Due to the size and speed disparity between kayaks and virtually every other craft on the water, the consequences of on the water conflicts fall hardest on the kayakers. Paddle defensively.
Crowded bays and lakes seem to pose the largest threat to kayakers. Confined waters concentrate traffic. Then there is the inexperience factor. The sheltered waters are training grounds for new boaters who often lack command over their vessels or are unaware of the boating rules of the road.
San Diego City lifeguard J. Hatfield, who patrols the busy recreational waters of Mission Bay, was asked if kayak anglers cause many problems. “No,” he said, “I can’t think of any incidents caused by kayak fishermen.” One of the few dangerous behaviors observed by lifeguards is fishing too close to launch ramps or water skiing take off and landing zones. It should be common sense for kayak anglers to avoid such busy areas.
As kayaker after kayaker will attest, the larger and faster traffic can be the source of unending frustration. One bay fishing kayak angler tells of being buzzed time and again by curious power boaters who want to check out his gear or ask how the fish are biting. Most of them seem unaware that their wakes pose a hazard to paddle craft. That particular kayak fisherman now picks up his paddle to flee the hassle nearly every time he is approached by a power boat.
Perhaps no other powered craft causes as much consternation as personal watercraft or PWCs. Often piloted erratically at high speed, and sometimes on the verge of operator control, it is hard for kayakers to determine the intentions of PWC drivers. Therefore, PWC must be watched carefully whenever they are around and given a wide berth.
At least power boats announce their presence through the drone of their engines. Quiet sailboats can sneak up without warning. When a kayak fisherman recounts a story of a fishing line snagged by a boat, the culprit is usually under sail power. In these cases, kayak anglers are lucky if they only lose a lure or have most of the line stripped from a reel. That is preferable to being dragged around the harbor or losing a complete fishing outfit. Lifeguard Hatfield explained there is little a kayak angler can do about sailboat conflicts. “We give power boaters tickets when they speed. Sailboats, their speed depends on the wind. About all you can do if you have a problem with a sailboat is take them to small claims court.”
San Diego City lifeguard D. Cockburn, while pointing out high speed zones on an aerial photograph of Mission Bay, says “if kayakers stay in the no-wake zones they’ll avoid most problems. You probably don’t want to deal with the noise anyway.” If you must fish an area favored by high speed boaters, try to fish during hours with little boating traffic.
This advice is echoed by Jim Davis, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Public Affairs Officer for the Greater San Diego Region. According to Mr. Davis, “the navigational channels are there for the benefit of shipping traffic. Kayakers should avoid navigational channels and cross them at right angles.” Instead kayak anglers should seek out the shallow waters that the low draft of a kayak allows us to enjoy.
Offshore in open ocean waters, on the water conflicts between kayaks and other water users are much less common. Here, however, there is an additional dimension of competition for fish that complicates the problem. When kayaks and commercial charter or open party sportfishing boats clash the results are hot tempers and controversy.
Considering the ever increasing number of kayak fishermen on popular inshore fishing grounds, some difficulties seem inevitable. Well known fishing spots are magnets for boat and kayak traffic. On these waters on a warm summer weekend during a hot bite, there might be kayak anglers and private boaters spread out every few hundred feet. It is not difficult to imagine the frustration sportfishing captains must feel while trying to negotiate the obstacle course.
Due to the tension sometimes evident between the sportfishing and kayak fishing communities, sportfishing deckhands who also kayak fish are understandably reluctant to speak on the record. According to one experienced kayak fisherman who also has worked in the sportfishing industry, conflicts are often caused by the new guy. Inexperienced kayak anglers who unthinkingly paddle up to charter or sportfishing boats cause no end of trouble. They poach on chum lines, cross or pick up fishing lines, push down breaking fish, obstruct casting, and pose a navigational hazard.
The new kayakers seem to forget that the sportfishers have a business to run and are under pressure to put their customers on fish. The problems caused when unseasoned kayak fishermen encroach on sportboats are pointless, as kayak fishermen who approach too closely give away their advantage of stealth and expose themselves to losing hooked fish to the seals and sea lions that commonly plague the sportfishers. It is a big ocean, with plenty of prime areas, so kayak anglers should give the sportboats room and find their own areas to fish.
There is a darker side to kayak- sportfisher conflict. Seemingly annoyed by the antics of the kayak anglers who don't know any better, or perhaps vexed that their fishing grounds seem cluttered and crowded by newly arrived paddle craft, some sportfishers appear to be taking out their frustrations on kayakers. Although infrequent, incidents of sportfishing boats “playing chicken” or motoring uncomfortably close by are reported by kayak anglers both new and experienced.
The large wake a sportfisher at speed generates isn’t merely intimidating, but menacing. Less experienced kayak anglers are particularly susceptible to capsize when hit unexpectedly by the series of steep and tall waves. Finally, a few members of the sportfishing community seem to have a notion that they own the water. To paraphrase one sportfishing representative, they have been fishing the same spots for decades, their boats are bigger, and if they want to fish a particular spot no kayak is going to stop them.
How can sportfishing boats and kayakers share popular waters peacefully? First off, kayak fishermen can give sportfishing boats the space they need to navigate and fish effectively. Various sportfishing crewmen ask kayak anglers to leave anywhere from 100 to 300 yards of open water. At their sterns, where sportfishing crews toss bait to create a chum line, more space is preferred, say 200 yards or more. 300 yards is a lot of space, certainly too much of an exclusive fishing zone for some.
One thing to consider: from the just above the water perspective of a kayak, objects may be closer than they appear. It is better to act conservatively and give sportfishing boats an extra margin of room. In return, if there is sufficient space for free navigation, sportfishing boats should not approach closer to a kayaker than 100 to 200 yards.
Perhaps it is naive to believe that if kayak anglers act more responsibly around sportfishing boats, we will earn the respect of the sportfishing community, which would in turn act less aggressively towards us. Some kayakers go the extra mile to avoid conflict with sport boats. Experienced east coast kayak angler Joe Cambria says, “If I’m hooked up to a fish that is pulling me close to a guide boat, I’ll cut the line.”
What is a kayak angler to do when he feels a sportfishing boat is approaching dangerously close? Jim Davis of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary agrees the best course of action is to hail the approaching boat on the VHF channels 16 or 18. Such a radio call might go something like this:
Sportfishing vessel (insert name or description here) this is (describe your craft, example yellow kayak). Break. Your current course threatens yellow kayak’s safety. Break. Request you alter course immediately.
VHF channels are monitored by the Coast Guard and most vessels at sea. Knowing this, the sportfishing captain will likely comply. If a sportfishing boat endangers a kayaker, it may be time to call the Coast Guard or Harbor Patrol. Doing so immediately is better than waiting until you return to land. It is in the best interests of sportfishing captains to avoid confrontations and close calls. Complaints and incidents may potentially result in fines or even the loss of a sportboat skipper’s Master’s License.
There is a certain vulnerability associated with paddling a small, slow kayak. Just as a smart motorcyclist does when on the highway, it is wise to operate defensively. Like that motorcycle rider does when an 18-wheeler merges suddenly into his lane, sometimes the best thing to do is to simply get out of the way of the larger traffic. If you pay attention while on the water, and follow the boating rules of the road and the proper etiquette when around sportfishing boats, you are likely to enjoy trouble free paddle fishing. |
