5/13 am close encounters of the furry kind

[fishin steve]

Tks. Brad

[rdahl]

Had an aggressive one try to board me last weekend. It came up a foot from the yak, raised itself up to look to see if I had anything to eat, then he came up to the bow and tried to get on. First I slapped the water hard with the paddle, nothing-no fear from this dog, then poked him away. He came back again and I had to smack him. Then I paddled away like a scared puss until he left me alone. Sounds like a school bully story. Seems they are getting a little more bold each year. Damn beasts.

[yellowtail55]

Originally Posted by rdahl

Had an aggressive one try to board me last weekend. It came up a foot from the yak, raised itself up to look to see if I had anything to eat, then he came up to the bow and tried to get on.

You should have brought a paintball gun...

[JrBasser]

nice. I had a fatty furball swim right into my line that day, nice clicker run :-)

I was the kind who talked to you on the beach when you were bagging macs.

[Afran]

Knothead is a fucking asshole.

He picked me on Friday. Ran the flyliner, bit the body, left the head (standard). I started heading in and he was on the chase. Bottom bait goes screaming, Knothead comes up with my mac.

Basically he followed me in from the outside corner to past the inside of the hotel. He was way to comfortable, tracking me the whole way. Cruising under the yak, cruising next to me with his head out of the water. Ponded him off on a group of guys and went in.

I don't like him.
He should die.

[madscientist]

Originally Posted by Afran

Knothead is a fucking asshole.


I don't like him.
He should die.

I share those sentiments. That thing has crossed the line from a nuisance to a danger. They relocate bears that develop a taste for household trash. This guys fate should be the same. I'd say relocate him to Guadaloupe Island, he'll be very content.

I'm thinking about getting a slingshot but I'm not completely sure it would do anything other than piss him off. Might try from a boat, not sure from the yak.

[dgax65]

Originally Posted by madscientist

I'm thinking about getting a slingshot but I'm not completely sure it would do anything other than piss him off. Might try from a boat, not sure from the yak.

I would think that any "less than lethal" option poses a risk of pissing him off, rather than driving him away. There just aren't many options on a kayak if they decide to go after you. I don't think I'd want to risk using a sling shot. Unless you hit them on the jaw or in an eye it probably won't hurt them that much and those are the areas that you aren't supposed to injure. I think that the best deterrent would be pepper spray. Injuring a sea lion might prompt it to attack. Pepper spray would cause irritation and interfere with its breathing. It would then be less likely to come after you (disclaimer: not a marine mammal behavior expert....just a gut feeling). I bet it would only take getting sprayed once or twice and a sea lion would start avoiding kayaks. There would also be less chance of negative publicity; no noise, no lasting injury, nobody getting shot accidentally with a sling shot.
I think I'm going to go buy some OC spray. If Knothead mauls me on Saturday, disregard everything that I posted here

[yellowtail55]

Originally Posted by madscientist

I'm thinking about getting a slingshot but I'm not completely sure it would do anything other than piss him off. Might try from a boat, not sure from the yak.

I'll be sure to bring mine on saturday