Wind canceled kayak trip

[68camaro]

Spent couple hours last night getting ready for big day on lake. Post frontal conditions, partly cloudy in mid 40's. However when woke up wind gusts were forecasted to be high 20's with gusts up to 33mph. In driveway it didn't feel too bad so I figured I'd give it a shot.

 

Once at landing area, without trees and houses breaking the wind you could feel the full force along with gusts and the reservoir was very choppy and gusts added to it. I know I could have found quieter areas but with fish facing upwind I think I would have been more frustrated trying to fish with yak.

 

I wonder what other peoples cutoff in wind mph is before they call it quits?

 

 

[Dens228]

I went out Monday with the wind constantly around 15-18 mph and gust into the mid 20's.  It was no fun, paddling, or casting.  A rarely go out for less than 5 hours and this was a long 90 minutes, most of which was spent paddling or trying to stay in place even with an anchor, stake out pole, or both. 

[Preytorien]

I think you're probably correct, you would've spent your time paddling and positioning rather than fishing. I might sound a bit soft, but I don't get out if it's over about 8-12mph. 

 

 

[Tracker22]

For me, anything over 10 is uncomfortable. Anything over 15 I don’t go. It’s not that the yak can’t handle it, it just gets to be a pain.

 

[68camaro]

Agreed, came home and went to neighborhood pond for 45 minutes, first time I saw white caps on it..LOL.  Last time I too yak out in strong winds I lost a ton of lures in snags because I couldn't control position and I couldn't keep in position to use lure retriever.

 

Water was also 6 degrees colder than a few days ago so I assume that would not have helped.

[Darren.]

I don't go out in these winds. No way.

 

But once I did. I was already on the water though,

prior to the arrival of 40+ mph winds...in my yak.

 

Was at Harwood's Mill Reservoir. Thankfully I was

close to the boat launch, but I did try to fish in it

for a while. Even stood up in my U12. Crazy. Stupid.

But I survived, unscathed, and smarter for the next

time, LOL.

 

When I got home I found out we were under a tornado

watch and winds gusted well over 40. So yeah. Phew.

[68camaro]

3 minutes ago, Darren. said:

When I got home I found out we were under a tornado

watch and winds gusted well over 40. So yeah. Phew.

High 20's to Low 30's was easy decision to bail, couldn't imagine 40+.

[Darren.]

3 minutes ago, 68camaro said:

High 20's to Low 30's was easy decision to bail, couldn't imagine 40+.

I'll be honest. My testosterone was raging as it picked up. As I

look back it was a "Hey, hold my beer..." moment that could have

been my last stand, LOL.

 

I had to have a story that ... "yeah, once I fished in 40+ mph

winds and even stood up in my kayak."

 

Was nice when I first went out. Then the sky started looking suspicious

then a few gusts hit me, cold gusts. Knew something was up, then

it hit. Didn't last long out there, but at least I can tell the story, LOL.

 

If I wasn't so close to the boat dock (within 30-40 yards), I probably

wouldn't have been so fortunate.

[Hawkeye21]

20 mph winds are my limit and I rarely go out in them.  It's just too big of a pain and incredibly frustrating.  If I know there are places on a lake where I can be out of the wind I'll try it.

 

Last year I went out on a cold, rainy, spring day on a small river.  I paddled up river to a location to start and it took about 20 minutes since it was into the current and the wind.  Since it was a small river lined with trees it was like a wind tunnel.  On my float back it was miserable trying to fish.  Anytime I got hung up on something it was incredibly frustrating trying to get the snag out.

 

WIND SUCKS

[RB 77]

In my kayak, the cutoff isn't much. I'm not sure the actual knots, but if I cant  fish the "drift" very effectively, that will about do it. On occasion I will still launch just to get to a desirable shore spot if it is only attainable by water craft, beach the yak and then blaze the bank. In a proper bass boat with a bow mounted trolling motor and the ability to double anchor, the wind is much more tolerable.

[TimberTodd]

Ive been out with it hitting about 20mph and it was not fun at all. I generally bag it if its approaching 8-10 mph.

[MassYak85]

I have and will fish whitecaps in my kayak. But today's wind...no thank you. My cutoff is when I feel physically in danger of being out there. Usually in that 20+mph sustained category. Below that I try and anchor near key spots, or find the edge of wind (where the land blocks it and it rounds a corner). Light to moderate wind is like rain to me, it sucks, but I'm not going to let it stop me from going. I've caught some nice fish in some pretty terrible wind. 

[68camaro]

today's winds will be high teens but yesterday was my window to get out for next week or so. 

[MinnowzNuttin]

Anything over about 10mph depending on the body of water and I start searching for protected waters or call it a bank fishing day. I've been caught out when some fronts have blown thru and had to paddle thru them to get back to the launch, No fun at all.

[68camaro]

We had one local death due to winds, 6 yo was killed when tree feel on house. Driving around you could see signs blown apart....crazy winds we had. 

[clayton86]

I’ll go out in crazy conditions I just change where I go. I’ve got enough places to put the kayak in around me I can almost always fish protected waters regardless of the wind. Last March we got hit with a huge wind storm bringing down trees and telephone poles think it recorded 65mph winds Rochester was out of power for a week because of it. During the storm I was out in my kayak completely oblivious to exactly how bad it was till I got in my truck and started driving and trees were down across the road all over.

 

I knew it was windy 30-40 when I left work so I hit a small lake tributary that’s shielded from west winds like we had. 

[OperationEagle]

Wind was the second biggest reason I sold my kayak and purchased a bass boat.  Above 12 mph and it wasn’t worth the trouble and risk. 

 

The biggest factor was was the back pain after spending 6-8 hrs every trip in one position. 

 

Dont get get me wrong I loved my kayak. It was just beginning to be a serious pain using it ....literally.  

[TOXIC]

In a yak...nope.  In a 20ft boat I've been on St Clair in 20mph sustained and 50mph gusts.  Of course we had access to a somewhat sheltered bay and powerpoles so we could pole down with the rear of the boat into the wind, fish an area and then lift the poles to let the wind move us and then pole down again.  We stay on an island that you have to take a ferry to get to but we have been known to load up the boats and head back over to the mainland just to launch in a more protected part of the lake.  You do not run across Lake St Clair in 20mph winds unless you have no other options.  We always plan for "Blow Days" in our week there every year.  Rare but it does happen. Safety first is our motto.   

[Brad in Texas]

Elsewhere, I posted my "big wind day" about getting up last Sunday in the dark (DST), driving to Purtis Creek here in NE Texas, self-checked in to the state park, drove to the ramp's parking lot . . . and saw white caps in the dark under the pier lights. Then, it began to rain. So, I just reclined in my seat and took a nap; it looked like my day was over. Once the rain moved through, light began to show, it was horribly windy but 3 others drove up and began unloading paddle kayaks to fish. Well, if they can do it, so can I. It was so windy, we had a total of 8 kayaks on the lake at one time, most getting off after short days.

 

What I did do, planned to do as I decided to launch (I'm not completely nuts), was launch and immediately stay on the wind break side of a lake point and cross less than a 100 yds. of water moving to my right and into a protected cove. The wind whistled overhead, all day, and other than one short jaunt holding tightly to the shoreline, I stayed out of the wind. And, it ended up being an excellent day, numbers wise, just working up and down a 100 yards of bank.

 

Here in North Texas, if someone's cut-off wind speed is > 10 mph, you'd rarely be able to get out.

 

So, it pays to have some tactics if you find yourself a bit out of the comfort zone.  Some that work pretty well for me: 1) Protected coves especially tree lined ones (typical) and preferably pick a cove where the wind is moving across the cove and not down the barrel of it; 2) Under dams is often good depending on wind direction. If it is coming over the top of the dam, the water will usually be okay to fish below it; 3) Rivers with high banks, again finding a curl in the river, some stretch of it, where the wind is moving perpendicular to the flow of the water; 4) and, on the leeward side of any islands where the wave action and currents are diverted left and right around the island and there is that little dead pocket of water to sit in.

 

These have all helped me in the past even on modestly windy days where it is less about danger than just a nuisance. For lighter winds, one last tactic I use often is to pull up on top of or into heavy vegetation where the lily pads or otherwise floating vegetation arrests wave action. If you have a brush clip (all kayakers should carry one), you can attach it to a lily pad stem or a handful of vegetation for a bit more stabilization.

 

These tactics get me out on marginal days. One still has to be careful paddling/pedaling out to get to these places.

 

Anyone have a few other tips or tactics to share? I need all I can get.

 

Brad

[NYWayfarer]

39 minutes ago, Brad in Texas said:

 

So, it pays to have some tactics if you find yourself a bit out of the comfort zone. 

I agree. I have been able to fish on days with winds in the 15 MPH plus on my local river. Tactics are key on days like that.
 

I can fish under a highway overpass, or a bend in the river that has a wind break. There are also branch offs that I can paddle into off the main river that are sheltered from the wind.

 

A good idea on days like that are not to stray to far from the launch point.

[RPreeb]

13 hours ago, OperationEagle said:

Wind was the second biggest reason I sold my kayak and purchased a bass boat.  Above 12 mph and it wasn’t worth the trouble and risk. 

 

The biggest factor was was the back pain after spending 6-8 hrs every trip in one position. 

 

Dont get get me wrong I loved my kayak. It was just beginning to be a serious pain using it ....literally.  

This is why I paddle a canoe.  Back in the mid '80s I paddled a whitewater kayak (Perception Dancer) on rivers in Colorado, Utah, and Idaho.  I ultimately had to quit because of lower back issues.  To this day I can't sit in or on a kayak for more than 1/2 hour without my back starting to protest again (right now I can feel the twinge just thinking about sitting in a kayak).  I can paddle a canoe all day long, even without a seat back, and with a seat back it's like sitting in a chair at home.  A boat is not going to happen, so the canoe is how I get off the bank.

[Brad in Texas]

Rick, I went out today, just for a while in my Meyers Sportspal S-15. I stand and paddle almost the whole way out and back in. I sit to re-tie, grab things. It is THAT stable. It is much more stable than my Big Rig which is among the most stable of all kayaks. For me, in retrospect, the ideal canoe would be a Meyers Sportspal S-13 because it'd fit so easily on the back of my truck with a bed extender, it weighs 57 lbs., can use an outboard or a TM for those who want power. And, these canoes hold multiple people, tons of gear. Some photos: fish caught today, me in the S-15, and the S-13 stats.  Brad

[RPreeb]

Regardless of stability, I prefer to sit.  I did look at the SportsPal before I bought mine, but decided to go more traditional.  I have an Old Town Discovery 133 - 13'3" long and 40" beam.  It's heavier (78#), but it's virtually indestructible.  Even comes with a center seat and the kit to install oarlocks if you want to row instead of paddling.  I've paddled and fished from a canoe for 60 years, so I'm quite comfortable in one.

[68camaro]

I seriously considered the Sportspal before buying yak, it makes a lot of sense and works great for fishing. Yak checked off few more boxes for me.