dude how deep where you? Get a mask and fins and go dive for that stuff.

Wow, thanks all.. I'm speechless, you guys certainly made my day better for the fact that people cared :).

I actually had prepared enough leashes for everything, but I guess the excitement of my first launch made me overlook them and forgot the little bag that they were in, and paid the price.

Hypoxic1: Thank you. Unfortunately I don't own a home, but thanks for the head up.

Hondatom: Thank you brother, u are so generous.

Wiredantz: Thanks for the load of helpful infos. I actually researched quite a lot before my launch. But I think cuz of past experience with kayaking in the bays, I kinda got confidence and assumed that I would be fine as long as I don't go out open water. To answer your question, I'm about 5'8 and 155lbs, not too heavy for that weight capacity. I guess the weight of the bait tank made me top-heavy and the sideway wake tipped me over on my initial flip. I still flipped one more after the bait tank was empty though. Maybe because I suck :)

DanaPT: Thank you bro. Your offer is priceles :).

Bsamoska: You got PM. Thanks.

Thanks all. You guys r the bomb.

I was in about 25-30ft of water. I thought about diving down but there were some concerns.

1. My swimming suck, and I ears wanna explode going down 8-10ft in a pool, I doubt if I would be able to dive that deep.

2. Visibility: I doubt if the visibility is good enough for me to see them on the bottom that deep with the murky water in the bay.

3. Current must have drifted the gears quite a big too. I tried snagging them with a heavy sinker and trebble hook but had no luck because I had no idea where they are now. I tried the area where I flipped but couldn't hook into anything but eel grass. I gave up after over an hr because of the current, It would have me like 10 minutes to paddle to the spot, after I casted out and reel in i'm in another 10 minutes paddling away from where I cast. Repeated the process many time and finally gave up.

I feel for you man...
 

I feel for you. It's the worst when you spill out in open water. I have done it twice. Once last year while lobstering south of bird rock in LJ during the red tide and the second time when I tried standing up in my Revo to look at some action going on near me, epic mistake, lol! I was lucky enough to recover all my gear however.

I have a custom made Phenix rod that is killer, I will give you a super special price on it if you PM me. Does not apply to anyone else....

Sneak peak of part of it....

Sorry to hear you lost your gear. I know how it feels. Glad your safe.

Aww man that really stinks. I hope you can get help recovering some of it.

If you can, sell or trade the yak for a more stable (wider) one. It can't be much fun fishing if you're worried about flipping all the time.

I know how much you were looking forward to having some great kayak fishing adventures, but I hope you don't let this stop you from getting back out there and landing some fish.

This may sound stupid but I have to ask... What is the best way to attach a leash to your rod so it stays out of the way? I'm using spinning gear at the moment (upgrading soon) and find the leash gets in the way when I attach it to the base of the reel where it meets the pole.

Thanks for posting your experience
 

It takes a lot of guts to be as honest as you were about your experience. It means that you will learn from it, and you won't make that mistake again. I'll bet next time you leave that bag of leashes, you will turn around and go get them! Someone posted something about keeping your head over the top of your yak. This is sooo true. When I flipped in open water, it was because of water in my hull (due to eating it in the surf...), AND because I leaned over to do something and you would be amazed at how EASY it is to flip. Also like someone else posted, the ass is the center of gravity in the yak.

Sorry about your gear, I'm happy you are OK. Yes, it is depressing, and discouraging, and humbling. This is the most amazing type of fishing I have ever done, and also the most heartbreaking at times! just don't stop!

:you_rock:

Janine

Bro, I am sorry to hear this. About two weeks ago I almost ate it right outside of oceanside harbor. The AAVs were operating and were blasting me with wake. The next thing you know I turn around and my rudder was no where to be seen because the rear of my yak was under water. I had a rough 1/3 of a mile to paddle before i got back into the harbor and finally flipped near the rocks beside the bait barge. My leashes saved all my gear and I was able tho throw all my gear on the shore and had some hott chick watch it for me. I had to swim my yak that was full of water all the way back down to the landing and drain it. So yes i learned two lessons from my incident. Leashes work and chick love dudes that paddle.

I love a good story with a nice ending... hope you got her number :D.

YakAttak, I have a brand new spare folding net for use on a yak. PM me if you want it.

We all learn from our mistakes.... just don't make a habit of it ;)

Doggman,
You'll see lots of different ways to leash the rod. I use a large SS split ring, double HD tie wraps, swivel eye boat snap and nylon cord. The ring is up and out of the way of the reel. They are tied to the rod holders so there is no way to forget them, unless I forget the bait tank, that is. They have saved me lots of gear in my less than elegant blue water moments.

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwegall.../500/ring1.jpg

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwegall.../500/ring2.jpg

One thing you have watch is turning around to face towards the back (my old Cobra was notorious for this). Its easy to lose your balance this way. In this position, if you start to tip, you will naturally lean into the tip and not away from it. Sayonara!

I've been on kayaks many time and spent a lot of hr on the water, but I never knew and now realized that it doesn't take that much to get flipped. Evidently it had happenned to a lot of people, some people were able to recovered their gears (which i'm glad), and some learned the lession the hard way like me and lost all the gears. It's heart-sinking, but I will get out there again. It will just take some time to prepare some fishing gears and I'll be back making up for all i've lost to the bottom of ocean.

What really amazed me the most on this forum is the amount of people who cared, and offered helps. Thank you all for your kindness and generosity.

Alanw: I definite thought about what you said about switching to a more stable kayak after I flipped the 2nd time. Unfortunately, it's not gonna happen anytime soon :) but I definitely hope so cuz I'm kinda nervous gettng flipped again on that yak

Fishraker: thank you for sharing your experience. I hope you got her number too and she didn't disappear with all your gears when you got back LOL.

If you feel like hitting lj let me know. I will take you out. Bring the sabiki. I will supply the other rods.

When I first got my yak I launched at baby beach and tested it's stability in a few feet of water. I sat sideways, sat on the edge, climbed up front to the hatch, leaned over, stood up, reached around to the back, etc.. I found out a little bit about my yak and what I can do while still feeling safe. I just got some experience with my yak. I know what it feels like when it's getting close to the point of no return and I think that experience has helped me out ever since.

Since you may be keeping your yak, I hope you just go out and test it a bit, get comfortable on it.

La Jolla? Are you kidding me? I just got flipped in the bay. Twice. And now you are offering to bring me to open water?

I'm just kidding bro :) Seriously, I've never been to La Jolla and don't know how is the swell there, but I assume it's not open water, not bay?.

Thank you for the offer, I will remember the offer and hold it to you when I'm ready to go out again as I gain more experience with the kayak on the water. Only problem with gear is that I'm the minority of people out there who can only fish with left-hand reel :(

First off, so sorry for your losses, but your safe at least. When replacing your bait casters, get some Cardiffs. $110, and they work great.

As far as flipping goes, get in the habit of doing 2 things...
1) When you're not paddling throw your legs over the sides of the yak. You'd be surprised to find out how much that increases your stability.
2) When you need to get something behind you, sit side-saddle. Brace each side with your hands and then turn your whole body sideways so that both legs hang over the same side. Then reach back. When you do this, make sure you keep your butt and upper torso over the center of the yak.

As has already been said, practice with out any gear on board, except for a bait tank filled with water.

I need to look for it, but I think I have a 6v battery you can have for the bait tank.

Keep at it, practice, and you'll be fine in the Scrambler.

No I am not kidding you. I had my inaugural launch at LJ. Your only risk is the loss of your sabiki. Get back on the plastic horse, and soon. My normal person reels will only be a concern if you get hooked up to a yellow....this is a problem you should be willing to kill for.

For the record... the swell by and large in open water is relatively predictable. On the other hand you have relatively small waves in the bay, but highly unpredictable larger waves from traffic. On big swell periods you are safer in the bay. During a small swell light wind day...my money is on the open water.

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwegall.../500/ring1.jpg

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwegall.../500/ring2.jpg





That's pretty close to the way I have mine setup.

Thanks for the great advices Amish Ed, especially on number 2, I've did a lot of reading and never read about it. Great tip. I'm just curious, for guys with the bait tank in the back, do you guys do this step when getting live bait from the tank? thanks

Thanks a mil. You got PMed.