Fishing from a kayak

[J.A. Veil]

On the theme of getting back into a kayak after capsizing, here is an instructive video made last week by Tracy, who posts under the name of Old Lady Angler. She recently joined the Native Watercraft Pro Staff team. She filmed this in a backyard pool using a Native Slayer Propel 10, a wide kayak. You can see that she had to work hard to get the kayak to flip in the first place, and required a lot of effort to roll it back over.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP2i...yi6CqAg3ZOn9cg

My take home lesson is that it can be easier to get back on a kayak via the stern rather than over the side. Tracy is older and has less upper body strength than many Snaggedline members. Yet she was able to flip a wide kayak back over the get on board. She notes in the video that if she had her Propel drive installed it would have made rolling the kayak back to upright considerably harder. Likewise, lots of gear and rods are going to impede rolling the kayak.

[CarsonNash]

All of this info has been super helpful. I recently got my first fishing dedicated kayak, and one of my first worries was rolling and reentry. After my 2nd trip of not knowing my kayaks limits, I offloaded all my gear at the beach one day and paddled back out to deep water, rolled my kayak 6 times in different seat heights and situations, (standing, sitting, kneeling). I felt this was very helpful and a great way to know what I can and cannot do, and when the inevitable happens, I have a contingency plan. I also sail small “lazer” style sailboats, so I had some experience flipping a boat right side up. Luckily I am young enough and my boat is light enough to where I can just crawl on the hull and grab the other side, lean back, and problem solved. I recommend doing this to anyone who gets a new kayak. I also got it all on video from a GoPro, My family had a good laugh watching that. The water in the Severn is not that warm!!! I will hand it to Vibe, the 110 SG is super stable and I am completely comfortable standing in fishing from it (I am only 5’7 though).


In regards to the original post, I love this forum. The level of respect and helpfullness of every member is (imo) un paralleled by anywhere else in the internet. I am green to the sport of kayak fishing, and compared to some, the sport of fishing itself. The wealth of knowledge of many SL members is a goldmine for many like me. I hope it stays this way for years to come.

[admwndsr83]

I had planned to do some rollover training once the pond near me (or the swimming pool in the backyard!) got warmer, but now I've run all the wires for my fishfinder and am worried to get the connections that wet. I've tried to roll my Moken a few times, and can't seem to get it to flip under normal situations, knock on wood.

[john from md]

I had planned to do some rollover training once the pond near me (or the swimming pool in the backyard!) got warmer, but now I've run all the wires for my fishfinder and am worried to get the connections that wet. I've tried to roll my Moken a few times, and can't seem to get it to flip under normal situations, knock on wood.

Coat the connectors with dielectric grease. This is a clear grease that can be found in most auto stores. It will keep the contacts from becoming corroded.

[Mark]

If you cannot roll your kayak to an upright position, stay with the boat. It's good flotation in addition to your PFD. Last spring a man flipped his kayak in the West River. He was in cold water for hours until spotted by the skipper of a passing sail boat. Had he not stayed with his kayak, his story may have ended tragically.

https://www.chesapeakebaymagazine.co...rom-west-river

Don't worry about your fishing gear. That can be replaced.

Call for help on your VHF radio -- a good reason to have a radio and to carry it on your person. I keep mine attached to my PFD.

Last year I joined the Chesapeake Paddlers Association. They're sea kayakers. I have never rolled a fishing kayak but on my very first outing with them, they made me flip my sea kayak and re-enter. Re-righting the boat and crawling back in is not an easy process even with a slender sea kayak that has no fishing gear attached. A fishing kayak may indeed take much more energy to turn and re-enter.

[nhunter344]

After my 2nd trip of not knowing my kayaks limits, I offloaded all my gear at the beach one day and paddled back out to deep water, rolled my kayak 6 times in different seat heights and situations, (standing, sitting, kneeling). I felt this was very helpful and a great way to know what I can and cannot do, and when the inevitable happens, I have a contingency plan.

If you have the chance, and can do so safely, try to get some experience in bad weather. I thought I had mastered my flip and re-entry until I was out in the Gulf Of Mexico last year and a lightning-less squall came through. The fish weren't biting and the scallops were few and far between so I figured why not practice in less than ideal conditions. Flipping and re-entering in 2-3' chop was an entirely different beast. I was pretty lucky in that there was zero boat traffic and the water was warm. I can honestly say I would have never tried that in the Bay with all the boat traffic and cooler temperatures.

[nhunter344]

I've tried to roll my Moken a few times, and can't seem to get it to flip under normal situations, knock on wood.

Under normal conditions, they are harder to roll than you would assume. Its the sneaky little perfect storm of conditions that usually toss you in the drink. A slight lean to bring a fish on board combined with a boat wake from just the right direction is all it takes. Personally, my yak's weak point is a decent size wave or wake coming from the stern at a slight angle. Rough water over the bow or gunwales don't faze it, but that wave from behind always elicits the pucker effect.

[rob-kayak]

@Mark and John...
I hope you didn't misinterpret my comments...
as my only intention was to wish you great success and it's awesome what you are doing with the classes.

@John from MD...
as to posting here.. I hear what you are saying.
I was just inferring to when I started here more of the people participated.
Obviously there is an attrition rate to the hobby/sport.

Also in the link to the ladder rescue you posted to buy the unit...
Did you notice in the video the guy wasn't using a paddle leash..
I thought that was funny.. :-)

Any to everybody else.. all have great comments, thoughts, and suggestions.

[john from md]

Rob,

I never watched a video. My computer is old and some things don't run on it. It really works well on the yaks I use.

[J.A. Veil]

@Mark and John...
I hope you didn't misinterpret my comments...
as my only intention was to wish you great success and it's awesome what you are doing with the classes.

Rob -

I have no problem with your comments relating to Mark and me -- I did not find anything negative or disrespectful in the comments. For clarification purposes, we are not doing the teaching for the income. It would be nice if we could get some decent compensation for the time we spend preparing and teaching the class, but in order to keep student fees low and still cover college overhead, our take home checks are pretty small. We do have the opportunity to sell a book or two. But unless you are a full-time aggressive marketer or get Oprah to feature your book, book sales do not amount to much either. Regarding charters, neither Mark nor I could accept payment for taking anyone fishing under Maryland regulations. In order to accept payment from another angler for guiding services, the guide must have a valid Coast Guard captain's license (6-pack or higher) and a DNR fishing guide license. Neither of us has either of these and we do not plan to get them. That expense and complexity are a good part of the reason we see few kayak fishing guides in Maryland.

Our next kayak fishing class at AACC is tentatively scheduled for Sept 28. Feel free to let friends and other interested persons know about the class. We are likely to continue teaching until the student interest drops too low to run the class.

[Mark]

Rob,

No offense. In truth, I'd teach the class for free. I enjoy the hobby and sharing information about it that much.

Mark

[baitball]

Personally, my yak's weak point is a decent size wave or wake coming from the stern at a slight angle. Rough water over the stern or gunwales don't faze it, but that wave from behind always elicits the pucker effect.[/QUOTE]

Agree wholeheartedly. My only turtle (so far) happened this way on a rough and tumble day on the Bay. Went out in cold, windy, light rain snotty conditions (should've know better) and soon realized my mistake. Even so, I kept at it and after an hour I had enough and turned back for shore. The unsuspecting solid 2+ foot wave came up behind my stern quarter. I wasn't leaning over the gunwhales, I wasn't turning around to grab something form my crate, I was in my my seat pedaling like I've done a thousand times. Before you know it, I had a yard sale in the water. (Some) of the lighter tackle boxes were floating, others - with a plethora of heavy jigs - were "donated" to the Chesapeake gods. Luckily, all my rods were fitted with rod floats. With the help of my fellow yakers, I was able to recover all the gear that was floating.
My first attempt to reboard my kayak was met with a "Captain Obvious" moment. NOTE: Do not try to reboard your kayak if you still have your kayak turned 90degrees to the incoming swell. It will quickly turtle a second time. :-)
After I internalized that learning point, I pointed the bow into the swell and was able to reboard without issue. Without issue that is, because my adrenaline had kicked in (I was a more than a mile off shore in 54deg water).
During the pedal back to shore I made a mental note how grateful I was to be wearing GoreTex. No, I don't have a dry suit, or even a dry top, but the GoreTex jacket and pants I had on, even though soaked, kept the chilling wind from giving me hypothermia during the long pedal back to shore.

So, for all the new guys, here are some pointers:
1. Don't take more gear than you absolutely have to (I echo Ron's, Mark's, and John's point of going minimalist)
2. Buy and wear good, quality safety gear
3. Put rod floats on your rods. Lash costly items to your kayak. (i.e. pedal drive)
4. Find sheltered water on snotty weather days - don't chance it.
5. If you have to go out in snotty conditions, don't do it alone

[ronaultmtd]

Just for the record...a big rear quartering swell is any boat’s weak point..Kayaks, powerboat, and even ships...you can capsize any boat with a big enough 45% from the stern swell...I have been in “pucker factor” plus rear following swells coming back to the launch many days at Piney Point with SW winds on low or almost low tides...I always point the stern directly into the swell as it crests then crab back to the left as it passes under my seat area and pedal like hell to stay on the back of the swell as long as I can before I have to put the stern directly into the face of the swell...my only turtle (in an Outback, of all Kayaks) actually occurred at Piney Point in nice warm summer water in five feet of water...lunging to grab a Redfish barely hooked that appeared to be over the slot size five years ago during the peak of our redfish fishery, before they died out in a below zero winter...and like Baitball, I had stuff floating everywhere we retieved, but lost all my keys...wife was not happy driving down to Piney Point with my spare truck key...

[admwndsr83]

Years ago I was out on a head boat out of OC MD and were heading in at the end of a successful day. I was talking to the captain in the bridge and noted we were headed due South on the compass, after motoring ese most of the day to the fishing grounds. Winds had picked up, and the were pushing sizeable swells nnw. Note, this was a head boat holding 35 or so people. I mentioned to the captain my confusion of not heading into shore. His response, "The swells would be just off our stern if we headed straight to the inlet. This way will take longer, will cost me more money, but I have a much better guarantee we'll make it there." Lesso learned that day... agree with ron... it doesn't matter the boat, quartering stern swells are scary. It seems so far for me that the wind is always blowing directly from whatever ramp I'm trying to paddle to to get out of the water! Scariest day I had out, a wind squall came up, and I was paddling as hard as I could into massive swells on the Bush river, only hundreds of feet from the ramp, but my gps speed showed .1 mph. Hard as I could paddle, barely moving forward.

[Mark]

Like any weather forecast, they're not 100% accurate. But there are various programs that predict wind direction and velocity for a given area.

I visit www.windfinder.com before making launch decisions. It is typically very accurate on the projected direction of the wind and it predicts how the direction and velocity will change throughout the day. Again, I find that it usually nails those parameters.

The use of such programs has been mentioned here before, but it's worth repeating. Knowing what's coming and when can spare you from dealing with deteriorating conditions.