What are your biggest concerns while fishing offshore?

[JohnMckroidJr]

Capsizing?
Manowar's?
Eels?
Sting Rays?
Sharks?
Whales?
Seals?
Hypothermia?
Weather?
Bigger Boaters?
Piracy?

Telling about it will help others avoid the same. Share concerns or experiences on this thread.

[shawny]

Could be all along the same lines but for me it's:

Unexpected bad weather -> Capsizing/catastrophic kayak failure -> Panicking and forgetting all the important safety protocol -> Hypothermia -> Shark attack

I went out to LJ this past Sunday morning and at least from my perspective, conditions were pretty rough. It's been a long awhile since I've gone out and I must've done 5+ hull checks to make sure water wasn't leaking in. Also I wore my 3/2mm wetsuit underneath all my clothes (that's my fear of hypothermia showing) - I regretted it halfway through when the sun came out through clouds, but retracted my regret once the rain and wind picked up...

I'm definitely on the more paranoid side when it comes to kayak fishing preparedness but better safe the sorry right?

[FISH11]

My biggest fear when I go to La Jolla weekly is that it's going to be one of those days were the forecast said the surf height and wind was my desired top limit of surf 3' and wind no more than 11 mph or less and it turns into much higher wind while out and the surface gets really snotty. It just ruins the water conditions and it's no fun being out even drifting. Otherwise my only other fear is running out of beer.

[tak100]

The most persistent worry is wakes from larger boats.

The largest would be not being able to fight the wind/waves/weather to get back home.

The scariest day on the water I ever had was when a fog rolled in late morning. I could hear boats all around me and couldn't see any of them. Quite the pucker factor.

[JohnMckroidJr]

Originally Posted by tak100

The most persistent worry is wakes from larger boats.

The largest would be not being able to fight the wind/waves/weather to get back home.

The scariest day on the water I ever had was when a fog rolled in late morning. I could hear boats all around me and couldn't see any of them. Quite the pucker factor.

I share those concerns... If the wind is blowing off the land, I limit myself to 1 mile maximum offshore. Getting blow out to sea would be a nightmare.

Fog is eerie stuff. I have spent a week at anchor in thick soup fog on a big ship waiting for it to clear sufficient to go up the Houston ship channel.

If you think you might be getting in fog, carry an air horn. If the fog socks in, I would use the whistle signal for a vessel restricted in ability to maneuver. Which is to sound, at intervals of not more than 2 minutes, three blasts in succession, namely, one prolonged followed by two short blasts. A prolong blast is 4 to 6 seconds.

[JohnMckroidJr]

Originally Posted by FISH11

My biggest fear when I go to La Jolla weekly is that it's going to be one of those days were the forecast said the surf height and wind was my desired top limit of surf 3' and wind no more than 11 mph or less and it turns into much higher wind while out and the surface gets really snotty. It just ruins the water conditions and it's no fun being out even drifting. Otherwise my only other fear is running out of beer.

Sometimes if the surf gets bigger than forecast while out fishing, I will opt to go in an inlet instead of dealing with the chance of getting pummeled on the beach. Not so many inlets to choose from on the West Coast, but with your Solo skiff, you got more range, so maybe that will become an option. It's a bit awkward getting in an uber after kayak fishing to get back to the car, but so far no incidence.

[JohnMckroidJr]

Originally Posted by shawny

Could be all along the same lines but for me it's:

Unexpected bad weather -> Capsizing/catastrophic kayak failure -> Panicking and forgetting all the important safety protocol -> Hypothermia -> Shark attack


I'm definitely on the more paranoid side when it comes to kayak fishing preparedness but better safe the sorry right?

Agree, always better to be over-prepared than under. If your budget can afford it you might even consider a position locator beacon.

https://www.amazon.com/personal-loca...locator+beacon

[YakDout]

Incorrect weather forecast. But I wouldn’t go offshore on a yak if it was bad from the get go. I have been caught off shore a few times when bad weather came out of no where.

One most notable was when I was about 3-4 miles out of Oceanside one summer and a freak tropical storm came in and I was surrounded by lightning and pouring rain. It was the same day about 6-7 people got struck by lightning on Venice beach.


A quick google search says that was July 27 2014.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jruiz]

Having to pinch a loaf on the water and the aftermath of having mud butt for the rest of the day. Just typing about it gave me goosebumps

[jorluivil]

Originally Posted by jruiz

Having to pinch a loaf on the water and the aftermath of having mud butt for the rest of the day. Just typing about it gave me goosebumps

That's why I always carry the Costco 30 packs of toilet paper

[Pocoloco]

Originally Posted by jruiz

Having to pinch a loaf on the water and the aftermath of having mud butt for the rest of the day. Just typing about it gave me goosebumps

catching brown trout

[grey zone]

Santa Ana wind. The forecast is no secret but it looks pleasantly nice in the morning so you go out. Then it happens and when you look towards the beach you notice the ocean surface turning very dark with a distinct line coming at you. When that dark ocean gets to you it's like the fan was put on high and from a direction that pushes you out to sea. Take them seriously.

[fishnfoool]

Not catching any fish

[JohnMckroidJr]

Originally Posted by YakDout

Incorrect weather forecast. But I wouldn’t go offshore on a yak if it was bad from the get go. I have been caught off shore a few times when bad weather came out of no where.

One most notable was when I was about 3-4 miles out of Oceanside one summer and a freak tropical storm came in and I was surrounded by lightning and pouring rain. It was the same day about 6-7 people got struck by lightning on Venice beach.


A quick google search says that was July 27 2014.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Six to Seven people struck by lightning on Venice Beach -- that's insane! Sometimes when I launch in the dark, I can see lightning hitting the water 15-25miles away. When the static gets thick in the air, any vertical fishing rods will buzz. When the rods buzz, it's time to secure them horizontally and peddle back to shore.

[jorluivil]

Capsizing?
Only when I'm sleeping

Manowar's?
Eels?
Sting Rays?
Nope
Nope
Nope

Sharks?
just the one time that I caught a 6-7' GWS a few hundred yards from the Hermosa Beach and the time I was out hooping and a hammerhead was circling us and bumping the kayaks

Whales?
just the one time that Tony and I were out hooping and a whale surfaced a few feet from us in the dark

Seals?
I welcome them with open arms

Hypothermia?
just the time that I decided to fish LJ in the wintertime and I forgot my seater and splash jacket in the car and damn near froze my ass off.

Weather?
just the time we were out hooping and there were a bunch lightning strikes happening near the launch, the same launch that we needed t get back to

Bigger Boaters?
just the time that I was out fishing alone in the dark and forgot my headlamp and almost got hit by a boat...........my fault of course

Piracy?
just the time that I fished the Red Sea but as soon as I told those Somali pirates what time it was they left me alone

Telling about it will help others avoid the same. Share concerns or experiences on this thread.[/QUOTE]

[skrilla]

Inshore: kooks

Offshore: not enough ice or killbag for 100lb+ bluefin

Bay: wondering if my cat is being stolen

[SoCalEDC]

Weather is my primary concern. wind flipping or intensifying and becoming a strong offshore breeze is always a concern when out a ways. I carry a PLB for that reason.

Fog/visibility is also something to consider. have a radio, a brightly colored pfd, and some kind of noise making device. If the fog rolls in its wise to have a magnetic compass on board. Last year me and a few other guys (a couple who post here) were out in very dense fog, we could hear boats and whales all around us but could only see them once they were within about 50 yards. We didn't anticipate the fog but it showed up anyways. there was a point where we broke off into two groups and group a had to text group b the coords to their location and it was probably only 1/4 mile away but we couldn't see or hear them at all. If one of us had gone into the drink and not been able to get back on the kayak there is no way the unlucky bastard would have been found.

Weekend warrior boaters are probably my second largest concern on the water behind shitty weather. Assholes don't pay any attention, cant see us, don't care, who knows, but they seem to be the most hazardous threat to kayakers on our area.


Not really concerned about jellies or rays, sharks are a bit troubling but I do my best to avoid hanging fish on a game clip or anything like that.

Whales do not concern me, I think they get curious and they can throw a wake if they breach, but for the most part I don't worry about them.

Not worried about pirates (should I be?)

Seals don't tend to bother me much, usually just curious as well. Did get spooked by one charging me from about 100' down, watched it on the sounder and didn't know what it was until it surfaced, Just saw the huge yellow blob screaming up from the depths right toward me (the trajectory looked like the opposite of what a jig looks like when it falls is that makes sense). he surfaced about 3 feet off my starboard side, not sure if he was being territorial or just curious as to what was going on, may have been looking for a fishy hand out too.

[TheBentRod]

Wind and GWS. Pretty much if anything else happens, I am comfortable with my safety measures and plan. I hate wind over 12 knots.

[Salty]

About the same for me as others have posted and any combination of them:

-Ignorant/Arrogant boaters
-Unexpected bad weather, especially fog+boaters
-Hull failure/sinking
-Landlord/Taxman/Grey Suits

Been in some very sketchy situations offshore in the boat, but the worst so far in a kayak was while at Dana Point, fishing solo about 5+ miles out chasing a massive cloud of diving birds. Payed more attention the the fishing than the weather changing around. Wind had shifted offshore with strong gusts. The swell and wind chop got huge and was coming from mixed directions like a washing machine. The part that made it really sink in was almost getting hit by a sailboat because the swell was so big, I was completely hidden in the trough, even with flag and rods up. Took almost 3 hours using the pedal drive and paddles together to get back to the harbor. Was exhausted, soaked, sunburnt and crusty as hell.

Another sketchy moment was when the rudder line on my Passport 12 broke outside the harbor wall at DP making me spin in portside circles as some significant swell pushed me closer to the rocks. That kayak does not have a retractable rudder control and I couldn't safely reach it from the topside. Fortunately I was able to get my friend on the radio to help pull the rudder up for me. Otherwise, I'd have had to get wet... I was very close to the rocks to begin with, so that could have gotten dangerous real quick.

Stay safe out there!

[stevie951]

Originally Posted by skrilla

Inshore: kooks

Offshore: not enough ice or killbag for 100lb+ bluefin

Bay: wondering if my cat is being stolen

Lol Lol Honestly my ass worries my VHF won't notify me of the incoming Tsunami