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Picture Of The Month



SD2OR with a trophy fall walleye

Topic: Stay out of the kelp beds!  (Read 2155 times)

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katinalaska

  • Perch
  • ***
  • Date Registered: Apr 2016
  • Posts: 93
I learned a lesson the hard way today, but am also living proof that a life jacket, a dry suit, and a marine be radio strapped to that life jacket work well to preserve life!

I was fishing out to the right of the green can in the kelp when my kayak started leaning over until it flipped completely over. It happened so fast I couldn't figure out what the heck had happened until later when I realized that my downrigger ball must have gotten hung up on some kelp. I was in the water for 10 minutes before a boat reached me.

I was able to radio for assist after struggling to flip the kayak over (I was too cold to be very effective at anything). I have practice re-entry and was able to do it in a lake in the summer.

Rudy and Ryu got to me before a boat and the Coast Guard.  Rudy was able to recover my fishing pole and net....big cheers to him as those were the only 2 things not strapped down.

Warmed up now...going to go at it again....staying out of the kelp beds.....forever!


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jmbx2ditto

  • Rockfish
  • ****
  • Location: Fairbanks, AK
  • Date Registered: Jun 2015
  • Posts: 193
Read about kayaker in distress on an AK outdoor post. Glad to hear your okay.  Your a warrior to think of going out again. Heavily hydrate and think about electrolytes.  10 minutes in the water will fatigue your muscles not to include the adrenaline rush you went through.  Good luck.

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SwansonSilver

  • Rockfish
  • ****
  • Location: Kenai, AK
  • Date Registered: Jun 2015
  • Posts: 195
Damn. Good job keeping your cool and getting help to you. Also thanks for sharing so we can all learn from it.


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Fishing relaxes me. It's like yoga except I get to kill something.
-Ron Swanson


PNW

  • Teutrowenia pellucida (Googly-eyed glass squid)
  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Paul
  • My Facebook page
  • Location: Eugene, OR
  • Date Registered: Sep 2008
  • Posts: 2427
Sounds like there may have been some current involved? I fish the kelp every chance I get, but never when there's a significant current. I usually use a kelp clip. If the clip doesn't hold or starts acting squirrelly, then the current is too fast. I try to fish straight down with weight at the terminus of the leader. Don't want any line flopping around to catch on the kelp.

Those who think they can fish northern ocean waters without proper immersion gear & pfd take note. No doubt in my mind that proper equipment (aside from the downrigger in the kelp), staying relatively calm & thinking clearly, along with a fairly quick rescue saved Cat from a trip to the emergency room or worse. Glad you're okay. Way to keep your wits about you. Getting tangled in kelp in a current can go very bad very quickly, especially if panic sets in.

I usually don't share this stuff because I don't want to sound like I know everything (because I don't), but it seems like there are some new folks who want to try fishing the ocean on a piece of plastic. Here's a few basic (maybe obvious) rules that may have, for the most part, kept me in one piece over the years:
1. If you think conditions may be looking somewhat unpleasant for kayak fishing, they are. Don't go.
2. If you go, wear the proper gear & go with folks who know what they're doing.
3. Situational awareness is always important. Stay alert. Keep calm. When something happens, it happens fast & can compound quickly.
3. Don't anchor in a current.
4. Don't fish shallow reefs or near rocks in a swell & watch where you're drifting.
    a. Don't drift fish kelp.
5. Having a radio handy can save your life.
6. Have lots of fun.


easyyakker

  • Lingcod
  • *****
  • Location: Soldotna, AK
  • Date Registered: May 2016
  • Posts: 229
Happy to hear you are alright. One more thing to consider then using the downrigger. 

Also, great testament to having radio, etc...


rawkfish

  • ORC
  • Sturgeon
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  • Cabby Strong!
  • youtube.com
  • Location: Portland
  • Date Registered: Mar 2009
  • Posts: 4728
Wow, glad to hear you're ok! Scary!
                
2011 Angler Of The Year
1st Place 2011 PDX Bass Yakin' Classic
"Fishing relaxes me.  It's like yoga except I still get to kill something."  - Ron Swanson


Low_Sky

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Anchorage, AK
  • Date Registered: Oct 2015
  • Posts: 521
Glad to hear you're okay, Kat! And thanks for sharing so we can all learn from your experience.


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2014 Perception Triumph 13


kardinal_84

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Perseverance Pays!
  • Kayak Fishing Southcentral Alaska
  • Location: Anchorage, AK
  • Date Registered: Mar 2011
  • Posts: 4216
A true angler...I saw her back on the water a few hours later.  Great learning experience and it should make sure all of us have the proper gear.   

I will say I may have caused her to be in the water longer than necessary.  I was near the green can so I radioed I was on my way
  It turned out she was farther away than i expected. It sort of pissed me off that I was the first on scene when a half dozen boats were closer. But its a derby.  I wanted to let Kat know I was coming but it may have delayed a power boat response.

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Personal Chauffeur for Kokatat & Hobie Fishing Team member, Ryu .

Personal fishing sites of Alaska Kayak Angling adventures of my son and I. I am NOT a guide.
guidesak.blogspot.com
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Klondike Kid

  • Lingcod
  • *****
  • The Eagle Whisperer
  • Alaska Outdoor Journal
  • Location: Kenai Peninsula, AK
  • Date Registered: Sep 2016
  • Posts: 488
Well damn girl, we don't need no safety demonstrations at this time of the year....especially in these water temps. Damn glad you had your ducks in a row and did all the right things. And how does that saying go?  If you fall off your horse, get back up in the saddle again! Glad you are safe....and fishing.

I do want to caution everyone who runs downriggers around the Green Can....that thing has an anchor line too. And on a running tide the chain may be far from the actual location of the buoy.  I damn near wrapped up in it with my downrigger last fall in my power boat cutting too close to the buoy. I didn't allow for the side drift from the tide direction.
The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

Take a Kid Fishing and Hook'em For Life!  ~KK~


Lawngjohn

  • Perch
  • ***
  • Location: Soldotna, Ak
  • Date Registered: Jan 2016
  • Posts: 83
So glad everything turned out alright. We were on shore at the time. Everyone was really worried. Rudy was awesome either way getting over there as quick as he could! Shout out to the boat that hauled ass over from a long ways out too. And that was bad ass to get back out there katina!

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AKFishOn

  • Lingcod
  • *****
  • Location: Kodiak, Alaska
  • Date Registered: Dec 2015
  • Posts: 271
So glad everything turned out alright. We were on shore at the time. Everyone was really worried. Rudy was awesome either way getting over there as quick as he could! Shout out to the boat that hauled ass over from a long ways out too. And that was bad ass to get back out there katina!

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+1.  It was pretty scary and frustrating  from our position on shore.  There were a few power boats closer than Rudy was...was thinking "damn why the hell are they not asssiting?"
"If your hands ain't bleeding, you ain't fishing hard enough!"