I fish lakes.  Clearlake, and Lake Camanche have both tried to drown me.  winds waves send me scurrying for shore with clench teeth, fists and butt.   I watch winds forecasts like a meteorologist..  (I still will)

 

buuuttt..I just got home from trying to catch an elusive keeper halibut.  the winds were probably 10mph with some gust.  water was whitecapping.  swell was prob 5-6 feet and happening very often.  full disclosure:  my kayak was light!!  no tackle box, just two rods and a tiny storage box in back.  light.  and I put my seat into the lowest setting.  slammed low!  there was no standing up, it was that low.   I was bobbing around in that water for 6 hours.  I never came close to flipping over.   I few big surprise (rogue) waves would slap me around and pucker my butt, but I never felt unsafe.  I had a water tight dry suit on, a marine radio, and a buddy to complete the buddy system.   the conditions however were much more dramatic than both Clearlake and Camanche have ever been.  it was just me being scared.

 

I will remain safety oriented and head in when it gets windy.  but maybe more because it is impossible to bass fish in winds like that.  at Camanche I had to beach it and hike 3 miles to my truck.   that was probably still navigable..I dont know.   the Hobie with the seat down low is very very stable.    and it didnt leak a drop!!  until I hit it with a jet spray to blast off the salty grime.  

 

Maybe TMI, but peeing while wearing a dry suit and in waves like that takes preparation.  hahah...

Did you catch an elusive keeper halibut?

49 minutes ago, gim said:

Did you catch an elusive keeper halibut?

one...it was below min-sized.  

 

The trip most times is the win.

When I bought my Hobie Outback, I wanted to find out how it would handle wind and waves.  I took it out on the ocean where I live when the afternoon winds were blowing around 20 kts.  The Kite surfers were out, and the surf was big.  

 

I peddled out from the marina and once a couple hundred yards from shore experimented to see how see worthy it was.  Turned sideways to the waves and with zero effort on my part it did not flip.  I raised the seat and was still riding every wave with no input from me, and zero danger.  I peddled in all directions, and even tried standing up.  I wasn't able to keep my balance standing up, but the kayak did not capsize.  I am confident that by actively working the waves, the kayak and I could handle much rougher conditions.  

 

After peddling around for awhile I decided to flip the kayak over and see how easy it would be to get it back upright and climb in.  It took some effort, but once it reached a certain position, it quickly flipped over.  It is not a gradual breaking point, once the line is crossed it quickly and without warning flips.  It takes a lot to reach it, but once reached, there is not point of return, it is going over.  Righting it and getting back in was easy, which gave me confidence I could handle most any situation.

 

Then I tried surfing it in to the beach, and the first try worked perfectly.  I launched from the beach with some difficulty, but was able to get past the surf.   The next try coming in to the beach I got beat up, and realized it was way more difficult to deal with than a stand up paddle board in the surf.  A few more tries going in and out of the surf, and I quickly realized I would not be launching in even mild surf with expensive gear in the kayak.

 

The test gave me lots of confidence and a good idea of what the kayak was capable of.  A few weeks later I had it out bass fishing on Lake Chapala.  The wind was only blowing 10 kts. but the lake is large and the waves were large for a lake.  I had zero fear because I had had it out on the ocean in much stronger winds, and larger waves.  

 

I was fishing a couple hundred yards from shore, in about 6 feet of water.  The wind was at my side providing me with a good drift.  There are many barbed wire fences running from shore out in to the lake, and they can be great places to catch bass.  I snagged my crankbait on one of the fence posts and peddled over to see if I could get my lure back.  I wasn't paying attention and while leaning over to grab my line, a wave placed me on top of a fence posts that was just under the surface of the muddy water. In an instant the kayak flipped.  I managed to grab all of my rods, and any tackle boxes that floated, but lost a box of jigs, spinnerbaits, and all of  my terminal tackle.

 

After that experience I put leashes on all of my gear, and even though I am confident that my Outback and I can handle almost anything the lake or sea can send my way, there is always a chance of going swimming when I least expect it.

 

I do believe if you fish in a kayak long enough the question is not if you will capsize but when.  Be careful, there is always a Titanic iceberg out there somewhere. 

 

 

I love stories of small boats on big water. 

Didn't the Inuit peoples traverse the ocean and do wale hunts and stuff in kayaks? 

3 minutes ago, IcatchDinks said:

Didn't the Inuit peoples traverse the ocean and do wale hunts and stuff in kayaks? 

Seal hunting was and still is done in kayaks - whale hunting has always been in 4-man umiaks....but ya, they do open ocean hunting in kayaks.

2 hours ago, IcatchDinks said:

Didn't the Inuit peoples traverse the ocean and do wale hunts and stuff in kayaks? 

oh,...diminshing my accomplishments?  haha..just kidding.  they probably did. 

 

but i'm not inuit..i grew up in a desert..the biggest body of water was a cattle tank. 

1 hour ago, Darth-Baiter said:

oh,...diminshing my accomplishments?  haha..just kidding.  they probably did. 

 

but i'm not inuit..i grew up in a desert..the biggest body of water was a cattle tank. 

 

I just thought it reinforced what you were discovering: kayaks can be used as big water vessels. 

 

Also, I'm not one to judge: despite growing up surrounded by the Great Lakes, I'm as big a landlubber as you'll meet. 😆

2 minutes ago, IcatchDinks said:

 

I just thought it reinforced what you were discovering: kayaks can be used as big water vessels. 

 

Also, I'm not one to judge: despite growing up surrounded by the Great Lakes, I'm as big a landlubber as you'll meet. 😆

naw..i picked up on what you were saying.   i grew up reading about the Inuits.  those crazy effers shot at polar bears with 30-30's!!!  that is a mid range woods deer rifle here.  hahah.  

32 minutes ago, Darth-Baiter said:

naw..i picked up on what you were saying.   i grew up reading about the Inuits.  those crazy effers shot at polar bears with 30-30's!!!  that is a mid range woods deer rifle here.  hahah.  

Well, facing a bear (polar, grizzly, what-have-you) I'd rather have the faster firing rate of a 30-30 saddle rifle than the one-shot impact power of a bolt-action 30-06, 308, 300.

 

And the 5+1 standard mag capacity over the 4 standard capacity of the larger calibers doesn't hurt either.

i'm not here to debate calibers.