Dave Ploessel is such a jerk

[Bill McIntyre]

Actually, he is a *%&#@, but I wasn't sure the moderators would let me get away with it in the title.

This should actually be Dave's big fish thread, but since the fish was weighed on my scale in my boat, and the photos were taken with my camera, I figure I earned the right to tell it first from my POV.

I set out this morning with Jeff Bonisa. We first stopped at a place that shall be called Kelp Bed A so that we can keep them straight as the story unfolds. The vis was 10 feet at best, and much worse on the surface or below 15 feet, so we gave it up after not too long.

We decided to head for Kelp Bed B. That spot had 30 feet of vis when I was there Monday, and while I didn't see any fish, I know that some big ones have been taken here recently. On the way we passed Kelp Bed Blue, named because today the water looked very blue there. However, there were some head boats fishing the spot, and I felt confident that B would be hot, so we pressed on.

B was at least acceptable, with maybe 15 feet vis or a bit more here and there, but all the bait hat had been there on Monday was MIA, and it seemed very dead. About the only thing it had in common with Monday is that we didn't see any wsb.

We were on the way to try another bed in the B area when Dave and a buddy come up on their skis and stopped in the middle of the bed. It wasn't all that big, so we decided to leave it to them. However, we stopped and chatted a bit, and I mentioned that Blue had looked pretty good earlier, and we might go try it. I don't know if Dave had ever even been to Blue, but he thanked us for the info and said he might try it later.

So Jeff and I went to Blue. It was still blue, and I would have liked to set up on the outside up current end of the bed, but a big head boat was anchored there, so we had to go around to another spot inside. When I jumped in, I got all excited because I could almost see the bottom at 45 feet from the surface, but the excitement was premature. Jeff and I worked the hell out of the bed for an hour or two. There were a few schools of salema, some blue perch, and a few mackerel, but it wasn't very lively.

While we were diving, the head boat left and then Dave and his friend arrived on their skis and set up right at that outside up current end where I would have liked to be. Jeff was back in the boat before me, and he said he had heard Dave shouting over there, so we pulled anchor and idled over.

Dave can correct me if I have it mixed up, but here's the way I recall the story, Dave borrowed his friend's gun which had a flopper shaft and made his first dive. A big school of large white sea bass went under him, so he shot one. I went to the bottom and tied up. Dave was afraid it would tear off, so he took his own gun and was going to put a second shot in it.

On the way down for the second shot, another large school of large wsb came under him, so he shot one. Now he had two fish to deal with. He gave his friend back his gun and worked on getting the second fish cut out. Sometime in this process, the first fish was lost.

So when we came by later, Dave showed us the fish he got, and said it was much smaller than the one lost. He asked if we had a scale, and when I said we did, he jumped in and swam the fish over. Jeff held it up as best he could in the rocking boat, and the average bounce seemed to be around 52 pounds. Of course this is peanuts compared to Dave's recent 70 pounder, but very nice nevertheless.

So, since I try to be a full service stop, I asked if he wanted some photos. He said he did and jumped in the boat and posed with the fish. I managed to get the skis in the background just to add to my humiliation.

So lets sum it up. I told Dave where the clear water was, he went there and anchored on the spot that I wanted to anchor on, shot a fish where I wanted to be, used my scale to weigh it and my camera and boat for photos.

Did I mention that Dave is a jerk?

Jeff and I considered staying, but we had worked the hell out of the rest of he bed and Dave and his friend had worked the hell out of that point and were still there, so we tucked our tails between out legs and ran back to Bed A.

The water had really cleared up quite a bit, there were lots of barracuda and bait running around, and we heard some croaking, but we still couldn't see a white sea bass.

We were so damn tired that we headed for home about 5:30. For all I know, Dave and his friend completed their limits at Bed Blue before sunset.

If so, they will have to take their own damn photos and weigh their own damn fish on their own damn scale.

[cmburch]

Congratulations to Dave - that is a nice fish. How do WSB taste? I am relatively new. It is kind of confusing sometimes that the words prick, jerk, sick mean something good. Is this only in Southern California? Also, what does bump mean?

[drunkinbda]

lol i have a friend here that (before his ear incident) would do the same nonsense. Run into me and peeps... go for a quick dive (sometimes using all my gear, mask fins, spear).. and pop up with something

and when i was in the water i saw zilch...

[Bill McIntyre]

Originally Posted by cmburch

Congratulations to Dave - that is a nice fish. How do WSB taste? I am relatively new. It is kind of confusing sometimes that the words prick, jerk, sick mean something good. Is this only in Southern California? Also, what does bump mean?

They taste great if you like mild white fleshed fish (as opposed to oilier dark fish).

Yes, the terms of endearment can be confusing. The guys on the SoCal forum of Spearboard have taken to calling each other pricks as a sign of envy and respect for getting big fish. I guess other terms are generational. It seems like the young guys use "sick" to mean something really good, but old farts like me don't. Another one that amuses me is "I'm down for it." Apparently the younger generation uses that to say that they are willing, when my generation would have said "I'm up for it." The language evolves.

"Bump" is simply a way to put a thread back at the top of the list. Any post to the thread serves to do that, so "bump" has come to be the standard way. I guess its most often seen when the poster has something for sale and wants to get it noticed again.

[ILDiver]

Originally Posted by Bill McIntyre

"Bump" is simply a way to put a thread back at the top of the list. Any post to the thread serves to do that, so "bump" has come to be the standard way. I guess its most often seen when the poster has something for sale and wants to get it noticed again.

ttt is a common one to bump with also (to the top)

Awesome fish and as usual, great story to go with!

[Bill McIntyre]

As usual, I double posted this story on Spearboard and DB. I thought Dave might be a member here, but apparently he is not.

While I hate to draw readers to another board, the thread on SB has developed into a discussion of some very valuable safety lessons, so I invite you to take a look. In particular, it might be instructive for new CA divers on the special dangers of spearfishing in kelp.

http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=65539

[coadavid]

Bill -

Awesome story. Great pic as well. Quick question: How does Dave P. rig up his jetski for spearfishing? Is there a pic of just his jetski?

- Dave

[Bill McIntyre]

Originally Posted by coadavid

Bill -

Awesome story. Great pic as well. Quick question: How does Dave P. rig up his jetski for spearfishing? Is there a pic of just his jetski?

- Dave

I don't think I have a good photo of the jet ski, but I'll try to get one next time he asks me to weigh his fish and take photos.

I do know he has a sled on the back, with a cooler strapped to it.

BTW, he and his buddies run to Catalina on those things, and a few days ago they went out past the 9 mile bank and trolled for tuna. The idea was to hook up, then chum and jump in. They caught an albacore and a yellowfin tuna on hook and line, and speared on bluefin tuna.