Kayaking in So.California
 

Hello fellow fisherman and fisherwoman :)
I have a question about kayaking in California..
According to boating regulations anything over 16’ must have a life vest and a pfd on board.. my question is this..
Do you have to wear a life vest on a 10’3” ?
New to this style of fishing..

Yes.

Actually no, but you should. Almost everyone does. And some lakes make it mandatory too.


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just like the saying with riding motorcycles goes, "It's not if you go down, but when."

Better to be safe than sorry and keep in on always.. if you flip in open water, you wan't it on you vs it floating away with your yard sale..

Also, there was a story a couple years back about a younger gentleman around 30 who launched at the shores grey light.. The yakers on shore noticed his kayak floating past the breakers but no one on it... search the forums for it..

Poor guy had a massive heart attack I believe while paddling through the breakers.... Imagine how hard a recovery would have been had he not been wearing his vest :(:(

fish on!

:iagree: IÂ’m gonna make sure I buy a life vest thanks for the feedback!

Two Rules
 

When I got my first kayak, my wonderful smart wife said "Two rules. Life jacket and sunscreen." I keep a tube of sunscreen in my yak, and I always wear my PFD, and my lovely wife still lets me go yakking.
Seriously, I took my adult son kayaking one time, got to the launch and realized we only had one PFD. I made the round trip for the other while my son watched our gear.
It doesn't matter how good you can swim, things can happen.

A PFD could also be useful fishing vest to all you to keep your phone and other needed fishing gear in its pockets.

nowadays they make inflatable pfds, just some velcro and a c02 canister with a tab that you pull in case of emergency that inflates your PFD so you don't have to worry about the bulky strain from a traditional pfd they are less than a pound in weight sometimes and worth that $100... :cheers1:

Inflatable Life vests are my favorites because of their small size. There are two types: Auto Inflatable and Manual Inflatable. Some people like the auto inflatable because it will auto inflate if they somehow become unconscious. I prefer manual, because it will not accidentally inflate when transiting surf, and sometimes it's better to keep the vest uninflated as it impedes your ability to swim.

I always wear my PFD. Nice dry place to keep my phone, clip a VHF radio or GoPro on and store stuff like chapstick, license/ID, snacks, etc. It's really not that bulky and really more of a convenience with all the extra storage. I thought about the inflatable PFD myself, but my biggest reason for wearing a PFD in the first place is the "what if" scenarios out of my control. What if I flip on a launch/landing and get knocked out? What if it's foggy and an ignorant boater runs into me and knocks me out? What if my buddy forgets to open the bail on his coffee grinder and whacks me on the head with a heavy lure and knocks me out? In all these scenarios, I'd probably be unable to inflate the PFD. And as John mentioned, I don't want an automatic one to be going off on me when I'm going through surf or rinsing it down or something. I use the NRS Chinook that I got at OEX with my first kayak. Never leave shore without it.