By Chad Love

Kayak fishing and kayak duck hunting are things I've really wanted to get into for a while now. I even have dreams of taking my own do-it-yourself kayak fishing trip to the Florida Keys, Baja California, or some other storied saltwater destination. On the other hand, maybe I'll just stick to freshwater kayaking, because something like this would inevitably happen to me, and then I'd have to spend the rest of my life wearing Depends and going to therapy.
 
From this story on sanluisobispo.com:
 Joey Nocchi, 30, of Paso Robles, had the big-fish tale to tell, after his kayak was upended and bitten by a great white shark. Nocchi and friends James Byon of Paso Robles and Matt Kerschke of Los Osos were fishing for rockfish at 1:30 p.m. Saturday near Leffingwell Landing off Moonstone Beach. “We’d just about limited out on rock cod, and Matt caught two halibut,” Nocchi said. “We were cruising along together and talking.” He was reaching for his knife when “I got hit from underneath and started coming up out of the water. My buddies said I came out of the water 4 to 5 feet — it flipped me over the side. 

The shark rolled the whole kayak over, rolled me out of it, and he went over the top of it. He swam across me — his tail touched me.” His friends estimated the shark was 12 feet to 14 feet long.

Nocchi said he managed to get back on the upside-down, badly listing kayak and paddle back to shore. He says he'll be bass fishing and staying out of the ocean for a while. Good plan...

Comments (4)

from dneaster3 wrote 1 year 4 weeks ago

yikes!

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from HogBlog wrote 1 year 4 weeks ago

Scary stuff, but when you think about it, what an awesome experience! I mean, how many shoreline bass fishermen will ever tell a tale like that (unless they fish in gator country)?

Chad, I've been down to Baja several times, fishing from the kayaks, and it's a blast like nothing you'll ever experience. A peanut dolphin (dorado) will spin you like a compass needle. A nice little yellowfin tuna will make you feel like Santiago... and you never know what you might hook into out there.

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from Trapper Vic wrote 1 year 4 weeks ago

Still not worth depends and therapy!

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from blackjac wrote 1 year 3 weeks ago

These things scare the hell out of me,would not get in one unless I had a few safety lessons first. I suspect the guy had his catch on a stringer,if so....he was ringing the dinner bell for the shark.
Just wondering if anyone has come up with an easily attached outrigger or would that be a non "macho" accessory?

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from dneaster3 wrote 1 year 4 weeks ago

yikes!

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from HogBlog wrote 1 year 4 weeks ago

Scary stuff, but when you think about it, what an awesome experience! I mean, how many shoreline bass fishermen will ever tell a tale like that (unless they fish in gator country)?

Chad, I've been down to Baja several times, fishing from the kayaks, and it's a blast like nothing you'll ever experience. A peanut dolphin (dorado) will spin you like a compass needle. A nice little yellowfin tuna will make you feel like Santiago... and you never know what you might hook into out there.

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from Trapper Vic wrote 1 year 4 weeks ago

Still not worth depends and therapy!

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from blackjac wrote 1 year 3 weeks ago

These things scare the hell out of me,would not get in one unless I had a few safety lessons first. I suspect the guy had his catch on a stringer,if so....he was ringing the dinner bell for the shark.
Just wondering if anyone has come up with an easily attached outrigger or would that be a non "macho" accessory?

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Post a Comment

 

All submitted comments are subject to the rules set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.