Winter kayak fishing safety

fish hawk

Bass Master
With the onset of cold days and cold water it's important to keep these important reminders in mind.
1: Always wear your PFD when fishing cold water, even experienced swimmers can experience shock within one minute in the frigid water and may lose muscle control within 10 minutes.
2:Always file a float plan with someone.
3:Dress properly for the weather,layer up.Try not to wear cotton as it drys slowly and holds cold water
4:Always pack a extra set of clothes in a dry bag and store them onboard.
5:Keep a lighter in your dry box,make sure your cell phone is fully charged
6:pack high energy foods such as power bars and make sure you have plenty of water.
 
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Coenen

Senior Member
Number 6 is a bigger deal than people think! Just by itself, staying warm takes a lot of energy. In my experience, extra calories can be as good as an extra layer of clothing. Water is important too! It's so easy to get dehydrated just because you don't "feel" like drinking.
 

ccbiggz

Senior Member
Good advice. When I go out I am usually alone. I'm prepared to comfortably spend the night in the woods if I had to and it doesn't add a lot of weight to my kayak. Hatchet, MRE, tarp, rope, fire starting materials, first aid kit.
 

SouthPaw Draw

GONetwork, GWF and NTWF Member
Good post Fish Hawk, number 2 is a very important point too.
 

Killinstuff

Senior Member
Important stuff there. They just retrieved a 45 year old fella from one of the lakes up here last Sunday. Was on the bottom of the lake for a week before they found him. No PFD on him or with his yak. Darwin is right again.
 
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