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 Post subject: 911 Pro Angler goes down
PostPosted: Sun May 24, 2009 6:05 am 
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Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2009 7:34 pm
Posts: 45
Location: SOUTHBAY LOS ANGELES
This is a report from the kayakfishingstuff forum
from an angler named Caped Crusader



911 Pro Angler Goes Down

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Hey guys this is the deal. A buddy of mine and myself launched at UB around 6:30am, 5/23/2009. The conditions were mirror perfect with little to no wind. My marine radio stated that late afternoon wind conditions could possibly gust to 20 knots. Around 7:30 we decided to drift fish for fluke. Of course there were some crazy boaters out there speeding through the water making large waves. This did not affect the PA at all. About an hour later I get an extremely heavy pull on my line with my fluke pole only lined with 25 lb mono, 35lb leader and a gulp shrimp. Holy that fish pulled downward not out and away like a striper or jerky like a blue. I'm a big boy...but i tell you for 45 minutes I could not gain and inch on this brute. I deduced that it was probably a 60+ lb drum.
I was soooo focused on fighting this beast that I failed to really realize that those 20 knot wind gusts had creeped in waaaay faster that the freakin afternoon. I was actually fighting the thing facing directly into the hard wind. The PA was still doing well here.
My buddy was onto some fish as well but cut away his line when he noticed the swells getting well over 3 1/2 feet high, with serious whitecaps. He yelled to me "lets go it's getting crazy out here", so i tightened the drag and the beast easily snapped the line. As I looked my buddy and said lets go i turned away from the wind gusts and now the side of the PA was right up against the 3 1/2 foot swells. WRONG MOVE. The swell went under the PA and . It took less than a second for this to occur.
Now in the water, thank the lord it was not freezing cold. Because of my profession I did not panic. I tried to self rescue from the middle of the PA...don't do that, from fighting that fish my strength was GONE. I ended up going to the bow and jumping across the less wide area. GOT IT OVER. Nice. Managed to get my torso onto the seat but for some reason the PA wanted to go down. It would not hold me. I did this two times, then I was totally spent. Thank the lord I was wearing my vest. Now......I'm mentally tired, which brings about some inner panic. My buddy repetidly sounds his air horn to alert the local boats. One Mother was 30yards from us and did not help. Another boater spots us and comes to the rescue. (THANK YOU FELLAS x INFINITY) Next problem...Fcukin waders. I've read the reviews on them not causing you to drown.. Fcuk that. Get a drysuit! I couldn't even get out of the water and onto the boat because of major fatigue and the four gallons of water which accumulated in each stocking foot wader leg. Cork sucker!!! It me took 10 mins to get in the boat ...with assistance, felt like an hour.
My buddy has a revo with outriggers. They really helped him tremendously, he made it to shore safely.

Always: 1) have a buddy
2) stay alert for every and anything
3) dont skimp on gear, I lost damn near everthing, rods not tied down, 10 fluke rigs freshly purchased, my blackberry storm, black hobie paddle, emergency eye glasses, all inside storage liners, but thank the lord I still got my BALLS BABY, their just a little lower now.

All in all the PA is still a good boat but...If you see large swells...HAUL ASS BABY! Because contrary to what anybody says from here on out 38 inches wide will still go the over!!! Bank on it.

I still hope to get out there again in the near future but for now I MIGHT start back with fresh water fishing.




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#2 Yesterday, 07:15 PM

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U BEEN CLOWNED


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PostPosted: Sun May 24, 2009 7:40 am 
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Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2008 5:28 pm
Posts: 139
Thanks,

To summarize:

ProAngler Owners:

1) You might want to change out the front hatch gaskets to taller wider gaskets..... and have a bilge pump.
And 2) make some pool noodle plugs for any empty rod tubes.

1) Front hatch can leak water in fast if capsized and PA can nosedive, and pitch you out again after uprighted and re-entered due to water weight shifting up front/inside.

2) Rodholders also hold water weight since they slant down towards the bow, instead of slanting to drain into the cockpit and out the scuppers.


Psycoclown furnished a solution for sealing front hatch properly, and sifisto furnished a rod holder tube plug solution.
Easy solutions/upgrades.
http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com/commun ... st&t=71665


This post isn't meant to knock the PA, I love it, just to advise of some upgrades people can make easily for more safety.


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PostPosted: Sun May 24, 2009 7:08 pm 
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Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2005 4:36 pm
Posts: 57
Location: Northfield, NH
Thanks for sharing the story. Scary stuff, glad it had a good ending.

A couple of things I picked up on aside from deteriorating weather conditions that might have slightly altered the way everything unfolded.
The first is it sounds like the center hatch was not closed. If that is the case, I would think water could seep into the front hatch quicker.

The other is wearing waders and no dry top. While I do not believe filled waders will pull you down, they can prevent you from getting out of the water. They would probably prevent you from bobbing up with waves by slowing your motion too.

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07 Ivory Dune Adventure
http://www.newenglandkayakfishing.com
http://www.aldenofsunapee.com/

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PostPosted: Sun May 24, 2009 8:20 pm 
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Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2008 12:07 pm
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I dont think he had the front hatch secured either. He said he lost both hatch liners. There is no way the front hatch cover bungies would both come loose from a simple capsize unless it happened in breaking surf which is his own fault if it did. To little details for me to decide yet. Anyway we killed two birds with one stone. We are now adding a piece of 1/2 inch closed cell foam to the underside of the front lid. We do this to keep it cool so the front hatch can be packed with ice but it also makes it an watertight seal.
The rod tubes is a different problem that I think I have a solution for.

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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 5:08 pm 
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Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2009 9:27 am
Posts: 53
Location: Tex
Glad you are ok, But I thought I would tell you about your waders, if you are going to wear waders you have to have a wading belt on, me personally I dont wear waders there is some new gear for the year called Artic Armor which is really buoyant and 3 layers warm......Steve


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