new to kayaking

For those of you who live in colder climates. How late into the winter do you get out on the water with your kayak? what protective clothing do you use? I live in New York and i was thinking of holding off on my first launch until next spring but I'm getting really excited. How cold is too cold?

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Not too cold if you have the right gear to stay warm. Drysuit for example. You have to be sure you can easily re-board the kayak in the full warm gear too. I would use caution if new to the sport of course. You need to practice safely re-boarding as this becomes much more difficult if cold and heavy with water.

But what do I know... I live in Southern California! Cold here is in the 50s.

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
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Hobie Cat USA
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We fish here in Washington until the rod guides ice up. If the fish are biting, that is. The colder it gets, the higher the cost of kayak fishing due to additional gear. Drysuits, GoreTex clothing, etc. If you plan(or don't plan) to go swimming, make sure you have the right gear or can get to shore within a minute or two.

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If you wear a drysuit with sufficient layers of clothing under it, you can paddle comfortably even if it is snowing and/or there is ice on the water. I'm from Montana, and I routinely kayak fish in cold conditions in both the fall and the spring. However, I suggest that you develop your kayaking and self-rescue skills in warm weather before you start venturing out in colder weather.

You can't post photos on this forum, but if you go to https://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/i ... ic=21276.0 and page through my postings, I've posted pictures of some typical cool weather kayak fishing in Montana. Also see https://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/i ... ic=20438.0 and https://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/i ... ic=20421.0.

If you want to be able to kayak in comfort and relative safety in cold weather, here's a couple of suggestions:

1. Don't kayak in cool or cold water conditions until you are proficient at self rescue. Practice until you can reliably right your kayak and climb back onto it in 20 seconds. Don't rely on ladders or other equipment which takes a long time to deploy or is complicated to set up. Learn to grab the gunwale of your kayak, kick your feet so you are lying horizontal in the water, pull the kayak underneath you in one fast motion, and then immediately elbow yourself forward until your head is hanging over the opposite gunwale.

2. When you buy a drysuit, get it big enough to wear several layers of thick insulating clothing underneath it. Don't go for a trim stylish fit; go for the generously relaxed fit. If I'll be kayaking in below freezing weather and water temperatures in the 30's or 40's, on top I wear a light polypro shirt, a heavy polypro shirt, and three acrylic sweaters or pile jackets, and on the bottom I wear polypro briefs, polypro long underwear, and two or three pairs of pile pants. On my feet I wear two pairs of thick polypro socks.

3. When kayaking on a sit-on-top kayak, and particularly when kayak fishing, your feet will be wet or in the water much of the time. Get a drysuit with dry socks, and don't get a drysuit with ankle gaskets.

4. The footgear you wear over your drysuit's dry socks does little to keep your feet warm, because it will be full of cold water. What keeps your feet warm are the thick fuzzy warm socks which you wear under your dry suit's dry socks. Get whatever footgear you use several sizes larger than your street shoe size, to provide room for several layers of thick socks. If your footgear is tight, it'll constrict your feet, restrict your circulation, and make your feet cold.

5. If there is any chance that you could end up in the water for an extended period of time, dress for the water temperature, not for the air temperature. If you get too hot, splash water on your drysuit to cool off. One way to regulate your warmth is by taking an insulated hat on and off.

It's far from impossible but you should be extra careful. Read https://www.kuhl.com/borninthemountains/kayaking-fall-and-winter/ on winter kayaking, it's super useful, I get back to it every now and then.