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Just a reminder to you guys about cold water kayak fishing. Yesterday I ended up in the water (Occoquan River). It was 45 degrees too! The good news is that I was prepared and I had on my breathable waders, a waterproof wading jacket, and I was wearing my PFD. I was able to self-rescue once I got out of the white water. This was my first time coming out of my kayak.
It happened because of the way some current hit me unexpectedly while I was paddling up a riffle. It pushed me up on a rock and then my kayaked leaned hard to the right. I pushed off of the rock and when I did I went too far over to the left since I no longer needed to counter the lean to the right. I knew that I was going in at that point so I grabbed the side handle and just slid over into the drink. I then held on to the kayak until I was out of the whitewater.
Self rescue wasn't that bad because the my kayak is pretty stable. I was able to get back on her by grabbing the handle on the opposite side of the kayak and pull myself up.
I am so glad that I was dressed correctly and wearing a PFD that fit and was correctly worn. In cold water these things are very important and even if it is 80 degrees outside, when the water is cold take all of the precautions.
The last bit of good news is that everything was secured properly so I didn't loose any equipment. I would say that I was pretty lucky. I was pretty embarrassed for going out of the kayak but, I guess like everything else, stuff happens!
I did catch 1 shad on my FlyRod. It was a Hickory Shad. It is still a bit early and the water is still a little cool (45 degrees).
It happened because of the way some current hit me unexpectedly while I was paddling up a riffle. It pushed me up on a rock and then my kayaked leaned hard to the right. I pushed off of the rock and when I did I went too far over to the left since I no longer needed to counter the lean to the right. I knew that I was going in at that point so I grabbed the side handle and just slid over into the drink. I then held on to the kayak until I was out of the whitewater.
Self rescue wasn't that bad because the my kayak is pretty stable. I was able to get back on her by grabbing the handle on the opposite side of the kayak and pull myself up.
I am so glad that I was dressed correctly and wearing a PFD that fit and was correctly worn. In cold water these things are very important and even if it is 80 degrees outside, when the water is cold take all of the precautions.
The last bit of good news is that everything was secured properly so I didn't loose any equipment. I would say that I was pretty lucky. I was pretty embarrassed for going out of the kayak but, I guess like everything else, stuff happens!
I did catch 1 shad on my FlyRod. It was a Hickory Shad. It is still a bit early and the water is still a little cool (45 degrees).
I'm so used to wearing my pfd now, that I rarely ever don't have it on and buckled up. Thanks for reminding us all of why to wear them.
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