Any active anglers near Richmond Beach?

If anyone would like to join I will be launching at 6:00 Am and fishing around Meadow Point.

Still waiting on the tools I need to fix my busted-up yak or otherwise I'd be there. Hoping to get everything setup and tested by Tuesday or Wednesday so maybe next weekend.

what do you guys wear out there at this time of year?

Shorts, T Shirt, Adidas water shoes, wide brim hat, buff to cover my face.. 100+ spf sunscreen everywhere. I'd be concerned about heat stroke in my drysuit.

Warning: Here comes a safety screed.

I suggest you read the "For Safety's Sake" subforum. In addition to the dangerously light attire in WorkHard's post, I don't see mention of a PFD.

I wear a Kokatat paddling drysuit all year on Puget Sound with  a PFD over. What I vary is what goes underneath the drysuit. Am I hot sometimes? Yes. Ever jumped off your kayak into Puget Sound to practice your reentry? I suggest you do it in your shorts and teeshirt VERY close to shore. 

Remember fat floats and muscle sinks. The leaner you are the harder it is to stay afloat, the less insulation you have, and the faster hypothermia sets in. You CANNOT beat the laws of thermodynamics. At some point, no matter how strong your will, no matter how hard you try, the biochemistry shuts down. Your muscles won't work and you drown wondering why you didn't wear a PFD.

Yes, in some ways Puget Sound is a big lake, but it's easy to be a mile from land. Ever swam a mile?

Ever ridden the wake wave from a big freighter or cruise boat? Caught unaware, sideways, leaning the wrong way, you can be in the water before you know what happened, your legs tangled in lines, or stunned from the kayak bashing you in the head.

what do you guys wear out there at this time of year?

Shorts, T Shirt, Adidas water shoes, wide brim hat, buff to cover my face.. 100+ spf sunscreen everywhere. I'd be concerned about heat stroke in my drysuit.

Warning: Here comes a safety screed.

I suggest you read the "For Safety's Sake" subforum. In addition to the dangerously light attire in WorkHard's post, I don't see mention of a PFD.

I wear a Kokatat paddling drysuit all year on Puget Sound with  a PFD over. What I vary is what goes underneath the drysuit. Am I hot sometimes? Yes. Ever jumped off your kayak into Puget Sound to practice your reentry? I suggest you do it in your shorts and teeshirt VERY close to shore. 

Remember fat floats and muscle sinks. The leaner you are the harder it is to stay afloat, the less insulation you have, and the faster hypothermia sets in. You CANNOT beat the laws of thermodynamics. At some point, no matter how strong your will, no matter how hard you try, the biochemistry shuts down. Your muscles won't work and you drown wondering why you didn't wear a PFD.

Yes, in some ways Puget Sound is a big lake, but it's easy to be a mile from land. Ever swam a mile?

Ever ridden the wake wave from a big freighter or cruise boat? Caught unaware, sideways, leaning the wrong way, you can be in the water before you know what happened, your legs tangled in lines, or stunned from the kayak bashing you in the head.

In fact I have been reading about safety. The dry suit I bought is a bit tight around the neck and is pretty hot even with just shorts and a t-shirt underneath. It's supposed to be breathable but I'm concerned about those hot days when there's very little wind. I was thinking about getting a spring suit as it may be a bit cooler but still protect my armpits and thighs from the cold should I happen to roll. You ever wear one of those?

The PFD I bought is a manual inflate where you have to pull the tab. My swimming skills are not bad although I'm a bit overweight and out-of-shape atm. I used to do a lot of surfing when I lived in Hawaii but that was many years ago.

As soon as I get my yak all fixed up, I intend on testing it out on lake Ballinger which should also be a pretty good place to practice re-entry. The lake is deep but I don't think it's nearly as cold as the sound is.

I've also got a UHF radio (have read the manual), a good 2-piece paddle in case my pedal drive fails, a dry bag and a watertight box.

So did I miss anything? NWKA members are just about the most helpful people of any forum I've ever joined. Thanks again for all your help 

what do you guys wear out there at this time of year?

Shorts, T Shirt, Adidas water shoes, wide brim hat, buff to cover my face.. 100+ spf sunscreen everywhere. I'd be concerned about heat stroke in my drysuit.

Warning: Here comes a safety screed.

I suggest you read the "For Safety's Sake" subforum. In addition to the dangerously light attire in WorkHard's post, I don't see mention of a PFD.

I wear a Kokatat paddling drysuit all year on Puget Sound with  a PFD over. What I vary is what goes underneath the drysuit. Am I hot sometimes? Yes. Ever jumped off your kayak into Puget Sound to practice your reentry? I suggest you do it in your shorts and teeshirt VERY close to shore. 

Remember fat floats and muscle sinks. The leaner you are the harder it is to stay afloat, the less insulation you have, and the faster hypothermia sets in. You CANNOT beat the laws of thermodynamics. At some point, no matter how strong your will, no matter how hard you try, the biochemistry shuts down. Your muscles won't work and you drown wondering why you didn't wear a PFD.

Yes, in some ways Puget Sound is a big lake, but it's easy to be a mile from land. Ever swam a mile?

Ever ridden the wake wave from a big freighter or cruise boat? Caught unaware, sideways, leaning the wrong way, you can be in the water before you know what happened, your legs tangled in lines, or stunned from the kayak bashing you in the head.

The good ole' workhard safety speech. Thanks for your concern, but I'm not someone that needs to be lectured by anyone here.

Fish hard.

I’ll say ditch the manual inflate, if you haven’t  seen the couple of videos of kayaks getting hit by PB’s? Read about the guy that died in California after a boat ran him over........ kinda hard to pull the cord when your dazed, confused, or unconscious. If you insist on wearing an inflatable get an auto inflatable. Just my $0.02

I agree with Mojo on the manual inflate PFD. I've nearly been run down by PBs tearing across the water twice. Once, it was partly my fault, I was fishing in fog. The other time the driver was distracted. And there have been a few low-speed near bumps when trolling with PBs.

There are fishing PFDs that give you a place to stash stuff. On/in mine I have a sheathed knife, radio, pliers, leader, whistle, hook file, and various other gizmos and doodads.

I agree with Mojo on the manual inflate PFD. I've nearly been run down by PBs tearing across the water twice. Once, it was partly my fault, I was fishing in fog. The other time the driver was distracted. And there have been a few low-speed near bumps when trolling with PBs.

There are fishing PFDs that give you a place to stash stuff. On/in mine I have a sheathed knife, radio, pliers, leader, whistle, hook file, and various other gizmos and doodads.

More awesome advice! 

I will either return the inflatable or keep it for a backup in my water-tight box. Did some more research and decided to get me one of these bad boys:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B5ATVUO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Kind of hard to believe that power-boaters can be so reckless at times. After reading a few horrifying articles and watching some YouTube videos as Mojo Jojo suggested, I decided to get a couple more things:

Safety flag:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MJYPIM0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Air horn:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010GNG4L4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Those are all great selections for safety gear.  I agree with having a sheathed safety knife on your PFD. 

I wear a drysuit when hypothermia is a risk with combined air temperature or when the water is below 60F (pretty much all ocean outings).

I carry a safety knife and VHF radio attached to my PFD.  Also have a handheld GPS in my PFD pocket which is backup since my fish finder also has a GPS...this can be very helpful to navigate in the fog.  Flag helps to make you more visible to other watercraft, and even your buddy boat.  I personally believe in the buddy system since it reduces risk with a competent buddy.  There are quite a few kayak anglers that go solo. You'll get a feel for your level of risk once you get some experience.

You'll also find a variety of opinions and risk tolerances in this forum of kayak anglers, and  lots of people willing to share those opinions.  Hope you can join some group events and get out to enjoy kayak fishing!

I was going to write something about safety and personal responsibility until I remembered I don't have enough duct tape to do any good.

I was going to write something about safety and personal responsibility until I remembered I don't have enough duct tape to do any good.

And thus my point is proven.

And thus my point is proven.

alright kids, enough thread jacking, ok?

If anyone would like to join I will be launching at 6:00 Am and fishing around Meadow Point.

You catch anything last weekend? Wondering if those silvers are still out there feeding at this point. Also going to launch from Golden Gardens on Saturday or Sunday this week. Weather looks like it will be perfect.

I fished GG last saturday morning up to the high and did not see a single net fly - lots of yak guys out there though! Anyone get anything last weekend?

I'll likely be out there again this weekend testing this magnetic ducer mount...