My worst nightmare happened to me yesterday while kayak fishing.

[huyfishin]

I have a Spyderco fish hunter strapped to my left shoulder and a native 5 salt attached to my lower right side of my life jacket. I was jigging my fishing rod and didn't notice that my rod kept bumping my knife up out of the pocket. Eventually it popped out and instead of falling into the kayak or my lap it bounced off the side of my boat and went straight into the drink. Right at that moment my heart sunk and I felt like my whole world just turned up side down. I played it off cool in front of all the other kayak anglers but deep down inside I knew I messed up and I should have been more careful. I was torn inside and I was crying underneath. This was my new favorite knife I had purchased not long ago. (maybe 2 weeks) As soon as I dropped it in the water I immediately had to get on the phone to call the wife haha second phone call was to the knife store to see if they had any in stock to replace it. A lesson learned!

I think what bothers me is the knifes rust resistant properties are gonna keep it in pristine condition for a very long time and I have no way to retrieve it. It wouldn't have felt so bad if it was something that would just looked like the titanic over night.

This place I was fishing does often have scuba divers so maybe someone will pick it up and get lucky!

[Tucson Tom]

That was my thought when I lost a knife in the Grand Canyon. I hope somebody finds it and enjoys it.

Hopefully a bright color will catch a divers eye.

[bjz]

I lost my first dragonfly to the Columbia River within days of receiving it! No longer will I ever wear a folder clipped to the waste and of my shorts while paddling! I promptly replaced that knife with an ARK to wear around my neck. Live and learn

[ZrowsN1s]

Maybe some kind of floaty lanyard bead for the next one?

[PeaceInOurTime]

That's rough. Sorry for your loss. This model is easily replaceable, so at least you can get a new one really quick. Getting it on video is more than most people get when a knife is lost, you know exactly what happened and where it went. Closure.

[RustyIron]

Holy cow! That's harsh.

On the bright side, you're a lot smarter than you were when you woke up this morning.

I lost my nearly-new K390 Ladybug on a mountain bike ride when I stopped to take a pee. I'm fairly certain that's when I lost it, but I can never be 100% sure because I wasn't recording that activity. Regardless, I'm much more careful now.

Glad you're getting a replacement knife quickly.

[Doc Dan]

Maybe some kind of floaty lanyard bead for the next one?

I was going to suggest this, but you beat me to it. Any sort of knife that expensive should have a floatation device of some sort so that if it does fall into the water it can easily be retrieved.

Another option would be to hire a professional diver to accompany you on your fishing trips.

[VooDooChild]

Float.
Something like one of those retractable lighter leash things.

When I used to work on the beach we got issued spyderco salt series knives. They were pretty much the only knives that would hold up.

I always carried mine inside the board short pocket, and then also clipped onto the wax comb loop. Those pockets are almost always closed either with velcro or zippers. Its also how I carried my truck keys. Point is you have to delierately open the pocket.

Other people I worked with were a fan of in waist band carry on their board shorts. I saw 3 knives lost in a week from clipped iwb carry.

I know some people prefer iwb carry and havent had any problems. We were beach lifeguards though. When youre training and getting slammed by waves and trying haul somebody in, you are going to lose anything that basically isnt tied to you. That or sealed in a closed pouch/pocket on your clothing.

[Brock O Lee]

That is painful to watch. Sorry for your loss mate!

[Evil D]

For the record...never been on a kayak so I'm probably wrong here, but I just feel like this is a case where a length of paracord is needed. I feel like this was brought up once in one of Lance's threads and he said something along the lines of not wanting a blade on a string that could fly around and hit him in the heat of catching a large fish, and that's understandable. I think personally I'd risk it.

[Ramonade]

It was sad to watch, but at least it's documented and will be use in these cases at the Knife AFIs Academy in the future !
Maybe it's a sign for you to wait the Native 5 LW Salt in MagnaCut to be released ?

[Surfingringo]

I’ll see your donkey move and raise you a full jackass.



Sorry for the loss bro. I promise you I know that feeling all too well. I’ve left several Spydercos on the bottom of the ocean. Along with sunglasses, multiple rods and reels, jigs, pedal drives, GoPros…the list goes on. Haha.

A few years ago I started using these detachable floats. Had a disaster the other day and it saved my iPhone from a briny death.

I keep one on my knife and one on my waterproof phone case. At the very least I’d suggest one for your phone or it will eventually be neighbors with that Spyderco. I don’t have video but I know that one from experience too.

[apollo]

What is the thought behind that clip? Trying to club a fish to death with a pocket knife? Is that the normal way to kill the fish an a boat? I was a competition fisherman for years so i never needed to kill the fish i caught just weigh and release so i never have seen such things. I almost lost my first delica 4 while fishing but i was lucky enough to see it drop in to my landing net.

[Surfingringo]

What is the thought behind that clip? Trying to club a fish to death with a pocket knife? Is that the normal way to kill the fish an a boat? I was a competition fisherman for years so i never needed to kill the fish i caught just weigh and release so i never have seen such things. I almost lost my first delica 4 while fishing but i was lucky enough to see it drop in to my landing net.

Ridiculous huh? I should find and post the entire clip for context. When I brought this guy in the kayak with the lure still in his mouth he was going crazy. Every time I’d try to get my hands on him he’d do a back from and come close to hooking me. I finally got him under the gill plate, removed the lure and he spasmed again almost coming out of my hand and into the water. At that point I still needed to lean forward with him and put him in the front hatch. I counted myself lucky at that point that he hadn’t stuck a hook in me or flopped out of the boat and had the idea that it would be good to brain him first before reaching forward with him. Didn’t have my bat with me. Could have stuck him in the brain with the knife but didn’t. Instead I thought I’d give him a couple of whacks with the spine like I used to do with squirrels and rabbits when they weren’t fully dead. The rest is history

I’m not claiming that any of the aforementioned ideas or actions were smart (certainly not in retrospect) just that I had a reason for doing what I did. Poor choices = poor outcomes.

ETA, I realize that showing that much caution with such a small fish might seem too extreme but there are some big powerful animals out there and you learn to do everything very methodically and that mentality gets ingrained in you…especially after enough painful mishaps. There can be real consequences if you don’t handle some of these fish the right way.

This one was done ok.



This one, not so much.

[Surfingringo]

Hey huyfishin, here’s the link for those floats. A super inexpensive investment that has saved me a lot of tears. Saved my iPhone just last week!
https://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Luxeb ... atf_m&th=1

[benben]

Not very often we get to see video straight from the scene of the crime! RIP little Native!

EDIT.....not that I don't feel your pain for losing your favorite Spyderco...but that's your worst nightmare?? In yours and Gringo's situation, and after watching years of Gringo's videos of him pulling a pissed off monster out of the water and onto a shared float, yeah I can easily think of some much worst nightmares!

[Mushroom]

That’s a bummer to see Huyfishin! I like to keep a knife in my PFD as well and have been scared of this exact thing happening. Ive been fortunate enough to avoid it so far.

I bought some foam keychain floats as a preventative last year and even a SALT 1 was too heavy for just one float. I had to use two to make it actually float and it was just way too bulky that way. Those floating phone lanyards that Lance linked are probably more effective. If they can float a phone they’re most likely capable of floating a knife.

[JRinFL]

My nightmares are so much darker.

Sorry for you loss.

[twinboysdad]

Two things- this thread is great with the gifs and videos and my biggest fear kayaking would be a shark

[benben]

Two things- this thread is great with the gifs and videos and my biggest fear kayaking would be a shark

Yes yes, that was really my point above! A very nosey, curious, hungry, BIG, aggravated shark. With my luck, my first time out I'd probably hook a 10/12 foot bull shark and then all his buddies would show up hoping to do bull shark stuff!