Hey yall,

Well, I finished the outrigger I made and its looking good.

However, I'm pretty concerned going to the bays during winter.
As some of yall know, weather in SE Texas is unpredictable.

I can handle heat and cold and even small showers.

But Since I've only been kayaking for 6 months, I am worried about wind. When I was on the bank, I would use wind to my advantage. But on a kayak, I worry about safety.

I wanted to ask the Pro Kayakers here:

How windy (knot wise) is TOO windy to be out and about on a kayak?


I paddle a Castaway 116 and yes I always wear my PFD.

I'd say whatever you're comfortable with, honestly.

Good advice. Its different for different people. I have experienced wind that I could not make head way in +45MPH and don't want to experience that again. I don't like anything more than 15 MPH (makes fishing harder for LMB), but thats me. I'll go out in more if I know I can find a lea spot. Find your zone.

In my opinion, with the castaway any wins that will put water over the bow is to much for it.....theCast doesn't have a sealed front hatch which WILL ALLOW water to enter the hull!.

But, I'm very comfortable in 15mph winds with the pescador (front hatch is water tight) and seeing as to how I drift the front of my boat is always into the wind

Water in the hull will eventually make the kayak VERY UNSTABLE!! Think this also played a part in what happened to my buddy a couple Weeks ago. Don't get me wrong I used the castaway for over a year and it handles what I felt comfortable in at the time, but if the winds are making the waves crash over and not under, I strongly recommend not using the castaway in COLD WATER, summer time is a while other story

Depends where you are fishing. If you are on a lake and can fish a protected shoreline or a cove then you would be fine except for really high winds. I tried to paddle upstream in the Brazos into a 35 mph wind and could not make any headway. If I had gotten upstream where I wanted to fish before the wind picked up it would have been just fine. BTW, take an anchor too.

If you ever fish open water on the coast just make dang sure there isn't a north wind in the forecast.

If its warm out ill go out up to 25. To me the kayak you're in makes a big difference. In cold weather I really really don't want to take any chances. If its sustained winds over 12-15mph then ill usually stay in. The other difference to me is the type of water you're fishing. You can get away with a lot higher winds fishing a creek than you can out trying to fish points or cross the main lake. My advice is if you look at the weather and it makes you think about it more than 5 seconds then you should probably stay in or bank it that day. With more time on the water you'll get more comfortable and better understand the limits of you and your equipment. This is a fun hobby and not worth risking your life over.

I don't get paid to kayak fish unless I'm winning a tournament or something like that & I'm not Sponsored. Even with my time on the water, I Still don't consider myself a pro...

But, some friends n i have kayaked (played) out in the middle of
GV lake in 35+mph winds (late spring w/out fishing tackle too) it's a blast but exhausting! I never felt i was in any danger in my new at the time 2010 ride135. but when i got to shore and found more than a few gallons of water in the yak then i realized things could have gone wrong because
I would have turtled at some point and that yak was never designed for that. That front hatch never sealed correctly. i think it was the gasket and I told the nice guy all about it when he bought it from me. The rest of the guys were in new ocean drifters and they didn't have a drop of water in there yaks. i bought a drifter afterwards! Have also taken on some giant swells (scary jack) BTB during sharkathon in a cobra fishndive. i dont advise anyone do that because although u will eventually hit the beach the fish can take u apart before u do. i always put several large pool noodles inside my yaks for extra floatation. But understand that there are a lot of things that could go wrong especially when your unprepared, have the wrong yak and lack-experience.

U have the wrong yak for windy conditions. Knowing what i know, I wouldn't chance it in a pelican. Upgrade before you even think about taking on some whitecap action is my advise. One among us almost lost his life using a pelican on Tawak (big lake) a few weeks back (17mph winds). Believe me. I was there & we help save him right guys?

Okay thanks yall.

Believe me, I wanted to get a much better quality kayak when I first started, but the costs were just too much (even on Craigslist).

As I said, I have built an outrigger now to help stabilize it (costs were less than half of buying one).

I also have an anchor with trolley (also home-made, and it works great).

The front hatch is not sealed. But after inspecting it, I think I can fix that with some adhesive foam weather strips. To simulate water splashing over, I think I can spray it thoroughly with a gardenhose and look inside the hatch. If it works, Great!, if not, Oh well...

I dont venture into the middle of the bays/lakes, nor do I need to or like to. Too much paddling, not enough fishing

Where??

Aden stabilizers work well in smooth water. They cause damage to your yak and put u in more danger in rough conditions.

Okay...so it doesn't come off as a "troll" post...

AdanV - there are no "Pro Kaddlers" here. Just amateurs. Not that there's anything wrong with that. By definition, amateurs do it for the love, not money. Amateurs can be equally as passionate, and often moreso, than any professional, but there's no need to mix words.

I think all these signature tags and whatnot are obviously creating a level of confusion - there are no "Pro Kayakers" here, no matter what all the signature tags say.

This is a good question, however its difficult to give an answer that will fit. A 20mph wind here on lake austin is not the same wind as it would be on an open lake. Take that same wind give it a north west direction and my lake becomes to windy to fish...

As mentioned before it's really about what you feel comfortable with, and there are also a lot of variables unless you are fishing in unprotected waters such as a bay or anywhere that you can't get out of the wind.
Going out with the wind isn't going to be a problem with it at your back, but you have to remember that you will have to return into that wind.
I've been caught in a wind when a front blew in earlier than expected and knowing it was coming I didn't venture further than what I considered safe, which turned out to be a smart move.
Just know your capabilities and that of your kayak before you get in over your head, so to speak.

There's really no correct answer to this.

It's like someone asking how much whitewater is too much whitewater?

You have to take it slow at first until you can establish a comfort zone. By asking the question, it says to me that this comfort zone isn't very well defined, which means more time on the water, but just take it slow. If it feels rough, stay close to shore. Wear your PFD. You have to build some confidence and get a feel for what's too much.