Do you know how to re-enter your kayak if you fall out?
I was talking to Tommy Samuels (Too Busy) on the last day of the kayak festival, and we were shooting the bull - he mentioned that he was scheduled to do a kayak fishing/self-rescue (re-entry) workshop during the festival on the previous day, and no one showed up for it. He expressed frustration at this, considering how popular kayak fishing has become around here…
I felt bad about this afterwards - I am guilty of this too - and I was thinking about this during a recent trip on the water. I’m going to make a point to practice my self-rescues this year…shallow and deep water.
Me and DDOlson have talked about doing more stuff beyond-the-breakers this year when the weather warms up, and a first step is going to be taking our rigs to the beach and practicing our surf launches and landings with empty kayaks. Going to work the self-rescues into this as well…
I challenge my fellow Lowcountry yak anglers to do the same! Get wet this summer, and practice your kayak self-rescues!
Get the people and I’ll find a way to fit it into my schedule.
We’ll practice 2 self rescues and 1 assisted rescue. Anyone who can’t re-enter their yak shouldn’t play in the deep and the should put it away next fall when it starts to cool off.
We do this at least twice a summer , we do a float down the upper edisto with the yaks and tipping them, dive off in the deeper holes. This forces you to get real comfortable getting back in and have some fun at the same time. We also do a day in the surf just messing around doing reentries btb , we do all this unloaded.
When the weather is hot and the humidity is way up that is a GREAT time to practice your re-entries… Remember it’s never a question of “IF” you will fall/roll/flip it is a question of “WHEN” you will do it…
I’ve been wanting to do this for a while! I want you guys that wear waders to bring them with you! It would be interesting to see the effect of deep waters and waders, vs. paddling pats/tops when trying to re-enter a boat. This could be fun!
Deep water and waders: I ditched mine last year. They become anchors. A pair of kayak boots are more effective and do not become water logged. Same price, better product.
Deep water and waders: I ditched mine last year. They become anchors. A pair of kayak boots are more effective and do not become water logged. Same price, better product.
the anchor myth is total BS. I’ve swam in waders more than once. Done right very little water comes in.
Deep water and waders: I ditched mine last year. They become anchors. A pair of kayak boots are more effective and do not become water logged. Same price, better product.
the anchor myth is total BS. I’ve swam in waders more than once. Done right very little water comes in.
Bring your waders! I seriously want to compare the two. I’ll bet a round of Big Al oyster shooters that after a swim, waders are dangerous! (I could be wrong, lets field test it!)
On a side note, though, I really believe its the base layer that matters most. End up in cold water wearing cotton underneath anything, you are in for a world of hurt!
never thought of that i might wanna try it when the water warms up…however seeing as im never too far from shore the current plan is grab my kayak and swim it back to shore.
Just because it’s getting warmer don’t take going for a swim for granted. I was fishing in Australia a couple years ago and they had two kayak anglers die. They had bought 2 new kayaks and with a complete lack of experience headed out to fish Melbourne Harbor. This was summer time so the weather was a bit warmer, but while they are not sure what happened they do know that the bodies were recovered a couple days later. Granted fishing in the Pacific you can see cooler water temps than the Atlantic, but you still need to be prepared.
I went for a swim one Feb. and was lucky that I was able to get back into the yak. When the water is cold it’s amazing how fast your body shuts down. So if you get a chance to spend some time with Too Busy it will be well worth your time.
When I used to teach sea kayak classes, the first thing we practiced on the water was wet exit, assisted rescue, and self rescue. Not enough kayak fisherman know what those last three terms even mean!
