The King and I

Passing the first rig on the way back in.
Photo credit to Tod Johnson @SAHunter_Outdoors

I took my first offshore trip in a kayak last weekend.  It is something I have been really itching to do since I went on my Great White dive last summer.  Fitting that almost a month short of the one year anniversary of that trip I was finally able to get back out to the blue water.  This time in my weapon of choice, a kayak.  I posted a story on my experience on my facebook page last weekend that can be found below but as I thought about it more I began to assess all of the things I could have done differently to prevent the bad things that happened on the trip. Let me start off by saying I am in no way an expert at blue water kayak fishing.  What I am is a novice who just learned several valuable lessons that are fresh in my mind and those lessons might be helpful to those of you who want to give blue water kayak fishing a try.  

1. Don't take anything out you are afraid to lose.  Especially your first trip out.
2. If at all possible spend some time playing in the surf with your boat unrigged before you go out rigged.  
3. Ensure you are able to flip your boat upright and renenter the boat in water above your head.  This can be a challenge when waves are hitting you.
4. Make sure everything is lashed down.  Even if it floats lash it down
5. Stow your hat and sunglasses while you go through the surf and put them on after.  Better to not have them on initially than to lose them and not have them on all day.
6. Don't have anything rigged up on your rods when you go out.  If you flip with a rigged rod you run the risk of getting hooked.
7. Once you have made it through the surf successfully check everything on your boat to make sure that it wasn't broken or lost.
8. Once past the surf zone watch out for rogue waves.  If you aren't paying attention a big roller could knock you out of the boat.  
9. On the way back in if you doubt your reentry skills just jump out, grab the front of the boat and hang on.  
10. Go with someone who is profficient in blue water fishing from a kayak if at all possible.  It also helps if this person is patient.
11. Last but not least, wear pants that will stay buttoned up when you get rolled in the surf :)

This is by no means a complete list of things I took away from my first trip.  Beyond the Breakers (BTB) kayaking is such a different beast than flat water kayaking.  While safety should always be your primary concern regardless of the type of water you are on, everything is magnified when you go BTB. Mistakes are easier to make and the consequences of those mistakes are usually more immediately threatening.  Always wear your PFD and always go with a buddy.

Safely back on shore with my first King
Photo credit to Tod Johnson @SAHunter_Outdoors

All in all my trip was awesome and I have been thinking of little else other than my next trip to the blue.  Check out my story below if you haven't read it already.  As I rethink my strategy for rigging and prepping for my next BTB trip I will post a follow up to this so keep an eye out.  See my account from the trip below.

Story time kids. As you might have seen or heard I had my first offshore adventure in a kayak yesterday. I hooked up with Tod Johnson and Glenn Madden among many others Saturday AM at sun up. We got all rigged up and set off through the surf. I attempted to paddle out initially because I feared my Propel drive would bottom out in the surf. In the breakers a wave hit me and tipped the yak in about chest deep water. I tipped the yak back over and got back in just in time for another wave to tip me again. At that point I lost my sunglasses, bait, hat, and one shoe, and my propel drive was just barely hanging from the boat. I decided it was best to go back in and re-rig the boat and collect myself. After lashing my drive a little better I went back out and contemplated what to do. After looking at the waves for several minutes I began to feel defeated. I took the boat back in and was about to leave when I had a short conversation with another angler on the shore about what to do. I decided to give it one more try. This time I walked out about waist deep, put my drive down, hopped in and blasted through all the breakers like a boss . grin emoticon Tod was waiting for me, luckily with bait. We began paddling towards the rigs which werr several miles out from shore. Once we started to get into clean water we hooked up ribbon fish as bait and began trolling. Just before we got to the first rig my reel started to scream. I grabbed the rod and engaged it causing it to immediately bow with the strength of the fish. I fought the fish for a few seconds and thought he got off. It turns out he was just running sideways and I couldn't feel him. When I finally felt him again he threw the hooks. Feeling encouraged and adrenaline fueled I threw another bait out and started trolling. After passing the first rig I hooked up again and the fish started ripping drag. Then the line sunk into the spool and the fish immediately popped the 30 lb mono topshot. Now I was starting to feel a little frustrated. As we reached the second in a line of 4 oil rigs I decided to try and catch some bait. Using a smaller rod I was jigging on the oil rig using my propel drive to hold the kayak just a few feet off of the rig in 2-4 foot swells. I picked up what I believe was several small snapper but nothing I could use for bait. I decided to keep trolling. Between the third and forth rig I hooked up again and was almost immediately broke off. This was also about the time one of the other guys hooked up a spinner shark that went airborne with acrobatic aerial spin before spitting the hook. That was pretty awesome to see. I trolled back and forth between the farthest three rigs eventually hooking up with a kingfish. I fought him for several minutes before he eventually ran into my Propel drive. I gave him a little slack and was eventually able to pull him free and land him. I finally had my first keeper offshore fish from a yak. Later on I trolled up a Spanish Mackrel and pulled a couple of triggerfish off of the rigs. At some point my GoPro came off the kayak and fell into the water, I believe due to damage suffered during my rolls in the surf. At this point Tod and I headed back in. Reentry to the surf is generally the toughest part of any offshore trip and it certainly was for me. I rolled almost immediately in water too deep to stand and during this process my pants ended up around my knees and I had to figure out which problem to fix first. smile emoticon I pulled up my pants, climbed on top of my yak and flipped it back over. Miraculously I lost nothing this time except a little pride. I opted to stay in the water and hang onto the front of the yak all the way in to the beach. Tod and I took pictures, loaded up yaks, and got a quick kingfish cleaning session from Professor Salt himself. I was emotionally and physically worn out. It seems like a lot of bad things happened on this trip but that isn't the way I see it. I overcame the initial defeat that was thrown at me to get out and fish the blue from a yak. I learned very valuable lessons I can use for next time, and trust me....there will be a next time. Thanks to my Railblaza team member Tod and to Glenn Madden AKA Professor Salt for helping me through this adventure.