Kayaks and crocs

[Ken L]

We recently had chance to fish the cauvery for mahseer from a coracle and had a great time. Talk in now being bandied about about comming back next year with inflatable kayaks so that we can cover more water but the river contains crocodiles and I'm a little concerned that a crock might see the siluete of a kayak and think it's another crock in its territory - resulting in an attack.

Does anyone have eany experience of fihing in waters containing crocs and is this a real problem ?

[Moonyaker]

Hi Ken

 

I'd try these Guys below. Only seen inflatable crocodiles over here and they have not given any trouble to date.

 

http://www.akff.net/forum/

 

Interesting one.......

[YakDiver]

we have a few old cros's .............. including me

[terry1956]

Hi a few years ago my partner and I took our land rover around Afica and due to a bridge being down had to cross a river with crocodiles in it. It was OK for us sitting behind metal, but we had been told that a boy had been taken by a crocodilie the day before, and a few people had been attacked at night by them. I have the feeling that a kayak is just a bit to near the waters surface to be safe. Not for me, I know that people say that crocodiles don,t attack, but they do if they are hungury. terry

[Chas C]

Crocs have been known to attack kayaks but only rarely, the biggest danger in africa is hippo's - they will attack anything in the water.

[SpeciMan]

Hi Ken

 

I presume we're talking about India here? Aren't the mahseer caught in fast flowing mountain rivers or are they present in calmer waters too? Crocs aside I would have thought there would be risk of puncture if your fishing near rocky rapids like in the pics on this site

[Ken L]

It is indeed India.

The river is fairly sedate but does have short sections of shallow water/rapids that make portage of the coracle difficult.

Crocs are certanly present and we saw Muggers (Indian Swamp Crocodiles) to 4m in length.

These guys are not really known for being aggressive but can and will take people and livestock if given the chance.

My real concern isn't about a croc intending to eat us though, it's about a teritorial dispute. In Australia, 90% of people attacked by freshwater crocs (another fairly docile species) get hit in the thighs whilst activly swimming and therefore horizontal in the water. It's thought that as the crocs will bite another croc intruding in their territory arround the vent, they are mistaking the swimmers for another croc and hitting them in the same place.

Of course, Muggers are much bigger and a similar responce would put the teeth in my ar5e.....