It Finally Happened.

[JG233]

So I've been having kind of a hard time recently. All of it's due to Covid-19. It has pretty much ruined all my coming plans for the next few months, all of which were huge and life changing. I was supposed to finish my PhD program, marry my fiancee, and move overseas; all of that is a total mess right now. And to top it off, I've been in total isolation for seven days. That's the very short version of what I've got going on right now. 

 

All of this led me to at least one conclusion: I need to go fishing for the first time this year. Today was the first day the weather looked promising. I spent a few hours yesterday getting everything prepped. I strapped up the kayak to the roof and loaded the car last night. The weather today was supposed to be beautiful. It was seventy degrees all day, that prediction stayed true. However, the wind was only supposed to be about 10 mph. It was very gusty this morning when I woke up. I figured I'd wait a few hours for it to calm down and be less windy. At 11 AM I decided it was time to leave the house. The sky was beautiful and it was warm out, but it still seemed pretty windy. 

 

I fished a small local lake that I've never fished before. When I got there, the waves looked to be huge. But I figured what the hell, it'll be fine. I've had my kayak for 4 years and never had an issue, and I've fished large lakes in it before. The place I fished today is a long and skinny 65 acres. I left the launch with the wind blowing me all over the place. My anchor wouldn't keep me anywhere. The fishing was a little frustrating, but still fun. I caught my first bass of the year a few hours in.

 

A little later, in the middle of the lake, I went to pull up my anchor and it seemed to be stuck. I leaned over the side of the kayak to try and get a better grip on the rope when a huge gust picked up, and a wave totally capsized me. I'm a strong swimmer and I had my life vest on (like always). I flipped the yak back over and grabbed most of my gear. I spent a lot of time trying to find my baitcaster combo, but it was lost to the lake. I then had to kayak into the wind from the far end of the lake back to the launch. That took some time and I did it without stopping. What a totally miserable experience. 

 

I just checked, and wind gusts today were over 50 mph. All my gear is downstairs drying out. I had to take all my tackle out to dry too. The main thing I lost is my $300+ baitcaster combo. I'm feeling pretty demoralized. I went fishing to try and cheer up a little but it made things even worse. Everyone who owns a kayak told me I'd flip it at some point. Well, it finally happened to me. I know it could've been worse. I usually have a sense of humor about these things, but not today.

 

When I began to paddle out from the launch, I thought to myself: "this is a probably a bad idea." It was. 

 

 

[DanielG]

Wow, what a day! Things will be better next time? Shallow words I know.

 

My philosophy.... Is everyone I care about safe and well? Everything else is either an annoyance or an inconvenience beyond that. I keep that in the back of my head and it does make it better.

[MGF]

I didn't even have to look outside to know it was way too windy for me to fish. I could hear the wind howling.

[bogfrog]

Have you ever wondered if you could get out of frigid water and back in your kayak and paddle back the length of the lake into 50 mph winds?

You found out something about yourself. The next time adversity rears its ugly head you can sneer at it and tell it you've been through worse. These things are what builds confidence and character, and cant be bought at any price....it has to be earned. Youll remember this day the rest of your life when things get tough and know you have what it takes.

When I was seventeen (100 years ago) I fell thru the ice trapping beaver. A pole i was carrying under my arm saved me. I had to cut the straps off my waders to get back on the ice. (Thank God for 110 Buck knives) It was below zero and Im soaked in my stocking feet a mile from my truck. I ran all the way, grabbed a can of saw gas from the back of the truck and threw it on a pile of railroad ties near the tracks. My hands were so numb I could barely get a match to light and when I did the burning gas scorched my eyebrows, but I had a fire....I made it. From that day forward I always knew that I could come through in a tough situation. It changed me, and gave me confidence that lasted my entire life. Now you know, for sure, what you're made of. Stop complaining. Men like us dont whine! Do you have any idea how many people live their entire lives not knowing if they have what it takes? Be thankful you arent one of the guys that would have been found floating in the lake the next day. It happens all the time. Congratulations!

[TnRiver46]

Glad you made it back in! There's already been 3 people this spring that didn't make it out of the water in my area. And that's after the winter floods claimed some folks as well. Things can happen quick out there, you did well. You might want to look into floatation for the rods and reels if you're taking high dollar combos in a kayak. I've seen more combos lost kayaking than I can count 

[Dwight Hottle]

Your luck has changed. Your alive. 

[A-Jay]

Glad you're OK

Sorry you lost some gear and a rig.

Managing Risk can be tricky.

Eliminating Risk seems to work better but can be a hard choice to make.

If & when we survive a day like this one,  

the decision can become a bit easier to make.

Time to purchase that replacement rig.

A-Jay

[JG233]

It was obviously a case where my judgement was off because of circumstances. 

 

Anyway, feeling a little more positive today. Thank you all for the words.

[Fishes in trees]

I live in Missouri and it was way too windy for me to go fishing yesterday.  A couple of buddies went, couldn't fish the main lake, too windy, but back in a cove, kinda out of the wind, they did ok - 8 keepers and 20 slot fish in 5 hours.

Don't know where you live, but where I live I wouldn't go out in a kayak.  Weather .com reported 25 mph winds.

 

On a positive note, they will make more bait casters and now you know what you'll get yourself once you get some spare funds.

[Johnny Falls]

That's a rough day for sure but when it's all said and done, you're safe and you lived to tell about it.  It does sound like a bad experience but as the other guys mentioned, you learned a couple valuable lessons from it which is a positive.  Sorry about the gear, that's a tough pill to swallow but again, it can be replaced and you can move forward.  We have all had rough times on the water for sure, hang in there.  You have a ton of sh** on your plate, but it will pass.  Hang in there buddy and be well.

[Bankbeater]

I went fishing yesterday off of the bank.  No way I was getting out in a boat with a sustained 20+ mph wind and gusts in the high 30's to 40's. 

Look at it as a learning experience that you can share with others.

[MGF]

I've read what equipment guys use to kayak very cold conditions and I can't afford the proper equipment.

 

Once my wife and I managed to flip a canoe in December. It was a nice day but the water was cold and the sun was going down. It's a shallow river so we were able to stand. That made putting everything back together easier. I did lose one rod/reel but everything else was tethered.

 

No fancy cold weather gear but I had extra clothes and blankets in a dry bag. I also had an effective fire kit. Minutes after the swim we were in dry clothes in front of a fire.

 

Still, I wouldn't go out of my way to do it again. LOL

[Oregon Native]

Glad your still around to  share

[Bird]

Glad you could share that unfortunate experience. Perhaps you could drag the area your baitcaster fell in.....on a calm day.

 

Fishing yesterday was extremely frustrating from a kayak as the high winds elimate the fun factor and about everything I had tied on. Lol

 

Better days ahead.