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After a morning spent with my 6-year old son in Tangier Sound on my father's charter boat, I was able to do a little kayak fishing over at Jane's Island. It was really rough out on the big boat, which made me somewhat nervous about taking the kayak out beyond the beach as was recommended. Figuring I could just come back another not-so-windy day and be more adventurous, I paddled up the canal to the back side of the beach and just drifted back a few times. I caught a bunch of decent-sized croaker and a few enormous spot while enjoying the solitude. Until...
A big gust of wind blew my hat off. I don't know at what age you go from having a shaved head to being bald, but either way, I need a hat to keep my scalp from frying [see where this story is going?]. I paddle back around to grab the hat just as it starts to sink. And then I'm over. After the initial shock, I realized I still had a good grip on the paddle so I just needed to flip the yak back over. No problem. I put the paddle pack on the boat and then realized my phone (in a dry bag) had come unclipped from my vest and was floating away, as was my new waterproof camera and my fishing crate. Even worse, my two St. Croix/Pfluegger rod/reels were gone (my baitcaster was still in the scotty cradle).
And here's where dumb took a turn to dumber. I tried a couple times to dive down and find my rods but, of course, no luck. I then swam over to grab my phone, camera, and fishing bag. By the time I retrieved everything and turned around, my kayak was floating down the canal a good 30 feet away (and gaining). It took a few minutes, but I was able to catch up to it and climb back in. Let me add that I got stung on both legs by jellyfish while I swam over. I learned a few lessons:
1) Always wear the PFD
2) Don't risk $400+ worth of gear for a $15 hat
3) Get back in the boat and then paddle to the stuff floating away
4) Buy some rod leashes
Headed over to Bass Pro later to replace the rods. I'm hoping to make it back to Jane's Island sooner rather than later b/c it really is beautiful, and there's a ton of much better fishing spots to explore.
BTW, caught 8 different species out in the sound earlier, but only 1 (the skate) took much drag: dozens of croaker, dozens of spot, 8-10 sea bass, 2trout, 2 oyster toads, 1 white perch, 1 skate, 1 bluefish. My son had a great morning.
A big gust of wind blew my hat off. I don't know at what age you go from having a shaved head to being bald, but either way, I need a hat to keep my scalp from frying [see where this story is going?]. I paddle back around to grab the hat just as it starts to sink. And then I'm over. After the initial shock, I realized I still had a good grip on the paddle so I just needed to flip the yak back over. No problem. I put the paddle pack on the boat and then realized my phone (in a dry bag) had come unclipped from my vest and was floating away, as was my new waterproof camera and my fishing crate. Even worse, my two St. Croix/Pfluegger rod/reels were gone (my baitcaster was still in the scotty cradle).
And here's where dumb took a turn to dumber. I tried a couple times to dive down and find my rods but, of course, no luck. I then swam over to grab my phone, camera, and fishing bag. By the time I retrieved everything and turned around, my kayak was floating down the canal a good 30 feet away (and gaining). It took a few minutes, but I was able to catch up to it and climb back in. Let me add that I got stung on both legs by jellyfish while I swam over. I learned a few lessons:
1) Always wear the PFD
2) Don't risk $400+ worth of gear for a $15 hat
3) Get back in the boat and then paddle to the stuff floating away
4) Buy some rod leashes
Headed over to Bass Pro later to replace the rods. I'm hoping to make it back to Jane's Island sooner rather than later b/c it really is beautiful, and there's a ton of much better fishing spots to explore.
BTW, caught 8 different species out in the sound earlier, but only 1 (the skate) took much drag: dozens of croaker, dozens of spot, 8-10 sea bass, 2trout, 2 oyster toads, 1 white perch, 1 skate, 1 bluefish. My son had a great morning.
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