First trip of the year

[Bill McIntyre]

Dam and I went out of Dana Point and hit the local beds. The first place we looked the weather was still so dark and cloudy that it was hard to tell how the vis was, but it didn't look good so we moved on. At the second spot, we jumped in and I could just see the tip of my 50" hybrid. I gave it 30 minutes but couldn't get very optimistic. As usual Dam gave it twice as long, but he didn't do any better.

Moved on to a third stop and found decent vis- maybe 10 to 12 feet. We gave that quite a bit longer, but neither of us saw anything. We did think we might have heard faint croaking though. Dam almost shot a soup fin that was imitating a white sea bass, but managed to hold off at the last second. I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets fooled. I've come close to shooting a soup fin several times.

Water temp was 59 everywhere.

At my age, I always have doubts about how well I'll come back after the winter layoff, but maybe I'll last another year. I got my bottom times up to 56 to 58 seconds, which is nothing for you young studs but not at all bad for me on my first trip in a few months, and my legs didn't get too tired too soon. Hope springs eternal.

 

[foxfish]

What is a soup fin Bill?

 

[Bill McIntyre]

What is a soup fin Bill?

Its a shark. In the right light, especially from above, its easy to mistake them for white sea bass.

 

[foxfish]

I see the cryptic clue now :hungover
I did not realise you even saw sharks at all in the kelp beds, what type are they?

 

[Bill McIntyre]

I see the cryptic clue now :hungover
I did not realise you even saw sharks at all in the kelp beds, what type are they?

Soup fins.

But the other large sharks that we see in the kelp beds include 7-gills and great whites. Blues very rarely come into the kelp, and then there are the smaller varieties such as angel sharks and leopard sharks.

 

[thedodd]

Soup fins.

But the other large sharks that we see in the kelp beds include 7-gills and great whites. Blues very rarely come into the kelp, and then there are the smaller varieties such as angel sharks and leopard sharks.

How many whites have you seen in the kelp bill? at the islands only or main land coast as well. im shure ill see one eventually, but they still worry me a little. i dont think about it as much as i did when i first started, but the La Jolla kelp beds are the only one ive dove and they creep me out! Do they ever show interest in you or do they just cruise by.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

I've never seen a great white shark, even from the boat. Two have been seen by guys diving from my boat. One was a 17 footer at Farnsworth Bank, a seamount off the back side of Catalina. The other was a 6 or 7 footer on the front side of Catalina.

Of course I've sure heard stories. I good friend that I trust had to poke one in the face near Avalon. Another friend was diving in a coastal kelp bed and saw gulls dipping across the bed. He swam over and found a baby seal, freshly bitten in half and still bleeding. He walked on top of the kelp bed all the way back to the boat.

I won't bore you with more second hand stories, but there are sharks out there.

 

[thedodd]

Thanks yeah i guess if you cant die doing it then its not really a sport then eh. yeah im not so worried about it anymore the rewards out way the risk. I read that you have a better chance of being killed by a falling coconut than by a shark. i never look up for coconuts so i don't look down for sharks anymore either!

 

[Bill]

"you have a better chance of being killed by a falling coconut than by a shark"
Don't you love statistics or the statement;
"72.6% of statistics are made up by the writer".

If you haven't read it, "Freakonomics". I couldn't put it down.