Telecaster wrote:
I'm sure you've all seen this?
Pretty exciting stuff - I have seen a GWS from my kayak once in north channel but nowhere near as big as this one. |
Thought I would share this discussion off the Viking kayak fb page, same brand kayak with the fala & sharkSo cool to see young kayak angler keep his head and remain articulate through a stressful predator encounter. I've experienced several big shark encounters in NZ waters over the decades, and I believe he did a good job. A key though, is to minimize vibration. To this end slow steady paddle strokes with no splash is important. This reduces the level of interest to the fish.
An important design feature of the original Reload (presumably remains with new models) is an electrical eddy-current neutral rudder system. By utilizing UHMWPE rudder cables, non metallic blade, a hinge pin electrically isolated from dissimilar metals, and keeping mounting inserts above the waterline, there is a vastly reduced electrical profile to keep the shark interested beyond its initial investigation.
Whenever there are mixed metals in seawater e.g. alloy headstock components and stainless hinge pin, crimps on stainless cables, stainless fasteners in brass inserts, there are inevitable electrical reactions that can mimic muscle activity of prey species.
would the sounder running not be putting enough of an electrical signal to keep the shark interested?
definitely. I could write a whole page on what I do, but as succinctly as possible:
1. Baits cut off, lures out of the water
2. Bixpy raised
3. Sounder off
4. VHF call to paddle buddies notifying the presence of a large predator. If solo, a general announcement on the chat channel for that area.
5. Move off with steady consistent no-splash paddle strokes. Key is STEADY and CONSISTENT, not erratic like wounded prey. For many this will mean spending time to focus on stroke rather than looking around for the fish. Every time you start swinging your head, your paddle strokes becomes uneven and erratic. We want to give the impression of not being interested or bothered by the sharks presence.
Interestingly, IMHO the Bixpy is NOT a good option in a shark encounter. In fact, the first thing I do if a large predator tuns up is raise my Bixpy from the water. The electrical fields around the motor and cables can mimic muscle activity of prey species, and may serve to keep the shark interested for longer than it would otherwise be.
This is also a probable reason many boaties experience sharks biting their props: the sacrificial zinc anode corrosion protection sets up electrical currents the shark can detect, so it bites on a slowly moving prop (out of gear / in neutral) to investigate what's going on.