What are your biggest concerns while fishing offshore?

[shawny]

Could be all along the same lines but for me it's:

Unexpected bad weather -> Capsizing/catastrophic kayak failure -> Panicking and forgetting all the important safety protocol -> Hypothermia -> Shark attack

I went out to LJ this past Sunday morning and at least from my perspective, conditions were pretty rough. It's been a long awhile since I've gone out and I must've done 5+ hull checks to make sure water wasn't leaking in. Also I wore my 3/2mm wetsuit underneath all my clothes (that's my fear of hypothermia showing) - I regretted it halfway through when the sun came out through clouds, but retracted my regret once the rain and wind picked up...

I'm definitely on the more paranoid side when it comes to kayak fishing preparedness but better safe the sorry right?

[FISH11]

My biggest fear when I go to La Jolla weekly is that it's going to be one of those days were the forecast said the surf height and wind was my desired top limit of surf 3' and wind no more than 11 mph or less and it turns into much higher wind while out and the surface gets really snotty. It just ruins the water conditions and it's no fun being out even drifting. Otherwise my only other fear is running out of beer.

[tak100]

The most persistent worry is wakes from larger boats.

The largest would be not being able to fight the wind/waves/weather to get back home.

The scariest day on the water I ever had was when a fog rolled in late morning. I could hear boats all around me and couldn't see any of them. Quite the pucker factor.

[JohnMckroidJr]

Originally Posted by tak100

The most persistent worry is wakes from larger boats.

The largest would be not being able to fight the wind/waves/weather to get back home.

The scariest day on the water I ever had was when a fog rolled in late morning. I could hear boats all around me and couldn't see any of them. Quite the pucker factor.

I share those concerns... If the wind is blowing off the land, I limit myself to 1 mile maximum offshore. Getting blow out to sea would be a nightmare.

Fog is eerie stuff. I have spent a week at anchor in thick soup fog on a big ship waiting for it to clear sufficient to go up the Houston ship channel.

If you think you might be getting in fog, carry an air horn. If the fog socks in, I would use the whistle signal for a vessel restricted in ability to maneuver. Which is to sound, at intervals of not more than 2 minutes, three blasts in succession, namely, one prolonged followed by two short blasts. A prolong blast is 4 to 6 seconds.

[JohnMckroidJr]

Originally Posted by FISH11

My biggest fear when I go to La Jolla weekly is that it's going to be one of those days were the forecast said the surf height and wind was my desired top limit of surf 3' and wind no more than 11 mph or less and it turns into much higher wind while out and the surface gets really snotty. It just ruins the water conditions and it's no fun being out even drifting. Otherwise my only other fear is running out of beer.

Sometimes if the surf gets bigger than forecast while out fishing, I will opt to go in an inlet instead of dealing with the chance of getting pummeled on the beach. Not so many inlets to choose from on the West Coast, but with your Solo skiff, you got more range, so maybe that will become an option. It's a bit awkward getting in an uber after kayak fishing to get back to the car, but so far no incidence.

[JohnMckroidJr]

Originally Posted by shawny

Could be all along the same lines but for me it's:

Unexpected bad weather -> Capsizing/catastrophic kayak failure -> Panicking and forgetting all the important safety protocol -> Hypothermia -> Shark attack


I'm definitely on the more paranoid side when it comes to kayak fishing preparedness but better safe the sorry right?

Agree, always better to be over-prepared than under. If your budget can afford it you might even consider a position locator beacon.

https://www.amazon.com/personal-loca...locator+beacon