I've found that the weather liars can't predict wind speed, so when they predict 5 to 10 mph I usually add another 5 mph to the prediction, and then another 5 mph for wind gusts.
In other words a 5 to 10 mph prediction actually means 10 to 15 with gusts to 20.

Really glad you made it back OK. Keeping the lifeline/phone in the drybag was really a good idea. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

I check the winds on the NWS hourly graph, but am far more focused on direction than speed. I do care about the forecast speed, because while they do miss it regularly, they are in the ballpark more often than not.

Several years ago on Texoma they missed both big time and I was way out of position. Even in my hobie, 30 mph winds and 3' whitecaps forced me to take the "scenic" route for a few hours. I launched at Burns and had fished my way across the lake when the blow started. I ended up tucking into the south shore to hide from teh southeast winds, paddling west surfing all the way. I finally took out at the VFW and hitched a ride back to OK to get my truck. I logged 15.5 miles on my gps and was of the water by 2pm.

nws hourly weather graph for Lake Texoma

15.5 miles of paddling is... ALOT! Furthest I've paddled is 7.5 miles.

Did you do that with a paddle or the foot peddles?

I'm glad you're okay but I'm wondering why your paddle didn't float? I can see not having everything strapped in and or with a float on it but both of my paddles float.

That paddle floats, the problem is that it was solid black and I lost all my lights. The current was strong; by the time I flipped the kayak back over, grabbed my dry bag and the $300 yeti cooler everything else was out of sight.

How did you know who to call? Would I be able to call 911 in an emergency like this?

I called the rockwall police department. My launch site is in rockwall. They informed me that the Dallas police department handles lake ray hubbard so they called them for me.

I would guess that any police department adjacent to any given lake could either help or get you in touch with whoever can help.

It would not be a bad idea to do a little research ahead of time if you are going to a lake that you aren't familiar with when it comes to this topic

I was in Austin this past weekend and took my yak. I was pumped, the wind was blowing at 15+ at the house so I didn't even drive to check out the water. I can handle the wind and feel stable but paddling in the wind sucks.

Well, I wasn't there, so take this with a grain of salt, but... Anchoring in current is generally considered very dangerous. I don't doubt that the wind at 15 mph played a role in this, but the fact that you were anchored in what you're calling strong current might have been a really big factor here. IMHO using an anchor in even very minor current is a recipe for flipping. I think a short brush clip no longer that your arm is ok for super super light flow but anchors in that situation are a no no in my book. They've been releasing anywhere from 2-5 thousand cubic feet per second pretty much non-stop up there for the last month. I've fished up on the north end a lot and IMO there are many choke points and obstructions up there that could make that kind of flow downright dangerous.

Again, not trying to be critical or anything. I wasn't there. It's just that your post above made me want to point out what I believe to be generally accepted guidelines among experienced paddlers: anchoring in current is where a lot of people get into serious trouble.

Thanks for the info gutcheck. Couple of questions, what's a choke point? Why is anchoring in a current so bad? How would it be different if I were tied to some of the grass around? I guess I assumed that since the grass around was dead that it would pull out of the ground and not hold me.

I am by no means an experienced kayaker. I just started last summer.

When I say "strong", I mean strong for a lake. I would consider it a mild current if it were a river.

Spazm I guess by choke points I mean areas in the East Fork of the Trinity (that's the main creek you referred to) that are very narrow and loaded with lay downs and strainers. Some areas up there are no more than 20 feet across. I'm not saying you were up there that far and recognize that you probably weren't but I was mentioning this because I'm familiar with the area. Those narrow spots could have some seriously dangerous strainers with the amount of water coming through there right now-- if you flipped near them you could get pinned. Sometimes deeper slow current filled with strainers is more dangerous than shallow white water. It can be deceptive. There's a reason there have been several fatalities this year below dams in our region: current + obstructions can be very dangerous...

As for anchoring in current, it's considered dangerous because the anchor, rope and anchor point can actually pull the kayak down on one side and thereby allow the current to flip it over from under. If a wake or wave comes along, the anchor does not allow the yak's natural buoyancy to ride up and over it. Of course this is always the case with anchors but the addition of powerful current is what makes it potentially so dangerous. Anchors can get wedged very easily into things in current. Now you're in this immensely powerful current with anywhere from 10- 30 feet of rope to get tangled up in. It's much more dangerous than flipping in water without current.

I anchor in all types of current. Lots of us bend the rules from time to time. Imo its how we improve. The fact that you flipped, lost gear etc, thats just kind of part of the game. Do you think anchor trolley would've helped? Thank you for the great read. Glad your safe and learned from it. You ever wanna go catch cats lemmie know.

Did the Yeti float?

First of all, great story with lots of learning opportunities; your loss is our gain if we learn from it, so thanks for sharing.

Secondly, I agree with Gutcheck about anchoring in current...that's generally not a good idea. You mention that you think a rogue wave got you; are you sure the force of the current didn't play a factor in your flipping?

Either way, thanks for manning up and sharing your experience (some people won't do that). There are hundreds, maybe thousands of lurkers on this forum who soak in the knowledge imparted here. You gave us all lots to think about and the lessons learned may very well save someone's life.