A story from my early years in kayak fishing.




http://www.paynespaddlefish.com/2013/05/hearing-footsteps-of-death.html

That's a good wake up call Paynefish!
Mother Nature can be a cruel at times, no matter where or what the forcast is, it can change in a heart beat with little warning. Fishing in the creeks and rivers can block vision and sometimes sounds. Carrying a few extra pounds of emergency gear will help too. Try to have a game plan and a escape bank before going out.
With the warmer weather now here, we are getting a lot of new folks who don't have a clue how to ride out the storm instead of " I can beat it " be safe and bank it until it passes. Rivers can rise even if you are not getting rained on, be ready and prepared, many have learned that lesson waking up with a tent full of water camping on the river banks. Carry the gear and learn how to use it, putting a flint striker in the gear is great but worthless if you don't know how to use it.

Hoping this serves as a starter discussion for some of our new and even seasoned folks. That trip changed my kayaking forever. Fail to prepare and prepare to fail.

Great story of a scary event in your life. I have shared it on our store Facebook site.

Scary stuff Chris

Great story Chris makes one think you just never know?I always think I'm going prepared but there are times when all the preparation doesn't work when Mother Nature throws that curve ball.Glad your ok and thanks for the heads up, with all the weather we have been having lately you just never know when that freak storm will pop up.

The longer you spend time in the outdoors whether it be fishing or hunting you will find yourself in what could be a life threatening experience.....It's not if, but when, and you have to have enough confidence in you're abilites to overcome them.
That comes with experience and planning and also luck, or I prefer to think it's my prayers.
It's watching out for the weather, and maybe rescheduling a trip or just listening to you're gut, and knowing when to turn back or call it a day.
I've been through too many close calls to write them all down here, but just be alert and aware because it will happen!

I have learned a lot since this incident. It's also a big reason I prefer sit on tops too.

spooky! Well written to the point that I felt I was there with you. Actually, Lake Belton has caught me twice in a simmilar situation only in my bass boat. So has PK,Squaw Creek/Granbury(same day),Eagle Mountain, and now lake Austin in my yak. 100% could have been avoided if I would have been paying attention and not so focused on the fishing. That and those high walled south/west side banks can let a storm really sneak in on you.
Great topic Mr. Payne!

Great read. Thanks for sharing it.

Thanks for reading guys!

As long as I can remember, I've always been fascinated with bad weather. One of my earliest memories was when I was four or five years old and our family had to run across the street to the school storm cellar. Remember vividly the opening of the cellar door as the men of the community would look out to see if the coast was clear. Other than that first time, I don't believe I was ever afraid afterwards. For many years, well into my early 20s, my reoccuring dream involved rows and rows of approaching tornados that appeared every time the night sky was illuminated by bright lightning strikes.

In 1987 I moved to south Florida, the lightning capital of the world. A few years later I experienced Hurricane Andrew. Like growing up in Texas, the weather in south Florida was exciting to me and when I took up kayaking, bad weather and being on the water fishing was about as exciting as it gets. Looking back I was stoopid, stoopid and very lucky.

It took me a year to decide on which kayak to buy though I must have rented every type sit on top available, at least 50 full days over that period. So when my kayak, the same Perception Illusion I still use today, arrived, it was straight to the beach. No rods and reels, just pfd, paddle, and surf to summit seating for practicing reentries. Fortunately or unfortunately, it was by far the worst day surf-wise that I would ever experience. It wasn't that the waves were the biggest I would ever be in or the windiest day I would ever experience, but it was the most treacherous. There had been a hurricane several days before and another one approaching and the waves were just incredible. It was like paddling into a rolling six foot brick wall. On my initial assult a wave knocked my breath out even though wearing a full frontal pfd. Soon after my brand new Surf to Summit Seat would bite the dust as I got turned around and a wave from behind exerted so much force it ripped the heavy duty stitching from one of the back straps that attaches to eye pad behind seat. I spent a couple of hours finding out how long I could stay on top of kayak without the use of a paddle (4 seconds), how the kayak would react to being hit from behind by rolling wall of water (I was catapulted backwards clearing stern of kayak as I did a backflip), and more importantly learned how to reboard in 4 seconds, the amount of time needed to be back in kayak and paddling dead ahead into next wave. Any longer than 4 seconds and it was back in the water. Not only did I have to be in kayak and paddling but the kayak had to be directly headed into wave before I started to paddle. If the kayak was even 15 to 20 degrees off being perpendicular to the oncoming wave that extra time it took for even one extra paddle stroke to get directly head on was a dealbreaker and it would be back in the water. I must have successfully reboarded kayak at least 20 times with many more failures.

What I learned that day was that you had to time the reentry exactly and that if you started reentry with kayak pointed directly into oncoming wave/wind it would be 15 to 20 degrees off center to the side you climbed back on, causing you to have to make extra strokes on that side once back in kayak. A small difference but one that would not work (knocked back off) under those conditions. You had to point the kayak 15 to 20 degrees to the right of direct oncoming wave to be pointed straight at it when reboarding from the left side of kayak, my preferred side.

I learned the importance of and how to swim using a paddle that day. Everyone should give that a try this summer. Look at your hands then look at your paddle blades.

I also learned that in those conditions if you were being blown away from shore (I wasn't that day, just off the beach with lots of folks around) the amount of energy needed to stay on a kayak can be eye opening and you had best come to the conclusion that there are circumstances that warrant you voluntarily take to the water beside your kayak. Any circumstance you have thought out before hand will likely cause less panic in real conditions.

Needless to say, I felt bulletproof after this day and went on to make every mistake you can make while not using common sense. Wind, rain, lightning, I loved em all. When your fishing line starts ballooning in lightning and thunder, use side arm casting technique, when it starts hailing, crawl under your kayak, if you know your kayak leaks, at least know how many gallons you can handle in your hull. If you think you can paddle through a squall, try it someday. If TowBoatUS offers rescue tell them to go help someone that needs it. Same with Coast Guard or any other enforcement agency that can't tell the difference from someone having the time of their life and someone truly in need. No wifey or children depending on me, leave me be.



Took this picture today after thinking back to that day when the strap stitching broke. Its my backup seat now but sure made a impression on me how strong the surf can be.

I didn't take pictures of the ocean that first day but wished I had.

Last year I went back to Florida for two months and visited a jetty area that I fished from land for years before giving it a go with my kayak. Only fished it once by kayak as it was more excitement than I could stand. Took the video below last year while in Florida of the same spot (Haulover Inlet, Bal Harbor) and paddle route I took years before to fish offshore. The photo below the video is the one picture I took before having to put camera away. Wished you could have seen what it looked like for the first quarter mile past the end of jetty. Coming back in was no piece of cake either. It doesn't look so bad in video but that jetty is 6 feet above the water line at high tide so you're looking down. From kayak view it was terrifying. Start of outgoing tide, incoming wind, just as it was that day. Standing waves created by upwelling, appearing out of nowhere.





Click on picture.

The real picture that morning going out. Didn't think I could turn around when it got bad so kept going.

I had a similar situation happen when I had my pelican, only I dumped over. Luckily, the wind was somewhat in my favor blowing me back to the bank. When I fished a lot of tournaments, I can't even start to think how many times we got caught in some serious storms, most of the time when you made it to a covered dock or something, there'd be a few other people hiding out waiting for it to pass.

PayneFish did I see you at mariner a couple days ago around lunch time? I was busy getting a deposit down on a nucanoe and I think it was you waiting in line behind me or at least your twin anyway.