Survey - Close Call

[ZenDaddy]

In the past this forum has had some great polls and surveys. In fact there has been long threads on best rod/reel combos, how to present bait, how to sink PVC into the beach, and my all time favorite - how to deploy bait without a kayak. (In true Texas form, it always comes down to some type of projectile.)

Here's a new one - best close call.

It was a weekend of highs and lows for me. Caught my first large shark. Also had a close call at San Luis Pass. On Sunday the waves were fairly high - but there was a heck of a current away from the beach. I guess a riptide of sorts. For those of you who don't know SLP it has some pretty wicked tides.

The kids could play on the beach but I wouldn't let them go in the water. My brother-in-law and I thought we would throw in one line a piece. I went out cast my line and came back. I noticed he was struggling a bit in the surf. Then I saw him swim out of a wave without his pole. I had my life jacket on and thought I'd help him retrive his pole. When I went out there he was in far enough that he could walk. The pole was about 10 yards behind him and floating. I swam after it.

The wave were big and rolling. A couple of strokes and I'd have it. A couple of more and for sure. Finally I caught up and grabbed the pole. I was out far ... but not ridiculously far. I started swimming back to shore. Oddly enough those big rolling waves that helped take me out to catch the pole were now smashing like crazy over top of me. I swam hard to the shore and was not making good progress. I was getting my *** kicked by waves. I was at the point I swallowed so much water I thought I was going to puke.

My brother in law came out to help. He had a life jacket on. I handed him the fishing pole and told him I had taken a pounding. In fact I was getting real worried. He told be to relax, go onto my back and time the waves. Breath deep and not to panic. Sound advice. I was getting real scared. I'll I could think about is how far the shore seemed to be. Oddly enough there were people swimming not twenty yards behind me. Here I was so spent and so out of breath I thought I was going to puke.

I imagine I was in the surf no more than 10 minutes. Finally, me feet could touch, the next set of waves and I could touch a bit more, a third set and I could walk. Unbelivable. If I didn't have a life jacket on ... it would have surely been the end. I'm thankful for my bro-in-laws sound advice.

Here's what I learned -

1.) Thankfully I had a jacket on - I will always wear one and keep plenty around at camp for those who dont.
2.) I shouldn't have bypassed my brother in law and went for his rod. I should have talked to him to understand that he abandoned it for a reason - the surf was rough and for a while he was struggling.
3.) A fishing pole - what the f#@* was I thinking? The odd thing is we rescued it.

How about it ... any of you have some close encounters while suf-fishing stories you would like to pass on?

[gundoctor]

It wasn't in the surf but it was at SLP.
Back about 73 or 74, I was fishing in the bay about 100 yds from the SLP bridge on the Galveston side. The current was really ripping in from the Gulf. There was a hole washed out just off the beach and several of us were casting down current into that hole and catching trout. I was standing in knee deep water when a freak wave knocked me into the hole and I started trying to swim back up into the shallow water. If it hadn't been for this young lady with all those red cross lifesaving badges on her swimsuit that came and got me out, I would have died that day. When they drug me up on the beach I couldn't stand for at least 5 minutes. I haven't been back wading in SLP since. That places kills too many people.
I'll wade the surf next to the pass and I'll wade the bay back away from the pass, but SLP only gets one chance at my life and it had that a long time ago. Wearing a life jacket while wading in knee deep water may not look cool but it sure can save your tail.
Last summer, Mont brought in a couple of people on his yak that were being swept out to sea at SLP.

[ZenDaddy]

Well GD, I thought it was a great idea for a post. I thought with all these adventerous types we would get to hear some great stories.

The only thing I can figure is most who post on this board are younger and may not recognize a close call when they see it. (Still in the immortal stage of life.)

Thanks for sharing the story. About wearing the lifejacket in the surf. I'm thinking of patenting a life vest worn under a shirt. Built in shoulder pads and six-pack make any fisherman look larger than life.

[Sace]

I've had a close call, not on the topic of fishing but here's my story....

I was about 20yrs old, had just bought a new Kawisaki Ninja. Was being cool tooling around taking the long way to work so I could sport my new bike. Found myself running late. I worked in a warehouse, so I come hauling butt through the parking lot. Parking lot seemed to be full so I headed to the back at a pretty quick pace. We always had about 3 Trailers sticking out from the warehouse and where the first trailor was that's where the parking ended and the gravel started. So I'm haulin butt through the parking lot and realize there's a car in the last spot before the gravel, I can't stop since brakes and gravel don't mix, and there's no room to turn around. It's either dump my brand new bike, or try and go under the trailer. So being the lame brain I am....I duck down past the gas tank, and try to kiss my butt good bye...well....as I go under the trailer I hit my head on something under there..which cause me to jerk the handle bars dropping the bike into a slide like a roundtrack racer....me and the bike slide the rest of the way without a scratch..other than the knarly nick on my brand new $500 helmet! So after I stop, check the bike..I push it up to the trailer to see the clearance...the front shield had about 2 1/2 inches of clearance under the trailer....If I would've known that I would've never tried to slow down...lol...actually..scared the "P' outta me...and became alot better rider after that...bikes are alot of fun, but the consequences for a mistake or bad judgement are really high...

[Skunk]

I had a close call at the tender age of 16. My idiot friends and I decided to float the Guadalupe river. All the outfitters were closed up due to unsafe water. Smart guys that we were we rented at the Comal and took the tubes to the horseshoe. We went through the horseshoe in like 5 minutes. Two guys were smart enough to rent life vests I was not one of them. We had to duck inside our tubes to get under the road crossings. In ares where normally you would have to paddle there were huge rolling swells. To sum it up we were morons.



At one point my tube was kicked back into a waterfall over one of those little damns. The water was pouring over me and I was thinking this is not good then my calf cramped up. Everything was going in slow motion and I started to think this is gona be it for me then miraculously the thing spit me out and down the river I went at 100mph.



When we got out one of my buddies got swept while trying to hold onto his tube and get out at the same time. He had one hand on a tube one on a branch and his mouth biting a branch to hold on. I look at the two guys with lifejackets on and tell them to go get him and they refuse. I take a lifejacket off one of the turds and go in and get my friend. I never thought of it as a big deal until years later.

[Omanj]

A few years ago I was fishing near the second bar around Pirates Beach on a choppy day and had the current grab me after a wave knocked me off my feet while casting out. The thing I remembered most was the strength of the current. I held on to my rod and reel and managed to float with the current pulling me further down the shore. Finally, I found my footing about 100 yards from where I was. If I had tried to fight the current, I am sure I would have been too exhausted to stay afloat. I remembered an article Joe Doggett had written about not panicking if you get caught in the current. Stay afloat and the current will take you to another sandbar eventually and you will be able to get back to shore, although you might have a longer walk than anticipated. Luckily, I read that article before going out that day.

[Sea-Slug]

I was fishing with Johnny Thompson and Shrimp-Dog at Bolivar about 5 miles North of the Jetty several years ago. It was about 3 to 5 ft. seas. We were wading out on second bar, casting, and coming back in. Johnny decided he could make the third bar. He did, and to my amazement, started dog paddleing to the fourth. Needless to say, he soon realized he was in big trouble. Thanks to the fact he was in good shape, and I had 30 or 40 feet of rope and a floating shrimp bucket, he is alive today, although during the recue we all three almost drowned. It was real close to headlines. If we wouldn't have grabbed some stuff and went out to help him, he was a sure gonner. I have also been caught in rip a few more times. I NEVER wade or yak a bait without a life jacket, no matter how uncool it looks. I am lucky I lived long enough to figure this out at age 35 or so. Before then, I never used one. They look uncool but they are a must in my opinion. For the last seven years, I never wade without one. Even with one I am alot more cautious than I used to be.

[willbo]

At last year's High Island Run, Gundoctor offered his kayak (don't remember which kind... help me here, Bill) to run out some big shark bait before sundown that Friday evening. The surf was pretty small, maybe 2-3 footers, and I had already deployed two 9/0s and a 4/0 wide from my yak. As it would be, the sun was dipping low and I was pressed to run out the last bait of the evening on GD's 9/0 before dark.

I boarded into GD's yak and quickly noticed it was quite a bit narrower than mine. This offered very little stability when I put too much stroke into one side or the other; however, I was able to yak his bait out approximately 270 to 300 yards.

As I turned to my right (I'm right handed) to reach behind me to drop the bait, I lost my balance in the short, narrow yak and dumped myself into the High Island surf.

Luckily, I was wearing a life jacket (as I always do when kayaking baits). I grabbed onto the back of the yak and pulled myself along side it as I bobbed up and down in the swells. As I topped out over a swell, I gathered myself and tried to leap out of the water and onto the yak.

The unstable yak just ducked its shoulder and rolled me back in the water like an unbroken colt.

By now, I was pretty tired from all of the dog-paddling and failed attempt to jump on the yak, not to mention the yakking I had been doing for the previous hour. All the while, thoughts of hungry toothy critters were in the back of my mind as the sunset brought on feeding time. I was hoping that all of the big, bloody shark baits in my area didn't work for once, as I was a splashing commotion that was sure to grab some sharks attention.

I finally had the idea to mount the yak from behind....... John Wayne style. I manuevered the yak out in front of me as I steadied it with both hands. Then, with one last burst of energy, I leapt up and pushed the yak back under me as I slid onto the back. Whew! I had made it.

That was my close encounter of the toothy kind... and that's as close as I ever want to get in their territory.

willbo

[Sea-Slug]

Willbo, What kind-a Yak do you have. Mine is pretty unstable to, and it is almost impossible to remount in the surf. Maybe I need to upgrade to one like yours. Luckily, I never have dumped past the breakers. If I dump in the breakers, I just swim back in and drive down to fetch my Yak. I always had a fear of dumping on the turn -around after dropping my bait. I thought they were all unmountable in the swells. I guess I need a bigger Yak. Mine is a Coleman Quest, it is same length as Gundoctors but a little wider, but it has a higher center of gravity. I checked GD's out at the H.I. Run last August. Mine was the red one we were running out baits about 300 yards. We were down about 250 yards South of yall the evening you caught that big Lemon. I almost dumped out there a few times that day.

[gundoctor]

I've got a OK Scrambler. It is a little less stable than a Frenzy or a Scrambler XT, so I do have to pay attention to my balance. So far I haven't had a problem. I've been dumped a few times in the surf, but never out past the third bar. When I do get dumped, I just hold on to the paddle and swim the yak back in.
The Scrambler is a very fast yak compared to the Frenzy, so I can get out in much heavier surf. It turns plenty fast for me and tracks well. I use the paddle as a rudder, to keep things going the way I want, when I catch a wave on the way in.
I don't have a seat in it yet, so paddling any great distance really kills my back.
Some day, maybe I'll get enough extra cash and upgrade to a XT.

[SurfRunner]

I got dumped in a boat several years ago taking baits out from the Dirty Pelican Pier. We as far as the end of it , which is several yards farther than it is now. We had to roll the boat upside down to trap air so it will float as we held on. Not only that, The gas tank was trapped underneath and leaking fumes. That in itself made my eyes burn. We just held on until we finally drifted in.

[Tail Chaser]

From the sounds of things it's a wonder most of us are still around. I was fishing the East Beach surf near the condos once back in 1997 when I had a run in with a rip current. The surf was way too torn up to be fishing in, but I'd just drove all the way from Huntsville to fish the surf so in I went. I'd been fishing on the second bar for around thirty minutes taking a real pounding when I noticed some baitfish swarming about thirty yards to my left. I started wading over to them to make a few casts when a huge wave picked me up. When I came back down there was no sandbar under my feet and I was swimming. I instictively tried to swim back towards the beach. Bad move. I didn't go anywhere. Any progress I made was quickly taken back by the current. I thought, I can throw my rod and swim better, but I can't afford a new one (poor college kid). I then went through the same thought process with my shoes. By now I'd caught the attention of a condo resident and he was waving at me. I tried to wave back, but was too exausted. I begin to panic a little thinking I was about to drown. About that time I remembered a show I'd seen a couple years prior about rip currents and the biggest mistake people make is to swim straight back to the beach. It said swimming parallel to the beach will take you out of the rip and into friendlier water. So, that's what I did, and I swear within a minute or two of doing that I was on my knees in less then a foot of water, terrified and shaking like a leaf. All I could do was stand up and make a few more half hearted casts into the suds before admitting defeat, heading to the truck, and dropping a few tears in my beer.

[gator]

I remember that Kayak Willbo and Gundoctor, GD was kind enough to lend it to me. My problem was that my bait got hooked up on the paddle rope and I had to get off the Yak to untangle it. Then I couldn't get back in the Yak and I was tired really fast. Being about 20 years older than Willbo I needed assistance from Mont and Willbo to get back to shore. I felt like I was going to be a shark's next meal, but I'd sure give him one hell of a stomach ache anyway. Nothing wrong with the Kayak, just with me.

[willbo]

Willbo, What kind-a Yak do you have. Mine is pretty unstable to, and it is almost impossible to remount in the surf. Maybe I need to upgrade to one like yours. Luckily, I never have dumped past the breakers. If I dump in the breakers, I just swim back in and drive down to fetch my Yak. I always had a fear of dumping on the turn -around after dropping my bait. I thought they were all unmountable in the swells. I guess I need a bigger Yak. Mine is a Coleman Quest, it is same length as Gundoctors but a little wider, but it has a higher center of gravity. I checked GD's out at the H.I. Run last August. Mine was the red one we were running out baits about 300 yards. We were down about 250 yards South of yall the evening you caught that big Lemon. I almost dumped out there a few times that day.
I have a Hula series kayak which is made by Islander Kayaks. It is a 14 foot, 2-seater. The beam is very wide and I can **** near stand on top of it in swells that are 1-2 feet. The trick to riding my 2-seater is to go out in the front seat and ride back in on the back seat. When I get dumped in this yak, it is usually around the first bar, when the breakers get too tall, too quick. This causes the nose of the yak to dig in the surf and send me head over heels.

I was able to jump back into Gundoctor's kayak while I was 'hanging out' at the third bar. ;)

willbo

[Sea-Slug]

Thanks for the info.

[Jolly Roger]

Thanksgiving morning of 1994, me and my father were leaving out of Public boat ramp on Sam Rayburn. The lake was flat and the temp around 50. We had a 18'6' Stratus with a jacked up 150. Got up to around 60mph, my father keeps his hat under his leg when running. For some reason it started to fly up he reached to grab it and let go of the wheel. Before I could blink the boat did a 180. I skipped about ten times before I came to a stop and sank a few feet under the water. I stayed down for a while, listening for the boat beacause I knew if he was thrown out and the kill switch did not work the boat would run circles. When I heard the boat gas up I knew he was in control and came to the surface. I had took the plastic shield off of a console and a entire rail from the boat with me. As luck would have it I skipped on my back every time, but it still bruised my entire back and some of my chest. We fished for a few hours until the wind picked up and I got too cold. He still loves to go fast in boats but, is much safer now.

[pkfav]

with the statistics reading as 99.6% of all drownings people were not wearing a life jacket.it amazes me how many people still refuse to wear them.on my home lake i advocate for ADULTS to make sure their children wear their life jackets anytime they are around the water.it only takes a couple of minutes for them to get into trouble.i have had numerous people come up to me and thank me for pointing out that fact with stories like "IJUST TURNED MY HEAD FOR A MINUTE AND LOOKED BACK AND MY CHILD WAS IN DEEP WATER BUT BECAUSE YOU POINTED OUT THEY SHOULD HAVE THERE LIFE JACKETS ON IT WAS ALRIGHT"i just went and got them and comforted them instead of having a tragedy on my hands!kids grow rapidly and its a small price to pay to buy a new snug fitting life jacket each time it is needed!okay san lius pass.september of 2002 my wife and i was fishing several hundred yards inside the pass where it is safer and watched a spanish family pull right up to the point and got out and started blowing up$1 air mattresses.before i could get there,the uncle had JUMPED onto his and swiftly was whisked out of the mouth.i told the aunt after the language barrier and convinced her to go down the beach a 1/4 mile before letting the kids swim.about that time came screams from the surf and the uncles$1 airmatress was leaking.we watched in horror as he drowned!september of 2003 same deal but this time 2 corn fed young men pulled to the point and strapped on stringers,buckets and i met them just as they were entering the water and told them to be careful and not go more than knee deep because the tide had just changed and was going out! the biggest cornfed ,who we`ll call BUBBA looked at me said,ohh i`ll be alright.before i could get back to my truck he stepped off too far and was about to be swept away when his brother-in -law had the sense to stick out his surf rod and bubba caught the rodtip and was swung back up out of the JAWS of the pass.he spent about 10 minutes composing himself before walking down to me and telling me he had just learned a valuable lesson about current and thanked me and said he would never make that mistake again!By the way,on the weekends the beach patrol pretty much guards that point and has avoided alot of such incidences by warning and refusing people to swim off that point!the next daywe watched a guy get stung by a jellyfish and when he got to the bank and started rolling like he was on fire,his wife ran over and peed on him.he jumped up ,got inthe water and washed off-now my wife being inquisitive as she is she walked over and asked,why did you **** on him? she replied tha it will immediatly take the sting out.of course after they left,we had a good laugh about that one.I always wear a life jacket and try to help people before they get into trouble but i grew up fishing below the damns of the brazos river alot of times in flood stage and learned at a young age to respect the water.but everytime i go to the pass,i see someone who don`t have a clue ,so be safe,wear a life jacket and set hook! pkfav

[Sea-Slug]

Some good points PKFav and just more reasons I dont fish at SLP. Its not worth it. Even veteran fisherman get in trouble there, I dont wade Rollover Pass either.

[pkfav]

rollover pass is so narrow it is really dangerous.i have not met a veteran wadefisherman personally that has got into trouble at san lius pass.its a great place to fish,you just don`t go more than knee -deep.so don`t overlook san lius pass,its a great fishing hole unless they develop it and keep us out.there is some really great spots from1/4 mile to 5 miles east of the pass that makes for great surfishing and it doesn`t get the pressure or crowds that i see at bolivar!of course if we all kept away from the beach riptide and the passes,we would not have any of the big fish stories to tell!can`t catch a fish on the couch!LOL

[Sea-Slug]

PK, don't forget that Gundoctor is about as veteran as veteran fishermen get, and SLP almost took him out. We also see many reports on these boards yearly of drownings and near drownings there. There is no need to fear SLP, just respect it for the drowning machine that it is. I made a personal choice not to fish it, to me its not worth the risk. Everyman has to make thier own decision about that place. I have fished the surf near there a few times, to much current for my liking there also. High Island, Bolivar, Gorda, Mustang, PINS, there are plenty of great places to fish without needing to risk that in my opinion. You can drown anywhere, but at SLP your odds go up a little, and many say alot. Be careful there my friend. Plus, I dont like Galveston anyway, the way they have already screwed up 90% of thier beaches to no driving areas and all that non-sense. Bolivar-High Island works just fine for me. I have no need for Galveston Island. I wouldn't miss it if it sank.

[gundoctor]

When SLP almost got me, I wasn't near as much of a vetran surf fisherman as I am now. I still fish around SLP, but never in the water in the pass. If you fish just east of the pass you can catch just as many fish as you will inside the pass and your life expectancy goes up by a lot of years IMHO, compared to wading the pass. SLP has probably killed more people than anywhere on the coast.

[fishomaniac]

I wish I could get down for the bum run this weekend but I can't. But at least if someone gets stung by a man o' war ya'll will know what to do! LMAO!

[pkfav]

Yeah sea slug,you can drown in a five gallon bucket of water.my point about SLP is obvoiusly to respect it and make your own choices but it is also one of the few places that you don`t even have to go into the water.many times i have just fished from the bank and pitched my baits out without even getting wet!any place along the beach,including all the above mentioned is a drowning machine. one just has to be careful.if its a bad current, don`t fish there.if they develop it like eventually they will,it won`t matter anyway.just one more productive fishing hole plucked out from under our sliding feet!sure have caught alot of fish in the current,but you don`t have to get in it to catch fish!Got any game cam shots?

[Sea-Slug]

PK- Right now my Game-Cam is in my spare bedroom splattered on my workbench undergoing repairs. We have that Olympus out now. I post those on the hunting board. I've almost got the other one ready to go back in service. 3 more months till the Tourny. I'll see you there if not before. Later.

[pkfav]

It needs to be before if your not afraid to get your feet wet!LOL