Im not a daredevil or anything but I could see myself out there and catch a good current and get WAAAAAYYYYY offshore and take $100 bill and just hail somebody on the radio sayin " Im out here by the deep shore horizon somebody give me a ride back for $100 and a seafood dinner..." I guess if I was scared I would still have a good time just past the beach in the surf... I would need a good camera in case a shark trys to bite me.

If I ventured to do that one of you guys would be posting my photo on here under the caption, "Look At This Idiot 20 Miles Out On A Kayak". That doesn't sound safe to me...

You are mad. I mean that in the best possible way.

That assumes that your handheld VHF can broadcast far enough to hail the nearest vessel, which could easily be 3o-50 miles away in that scenario.

Good luck. See you in the headlines.

I hope yall saw that episode of myth busters where they were in the water with the sharks, that was awesome.

Everyone should watch and read this the ocean can swallow you up in a blink of an eye..






The ling that won..

went offshore in the evening yesterday, paddled to the bob hall standpipe..i washed my kayak out and checked it all over before going..i tightened the plug and went inside for and hour, loaded up the yak and headed out..about halfway to the standpipe i checked the hull for water because it was feeling tippy..pure shock when i opened the hatch it was half full of water..i bailed out as much water as i could and kept paddling(should have read the warning signs and headed to the beach) every 10 minutes i was bailing water, i figured if i could get the rig and tie up i could bail all the water out and reassess the situation(i thought i was taking water on from the crack under my seat)

Got to the rig and was tired from the effort of paddling and bailing out water..bailed all the water out and started fishing..put a live blue runner way out on a float and started fishing cut bait under the yak..saw a bunch of undersized ling under the yak..had to bail the yak out after 15minutes, at this point i knew it wasn't the crack under my seat i hadn't taken any water over the top..caught and released a nice ling caught on my Calcutta 400TE estimated at 36inches..bailed the yak out again(should have made the journey home)

hooked another ling halfway down the water column this one was a beast! the fight went on too long and i took too much water..ended up flipping the yak in 42feet of water holding the ling i estimated at 45 inches..it is on video, kinda gives me chills to watch it, if you go frame by frame you can see the ling and the rod i caught it on heading for the depths..lost my wallet(don't know how it came out of my pocket), one of my rods(Calcutta 400TE on a trevalla) and my knife(cold steel recon, buy one they are awesome)may have lost some other stuff but i can't remember so whatever..

so here i am in 42feet of water with a yak that's too tippy to get on(i tried it flipped again) and i have been chumming for the last hour..decided to get the important things that were floating..paddle and water baler were on the top of the list..went to the front hatch and started bailing water..got about half of it out when i look up to see a center console cruising by a hundred yards away..i go their attention and got onboard my blue runner on a float was still out and i got tangled in the braid as the prop of the boat wrapped it up(cut the Sh!t out of my feet) they were VERY nice and knew who i was..

they gave me and the yak a ride back a little passed bob hall it was getting kinda dark by now..i got on the tippy yak and headed in the first breaker pretty much flipped me so i just swam it in the rest of the way..could have been allot worse, could be sitting on the standpipe right now or in a sharks belly..pretty sure i could have got it sorted out myself, but i am VERY thankful to the guys that helped out..pretty sure i swallow some salt water..still don't feel very good..

so when i got to the beach i turned the yak over and looked it over..it has a 3 inch crack under the the yak in the back and the PLUG WAS UNSCREWED! i screwed the plug in i remember doing it and checking that it was tight..i didn't unscrew it neither did my wife..my honest opinion is someone came into my yard and sabotaged it in the hour i was inside my house..wouldn't be the first time someone has tried to kill me in the last few years(i have a very good idea of who it was, they have tried to kill me before..but paid someone else to do it) don't really think calling the cops will do anything so i will continue to carry my 1911 and live my life the way i have been...


there was shovel sitting near the yak in the hour i was inside my house before i left, i put it in the crack and it fit perfectly...someone did that to my kayak..

the Tarpon100 will never go BTB again it may not even be usable anymore..will be doing a serious check on my yak at the beach from now on..

You Tube
Everyone should watch and read this the ocean can swallow you up in a blink of an eye..
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Better be glad it was Tx ,east or west coast it would not have been good deeper water and he`d been chumming great white or ??would most likely have found him.Sorry that`s just not enough boat between me and the water and fish.But that`s pretty sad someone did that to him musta pizzed someone off. Glad a boat was nearby to help him and yet [another reason not to go by yourself]..

That was a heartbreaker you did good by going fishing I probably wouldn't of turned around either, I would of stuffed a sock in the hole and filled up the ice chest. I have seen alot of people swimming in the water with sharks I think it might be ok as in you aint sure to be hit by a shark but you never know...

Sounds like a horrible idea and a good way to get yourself killed.

U think that shark stuff is[ BS ]look it up,,under Calif. shark attack just month or so ago.A yakker got hit 22in bite mark on his yak meaning at least 16ft.great white he was pulled out of the water just in case.Just a few weeks ago father and son Cape Cod area father got hit body surfing. Yes this is Texas we don`t have incidents here like that but fish have been hit while pulling fish out of the water while in yaks and in bigger boats can`t imagine had bad that would go in a yak. You don`t disrespect the gulf anything can happen bottom line....

My Grandfather was a lifeguard in Galveston in the 20's. They had several sharks caught with various body parts being digested. Biggest was a 18 foot hammerhead with half a body still in it.

I worked on a offshore platform, and saw more than a few that would have had no problem scarfing someone down.

So, go tear it up. Write a book and take pictures.

Sharks would be the LEAST of my concern. I work offshore and we hear stories and hear distress calls ALL the time about idiots going offshore in Full-size vessels and encountering trouble asking the coast guard to come save their butts (costing us tax payers lots of money). The ocean can be a viscious, brutal beast. I've seen it go from flat calm to 10-12' seas in less than an hour. Weather reports are Never That accurate. Anything can happen.

And you think your just going to bring a handheld vhf radio to hail someone if you get in trouble? Think again, that handheld radio would maybe broadcast a little over 2 miles at that height.

I wouldn't go offshore in a personal vessel without A) several gallons of drinking water B) distress flares C) VHF radio with antenna D) GPS E) compass F) Lifejacket's G) full tank of gas

You never know what could happen on a kayak...have you ever been offshore in a slight chop and tryed to spot a person more than a hundred yards away? It's Very difficult. I could list reasons all day long why its a bad idea.

I snagged the story from 2cool fishing.

I know they are rare but Great whites do roam through the gulf. Honestly Sharks are probably your least worrie.

Dont let all these guys scare you from your very possible idea. Kayaks are a blast, do some shopping, figure out whats in your price range and have fun with it. For me it was a 13'7" Ocean Kayak Drifter whole rig cost me about $1,000 but I can take multi day trips and haul up to 550lbs including me.

However Kayaking in the gulf is alot like sky diving. Another words....

If at first you dont succed BTB Kayaking is not for you.

I have been cought in bad weather on a perfectly clear day near the shore and it was terrifying. Couldnt imagine being cought out in the gulf next to a rig in bad weather.

Bottom line its very dangerous but very possible. Check everything twice, make lists, take all safety percautions and your about 85% sure you will be okay. The other 15% comes in when all your planning is for not and you have to go on gut instinct and a little luck never hurt anyone.

Enjoy,
Alex R.