Last fall while fishing Christams Bay, Henry, Kris, and I watched a fellow yakker harness the wind with a large umbrella to reach his chosen destination. It was funny to watch, but it certainly made sense to me at the time as my arms were already spent from paddling all day.

Earlier this year, my fellow “blanglers” and I ventured to Turtle Bay for a day of fishing. In the days leading up to our trip, Kris informed me that he had just purchased a large, well-constructed umbrella that he was looking to use on this trip. I laughed at the thought of it, but then I recalled the exhaustion I felt on the aforementioned fall day. I was able to get a hold of a similar umbrella as well, except mine was free.

The day had arrived, we were on the water and having little success. The winds were strong and a storm was blowing in. Henry and I stopped on a nearby shore to stretch our legs and drink a beer. It was then we witnessed Kris’ first attempt with the umbrella. He was heading toward us with the wind at his back. He was cutting through the chop. Pretty good idea, I thought.  

Not long after Kris joined us on the shore, he jumped back in his yak to try and salvage the day with some quality fish. Unsatisfied with his chosen spot, Kris opted to move up the shore. Again he harnessed the wind. This time, however, it wasn’t at his back. He was perpendicular to it. He was doing great… for the first few yards. He then caught a pretty good gust and capsized.

Henry and I couldn’t help but laugh from the shore. We could see that he was alright, though, his gear was scattered all around him in the water. Fortunately, he was in waist deep water, so he was able to stand and gather his things. Almost all of them, some were donations to the Gods of the Depths.

Not long after Kris reboarded his craft, the winds changed and a dark front came boring in. We were able to get back to our launch just as the heavy stuff came down. There, we sat it out in our trucks. Drinking beer and laughing continuously about “Kris Poppins”.

Lesson learned for us all… When you haven’t quite figured out how to harness the oceans, don’t complicate it with something additional like the wind.