First of all I'm glad you made it out alive. A lot of things you pointed out could have easily combined to make the result much worst.
I hate PFD's in the summer time. I bought a inflatable last year and hardly know its there. Hey we all make mistakes, it's if we take the opportunity to learn from them that makes the experance useable time, or wasted.

Ole tummy knotted,
told someone not to go in,
they didn't listen,
they went in anyways,
they drowned,
nothing no one could do.
So glad you're safe Todd.

I just spent $130 on a life jacket that is very comfortable and not restricting for this very reason. I figure if it gets me home safe for my wife and son it's worth the $$$. I just started wearing one 100% of the time when I got this pfd. Its an NRS ninja. Ordered it at 230pm and had it the next day from ACK.

http://www.austinkayak.com/products/3235/NRS-Ninja-PFD-Life-Jacket-PFD.html

Thanks for sharing your story.

Glad it worked out brother. Always good for the rest of us to hear a reminder of what can happen. It's always as soon as you get comfortable and think "can't happen to me" that something goes wrong.

Glad you're ok. I'm sad myself, to hear anyone lost all their gear. I've gotten lax on wearing my PFD, but I think I'm going to look into an inflatable.

I know I've taken myself close to the limit many times. It seems it takes a real nasty episode to bring us back to staying within the threshold. I've had the anchor problem many times. It's risky to pull hard, and can be even worse, when it comes loose.

I really need a good solution for securing my gear. Just like with the risk taking, I haven't lost anything, yet. I roll around with 2k worth of gear, just waiting to drop it into the abyss, never to be seen again. I would be devastated. I remember when I had one Kistler rod. I remember saying, "I'm done with fishing".

Who's got a good gear tie down scheme? I have a crate with launcher type PVC tubes, and a lot of stock tie downs on deck with the Jackson Cuda.,

I considered the inflatable, but wondered if the automatic ones would possibly get wet and inflate accidentally on a yak. Plus I like to take a swim to cool off once in a while, and putting it back on wet would probably inflate it also. The manual inflatable is a great idea as long as you are not knocked out.

My bro sank his john boat in ray roberts one sunday morn. My son and I were there to aid. There are many things we should study as kayakers. Even more important than stroke for me is rescue and aid maneuvers. Glad you kept a cool head and did what it took to self rescue.

Here's a pic to the shot I took to the dome. My momma always said I was hard headed. Guess it paid off this time..

Dang man, any idea what you hit? How deep was the water you were anchored in? Glad you made it to tell this story. Sorry about all your gear.

Man u got lucky on that one. Good thing.

Wow - that knot really makes one rethink the PFD. A couple minutes of being knocked out could mean certain death. Also might make one reconsider if inflatables on manual make sense.

Todd, it takes a lot to post this stuff....thanks for doing it - it's an eye-opener.

Glad you are safe and sound! The Good Lord was watching over you!!!

I was close to knocked out I think. But I don't really remember. Just glad I made it back. My wife says I have a concussion.

Thanks for sharing your story. It's a good reminder for everyone to always wear a PFD. Especially with it being that time of year with boat traffic really picking up. Glad you made it out of that situation in one piece.

BTW, The auto inflatables have to be submerged in water for them to deploy. Just don't drop it in the water by accident and they're fine for kayaking in.

That is beast of a bass in your sig, amazing fish.