Offshore Saturday 07-19-14

[bwana]

Good job, I was hoping to see pictures of fish.

Breaking fish, paddies, dolphins, bird activity - can you get any closer to your goal? Next time!

I thought about you when I was out on Saturday. I was almost run over by a couple of idiots in a cigarette boat and two cruisers. The cig boat saw me and were just a-holes. They should play nice as their truck/trailer are easy to spot at the launch. Are you flying flags and paddling bright colored kayaks to make yourself as visible as possible?

What was the current like? Is there any way to anticipate current direction/speed and plan your trip to take advantage of it?

[philr21]

Wow.... I did a 16 mile trip in my Outback. That was in a river, in calm water, 8 miles each way. Didn't return until 3 hours after dark.

Never imagined that 25 in an X Factor was even doable. It's not for me and my level of fitness anyway. When I was using my X-Factor 2-3 miles was about as far as I went.

For longer treks, do you think it's better to go Hobie Outback or paddle the X-Factor? Now I have one of each.... thinking about selling the X-Factor as I hardly use it.

[chris138]

Originally Posted by philr21

Wow.... I did a 16 mile trip in my Outback. That was in a river, in calm water, 8 miles each way. Didn't return until 3 hours after dark.

Never imagined that 25 in an X Factor was even doable. It's not for me and my level of fitness anyway. When I was using my X-Factor 2-3 miles was about as far as I went.

For longer treks, do you think it's better to go Hobie Outback or paddle the X-Factor? Now I have one of each.... thinking about selling the X-Factor as I hardly use it.

Couldn't say which is better as I have never used an outback. I will say that I wouldn't think twice about adding 10 miles to this trip on my x-factor. I know it's not a fast hull, but I seem to be able to do alright in it. Honestly I think for the average kayaker, your legs have much more endurance than your upper body. I have paddled enough to have several different strokes and cadences which utilize different muscle groups and suit different scenarios and conditions. I could probably write a short book on all the different paddling techniques I've played with. I'm not sure if you have that kind of versatility with the mirage drive.

Also keep in mind that the fully rigged weight will have a big impact on the planing ability of the hull. The lighter you are, the lower the speed required to get on plane, and less energy required to stay on plane. I was pretty heavily rigged for this trip compared to where I would've liked to have been.

In a prowler i could bang out a 40 mile day no problem.

[Iceman]

Nice effort, I have no doubt that some COOL catches will be happening from the kayak in the next couple of months.

[Oxbeast1210]

Sweet I want to tag along some time!!

Just wondering what type of gear do you head out with to target the larger fish?

[h2ofishfo]

I'm so in on this trip when the conditions are right again

[Slay Rider]

Very cool!

[the dude]

VHF was pretty much worthless. Couldn't hail boats which were only a couple miles away.

Were you on 72? This is the biggest problem IMO. You have a big safety issue if you're out of communication.

[chris138]

Originally Posted by bwana

Good job, I was hoping to see pictures of fish.

Breaking fish, paddies, dolphins, bird activity - can you get any closer to your goal? Next time!

I thought about you when I was out on Saturday. I was almost run over by a couple of idiots in a cigarette boat and two cruisers. The cig boat saw me and were just a-holes. They should play nice as their truck/trailer are easy to spot at the launch. Are you flying flags and paddling bright colored kayaks to make yourself as visible as possible?

What was the current like? Is there any way to anticipate current direction/speed and plan your trip to take advantage of it?

Current wasn't that bad. Slight downhill but honestly it didnt affect us that much. the wind and white caps were more of a factor than the current. As far as predicting the current, I dunno. Ideally you would want to ask somebody who has fished offshore recently. Luckily I have a few buddies who were keeping me up on the conditions.

As far as flags and bright colors, neither. My x-factor is stone and I didnt have any flags. We didnt see many boats out there. Had a couple navy transport ships go by several miles inside of us... that was kinda trippy.