Tested my safety gear on the Columbia

Well what can I say. Its a bit embarrassing but I thought I would share my story in the hopes that maybe lessons might be learned by others.

David  (DWB123) came down from Seattle and we decided to head out on the last opening day on the Columbia for springers. I decided to fish the area near St Helens as I've fished it several times this year and it had kicked out a few fish for me. We anchored up below Warrior Rock and ran plugs. I got one nice takedown but nothing was really happening so we decided to switch to trolling.

We were making the turn at the north tip of Sand Island when my gear snagged up on something on the bottom. I was having a heck of time popping it loose and assumed that my 40 lb mono leader must have been snagged as the dropper should break easily. I tightened the drag down a bit and headed back downstream to use the force of the river to help break off. It worked and my gear popped off only seconds later to snag again. Here is where it got interesting.

When my gear snagged again I had already tightened the drag, had a fair amount of velocity downstream (3.5 to 4 mph), and I wasn't braced for it. With the second hang up and very little tension release in the reel the kayak turned, bit into the current, and flipped. I was now underneath my kayak in the cavity where my butt usually sits. My NRS PFD did an awesome job of keeping my head above the water. I tried to get out from under my kayak but couldn't as I realized something was looped around my neck. I worked to get it off but whatever it was, was now cinching down around my neck. It was beginning to constrict my ability to breath and pulling me underwater. My thought and fear was that I had somehow got entangled in my assortment of ropes associated with my anchor system. I struggled for a few more second to free my neck and by this time I could barely keep my nose above water and could not figure out why I still could not free myself from under the kayak. I made a quick decision to cut the line. I reached for my dive knife on my right calf and slid up against my right shoulder where I felt it make contact with the line wrapped around my neck. It cut through the line like butter. (All of that took place in less than a minute I would guess.)

Immediately the tension on my neck released. I slipped out from under the kayak. David was paddling towards me and asking if I was okay which I confirmed I was. He began picking up all my gear floating down the river and a powerboater asked if I needed a tow in. I said no and determined I would self rescue. After gathering myself I flipped the kayak back over using the mirage drive as leverage. After a few moments I was back on board the boat and David had recovered all my gear. BTW a $0.50 ziploc saved and floated my $600 Iphone...thank you Ziploc!!! We paddled to shore to assess the losses.

It was on shore that I discovered what had happened. It turns out that the rope around my neck was not the anchor but actually the leash attaching my rod to the boat. With my gear snagged on the bottom, potentially on 55 lb braid, the line was essentially anchored to the boat via the leash which was wrapped on my neck. I could see where I had cleanly cut the leash very near where it attaches to the boat. This explains why I couldn't get out from the under the boat and had very little in the way of give in the rope as I was at the point where it is most taught.

In the end all I lost was the rod and reel and a portion of my anchoring system. The main thing I did through this whole event was to stay calm but a bigger part of it was simply being prepared. My Kokatat drysuit kept me dry. I did get some water that came in through the relief zipper but that was my fault for not zipping it tightly. My NRS Chinook pfd kept me afloat admirably and the high neck flotation on the back did a great job forcing my head upward. Lastly my safety knife paid for itself many times over. I wear it every time I go out and I've never used it but I've practiced pulling it from its sheath a thousand times so that when I did need to use it would be second nature. Who knows if I would of taken more time to work on the rope my neck if I could of saved the rod and reel but it really isn't a hypothesis I regret testing.

I've rolled in the surf before and practiced self rescue on Horseshore Lake in Woodland but this was the first time I've really been in a hairy situation in my kayak. Its embarrassing for sure and I'm pretty sure I ruined David's fishing trip since of course the bite turned on immediately after I flipped my kayak! However, my losses were minimized, both in life and gear, because I was prepared and had invested in the equipment.

Lessons:
- Wear pfd
- Wear drysuit
- Practice self rescue in a controlled environment
- Carry a safety knife
- Invest in floating dry boxes and bags and stow your gear
- Keep calm
- The force need to break 40 or 55 lb fishing line exceeds the force needed to flip a kayak Just so you know

An eventful day despite the lack of fish. I regrouped in the afternoon and after going home and cleaning up I was back out on river in the evening. Still didn't find any fish but that is springer fishing. I had a great season on the Lower Columbia and I'm looking forward to continuing to chase spring kings from my kayak on the tributaries and the Willamette. Be careful out there and remember fish are not worth dieing for but they make life worth living!


You can see where the knife cut my pfd as I slid it up in an effort to cut away the rod leash wrapped on my neck. Sharp knife!

Wow Tyler, that is intense! I think I speak for all of us when I say we're really glad you're safe and I appreciate you sharing your experience and what you learned for everyone to benefit from. Keep safe as you continue your big fishing year!

Thanks for sharing! The river can be a scary place.
I think one of the most important things here is that you kept calm and rationally worked through the situation, as well as being prepared with the proper safety gear.

Wow.  I am really glad that you are able to tell us the story instead of us hearing about a kayaking fatality on the news.  Good on you for being prepared, ready to act quickly, and most of all, not panicking!

+1 on all the replies above. I don't think you should be embarrassed, I think you should be "PROUD" of yourself for being prepared, knowing what to do and staying calm.

Tyler, really glad to hear that you are okay. Great job staying calm and being prepared

Glad you are okay.  That's an intense story, good job keeping cool and handling it.

I've carried a river knife on my PFD for decades while whitewater kayaking, but fortunately have never had to use it for anything but spreading peanut butter and cutting salami.  However, there aren't any ropes on a whitewater kayak, so your chances of getting entangled in something you can cut with a knife are low.  A sit-on-top fishing kayak is a different story entirely.  My sit-on-tops are festooned with fishing line, gear leashes, downrigger cables, and anchor lines, so my chances of getting tangled in something if I end up in the water are pretty good.  Uplandsandpiper's story pretty vividly illustrates the advantages of carrying a river knife on your PFD.  I'm sure glad it all worked out OK for him.

The cut on his life preserver illustrates that knives have their own risks.  A friend was floating the Lochsa River in Idaho, which contains some pretty entertaining Class IV whitewater, and he stopped to help a rafter who had flipped.  The raft was upside-down in an eddy.  In an effort to make it easier to flip the raft upright by removing some gear from the raft, the rafter reached under the raft with a knife to cut a rope or a strap, and managed to cut an artery in his other wrist, which added some excitement to what had previously been a routine raft flip.

When whitewater kayaking, I always carry a small folding saw, and I've used it frequently to deal with wood and sweepers on rivers.  So if you are kayak fishing on moving water, consider adding a folding saw to your emergency gear.  It doesn't need to be on your life vest, but it's a useful tool to carry in your kayak.  The pictures below are from whitewater rivers and creeks, but fishermen and other recreational floaters regularly get tangled up in sweepers and log jams on flat or Class II rivers.

Sawing a route under a strainer log on White Sands Creek in Idaho with a folding saw.







But some log jams are a bit too big for a little folding saw, and you need to walk around them.  Here’s a bigger log jam on White Sands Creek:





Logs on the Little North Fork of the Clearwater in Idaho.  A kayaker has just run under the log, and his helmet is visible as he dives the hole below it.



Log jam at Pistol Creek on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho.





Wallys Wallow on the Jarbidge River in Idaho.

Glad to hear you're OK piper! 

Thanks for sharing your experience here.  It's important that people understand potential failure modes and appropriate response.  Hopefully someone will learn something from this and is thus better prepared.

-Spot-


 

Nice job staying calm and getting out of that mess. Your quick actions saved your life, and sharing your experience may very well save others. No reason to be anything but happy you're alive.

Several great lessons there, the biggest being stay calm, and assess your situation before acting rashly. We all benefit from your misfortune - but  only because you chose to share it. Thanks!

Glad you're ok Tyler...thanks for the report. Just like at work, the best thing after an accident is to learn and get something positive out of it. On top of the comments above,what I personally am going to do right away is get my knife attached to me ...it isn't going to help sitting in the tray in a rollover.
Don't let you're mom read this...or mine!

Thanks so much for sharing and excellent job staying calm. That was a pretty scary read. I usually don't use leashes (other than going through the surf) but I'm certainly going to continue to avoid them!

Thanks so much for sharing and excellent job staying calm. That was a pretty scary read. I usually don't use leashes (other than going through the surf) but I'm certainly going to continue to avoid them!

Great and crazy story.  I had an O.S. moment two weeks ago on the Columbia where I snagged up on someone else's braid in heavy current and it got crazy.  On the way home, I stopped at Next Adventure and picked up a Rescue Knife!

After reading your story, I went out and removed all of my leashes from my rod holders and PFD, and will make sure things can't tangle me up if I flip over!

Good lesson.  Glad you are safe.

Don't let you're mom read this...or mine!

Too late...she is pissed now!