Kayak Flipped

[Bachala]

So, I am somewhat new to kayak fishing having only been out approximately 10 times in the LIS this year on my recently purchased Hobie Quest. Don't know why or what I did but I leaned a bit to my right to look at something approximately 1/2 mile off of Centre Island this past weekend. My kayak flipped in the blink of an eye. I grabbed what I could that was floating near me, flipped my kayak back into upright position. Threw my stuff into my kayak. My glasses, some fishing gear (sinkers, snag hook, knife sunk). I went to look for my paddle and see it is about 5 feet away. I swim to get my paddle and turn around to see my kayak is drifting away. (I realize I probably should have tethered to the kayak). Now I am trying to swim back to my kayak with a paddle while wearing a vest. I was losing ground. Fortunately there was a lot of boat traffic around and I was soon rescued but I learned a lot that day. I could have spent a long night in the LIS and had a lot of people worried to death about me. the boat that rescued me was a large cabin cruiser that was doing a beeline right at me at a fast clip. Fortunately he slowed down and turned only because he saw the kayak. He saw me soon after but not while he was cruising towards me.

 

[Bassknuckles]

Go to the KFA-NY website- lots to learn there on Kayak fishing and safety even some videos of me doing self-rescue. Don't tether yourself to the kayak instead leash your paddle, fishing pole etc to the kayak. Don't give up it's a great sport. Practice self-rescue now while the water is warm. I caught more fish in the kayak then I do on my boat. Health issues stopped me from kayaking for long periods.

 

[CELLFISH]

Glad ya ok, ya need to attend Sunday Service 10:00, Candles @ $20.00, Schedule Confession and The Holy Rosary too…
.

 

[pequa1]

Whew ! Glad you are OK. I am waiting for my first flip. (since 2005) I fish backbay waters in a bare bones Hurricane Skimmer 128 but the waters run up to 36' deep and the channels have a pretty good current, along with the ever present boat traffic. I used to tether my paddle to the yak- maybe I should start doing so again. I do tie in my tackle bag but I would undoubtedly lose a rod or two (will now clip the spare in.) I have never ever paddled without a PFD. My yaks have all been very visible, yellow, orange but the bottoms are white, like whitecap white lol. I did put reflective tape on my paddle and have a 6' high safety flag, both of which will be useless if I capsize.

 

[KayakFisherman]

I had an experience off Montauk Point a few weeks back that I described in a report entitled "Swimming off Montauk Point." It includes my estimations of what I did right and wrong.
I had my paddle and my mirage drive leashed. The one for my paddle wasn't strong enough and snapped when it could have kept me with my yak. The smartest thing I did was getting off the water when it was time. The dumbest thing I did was ignore my gut and go out there to begin with. That said, most kayayers capsize while reaching for something behind them. Once your head is out over the side, the rest of you tends to follow.

 

[pequa1]

True dat. The only time I feel unsteady IN THE BACKBAY is not from the 40 foot yachts going by but when I try to put the killie bucket, still with water in it, behind me and the pail between it and me. No desire to be in the REAL briny. At my age I just want to make it to the next vacation. I can buy seafood if I have to.

 

[captmike28]

I think Kayak fishing is a terrific way to get at spots few others can touch, and I used to own a nicely set up Hobie several years ago. Only reason I got rid of it was I was getting a bit too old to handle the launch and retrieval process without too much fatigue.

Much has been written about Kayak safety and the point I cannot stress loudly enough is your own visibility to other craft while on the water. I will relate a situation I just had this past Friday at Montauk to illustrate my point.

I had a 3-man charter aboard for a Fluke trip and as we rounded the point, thankfully, I saw 3 kayakers in front of me working the waters about 1/2 mile off the lighthouse. As everyone knows who fish in these craft you are extremely low to the water and don't have a very large profile to stand out against any type of wave action. To make matters worse, all 3 of these Kayaks were a dark green "camouflage" color making them even more indistinguishable from the surrounding water. On top of that, none of them had a brightly colored safety flag on their stern that would have at least drawn some attention to their presence. I don't care where you do your Kayaking, I think having a real bright Orange or Neon safety flag as tall as possible on your stern can prevent many accidents. If I had not been closely watching my course, I could have easily run down any one of these anglers!

For everyone's sake, please be safe out there.
Capt. Mike

 

[KayakFisherman]

I think Kayak fishing is a terrific way to get at spots few others can touch, and I used to own a nicely set up Hobie several years ago. Only reason I got rid of it was I was getting a bit too old to handle the launch and retrieval process without too much fatigue.

Much has been written about Kayak safety and the point I cannot stress loudly enough is your own visibility to other craft while on the water. I will relate a situation I just had this past Friday at Montauk to illustrate my point.

I had a 3-man charter aboard for a Fluke trip and as we rounded the point, thankfully, I saw 3 kayakers in front of me working the waters about 1/2 mile off the lighthouse. As everyone knows who fish in these craft you are extremely low to the water and don't have a very large profile to stand out against any type of wave action. To make matters worse, all 3 of these Kayaks were a dark green "camouflage" color making them even more indistinguishable from the surrounding water. On top of that, none of them had a brightly colored safety flag on their stern that would have at least drawn some attention to their presence. I don't care where you do your Kayaking, I think having a real bright Orange or Neon safety flag as tall as possible on your stern can prevent many accidents. If I had not been closely watching my course, I could have easily run down any one of these anglers!

For everyone's sake, please be safe out there.
Capt. Mike

Couldn't agree more. Frankly, the fact that they were in camouflage kayaks would seem to indicate that they were more accustomed to inshore or freshwater fishing than plying the waters off the Point.

I spent years learning the Point simply by looking at it every day at different tides and learning how those waters behave.

I'm fishing the Point almost exclusively at night and most nights I'm much more visible than the boats that are in the same area. I have bright LEDs on bow and stern, a head lamp (and a spare) + anchor light overhead. I also have emergency strobes on my vest and on my VHF and a GPS locator (EPERB). Then practice, practice, practice. You have to know what you're going to do before you need to do it.

 

[pequa1]

IMHO, unless your yak stands out as mine does or better, you belong on a pond.

 

[captmike28]

Couldn't agree more. Frankly, the fact that they were in camouflage kayaks would seem to indicate that they were more accustomed to inshore or freshwater fishing than plying the waters off the Point.

I spent years learning the Point simply by looking at it every day at different tides and learning how those waters behave.

I'm fishing the Point almost exclusively at night and most nights I'm much more visible than the boats that are in the same area. I have bright LEDs on bow and stern, a head lamp (and a spare) + anchor light overhead. I also have emergency strobes on my vest and on my VHF and a GPS locator (EPERB). Then practice, practice, practice. You have to know what you're going to do before you need to do it.

Montauk Point is dangerous enough even in a larger vessel. Fishing at night off any ocean front is extra tricky.
I applaud your efforts to make yourself as visible as possible for everyone's safety.

In addition, before anyone tries to fish such an exposed ocean location your advice about tons of practice and having a backup emergency plan can be a life saver. Well said, KayakFisherman.