Yep, it happens!

For going in and out of the surf I use floats and leashes on my rods. Once I get anchored up, I ditch the leashes.

For fresh water I just use floats. Whichever rod I'm casting with gets the float rmoved.

I'm a long way from getting in the surf or standing and throwing a cast net! I'm sure once I get the feel of the kayak I'll not be as paranoid about loosing gear. As it is I've spent hours trying to figure out the best way to store and rig everything. I'm sure much of that will change once I've been out on it a few times. What is really hard is trying to decide what not to take. Do any of you use bait buckets or live wells. I'm guessing shifting water could be tricky to deal with.

I use a small cooler with ice to keep fresh shad in when I'm fishing for whisker fish, but I never try and keep live bait.
It's best to put your shad in a big zip lock bag, IMO.

If fishing with live bait, I'll take along a flow troll and let it hang off the side of the yak. Pick it up and set in my lap or tank well if moving a good distance.

I put shad in a container and that container in a cooler with ice..

All my paddles float.
Most paddles float without additional floatation because they hold enough air inside.
I havent always used a paddle leash but got tired of having to bungee or clip it down when not being used. I eventually learned to feather It and either keep It In my lap & got a few decent paddle leashes. Then I made myself use them.. Now I throw it in the water when I need it out of my way quick or slide it in the forward bungee and still have the option to bungee it down to the gunnel.
Expandable foam is an option but id try a leash 1st and maybe ad some pieces of Styrofoam inside the shaft instead of expandable foam so it doesnt hold/trap water.

Hey TxSundance I can tell you the Ascend is very stable , I have practiced several times getting in and out of the kayak in deep water and it barely rocks . I have also practiced standing in it and if your balance is good you can do it even in mildly rough water.

Having been dumped out of my Cuda 12 a few times I have moved back to the Wilderness Ride 115. The Cuda 12 is a great kayak and has some features I like but I never have felt it was as stable as my Ride 115. Being dumped out of the kayak gave me a new appreciation for how fast and unpredictable things can happen. You find out quickly what floats and what doesn't . I have floats on most of my rods, I have water proof cameras and floats on them. I use the Plano tackle boxes that seal up and float. I always use a paddle leash on my paddles and I have an extra paddle inside my kayak. I don't ever want to be up the creek without a paddle. I put my PFD on as I am unloading my kayak and take if off when as I am loading my kayak back in my truck. You will always see me wearing my PFD when I get out of my kayak to wade fish. When I was a teenage a family we knew when to the Brazos for a picnic one Sunday after church. The mother and her three small children walked in to the river to wade and stepped off in a hole all drowned. So I am paranoid when it comes to wading.
The best advise is to plan for the day when the kayak dumps you out. It is not "if it happens but when it happens". Stay safe and alway wear your PFD!

I went to Academy today to pickup a paddle leash, whistle, and kayak cart. I'm anxious to get my yak out on the water for a maiden voyage, but I didn't like the leashes in stock so I'm ordering one from Amazon. I need to make a modification to my trailer, finish my diy stake out pole, and mount my transducer and I hope to get her on the water by weeks end for a little while. All of the advice has been great and much appreciated! Any of y'all in the Austin area?

Next time your there check out the float well. I picked one up I doubt I will ever use it for bait but I think it would be cool to use to keep my catch alive especially if I plan to return it to the water after weighing. I saw the same one out in Port Isabel and they wanted $29.00 dollars for it , got it at academy for $19.00 . I envy you living in the Hill Country they have some incredible streams out there and not far from the coast . I would really love to share idea for modding out the Ascend FS12T . I just bought my first fish finder and I'm trying to find the best way to mount it now.

Aquiles, thanks for the heads up on the float well. I've seen someone post a picture of a laundry basket with pool noodles zip tied to it as a float basket. There are a number of river areas not accessible by boat that are around here. I can't wait to explore by yak. I grew up north of Dallas, but came to school here in 79 and knew this is where I had to live.

In terms of the fish finder I'm either going to mount the transducer in the hull where I won't get water temperature or try to rig a scupper mount. I have a Sonar Phone fish finder that I connect to the fish finder unit with a WiFi signal on my phone or tablet for the screen.

I see that a number of you have photos or slide shows in your signature line. I can't seem to find instructions on how to do this if you could point me in the right direction. Do the photos need to be stored in the cloud with a link to them?

"mount the transducer in the hull where I won't get water temperature"
You will get accurate temperature readings with the transducer mounted in the hull. I have two mounted like that and my temp readings mirror those of the guys with scupper mounts. It just takes a little time for the hull to warm or cool to the water temperature. Depending on the difference between the air and water temps, it can be anywhere from five to twenty minutes, in my experience.

Jim,
Thanks for that input! I was leaning towards mounting it in the hull since I wanted the battery below deck. That is the way I'm going for sure now.

Ocean Kayak makes a battery bag that mounts under the deck in the bow, just ahead of your hatch. You might want to look at that.