. Still another guy jumped into the water to help keep my yak from sinking. He also used his whistle to signal passing boats to slow down, and he yelled at them, “No wakes!” So, thanks to those jet skiers!- Thanks to the bass boater guys too! It wasn’t their fault. They actually only wanted to help me with the tow.
- I drove three hours to OC, fished over four hours straight, battled strong current, got tossed from the yak, did a little swimming, loaded the yak back on the car and drove back home. When I got home, I wasn’t all that tired. I do exercise five times a week (weight lifting, running, biking ,etc). I also get a good night’s rest before I go yak fishing. Yeah, so what!?!? My point, folks, is you should be physically prepared for a possible sticky situation on the water.
- One more. Thanks to the Coast Guard! The were professional (They didn’t even scold me
).I lost fishing gear, but more importantly, I’m fine, with no injuries. Ok, Ok, I made some dumb moves. I think this incident had some good though. It made me rethink my approach to yak fishing, and made me a better yaker, I hope. And I hope my experience helps you become a better yaker too.
Thanks for reading. See you on the water soon.
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