Experienced Kayaker Gets Humbled! - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

Dan W. · 04-26-2009, 09:44 AM

I've been kayak fishing in San Diego over ten years and after five waves to the face, I took my first roll in the LJ surf this morning. It was weird, I didn't get turned sideways, but just kinda sucked under and rolled by the whitewash. If anybody finds a white bucket style bait tank with a livewell switch and Attwood pump, let me know! I waited for a while but it didn't come back. This was to be the maiden voyage of a freshly wrapped rod with a brand spankin new Tyrnos 10, which was recovered along with everything else so I guess I can live with the one casualty (and some bruised pride!).

Dennis · 04-26-2009, 10:15 AM

Bummer.. How big was the surf? Short interval rollers suck. Hope your tank gets back to you..

Billy V · 04-26-2009, 10:51 AM

It happens to the best of them. For me its on the return trip to shore where it happens.

The White Water is like the Bermuda Triangle, low buoyancy it sucks you down.

I have had my Adventure completely sink in the white water because I didn't continue paddling toward the beach and got swamped.

I have also had my Revo get tossed in the white water by an 8 inch wave.

frady · 04-26-2009, 11:13 AM

I was out there this morning too. Not sure but I think I saw you get turned and the rest was history. Is your yak orange? The swell looked between 5-7 feet, and there was a really short interval between the waves. I made it out but took some monster waves to the chest. When I came back I stowed the gear and wouldn't you know it the swell had died down a bit. No fish, but I came back with all my gear and a nice adrenaline rush.

Geoffkoop · 04-26-2009, 01:49 PM

Hey dan, nice to meet you this morning... Too bad it wasn't on a better note. I saw the tail end of your flip and couldn't figure out what happened either. I took 3 or 4 on the chest on the way out as well.
I looked for your bait tank on the way in with no luck. I actually rode a wave in and rolled myself. The windswell had everything mixed up pretty good.
The waves down the beach looked good, I guess we should have surfed!

Billy V · 04-26-2009, 05:50 PM

Didn't Sammons teach a Surf Class Today....

or did he take the day off because of the swell ??

I saw a few big time wipeouts this afternoon. One guy got flipped 100 feet from the beach and was caught in between the breakers.

His kayak got away from him and they both started drifting north of the launch.

His friend tried to assist and He got flipped as well in the same area. They were in bad shape for awhile until they were able to muster enough strength to climb back aboard the kayaks.

blackcloud9 · 04-26-2009, 06:07 PM

Wow .... you gotta really want to go kayak fishing to charge out at
Shores with the Torrey Pines Outer buoy showing waves of 6 feet at 6
seconds.

(btw, I was riding 6' waves this morning at a La Jolla reef.)

Congrats to those who made it out, and back in, with all your gear intact.
Here is a link that may help if you want to avoid a day like this in
the future, you can actually predict pretty closely what the launch will be
like.
http://larryl.com/favorite_kayak_conditions.htm

Larry

h2ofishfo · 04-27-2009, 07:50 AM

MAN I FEEL REALLY BAD FOR ALL OF U BUT DAMN WHAT A GOOD DAY TO HAVE BEEN A SPECTATOR ANOTHER U TUBE MOMENT MISSED

Geoffkoop · 04-27-2009, 08:32 AM

It was actually pretty entertaining to watch all kayak rental tourists try and charge the surf while I was loading up.

lapulapu · 04-27-2009, 10:10 AM

Launched around 8 AM Sunday and conditions were similar. Saw two guys on an orange tandem flip and lose some gear. My girl and I were about half way out into the surf zone when we took one right in the chest, and our OK Zest Two began feeling like it was made of brick. We were dragging a$$ and got bombed by three waves in the grill, the last one being a 6 footer. We made is out, and then I looked behind me and realized that our bait tank was dragging behind us (I tied it to a rope). Lucky we didn't flip...

Caught a nice whitefish, treefish, sculpin, rockfish, 2 legal sand bass, 3 sand dabs, and a legal calico, but none of what we went out there for. One day.

cobrakid · 04-27-2009, 01:17 PM

its probably just the fact that the cobra fish n dive is a tank but i have yet to flip my boat going out or coming in (knock on wood). I ve found that as long as you keep your boat pointed directly at the wave(going out) in combination with good timing you might get a boat full of water, but you wont get dumped.

04-26-2009, 09:44 AM	#1
Dan W. Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: South Park, San Diego Posts: 49	Experienced Kayaker Gets Humbled! I've been kayak fishing in San Diego over ten years and after five waves to the face, I took my first roll in the LJ surf this morning. It was weird, I didn't get turned sideways, but just kinda sucked under and rolled by the whitewash. If anybody finds a white bucket style bait tank with a livewell switch and Attwood pump, let me know! I waited for a while but it didn't come back. This was to be the maiden voyage of a freshly wrapped rod with a brand spankin new Tyrnos 10, which was recovered along with everything else so I guess I can live with the one casualty (and some bruised pride!).

04-26-2009, 10:15 AM	#2
Dennis Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: South of La Jolla... Posts: 1,193	Bummer.. How big was the surf? Short interval rollers suck. Hope your tank gets back to you.. __________________ Hmmmm.....

04-26-2009, 06:07 PM	#7
blackcloud9 Kayaker Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Big Rock, WindanSea, La Jolla Posts: 413	Wow .... you gotta really want to go kayak fishing to charge out at Shores with the Torrey Pines Outer buoy showing waves of 6 feet at 6 seconds. (btw, I was riding 6' waves this morning at a La Jolla reef.) Congrats to those who made it out, and back in, with all your gear intact. Here is a link that may help if you want to avoid a day like this in the future, you can actually predict pretty closely what the launch will be like. http://larryl.com/favorite_kayak_conditions.htm Larry __________________ Larry. Hobie Revolution 13. 25 years of kayak fishing La Jolla. https://larryl.com/photos

04-26-2009, 10:51 AM	#3
Billy V Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bay Ho Posts: 1,382	It happens to the best of them. For me its on the return trip to shore where it happens. The White Water is like the Bermuda Triangle, low buoyancy it sucks you down. I have had my Adventure completely sink in the white water because I didn't continue paddling toward the beach and got swamped. I have also had my Revo get tossed in the white water by an 8 inch wave.

04-26-2009, 11:13 AM	#4
frady Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 52	I was out there this morning too. Not sure but I think I saw you get turned and the rest was history. Is your yak orange? The swell looked between 5-7 feet, and there was a really short interval between the waves. I made it out but took some monster waves to the chest. When I came back I stowed the gear and wouldn't you know it the swell had died down a bit. No fish, but I came back with all my gear and a nice adrenaline rush.

04-26-2009, 01:49 PM	#5
Geoffkoop Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: So. Orange County Posts: 302	Hey dan, nice to meet you this morning... Too bad it wasn't on a better note. I saw the tail end of your flip and couldn't figure out what happened either. I took 3 or 4 on the chest on the way out as well. I looked for your bait tank on the way in with no luck. I actually rode a wave in and rolled myself. The windswell had everything mixed up pretty good. The waves down the beach looked good, I guess we should have surfed!

04-26-2009, 05:50 PM	#6
Billy V Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bay Ho Posts: 1,382	Didn't Sammons teach a Surf Class Today.... or did he take the day off because of the swell ?? I saw a few big time wipeouts this afternoon. One guy got flipped 100 feet from the beach and was caught in between the breakers. His kayak got away from him and they both started drifting north of the launch. His friend tried to assist and He got flipped as well in the same area. They were in bad shape for awhile until they were able to muster enough strength to climb back aboard the kayaks.

04-27-2009, 07:50 AM	#8
h2ofishfo Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Santee Posts: 821	MAN I FEEL REALLY BAD FOR ALL OF U BUT DAMN WHAT A GOOD DAY TO HAVE BEEN A SPECTATOR ANOTHER U TUBE MOMENT MISSED

04-27-2009, 08:32 AM	#9
Geoffkoop Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: So. Orange County Posts: 302	It was actually pretty entertaining to watch all kayak rental tourists try and charge the surf while I was loading up.

04-27-2009, 10:10 AM	#10
lapulapu Junior Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 6	Launched around 8 AM Sunday and conditions were similar. Saw two guys on an orange tandem flip and lose some gear. My girl and I were about half way out into the surf zone when we took one right in the chest, and our OK Zest Two began feeling like it was made of brick. We were dragging a$$ and got bombed by three waves in the grill, the last one being a 6 footer. We made is out, and then I looked behind me and realized that our bait tank was dragging behind us (I tied it to a rope). Lucky we didn't flip... Caught a nice whitefish, treefish, sculpin, rockfish, 2 legal sand bass, 3 sand dabs, and a legal calico, but none of what we went out there for. One day.

04-27-2009, 01:17 PM	#11
cobrakid Junior Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: San Diego Posts: 10	its probably just the fact that the cobra fish n dive is a tank but i have yet to flip my boat going out or coming in (knock on wood). I ve found that as long as you keep your boat pointed directly at the wave(going out) in combination with good timing you might get a boat full of water, but you wont get dumped.