Windy conditions kept us off the kayak for 8 weeks. Finally the wind let up, and the surf on the east side subsided because the trades slowed down. Unfortunately Frank came down with a cold so I planned as safe a solo outing as possible. I picked a public park to launch from that was shielded from waves, and planned to paddle out to the 100 ft drop off.
I had two 8 to 9 inch moose oama with me that were 1 to 1.25 inches thick. I didn’t want an aha or kaku mauling the moose on the way out, so I deployed the first one when I hit 50 ft of water. With a 1 oz bullet weight, 6ft 40lb fluoro leader, live bait front hook and a VMC inline single hook dangling, I sent it to the bottom. It stayed alive as I dragged it out to about 75 ft but wasn’t too frisky because I had taken a while to bridle it with a new system I’m trying out. I stopped paddling to tie on a jig on my jigging rod and the oama rig got stuck on the bottom.
Since I only had one moose left and the first moose didn’t get bit, I put on a frozen halalu from last year. It got mauled and the line pulled a few inches but the mauler(s) avoided the two hooks.
I put on another halalu and dragged it to the 100ft mark and back to 50ft. Finally it got hit but the surgical strike left it hanging off two hooks. Probably a kaku.
My left heel began tingling at times and thought my surf bootie was irritating it. I rubbed around my ankle but couldn’t find the source of the irritation. An hr later I spotted a 3/4 inch blueish purple float of Portuguese Man of War floating in my kayak’s foot well next to my leg! No wonder my ankle felt like it was getting small electric shocks, I carefully threw the man of war float over the side but the stinging sensation continued. Later I found another small float in the left foot well. How the heck did they get into the kayak?!! Did they get sucked through the scupper hole at the bottom of the foot well, or get washed over the side of the kayak? I was a little freaked out, and my left leg began to throb more so I decided to end this unproductive outing.
Colored clips are there just to hold the hooks in place for the photo. Distance between the clips was 6 inches.
I put on the last moose, running a large Gamakatsu live bait hook through its nostrils and left a large VMC inline single hook swinging free by its tail. The moose was very lively and I could feel it pulsing on the line. I paddled the edge of the boat channel in, where it was 40 ft in the channel and 20 ft on the reef Something hit the moose hard and was running with it for a few seconds before I could get the rod out of the holder. It took another 1 second run and when I lifted and cranked the hooks pulled. It had taken the moose. I had 3 strikes and each somehow missed the hooks. In this last strike, I now realize my rear hook was too far away from the center of the fish where it often gets grabbed. I imagine something fairly big took the moose from the side or tail and missed the free swinging back hook and didn’t get near the front hook. It merely yanked the moose off the hook.
Enlarge to see the man o’ war that was under the kayak seat, under my right thigh!
Man o’ war just behind my seat back
Man o’ war dried up on net handle that was in rear tankwell
When I was washing off the kayak I found two dried up man of war floats in the tankwell area behind my seat, and another on the seat cushion under my thigh! So glad that one didn’t sting me! The stings turned into an itchy rash that night and made it hard to sleep.
I’ve become way too experienced with man of war sting treatments. The pain of the sting goes away in an hour or so, but the itchy throbbing lasts for a few days. Heat seems to activate the nerves on the skin, so using a cold gel pack, Cortizone 10 Plus cream, and keeping your body cool seems to help get over the few days of itchy misery. Here’s the bad man of war sting I got wading the windward side in June. Maybe I have to wear compression calf sleeves even when I kayak fish?
Bummers about the bolo. Funny how we never get stung (knock on wood) whenever we fish there especially considering we actually wade in the water. I do think the area is worth another shot, maybe with some adjustments to your bridle setup.
I gotta think that there was a huge swarm of the little man o’ war that overwhelmed me, and would have eventually drifted on to shore. Glad you weren’t there to end your non-stung streak Jason!