Portland Area Kayak Fishing Safety Clinic

Slight chance we'll be down in the CR Gorge the weekend of the 23-24, making up for the trip we missed earlier this summer.  I don't know my PDX geography at all ... so is this clinic anywhere near the CR Gorge?  Or can it be?   

-Allen

We were planning on doing this at Henry Hagg Lake, but if Brian "Alkasazi" knows a nice quite backwater in the gorge suitable for some swimming and fishing I'd be willing to reconsider.

Schedule's a little unclear at this point.  Gonna be out of state for a few weeks starting in September.  Both Hagg and the gorge work for me.  I'll see what's up for 23-24.

AJ

Hey AJ, welcome aboard.

Most obvious place in the gorge I can think of is Rock Creek inlet. not too deep/shallow. water's as warm as anything in the Gorge, and plenty of fishing options, both there & nearby. Minimal to no motors to deal with, and doesn't develop chop, even on windy days. Of course, I'm highly biased on this since it's also a mile from my house . But, it is where I take most first timers, kids, etc, and it usually works well.

Other option in the gorge could be Benson, but I recall it being shallow & small. Drano's a good possibility as well, depending on how many motors are out there. Laurance & Lost lakes would both be a bit chilly for repeated dunkings, and conditions on the Columbia are too variable for most intro clinics. Anyway, I'm gumby on location, so if anyone else has ideas or something I'm not thinking of, speak out.

Brian

Okay, attempting to finalize plans here...

The Informal Portland Area Kayak Fishing Safety Clinic
Location: Henry Hagg Lake  Boat Ramp "C"
Date: This Sunday August 24th
Time: Noon 
Park entry fee:  $6 (if I remember correctly)
Directions: Google Directions Link
Map of the Lake:


Come early if you want to fish.  This is the home of the last several Oregon state smallmouth bass records as well as planter trout, largemouth bass, panfish and catfish.   

We'll meet up at boat ramp "C" at noon for a quick discussion on safety gear followed by some time on the water practicing our rescue skills (i.e. falling out of our kayaks and trying to get back in, helping others get back in, and what to do with a flooded kayak) in the no-wake zone north of the buoy line.

Brian

sounds good to me. I should be out there early on Sunday as well (early being a relative term). My car should be easy to spot - dar red Subaru Legacy wagon with a bunch of easter eggs on top.

Brian

thanks for scheduling on a Sunday. My wife is running Hood to Coast and I'm volunteering at the finish. I hope to fish early, but I'll be there by noon either way.....

Jay

Bumping this back to the top in case anyone forgot.

Brian

Thanks for organizing this, Brian.  I certainly needed the practice!

Thanks Alkasazi for giving me my first paddling lesson on that T13.   It felt perfectly stable under me the whole time.  I'd still like to paddle a few more yaks before throwing down some greens, but I really like the layout and feel of the OK T13 right from the get go. 

Sorry to everyone else that I didn't stick around very long to meet anyone else.  We are leaving Monday morning to Newport for 5 days, and the wife didn't want to do all the packing.  That and it is my B-day today, and she had plans that I didn't know about. 

-Craig

Happy b-Day Insayn !

So, how was the dunk fest everyone? Was it easier or harder then you thought it would be to get back on the yak in deep water?

I think with all the date changes it most have gotten a bit lost on people's calenders.  In the end there were five of us, with INSAYN showing up early for a kayak demo and then leaving and Steelheadr showing up a bit too late.  ThreeWeight and myself did some dunking and Alkasazi seemed intent on staying dry.

ThreeWeight probably discovered the most like how a dive knife and prowler handles really interfere with self rescue.

The water temperature wasn't bad and it didn't start raining until we were done.

Brian

Brian has it right... first time I tried to self rescue in deep water I got halfway in the boat when my rescue knife sheath (clipped to the top right strap on my pfd) caught on my kayak handle, blocking all forward progress.  Tried a couple more times, same deal.  Towed kayak to shallow water, cut knife off of pfd, then tried again.  It wasn't graceful, but then it started working.  Some welcome advice from Brian helped me work on my form (hint, aim closer to the bow of the kayak to avoid the handle issue, and "roll in" laying flat vs. trying to climb in and kneel).

Was really sobering (and valuable) to see how a lot of our kayak fishing accoutrement's (like the big fat rigid pockets on my Stohlquist pfd) are a problem when getting back into the boat.

Was also somewhat sobering to see what the stability of the 28" wide P-13 really is.  I've sat side saddle in it a bunch, but the margin between comfy side-saddle and going for a swim is pretty small in that boat.  It isn't really tippy or dangerous, but I certainly won't be doing it in rough water.

Was fun to watch Jay flip is OK Big Game and climb back in.  While you certainly can flip that boat, you really have to try pretty hard.  He was flipping it up all the way on its side so that water poured over the side into the foot wells and cockpit, then when he leaned back it righted itself.  If the Big Game were a dog, I'd say its a big, goofy, happy labrador.

I hope I did not drool too much on Alkasazi's Tridents.  The fully rigged, all options T-15 was calling to me as it set all lonesome and unloved on the beach.

Brian has it right... first time I tried to self rescue in deep water I got halfway in the boat when my rescue knife sheath (clipped to the top right strap on my pfd) caught on my kayak handle, blocking all forward progress.  Tried a couple more times, same deal.  Towed kayak to shallow water, cut knife off of pfd, then tried again.  It wasn't graceful, but then it started working.  Some welcome advice from Brian helped me work on my form (hint, aim closer to the bow of the kayak to avoid the handle issue, and "roll in" laying flat vs. trying to climb in and kneel).

Great lesson learned.  I'm glad you figured this out in the relative safety of the day.  So where did move the knife placement to?  Yes, don't try to kneel at all.  Just roll over on your back and shimmy back up into seated position.

Was really sobering (and valuable) to see how a lot of our kayak fishing accoutrement's (like the big fat rigid pockets on my Stohlquist pfd) are a problem when getting back into the boat.

Yup.  Which is why I don't like the direction some of the newer PFD's are going.  Forget all the pockets and keep it simple.  Well, I'd like to have one pocket for my VHF.
-Allen

and I think I did a great job of staying dry, at least until the rain started.

Knives, grab handles, and even the pockets of the fishing pfds provided things to work around & keep in mind. seemed the best solution for the handles was to come in just in front of them. then you could still use the handle to pull, without dragging over them.

Steelhdr also proved flipping a Big Game was no big deal. We figured he'd just slide off, leaving the boat upright, but it flipped right over with him no problem.

Happy birthday, Insayn!