Kayak Fishing Rescue Mission !!

[@F.A.R.T]

That's some nice equipment you're using. Can't wait for the lockdown so you can take us to more new places. And yes, safety first!

[@fishingmad]

Thanks !! Yeah me to I cant wait to be back travelling again and covering a lot more locations.

[@PaulMotu]

Alan - I was very surprised and very disappointed that the guy you rescued could not perform his own ‘self rescue’ - more so once you were there to even help stabilise his kayak for him! What was he doing out there if he can’t do the most basic of survival recoveries? Having a PFD is an essential ‘item’. Being able to perform a self rescue is an essential ‘skill’. Being prepared for an unplanned capsize is an essential part of planning every time you go yakking! It is something needed to be practised and conquered before taking off into deeper water kayak fishing. Even today I still keep my “deck” prepped in case I get that unplanned ‘dump’ so that I can perform my own self rescue. I plan my clothing so that it is something I can self rescue while wearing. Everything is secured so I don’t lose it and I am super mindful to always keep one side of my yak kept reasonably clean and clear so I can access the yak to climb back in if I do get dunked. If conditions start to get a bit choppy or worsen I start to secure my heavier load (anchor set up / tackle back pack & catch bag with ice are the heaviest items on my yak) in a way that tries to minimise the resistance they may put up if I had to flip my kayak back upright in those choppier conditions & if necessary I will be prepared to break down my rods and store them inside the yak as well BUT I performed plenty of practice self rescues & are confident in my abilities to do my own self recovery! Needing to be towed back in to shore because you can’t do a self rescue is a recipe for disaster!! How someone can go out and have to ‘depend’ on someone else for their survival beggars disbelief!!! I felt like I was watching an episode of Bondi Rescue where people that can’t swim are going out deeper than they could even stand - unbelievable!!

[@fishingmad]

Thanks for your detailed comment and I agree with many of the points you made. Safety whilst kayak fishing is paramount. I have rescued 8 kayakers over the past 24 months. 2 of those situations were critical rescues. Your points are excellent. I also believe that kayak manufacturers and retail outlets have a lot to answer for. How many of these people bought kayaks are watched marketing saying how stable those yaks were or who listened to a retail staff member who assured them the kayaks were really stable. The reality is that many of the entry level cheap kayaks are very unstable and very unsafe. I tipped several of those cheaper kayaks myself over the years. I do a lot of fishing events and really try to emphasise the point that most high end kayaks have far superior stability and that a price shouldn't be put on your safety. Match a good stable kayak with the great points your raised and that's a good combination for fun and safe time out on the water.

[@PaulMotu]

And thanks for the great channel and for doing your bit to push the hobby and operating safely within the hobby. Love how you were lowering fish back into the water using your catch net to further avoid stress and damage to their internal organs (plus plus plus) as can happen when they’re thrown in (especially from great heights on some occasions). Keep up the good work Alan 😎

[@davidrauschenbach6871]

Thanks for all the tips! Nice to see you out! Hope family and you are safe and healthy!

[@fishingmad]

Thanks David, yeah were all doing very well. The family is well and truly over lockdown but so is everyone else. I hope you and your family are also very well. Thanks and have a great long weekend.

[@heathbonnici6972]

Another productive session on the kayak, well done

[@fishingmad]

Thank you !!

[@bjsyak7915]

Nice video Alan and good advice. I rescued a kayaker a few weeks ago off Coronet Bay. It was some distance away and I couldn't make out it was a kayak but it didn't look right. It turned out to be small Kayak2Fish model in choppy conditions. The guy was absolutely wasted with the tide taking him further out. I managed to tow him and the upturned kayak back to shore with my Old Town Top Water 120 PDL; which like your Hobie has great stability - Cheers Brian

[@fishingmad]

Hi Brian, thanks for the comment. Hey a BIG well done to you for rescuing that kayaker. Especially of Coronet Bay as the tidal flow there can be so much stronger than my local waters. His probably very luck that you saved him. Many of the kayaks on the market including those Kayak2Fish kayaks are nowhere near as stable as they make out in thier marketing and advertising. There is no regulating of this stuff which is scary. Ive saved 8 people and a couple of those were probably life saving stuff. Again again a huge well done !!!!

[@PaulMotu]

Hey BJ - I have the Old Town Predator 120 PDL here in WA and concur with you 100% on stability of these kayaks. I’ve fished some pretty ordinary water in mine including a (gulp) 2-3m swell and 15-20 knot winds which the yak handled well but I played it safe and stayed closer to the marina as even the boaties were doing that. No one ventured out in the sea and swell although I did initially until I realised I was the only one going out there so decided I best not be “That Guy” (the one needing sea rescue to come and rescue) but the point is - the Predator PDL 120 was definitely up to the task. If I was with one other ‘yakker’ in a good kayak like ours or one of the Hobies I would have stayed out there and happily fished!

[@bjsyak7915]

@@PaulMotu Nice work Paul, they are great kayaks. I customised mine with 2 adjustable forward facing rod holders, Garmin fish finder, storage shelf under the seat using shade cloth and made an insert to fit into the shaft well when the propeller is up out of 20mm plastic cutting board - happy yakking.

[@PaulMotu]

@@bjsyak7915 Nice BJ. I also chucked in a Garmin Striker Vivid 7SV and an anchor trolley. I have a 2019 model so I had to buy some Railblaza rod holders and attached them forward and aft of my throne. I like your cutting board addition. Have seen it on the Tube and now you’ve inspired me to consider doing same. Cheers mate and happy yakking right back at ya 😃

[@jaredbuttigieg]

Awesome video Alan 👍🏼. Luckily you were there to help out that kayak

[@fishingmad]

Thanks Jared, yeah I'm huge advocate for others trying to help each other on the water. Could be the difference in saving someone's life. I think that's now 8 kayakers I've recued in the last few years.

[@jaredbuttigieg]

Far out that’s heaps. Yea exactly, things can go south really quick on the water so if someone is around to help it makes a real difference

[@fishingmad]

yeah we all need to look out for each other. a few of the blokes I've rescued went over after a boat went past and the wave from the boat knocked them over

[@jaredbuttigieg]

Yea some times the boats get a little close for comfort, I don’t know if it’s on purpose or whoever is driving is just unaware.

[@fishingmad]

Yeah many are completely oblivious to the fact that if they motor past a kayak that the waves will knock them over, ive almost gone over a few times. especially when im catching fish and they come right on top of ya. Supposed to be minimum of 50 meters distance, but not many follow those rules, which is a real shame when kayaks are involved

[@richievary6034]

I went out on my hobie first time got nothing but it was great fun

[@fishingmad]

Congrats on the Hobie purchase, im sure youll catch a few good ones really soon. What hobie did you get ?

[@richievary6034]

2014 hobie outback

[@fishingmad]

Fantastic, there becoming very popular the Outbacks. Great choice.

[@squashbash6408]

Good one mate! I'm just getting into kayak fishing and it's good to have a fellow Australian to learn from.

[@fishingmad]

Thanks !! That's really appreciated. I'm going to be doing some really deep dive workshops in the members area in the coming weeks around Kayak fishing so keep your eyes out for that which might be really helpful fishingmad.com.au/member thanks for the kind words !! have a great weekend

[@steveroche3785]

Awesome work mate, another great vid and tips for us newbies thnx 👍

[@fishingmad]

Thanks Steve, I really appreciate the kind feedback. Don't forget to have a look at the members are as we will be doing many in depth fishing workshops which will be really helpful too fishingmad.com.au/member have a great weekend !!

[@philipvassallo6795]

Hi Allan fantastic video and good on you for rescue the fishermen pity the pinky snapper all under size however it looks your having fun. Want you to come and fish on my boat and teach me how to fish with soft plastics and yes catch whiting never caught any thanks mate

[@fishingmad]

Thanks 👍 Philip, yeah mate im sure we can arrange something. feel free to email me directly at [e-mail] and we can work something out. Also have a look at the new members area fishingmad.com.au/member as there are several hour long workshops i have inflight which will go live soon, specifically on soft plastics fishing around Melb. Really detailed stuff on setup and technique and how to use your sounder to find fish.

[@Doodsy1975]

Great video mate. You might need to get blue and red flashing lights for the kayak, if you keep rescuing blokes.

[@fishingmad]

LOL, That's hilarious and not a bad idea. Believe it or not I've rescued at least 8 kayakers that i can recall over the last 24 months. A heap of rescues last snapper season.

[@NSHG101]

DO A KAYAK TOUR/WALK THROUGH!!! please

[@fishingmad]

Will do, stay tuned

[@jonyg5543]

I caught a couple of days ago a 72cm snapper and a 60cm snapper off my kayak and many pinkies

[@fishingmad]

Thats amazing WELL DONR 72 and 60cm is fantastic. Cant wait for the big ones to come in shallow. Was it in a similar area ?

[@jonyg5543]

@@fishingmad yeah it was 1km away more towards st Kilda.

[@fishingmad]

Brilliant, well done. I love this coming time of year. Did you get them on plastics ?

[@jonyg5543]

@@fishingmad on blue bait in 10m of water

[@jonyg5543]

I can’t wait this weekend to catch a few more on light gear ⚙️🎣

[@martindekorte6732]

Great video again mate, just signed up as a member 👍 been fishing all my life but just purchased my first ever kayak ( Hobie passport 12.0 ) and could use some help .

[@fishingmad]

Brilliant, Thank you Martin. Welcome aboard. I will send you an email in shortly with some really helpful information, and how you can get your topic suggestions through so we can customise the workshops and kayak club content to be as helpful as possible for you.

[@Andz_88]

Nice sessions there. Did you get other than that bay trout at the first spot that was lumpy?

[@fishingmad]

Hi Andre, I ended up being quite unwell that morning, so i was only on the water very briefly. Got the 2 bay trout, and didnt mark up much. I wasn't on the water very long. Lack of sleep and long work hours the day before. Ended up going back out in the afternoon once i had caught up on some rest and was feeling better and was marking pinkies everywhere. The flathead will fire soon in the first spot

[@Andz_88]

@@fishingmad yeah, I was there around 3 weeks ago, when the wind was play nicely. Didn’t sound up properly for fish, looks like lost of debris at that time. Flatties are there, caught 4 decent ones and 1 undersized. So definitely keen to be back there when the weather plays nicely. With the ease, I’m able to go to the 2nd spot, finger crossed we might cross each other 😉

[@fishingmad]

Great to hear about the flatties, last year Dec/Jan was killer around there. Sounds good, hope to see you out there

[@samuelpearce7440]

hey Alan I'm a fan of your channel. Will you be heading down to Geelong again after lockdown is over?

[@fishingmad]

Thanks !!! Appreciate your supporting the channel. Yeah 100% i cant wait to get back down to Geelong for some land base and kayak base fishing. Just need these travel restrictions to ease

[@samuelpearce7440]

@@fishingmad yea sounds good. I've been fishing the geelong waterfront heaps this lockdown, it's so much fun to just flick around a lure when its a lot a more quiet. I'm a big supporter of your channel, thanks

[@djinn201]

Nice rescue, real life Aquaman. @fishingmad what do you think of dragon pro fisher 2.8m sability Cheers. Resently brought one

[@fishingmad]

Thanks !!! For that price range the Dragon pro fishers were very decent. My good mate Mark had one who featured in this vid catching a nice snapper kzbin.info/www/bejne/rpWtgZWIZZehfZo and he never fell in. I took it out a couple of time and thought it was OK. Just gotta pick your conditions and slowly build your skills up

[@darylC_2306tiger1]

G'day Alan, just a quick question about using the sounder, I see that you are travelling along watching the screen and come across a patch of fish and then cast forward of the kayak, now as I understand from watching many youtube vids trying to learn how to use a sounder, any pictures showing on the screen moving right to left are fish that have travelled under and to the rear of the kayak. I have noticed a couple of guys doing this in different vids here and there and am becoming confused with this situation, are the pictures showing fish moving to the rear or not? Cheers.

[@fishingmad]

Hi Daryl, Thanks for the comment. Over time you slowly become more familiar with what to look for on the sounder and as you said i spend a lot of time staring at that screen and pretty confident when im ontop of fish. Much of the footage is uncut so its a case of going over fish, working out depth and rough idea of which direction. I cover this in detail in a sounder workshop on the fishingmad members area, so that might be worth checking out if your interested fishingmad.com.au/member This is were it gets a little tricky. Your traditional 2d sounder sends out a circular sonar beam and the readings come back in a 2d picture that shows fish or bunches of fish in balls or arches, that reading will tell you the depth but not necessarily the direction. You could at this point use side scan to try and identify exactly which side the fish are on and the rough distance from you. Eg 15 meters to the left holding 5 meters down. I just tend to find on the kayak your travelling slow enough that once you see a patch on 2d scan that your within close radius and a cast either direction will likely find them. I hope that all helps !!

[@Raj-ff8rq]

Hey Mate, do you have a Work Permit to go and fish the bay? Or is it in your 10k radius to go and fish in the bay

[@fishingmad]

Well within my 10k radius, Thanks

[@wiskipete]

That was a titan mk 2 that flipped

[@born2fightt]

Looked like a pryml from BCF

[@fishingmad]

Prymal one from BCF im pretty sure

[@fishingmad]

yep !!

[@wiskipete]

I got one of them but not too sure about the rough conditions of Port Phillip

[@fishingmad]

You really need to pick the right conditions, and have a kayak that your confident in. The conditions in this vid were pretty good which just highlights the difference in stability between kayaks. I hope that helps

[@Cimmeron]

Hi Alan, At first I didn’t realise you gave the camera to the guy you rescued. I thought you pushed your kayak out unmanned. Haha Just wondering if you wouldn’t mind going through what u did with the rescue? Did u try to get him back ontop of his yak first? Too hard? Was he hanging onto the back of his yak while u towed then back in? Was he just inexperienced/new kayak? Cheers

[@fishingmad]

Hi Sean, I didnt actually give him the camera, that was actually me walking in the shallows, i got the guy to jump on my hobie so he could see the difference in stability to boost his confidence as he was pretty down on himself. Basically I was fishing in 6 meters deep prob 1 k out from shore. I saw him to start peddle out to me, he got about 50 meters away and said hi at the same time he tipped his yak. I immediately went over, to assist and calm him down. I helped flip his kayak back over and held his yak down and several times he tried to get on but he either tipped the yak or couldn't get up. After 10 minutes i could see he was getting tired, so i told him to simple hold onto the back rails of my kayak, i tied a rope onto his yak and i towed him and his kayak back into shore. At that point i gave him some water, made sure he was all OK and got him to take my kayak out briefly so he could see the difference with a high end kayak. Hope that helps. Cheers

[@Cimmeron]

@@fishingmad Awesome, Yep it’s definitely a concern but a hard thing to practice anywhere. Ie being in 8ft water, unable to stand and to get back in.

[@fishingmad]

Yep its a lot harder than what people expect. Flipping you yak back over, collecting items that fell and having the strength to get back on without tipping the yak. It does take practice. I'm a big believer in getting a good quality kayak to minimise the risk of going over

[@Cimmeron]

@@fishingmad He was lucky you were that close to be able to help him. He’d have had a tough time out there alone that far out. Great video and great rescue. You’ve earned some big fish karma for sure!

[@fishingmad]

Thank you, and your 100% right, it didnt look to choppy but it was really suprising how string the current was and how quickly he drifted away from me before i tied the rope on. Im pretty fit but i doubt that I could have swam all the way back to shore without assistance.

[@denisrailey777]

Oops,sorry but do you catch bigger fish you can take home? Or is this just a beginner lesson.

[@fishingmad]

Hi Denis, browse through the channel you will see many big fish being caught. This from kayak kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zqu1cqxvp9KrZtk this from boat kzbin.info/www/bejne/h4CZf2uNjJacZ9E you will see that the same techniques apply, just gotta hope the big ones are around

[@GoldenHourFishing]

What a good bloke, I can guarantee there are people out there that would have just laughed at the guy. So it was just the fact that he had a cheap kayak that caused him to capsize like that?

[@fishingmad]

Thanks, i really appreciate it !!! To answer your question, the stability difference between an entry level kayak and a high end yak like a hobie is chalk and cheese. My first few kayaks were cheap entry level ones and I too tipped them. Never tipped a good high end yak like my proangler.

[@GoldenHourFishing]

@@fishingmad Crazy how easy he toppled in light chop. Thanks for the response 🤙

[@fishingmad]

Yeah, it didn't taekemuch at all and the conditions werent that bad too. He was half way through saying hello and tipped it so obviously just changed his centre of balance briefly and went over. Poor bugger lost 2 new Abu Garcia Veritas rods

[@GoldenHourFishing]

@@fishingmad Damn! Im actually in the market for a kayak, caribiners seem like a must. Definitely food for thought.

[@Notinserviceij]

@@GoldenHourFishing if you are planing to buy kayaks, the Hobie pro anglers have horizontal rod tubes and have bungee points to keep things in place You don't need to leash unless you are really fighting tuna off shore Pros and cons really of course