Fishing Frenzy

My wife knows never to leave me alone because I have a history of making impulse purchases when left alone. I get restless. On this particular hot day I decide to buy a kayak. I rushed down to our Local Dick's Sporting Goods store and in short order I had selected my kayak based largely on two loose criteria. The vessel would need to be under $200 and match the color scheme of my swimsuit.

One great thing about kayaking is that one man can easily handle strapping it to an automobile and launching it to the water without any assistance. I strapped the boat to my truck and rushed home to change into my swim suit and get my fishing gear. I saw the instruction and warranty manual and a couple of tags hanging off the kayak, but I was ready for water and cast them aside like yesterdays newspaper. The lake was calling my name and the time was right.

I arrived at the lake and launched the kayak next to a pier. Now it was time for me to get in. Weighing in nearly 250 pounds I was considering the best way to enter the boat. I chose the simple "just get in" approach. As I planted my foot in the seat the boat shot across the water about 20 feet from the pier. I went air born and landed square on my back in the water. Actually part of the reason I came to the lake was to cool off, so the fact that I got wet was not necessarily a bad thing.

Needless to say I landed flat on my back in the water. The thing is on that particular day it was not only hot, but the wind was blowing pretty stiff at the time. My kayak was underway without me in it.

As I surfaced for air I saw my new kayak being swept away at a pretty rapid pace. Fortunately I am a better than average swimmer and was able to retrieve it within a couple of minutes. I pushed it back to shore and thought of another plan. Since I was then already wet, it appeared the best approach was to try to stabilize the boat and enter it from the knee deep water closer to shore. I held both sides of the boat and rocked back and forth a little as I finally slid my legs through the hole and found the seat. It fit a bit snug though.

You see part of the reason the boat was so much more stable in the shallow water is that I was grounded on the gravel. I was in the boat, but the boat wasn't in the water. I tried pushing off with the paddle with little success. After more than a few minutes I finally figured out if I pumped forward I could get the kayak to inch forward ever so slightly. But the more I inched into the water the more unstable the kayak became. I finally broke free from the shore and was afloat.

I started paddling tying to balance the small vessel all the while fighting the wind. The water lapped at the edge of the top hole as the back end of the kayak was pretty much covered by water. To add insult to injury with all of this I could not help but notice that my struggles had become a substantial source of entertainment for a nearby family picnic.

By the time I had been swept about 100 yards from shore by the wind I drew the distinct conclusion that fishing in these conditions was simply out of the question. If I were to stop paddling even for a moment I would have been swept across the lake. At that moment my primary objective was to paddle back to the boat launch and go home. It took me nearly an hour to paddle back up wind and traverse that 100 yard distance from shore.

It was getting dark as I loaded the kayak on my truck and drove home. I collapsed on the couch with exhaustion. I turned my head to find the kayak specification manual on the coffee table there. I started to read and I learned that my particular vessel had a weight limit of 210 pounds. I learned that it was not designed for open water. My particular kayak was designed for swimming pools or small ponds. I also learned that if any vessel (even a kayak) does go on open water it should be registered and licensed with the state.

What I learned from all this is that choosing a kayak is far more complicated than I ever suspicioned. I also discovered that there are huge variations not only between vessel specifications, but also that kayaks are specialized for specific use. A kayak that is designed for the ocean might not work will in white water rapids and vice versa. So now you don't have to make the same mistakes I did. There are many good websites giving advice about kayak selection and training. Here is one in my bio.

Here is a tip, you will find nothing there requiring the color of the boat to match your swimsuit.