If there is one single thing I think I know about spearing white sea bass, its that the hour before sunset is likely to be the most productive time of day. However, I seldom act on that belief since I hate getting back to the harbor after dark, cleaning the boat in the cold darkness, and getting home for dinner so late. But yesterday I made an exception. My neighbor Joel and went out in the afternoon.We had heard rumors that fish were being taken in a certain bay, so we arrived at 2:30 PM. The visibility was 25 to 30 feet, which is good for this coastal spot, and current was brisk. We dove for an hour or so without seeing any white sea bass, and there wasn't much bait. We noticed another boat arrive with three of our friends, and another diver had made the long swim out from the beach. At least this seemed to indicate that others had heard the same rumors, but it made for a bit of a crowd in the kelp bed.
After a bit of a rest, we went back in for another hour or so, but still didn't see any. When we got back in the boat, two of the guys from the other boat swam over to borrow some of my hot water down their wetsuits. One said he had seen a 35 pounder but passed it up. The limit this time of year is one fish, and he was holding out for a bigger one. The other guy had seen a 15 pounder.
After standing around in the cool breeze, I decided that I was too old and cold to go back in, but Joel wanted one more drift down through the bed. I told him that after I got out of my wetsuit, I'd pull anchor and go pick him up. By the time I pulled anchor, it was choppy and the light was dim. With four other divers in the water over a distance of a few hundred yards, I couldn't tell which one was Joel. Finally I saw one waving a gun at me, so powered through the thick kelp to him. It turned out he had a nice fish wrapped up in the kelp on the bottom and wasn't sure if he had a good holding shot, so I handed him one of my guns for a second shot. Now he had two guns and two 120 foot float lines to deal with, but at least the fish wasn't going any where.
I dropped anchor near him and was contemplating getting back into that cold wetsuit, but he assured me that he had things under control. Then he dropped his knife and swam over to the boat to borrow mine. It was getting dark and I offered him a light, but he said he didn't need it yet. His mono shooting line was wrapped up so tight in the kelp that he ended up cutting it. I was relieved when he brought the fish to the boat, along with the two guns and float lines.
Of course I wished that I had gone back in the water, but was consoled by the fact that none of the other guys got any fish, even though they stayed in the water until sunset.
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