Going solo

I don't know about your last post, Barb.  Is one extreme environment more safe than another?  Are you in a better place trapped on a ledge halfway down a bluff with no cell service, or bobbing in the sea stuck in a fog with no way to navigate?

I've seen how meticulous and thorough you are with your pre-launch preparations.  You're smart.  You're clever - which can be more important than smart in an emergency.  Even your sense of humor can be an advantage if a situation gets singular out there.  You seem to be a reasonable person - I haven't heard tales of you pushing a situation across the line that separates common sense from weirdness.

Watching you take a couple of trips doesn't mean I have a clue about how you'd do on your own in any possible situation, but your balance between enthusiasm and caution was pretty darned impressive to see.  I'd think you're more prepared and - more importantly - better suited to going solo, safely, than many.  You're light years ahead of me.

How does one make that decision?  Don't we gain confidence by doing what challenges us?  We can be as mentally and physically prepared as humanly possible, but until we try doing it, we still have room to doubt ourselves.

Go alone or don't go alone?  Whichever choice you make, it'll be the right one.

Excellent question.  Thanks for asking it.

My brother and I share an inside joke when we are fishing together. Wherever we are out and we see someone in a boat by themselves we call them "A$$hole". We just know they are an a$$hole! They must be! We always figure they must not be able to find someone that wants to go fishing with them so they must be an a$$hole! Our warped sense of humor allows us an inside chuckle, but it has definitely made me more aware and notice how many people I see that fish alone.

In actuality, I prefer the solitude I get- particularly with kayak fishing. It just lends itself that way. A lot depends on the company though, but I like being able to do my own thing where and when and how I want and not have to consider anyone else's happiness, safety or well-being or anything else. For me- I kayak fish to get away from other people so that I can find that inner happy place for a while... Then I feel I am better able to cope with the true nature of many human beings I deal with in the world. You know... the ugly douche-baggery side that comes out in people or maybe it’s just their nature… The people you interact with in daily life- at work, at the store, on the road, or wherever. So I guess that makes me the a$$hole. But I will gladly wear that title if the shoe fits, but in the end I believe it makes me a better person.

I've never gone with anyone else in my trips on the Snohomish river, Lake Stevens, and Puget Sound.  I guess that makes me an **SHOLE then.

I work hard to be prepared but it's really true that you learn something every time you go out.  My first lesson came a couple years ago when I was trying my new kayak out at Bowman Bay, WA.  We arrived at our campsite and I just had to do a quick reconnaissance mission to test out my ff.  'I'll be right back' I said with my pole and a few jigs.  Dry suit still packed in my vehicle, phone still in shirt in the vehicle, etc.  I did have my life vest on but that only helps so much in 45 degree water.  I checked the tide tables and the flood tide was due in 1/2 hr.  Plenty of time to goof off with a few jigs.  I shot out past the bay and got into a fish.  Right away I knew it was a dogfish but fooling around with it took up some time and by then I was drifting around the corner by the lighthouse.  I overestimated my ability to paddle over the huge tidal change that was just beginning.  I checked out the depth of where I landed a monster king from shore the last year.  By then I was in the drain hole of Deception Pass.  I worked at it for quite awhile and decided to call it and go for plan B which I hadn't thought of because 'I'll just be a few minutes'.  Anyway I figured I could dump into Lottie Bay if I had to but the current was getting pretty wild and I didn't want to ditch without my dry suit on. The thought of being crab bait washed up on Cornet Bay crossed my mind.  I swallowed my pride and flagged a pb.  A nice guy & his kid dragged me back around the corner and all was well again.  'What an IDIOT!' I thought of myself as I dragged myself off the beach. 

Lesson for me that day.  Always be fully outfitted and prepared EVERY TIME you hit the water. 

I've had many successful journeys since then but I won't soon forget what I learned that day.

I've never gone with anyone else in my trips on the Snohomish river, Lake Stevens, and Puget Sound.  I guess that makes me an **SHOLE then.

I don't think going alone makes you the butthole.  I think it demonstrates your ability to detect who the buttholes are, and avoid them...

"One thing becomes clearer as one gets older and one’s fishing experience increases, and that is the paramount importance of one’s fishing companions."
–John Ashley-Cooper

 

Everyone has put up some great points, I fish solo most of the time, and have been in a few pinches where if I had not been prepared and CALM things could have been bad....."whew that was a closed one" rolls off my tounge quite a bit but experience and paying attention to what's going on make all the difference.

I've never gone with anyone else in my trips on the Snohomish river, Lake Stevens, and Puget Sound.  I guess that makes me an **SHOLE then.

I don't think going alone makes you the butthole.  I think it demonstrates your ability to detect who the buttholes are, and avoid them...

"One thing becomes clearer as one gets older and one’s fishing experience increases, and that is the paramount importance of one’s fishing companions."
–John Ashley-Cooper

 

Now I know why nobody wants to fish with me  !!!!!!
Take little steps solo until you forget about the what could happens. Work your way up and don't be uncomfortable fishing is supposed to be fun and relaxing "something about killing yoga I believe"
I still won't go out at PC alone and probably won't for another year or so, just make sure your having fun or you will slowly stop going.

Well, sir, I would fish with you.  I have a high butthead tolerance...

Well, sir, I would fish with you.  I have a high butthead tolerance...

I'm not high ! 

Thus proving that you are, indeed, a butthead... but a butthead with good language skills.