Waiting, Soreness and Itching...

No, I don't have a disease... well, maybe... it has been over a week since I have been fishing.  I have been trying to take it easy cause I have a bad case of "fishing elbow"... my stinking elbows are just killing me from 3 days fishing at Neah Bay, I know... cry me a river.   But my dry suit should arrive tomorrow or the next day and I am chomping at the bit to take it out and try it.

First plan is practicing my self rescue on both yaks.  Then I will be looking to get some blood on the suit.  Thinking Westport or Ocean Shores will be the place I try... If nothing else I will get out and do some paddling... maybe go looking for some salmon.   

Ok... my suit came today and I took it out immediately.  I know practicing self rescue is not the same on a lake as it is in the swell... but I gotta start somewhere.  Here are the things I learned.

My PFD (kokatat bahia) floats me very well.  It does have a tendency to ride up to my armpits as I float.  I tried tighten it up as much as possible, while it did help keep the vest down for a bit it was just a few minutes and I was back up in my armpits.  I think this may be a result of my shape more then anything.  Conclusion - money well spent cause I know it will float me well.

My kokatat drysuit is a paddlesuit, not a drysuit... of course they don't call it a drysuit either.  That being said, I only got enough water through the neck to wet the front and back of my shirt a little bit, only around the neck area.  Now remember, this is with lots of falling off the kayak and lots of moving around in the water.  Presumably I fell off more in my little practice session then I will on 10 fishing trips.  I also found that it holds air pretty well too.  My whole body kept wanting to float up until I "burped" the suit... I think I liked it better with the air in it.  Conclusion - super love the drysuit.  It was awesome to be getting out of the water and taking it off to still be warm and (mostly) dry.

Self rescue with the OK Trident 13... This went very will.  Now, I am a... robust fellow... and I was concerned about being able to haul my body back onto the kayak.  I found I was able to get back on from the side as well as the front without a lot of concern.  I also discovered that it is not as "tippy" as I thought the yak was when I had it out on the water.  It was also really great to lean to the tipping point and find that smacking the oar blade down on the water really does stabilize the yak.  I also discovered something unexpected.  I forgot my seat at the house when I packed things up.  I think I like paddling without the seat on the OK.  This was not true on the mini-x.

Self rescue on the Malibu Mini-x was less then stellar.  Now, it may have been because I was tired from playing with the OK.  It could have been she was jealous and decided to be uncooperative... regardless the reason, I found it a real challenge to enter over the side.  I think of the 6 tries I made I achieved a win on only 1 of them.  I found it easier to enter from the rear of this yak... but I made no attempts from the front.  I am of the opinion that I need to take it out again and just try it.  I definitely missed having a seat back on this one.  I think, because of my robustness, the front end is up a bit more and this creates the sensation of leaning back... I also think that the seat maybe a tad lower then where you place your feet.  I love the way this little yak is so response and and I think it makes pretty good speed as well. 

Loading up... I know it is 100% easier to load kayaks with two people.  I will try to always have someone with me, but for those times I am alone it is good to know the easiest ways to load the yaks solo.  I learned some of that too... oh yes, and something else, it is a lot easier to carry your yak if you get the water out first. 

Overall - a big win, because I know better what I can expect from my gear and (most importantly) from myself. 

  Sounds like a good day of learning--about your gear,your boats,and yourself.....I'd call that a pretty good day.

   Now the real question??Can you catch fishes in em' ?
   Sounds to me like it's time for you to find out.........come on out to Westport Sunday afternoon.Hit the low tide and fish the incoming.That's my plan.Come and join in..

I am gonna be hanging with the wife and family that day since it is Mother's Day. 

I might be able to do Tuesday if the conditions were right... 

Are you prone to tennis elbow - tenderness on the outside point and forearm tendon?   Or golfer's elbow - tenderness on the inside point and forearm tendon?

If so, Google "Tyler Twist".

Thanks nick - I will check it out.  I have never had my elbow hurt at all before... this is a first.

        revjcp,
   Tuesday could work out for me too.The low tide is around 3:45 am @ 1.6 ft going to a high tide at 10:00 of 6.6 feet.With only a 5 foot change that should be fairly gentle and easily done.I'm game to give it a shot...I haven't looked at a marine forecast yet ...but the weather should still be nice.
 I just looked at weatherunderground and they are saying 15-25 knot winds for monday thru Tuesday.......that sounds iffy.But subject to change..........we'll see.

Sounds like you're ready to hit the rolling sea, revjcp.  Now we just need some tolerable ocean conditions.

Thanks nick - I will check it out.  I have never had my elbow hurt at all before... this is a first.

Try holding arm out straight from shoulder with fingers pointed up, either have someone push on finger tips or use wall. 30 second stretches a couple times a day should help.
Dry suit, keeps you dry not warm. Real tempting to dress down on warm days. If your in the water a while you will get cold. Wish I had one over my wet suit when fishing browns in the sierras and it starts snowing.

The sore elbows may also be due to paddling form, or lack of proper paddling form.
If you are bicycling the paddle, it's a good way to tire your elbows.  Add fishing to this, and you got some sore sticks.