California spearfishing in Fall and Winter

[BatRay]

Is there a significant difference between the species that you hunt in the spring or summer versus the fall and winter? How much of that depends on hunting regs or the seasonal movements of fish?

 

[Bill McIntyre]

In Southern California there is a big difference. In the Spring (March?) through Fall (October) we hunt yellowtail and white sea bass, but they are pretty hard to find in the winter. The regs allow us to hunt them year around, although the limit for white sea bass drops from three to one from March 15 through June 15, but pickings are pretty slim in winter months.

 

[Bill]

One other factor. We always hunted Halibut in the spring. Two reasons, viz isn't as much of a factor for them and at the northern islands they eat squid all winter and just plain taste better in the spring.

 

[BatRay]

Fair enough. What is the standard fare for the fall and winter?

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Fair enough. What is the standard fare for the fall and winter?

Lobster season started Friday night, and that is a big attraction for a lot of divers. And of course you can shoot calicos and halibut.

 

[Bill]

Black Sea Bass was my favorite target. It took me ten years but I managed to 'shoot' over twenty of them (2-300#), including three in one magic day, without hurting one. In fact I rescued two, one was speared and the other came up in a gill net.
Now that the Blacks have been fully protected for decades, the incidental catch from gill nets has been eliminated and I can dive twice as deep and long it sure will be fun to dive CA again this time of year.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Yeah, I can't even dive long or deep, but even a putz like me can enjoy diving among the big black sea bass. At some spots they are thick.

 

[BatRay]

I would love to see that! They're just big, slow dudes, aren't they? Are they found all up and down the coast?

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Yes, they are tame, and of course some are huge. Last year I poked one with the tip of a shaft in a little 50" gun just to see if I could do it.

Of course they can move very fast if they want to. About four years ago I dropped down right on top of one at about 25 feet. It moved off, but I just hung there and waited, and it came back and stopped right in front of me. I got this wild idea to see if I could touch it, so I extended my hand and tried to inch forward. I think I got within about a foot when it just exploded out of sight, and I almost had a heart attack. They make a very loud boom, I suppose from the cavitation of their tail, when they spook, and it can be startling when you are in murky water and don't even see the fish before it makes that big boom.

I'm not sure how far north their range extends, but they are sure found all along the coast and out at the islands, including up at the northern channel islands. A coastal kelp bed about 6 miles from my harbor often hold a bunch of them.

The weird thing is that its legal to shoot or catch one in Mexico, and then land it in a US port. So you could run the dozen or so miles down to the Isla Coronados, shoot one, and bring it back to San Diego. As long as you have a Mexican fishing license, the DFG has to let it go. I'm quite certain that people have run out to San Clemente Island, or along the US coast as long as they thought they couldn't be seen from shore, shot one, and then said they got it in Mexico.

 

[sciencemike]

Really docile, and tame. Heres some 300 lb ers i took shots of last year this time.

 

[BatRay]

How well has the population rebounded? Is there any chance of the fishery re-opening in the future?

 

[Bill McIntyre]

How well has the population rebounded? Is there any chance of the fishery re-opening in the future?

From a strictly unscientific layman's POV, it has rebounded very well. There seem to be lots of them. I can't say what the chances are of re-opening a fishery though. That depends as much on politics as it does on science.

Even if it became legal, I wouldn't shoot one, but that is strictly a personal thing. Of course I shot jewfish (Goliath grouper) when I was a kid in Florida in the 1950s, so maybe I just got it out of my system. Those are protected now too, and I understand they are so thick on some wrecks that its hard to land a fish without one of them fighting you for it.

Neither species is very hard to shoot, but of course the sport begins after the shot.

 

[BatRay]

Are there any fish that are off-limits during the fall and winter, or are they just more difficult to find?

Mmm, lobster :inlove That would be worth it for sure!

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Its funny that I just mentioned black sea bass booming divers. Today we were diving in pretty poor vis, about 10 feet, and my buddy was on the way up from a dive when he must have startled a black without seeing it. There was a huge boom that really startled him and then he saw it streaking off into the gloom.

 

[kale]

I think a limited lottery for BSB would be cool, if the population is good enough for it. The only one I've seen was hanging 15ft under the kelp bed in bad viz. I was hunting wsb and at first sight thought I found a huge wsb. luckily i took a closer look, it let me swim right up and touch it.
Commercial fishermen are allowed to catch a certain number per year in their nets, so they catch (kill) and release them before they get huge ones which they are allowed to keep and sell:rcard

 

[BatRay]

The only black seabass I've seen were in the Monterey Bay Aquarium. They moved slowly and deliberately, and when the visitors looked at them, they looked right back at the visitors.

What would you say is the difference in diving between spring/summer diving and fall/winter diving? Is the water significantly colder? Is the viz different according to season?

 

[EEZerik]

I would love to see that! They're just big, slow dudes, aren't they? Are they found all up and down the coast?

Here's a pair of BSB:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgpIH9MJ7KE]YouTube - Surprise @ Cat Black Sea Bass[/ame]

Of course it's 1000x better to see them in person...