togging during bad weather...

i checked noaa just before leaving as i always do. i knew conditions weren't that good. calling for 2-3' waves and gusts up to 25. as i left the launch, i noticed some small white caps and a steady breeze. i only saw one other boat. i figured the forecast was the result of lack of boats on the water. anyway, i headed out to my normal spots for a quick troll. i hooked up on a small keeper on the first pass. caught a couple more bass with time to spare before HT. it seems good days of fishing and rough conditions go hand in hand. i noticed it was getting more choppy and windy. i looked around for my friend and decided to start togging. i did see a few more boats. i was armed with a dozen crabs. it was hard togging and steering the yak for the waves. but, i caught some tog. no keeper togs at this point. i decided to troll again thinking it would calm down. i landed a good sized keeper and decided to put it on my stringer. my goal was to catch some keeper tog. i started togging again and landed 3. threw them in the yak and decided to call it a day. as i headed back to the launch, the waves were getting bigger and the wind was howling. i knew i had to get around 3 points before getting to the launch. first point reminded me of napatree but a smaller version of it. it felt like i was in a roller coaster riding the waves. i kind of enjoyed the ride. as i made my way around the last point, it was very nasty as i turned around the point. i only saw 1 boat togging. right as i turned i almost dumped the yak. i knew i had to zig zag my way back to the launch to avoid being hit by a wave on the side of the yak. just as i started to zig zag a big wave came and dumped me. at first i thought i was dreaming as i sat in the ocean. i was close to the yak because i tether myself to it. i use a long bungee. probably stretches to 7-10 feet. there would have been no way i would have got my yak if i wasn't tethered. i removed my tether to unwrap it from the yak but held onto it. it was very hard up righting the yak. the fins were pinned against the hull and i couldn't move them at first. i think the heavy current was the cause of the fins being pinned. i tried using the handles to flip it with no success. i was finally able to slip my fingers under the fins to upright the yak. i checked my vhf and it was still working. it's in a dry bag. i have a game plan for getting back into the yak. my 3 strike rule before calling for help. i have 3 different ways of getting back into yak. i have a paddle float has my last resort. i did have on a farmer john 3mm wetsuit under my splash pants. it helped me be more buoyant (besides pfd) so my legs were up so i was able to swim and crawl back onto the yak. once in yak, i pulled in my rods. i only lost the tog and some lead weights. the striper was still on the stringer. i did notice my flag floating and darted for it in the yak. it was probably stupid doing that because it was still nasty. i didn't want mother nature to get the best of me. at this point, the guys in the boat that were togging came. they had seen me dump. it felt good i was able to get back into the yak by myself (confidence builder). i was happy they were looking out for me. they were fellow yakers. they looked like zztop guys with the long white beards. i think they were twins. once at the dock, i saw this young kid getting ready to go out togging. he was in shorts and had a small heritage yak. i know him from hillyner. his mother was helping him remove the yak from the car. i mentioned to the both of them it was too dangerous to go out. he wanted to go and his mother didn't want him too. he was going to tie up to a rock. his mother won the argument.

the reason why this is a long post. i wanted my fellow kayak fisherman friends to think in how they would handle a dump. you need to be calm and have a game plan. don't draft a game plan at the time of a dump. this time of year is the most dangerous time with the winds. in the spring, it's the cold water. i will be fishing next weekend. look for a yellow revo with a flag on pole. yes, i did get my flag back. it's a little cracked...