Hey Bobby,

Come on and hang out with the gray hairs! Each Gray one = Wisdom & Experience, some have more stories = more hair

Daddy always said: Slow down to speed up !
A short pencil is better than a long memory!
Look before you Leap !

Its not a failure if you learned !

OK, so let get the positive started. Who among us was really prepared the first time they fished the salt? Certainly not me and I doubt anyone else either.

For those that may have spent lots of time in the salt in a powerboat you might have known about current, tides, winds, how they affect waves, you still didn't know for sure how it would feel in your kayak the first time out. What I'm trying to say is that there are so many more things than just getting out past the breakers and then making it back to shore.

Fighting and handling fish is a whole other ballgame. Do you know which fish have teeth without seeing them, do you know what species are poisonous? Do you know what your doing with that gaff. Are you sure that fish is ready to be landed. So many things that you'll not know the first time fishing the ocean and it will cause hesitation in decision making.

Are you going to stow that kingfish in way that its mouth is near your family jewels or where it can take off your exposed toes? Are you going to lift it up for the hero shot only to have it slip out of your hands flapping as hook buries into your flesh, causing you to loose balance and fall out of kayak. Are you going to have cutters handy to get yourself free, have you cut that big a hook before with one hand while in the water as your kayak floats away. So many things can go wrong. And one of my biggest pet peeves, what the hell are folks doing trolling with TWO rods. Do you realize how silly that is or more importantly what can go wrong.

Have you ever had a fish hit so hard it backlashed a baitcaster? a spinning reel? Oh so you had the drag set too loose. Have you ever had the drag set to tight? All these things especially for anyone fishing with gear they've never used or had little experience with are what can cause a disaster in one split second, even to seasoned kayakfishermen. What about your anchor? What do you do if that jack cravelle wraps your anchor rope? You won't have time to react fast enough if a big sharks takes your anchor wrapped jack and decides to leave the area. Will you be spending time trying to untangle your fish or will you know to immediately release anchor rope from kayak.

Like others here that have learned a little at a time there are so many ways to screw up and unfortunately weather is by far the most likely to give you your first wake up call . Everyone gets blown away at some point so why take a chance when you're new to the ocean.

When I first started trolling big live baits on heavier rods and reels, I experienced line twist from rigged ballyhoo that might have gotten bit or weren't properly rigged on my part to keep from spinning. Even with a swivel the line would twist so bad that if any slack got between rod tip and bait, it would immediately make three or four tight wraps around rod tip. Any fish that might hit my bait at that point would be like having drag set on lock down and the result would either be the ripping of my rod and rod holder from kayak or more likely pulling me over in a split second and then followed closely by rod ripping from kayak.

Hope others will point out the things safety wise that made the most impression on them.

In the meantime read SeaKayakers Deep Trouble if you want to take your own safety and others more seriously.

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=deep...ep+trouble+book

only problem i have is a newbie alone should never be out btb looking for sharks. come on man. lesson learned. btw i'm twice your age and did some crazy stuff in my 20's but i aint messin with sharks lol. glad u made out of there.

Wow! I can't believe you guys are calling this guy who accidentally lost his life names. I think it's crazy to hit the offshore waters in a yak but he did . He's not a jerk,he's just teaching folks the dangers of it. I am amazed at the weight and balance issues on a shallow river that I fish! Much less an ocean. Just looking at yaknyotas loaded down kayak for 10 minutes I learned about 10 years worth of knowledge about weight distruibution and techniques to lighten what I already have. So there is alot to learn I'm sure about blue water ! I personally won't because I've seen giant bull sharks before in the gulf that bit tight through two two hundred lb leaders with ease. That's just me.

Dude that is a crazy trip! Had to be fun though. Glad u made it back in one peice.

Holy cow, I been in destin on vacation and suddenly this post shows up. Because I am a loud mouth, so I feel I must chime in!

1. Thank god Bobby didn't pull this stunt when he had my PA.
2. Btb in a new yak by yourself is risking a lot. U only get to fail once and it's game over and we will be seeing you on the news.
3. Can I some of that king mackerel? I lost the only one I hooked in destin.
4. For someone who took 10 weeks just to have the cohones to drill a hole in a kayak for a fish finder, figured it would of taken u several years to feel safe enough to go btb by yourself.

Hahahaha JT, I actually was thinking this when I got back to the beach that second day: "Man, if I was in JT's ProAngler again this trip he would KILL ME when he found out."

I was very careful when I was in your PA, and now wish I had had that same attitude in my own boat.

I didn't bring back any kingfish brother or it would be all yours. I had some at camp but had 2 more days of camping on the beach and didn't want to try to keep fish fresh for that long. I'll be back down there soon though and will bring you back some fillets!

Not that it matters... but in my opinion, if Bobby wants to risk his life to catch a fish of a lifetime, that is his business and only his business. If you guys disagree with his decision maybe it would be best to say it kindly. "What an idiot" doesn't really help anybody, and shines a negative light on this forum, which is the best in the world as far as I know. Bobby has a great passion for the sport, and while he is not as expirieneced as most, he made a decision and went with it. I don't think that he will ever argue that it was the right decision... He's not an idiot, he's not stupid. Yes he does promote himself but that's what it will take for him to achieve his goals...

Texan clay well said.

Oh Oh My turn!..

Bad Bobby Bad!

Haha just kidding...as one BTB solo angler here is my view on this...

Everything in this post is needed and should be in the spotlight ...except for name calling, my niece is better at that then y'all

The experience..
The public shaming..
The "near death experience"...

here is why

The report and post shows the best and worst of it...
It shows the badassery that you always see in reports and that always brings people into the sport...

it also shows what can go wrong in the blink of an eye and I'm glad because its not something that gets shown enough...

Posting it up as a near death experience did what it was suppose to do..pull people in and I'm glad that it did...when it comes to BTB I wish people would see more of the dark/bad side so they wont have a false sense of security out there...

This public shaming is needed so people who jump on the forums to read up know that situations like this do happen and they are avoidable by simply knowing the rules of offshore...


Safety has to be first when it comes to BTB...it has too or you could pay the price...

After everyones taken care of the shaming part I only have 2 requests for robert...

1. Please dont pull sharks up that close to ya hahaha they are powerful and quick little bastards and your arm is in prime bite range...it happens quicker than a turtle in the surf trust me amigo...

2. From this point on please keep safety your #1 priority...youve undoubtedly will have followers and they will try to copy you and your offshore adventures...once you make videos and reports it no longer becomes you making your own decisions but you setting a example for others that will follow you and want to repeat your trips...

An example...during a fishing tournament on baffin a kid had followed me out to my spot and to this i didnt mind..i launched a bit before him and was in some deep water...it was windy and rough but i was seasoned and knew what i was handling..i had no pfd...

soon after i hear a splash and i turn around to the kid following me in the water...he couldnt swim very well and i had to save him...when i asked him why he had no PFD he said "because i didnt see you with one on so i didnt think i needed it"..i wear my pfd every trip now...

There will be others like this kid who are going to follow suit robert, just guide em as best you can by example...

Say what you want about him but he got the point across as was intended from the start...be safe, smart, and quick out there thats all you can do...

I know you mentioned that you were going to post a video Robert about the incident, but judging the criticism you've already received, maybe not such a good idea!

The criticism couldn't bother me less. I don't care. I have big plans for the video that I think will benefit the sport. The guys who sit behind their keyboards on the couch and pass judgement can shove it, to be frank.

I think this video could do something bigger than me or my YouTube channel or YakFish TV. I think I have a rare opportunity to incorporate safety lessons and education into an exciting video. The problem with posting a "safety video" is nobody will watch it. Nobody cares. But if I can lure people into watching an exciting video, and sneak some valuable lessons into it once they're already watching, I may be able to "trick" people new to the sport into learning some very important truths. That is my vision for the 3rd video. I intend to use the first two to generate some anticipation for the 3rd to hopefully expand its reach.

I am limited by what I did and did not catch on camera, but I am going to do my best to create something positive out of this experience.

But who knows, they may suck. We will see how the mini-series turns out. I have only glanced at the footage.

If you're ready I am!...I'll make sure I have my

Besides, yours should be pretty good, I read that the Lone Ranger movie was a bust!

In the video will you be discussing what baits, lures and hook ups you used? You caught some nice fish and would love to see your setups. Once again glad you made it out ok and I look forward to the videos.