How many of you flipped the kayak 300-500yds out in full dark, rough waves and windy conditions? I would like to hear your experiences, including some safety measures that helped you out in thous moments.
Hollandale Beach there was a moderate chop, I paddled my bait out no problem... on the way in I was riding the waves, about 100 or so yards my paddle tipped the water as I rode the wave causing my yak to turn sideways so the kayak threw me off... mistake number one: No life-jacket, mistake number 2, didn't hold on to the kayak, one thing I did right was scurry over to the paddled so I wouldn't lose it... I am a bad swimmer, but somehow I treaded some yards then sunk to the bottom and hopped up until I was at shore 
, the kayak landed at shore 50 yards north, I was okay but done with kayaking for a long time. If you wear a lifejacket and put it on properly your swimming abilities wont matter.
My grandfather entered the navy without knowing how to swim (WWII), his ship was split in half by an oil tanker, one half stayed afloat, the other sunk in ten minutes time, he went about through the pitch dark ship leaking of crude oil and rescued four individuals... he did this because the long hours he spent on the ship allowed him to memorize every nut and bolt on the ship. Anyways... One thing he always carried on his was his life-belt, It was a belt with some device that popped a CO2 canister and instantly inflated a flotation device, he doggy-paddled in 400ft of water until he found a rescue boat.
Just an average fisherman.
This is just a reminder on how important is ALL the available safety measures are, when you decide to deploy your baits in rough waves at night.
Based on my last year experience, i decided to purchase, an IPX8 certified headlamp where can withstand saltwater submerges and have different light settings that can be changed, signaling that you're in some sort of trouble - when the situation requires.
The story is, when i meet CJ - we decided to fish in Juno area - him being signed up for Blacktip Challenge tournament - myself being away from that, since i haven't had a feel for it (maybe if there would be more sharks around i would-of join). We meet in the morning, then again around 3pm in Juno. They bring all the shark gear on the beach, then around 5pm they start deploying baits out. Ironically i had to pick-up my wife from work, so i let them know that i'll be gone about an hour - in reality i was away towards 2 hours. When i came back all their shark rods were out, less mine - since i forgot to rig my rod (i left my sharks rig in the car - go figure). So, finally i came back around 7:00pm ready to shark fish. I rigged up my rod, put i nice piece of stingray - thanks to Zurk (he's not on this forum), then i went out deploying the bait. All went fine, till i got far enough, where i decided to drop the bait - when i got to that point, i release the hook with the stingray on it, then paddled a couple more time to brake the incoming waves though and deploy the rock as well. What happened there was, when i attempted to deploy the rock, a rough wave came out of nowhere and throw me unbalanced from the kayak and find myself in the water with a flipped kayak 400-500yds away. At all times i managed to keep my calm, then quickly i made a self-checkup of the situation. I still had the kayak and the paddle in the same hand. I stayed still for a minute to regain my strength, then i tried to flip the kayak - at first attempt it didn't work due to rough seas, but at second i was able to regain the kayak back up. In all this time, my headlamp worked as in should with the red light on, as well as the life jacket that i had on, so while i start inspecting the kayak, being still in the water, i noticed that the main line got wrapped badly around the back of the X's rope in the back of the kayak, then it hit me that i'm still tied to the rock - and bait (imagine in thous moments being the bait picked up by a +6ft shark?) - so i grabbed my emergency knife that i always carry with me when i go out, and start cutting the main line (in thous moments i did valued my $1 Waltmart investment in that stainless steel knife). After i managed to cut myself loose - i flipped my headlamp in the - emergency signal (before i left the shore line, i told to CJ - IF and ONLY IF - you see a WHITE FLASHING SIGNAL - something is WRONG). Being in that white flashing "SOS" mode - i tried to get back on the kayak, unfortunately at each time that i did that - the kayak flipped back upside down due to incoming rough waves, i even tried working with the waves from the back to get back on it - i couldn't do it. So, realizing that this would be a loosing battle, i decided to go with the waves sideways and swim in towards the shore line, having in one hand the kayak with the paddle and the other hand i used to swim in marathon way towards the shore. Meanwhile, on the beach, CJ noticed my white flashing light were he asked - "Please don't tell me that that's a white flashing light!?" - after a minute, of flashing towards them white, they knew - something went wrong, adding to the fact that CJ reeled in the previously cut line. He toke the other kayak that was sitting on the beach and paddled all the way towards me, when he reach me we were around 150-200yds from shore. We flipped back the kayak, where this time he helped me to hold into the kayak on the opposite side from where i was going to get back in, then i got back in the kayak without a problem.
Surprisingly all this time i didn't panic, although this was one of my first experiences flipping a kayak that far away, then swim in that long away.
I'm glad that my headlamp was designed for situations like that, and the people who were on the short line knew exactly where i was at all times.
Overall, i would do it all over again - IF the situation would require doing so. "Things that don't kill you - just makes you stronger" - sure enough - this was a good practice.
I never knew how much i can handle - swimming - till i was into a situation like this. Strangely i liked it. Hard to explain the feeling why i liked it though.
An important thing to know also is to let the guy manning the reel know not to tighten the drag and reel in the slack line or set the spider weight while youre still on the kayak. sometimes stopping to take a breather people tend to think i dropped the bait causing a potential hook going into my arm, or flipping the kayak or a bad accident. Also another thing for dropping a big bait with a big rock; make sure u drop the bait first so the hook doesnt dig into ur skin so quick while the rock is sinking to the bottom of the ocean with u attached to it. from last nights experience in my idea one of the stupidest things to do is have a rock attached to a hook in a kayak jumping 3-4 foot rollers, but u gotta do what u gotta do to keep ur bait at the bottom. (just be smart about it, cause a light isnt going to help u at the bottom of the ocean, but a knife will im thinking of getting a sheath that attaches to ur ankle seems like a perfect necessity for kayaking baits out)
Practice intentionally flipping your yak during the day not far from shore, attempt to develop the muscle memory to turn it back over and get back on. We used to flip jon boats, canoe's, Kayaks, at the beach when we were kids. Now its just second nature getting back afloat, or in my canoes case sidestroking it back to shore LOL. I always carry a knife or two, I always wear my vest, I wear a headlamp and carry a strobe/whistle, I carry a two way radio "walkie talkie" (found at thrift store for $5) and let my rod man know when the bait is dropped or ask him if Ive drifted too far one way or the other. I may overdo things a little but I am always prepared. The Marine Corps may have a hand in that LOL. I also like to brief my crew as I'm rigging everything up. They know the predetermined signals I use, or I just yell at em on the radio. LOL!
O, and if your fishing solo on a public beach make sure to put a sign on your reel so that anybody walking by doesnt try reeling it in thinking theres a fish on
They dont call it HARDCORE SHARK FISHING for no reason! Sometimes if you want to fish its not going to be a picnic out there.
Man! Boghy makes it sound not that bad, but being on the shore 400 yards away seeing that "somethings wrong" signal had me freaking. Last words I said to Boghy was... NO FLASHING WHITE ok? and yet I found myself looking at white flashing lite.
I think i was more scared then Boghy, I have never suited up hoped in someones kayak and paddled that hard out. From the beach we had no clue because the only thing we could see was the flashing lite moving north pretty fast. Scary!!!
Well thank goodness we could laugh about it on the beach a short time after catching our breath.
Lucky to have another yak close to us... Thanks Zurk!
Boghy it was nice to meet you and fish with you. Fun times and hope to do it again. This time NO FLASHING WHITE LIGHT LOL
Man! Boghy makes it sound not that bad, but being on the shore 400 yards away seeing that "somethings wrong" signal had me freaking. Last words I said to Boghy was... NO FLASHING WHITE ok? and yet I found myself looking at white flashing lite.
I think i was more scared then Boghy, I have never suited up hoped in someones kayak and paddled that hard out. From the beach we had no clue because the only thing we could see was the flashing lite moving north pretty fast. Scary!!!
Well thank goodness we could laugh about it on the beach a short time after catching our breath.
Lucky to have another yak close to us... Thanks Zurk!
Boghy it was nice to meet you and fish with you. Fun times and hope to do it again. This time NO FLASHING WHITE LIGHT LOL
Overall, i would do it all over again - IF the situation would require doing so. "
LETS NOT AND SAY WE DID LOL!
I never knew how much i can handle - swimming - till i was into a situation like this. Strangely i liked it. Hard to explain the feeling why i liked it though.
I can tell you one thing I sure the hell did not like it... noep not even a little LOL
Just to add. The Kayak was angler addition and was very heavy, defiantly not the easiest kayak to up right after paddling out 400 yards.
An important thing to know also is to let the guy manning the reel know not to tighten the drag and reel in the slack line or set the spider weight while youre still on the kayak. sometimes stopping to take a breather people tend to think i dropped the bait causing a potential hook going into my arm, or flipping the kayak or a bad accident
a way to advoid this, i tell my crew to watch for me to stick the paddle in air.
Practice intentionally flipping your yak during the day not far from shore, attempt to develop the muscle memory to turn it back over and get back on.
x2 on what sandray says.
that story is crazy boghy, good thing u had someone withya.
That was one thing I didn't mention, as soon as I flipped I caught my barrings, took a look around and figured my directions, managing to stay a float and calm was key. Panicking will kill you swiftly.
Just an average fisherman.
reminds me of this past weekend.. i was yaking out baits and it was rough. and my friend brought his sit-in kayak... i flipped about 30 yds off (not far) but it got FULL of water and i had to tow that thing back in..
I try to stay away as much as possible from sit-in type kayaks.
Last year in last day of BHC, there were 7-8ft seas, and at first attempt i flipped the sit-on-to kayak. That was also one of the last rocks, so i had to get off the beach and go in parking lot to search for some sort of rocks. By the time i got my rock and came back on the beach it was pitch black and thous monster seas.
I got rigged up, put the bait back - and GO. I didn't knew how strong the water current it will be, so by the time i reached the critical point in the surf zone - the sets of high seas reached me. I got up 7ft then i free fall 5ft in air, then listen the rock how falls back in the kayak. I caught 3 nasty seas like that, people on the shore line couldn't believe it what's happening - but i managed to keep the kayak straight and brake through, and when i seen the opportunity, i paddled hard to reach deeper waters. When i got in deeper waters, the current was so bad, that it toke me around 20 minutes of paddling, just to get near to the end of the pier, where i dropped the bait and return back. I had no problems returning, although now that i'm thinking about it, if i would flip the kayak out there, it would-of be very hard to get back, even though i had a life jacket on - it was way worse then the last time that i flipped 400-500yds away.