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newport beach, ca area

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
sciencemike said:
Hey i live in Glendora/Huntington Beach. I Scuba/Snorkel almost every weekend and am wanting to get into some hunting. Anyone going diving this long weekend. We are diving shaws cove on monday and maybe La Jolla cove on sunday. Let me know.
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I may be out tomorrow morning in OC somewhere and a few of us will be going out early on kayaks also in OC. If you have a yak or just want to shore dive tomorrow let me know.

Abel
 
sciencemike said:
Hey i live in Glendora/Huntington Beach. I Scuba/Snorkel almost every weekend and am wanting to get into some hunting. Anyone going diving this long weekend. We are diving shaws cove on monday and maybe La Jolla cove on sunday. Let me know.
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yea i live in pomona/costa mesa and i miss going out i havent been out spearing since like the first few weeks of sumer. i work all the time and cant find time to get to the beach. o and aesthetic the preasure is from sinus congestion. if you have a stuffy nose and you go diving and it feels like your forehead is goin to explode when you dive thats from the stuffy nose. ive tried that too and it hurt way to much to go farther than 6 ft under.
 
Boy, am I glad to have found this thread. I'm looking for a freediving/snorkeling buddy in Orange County. I usually snorkel around Crescent Bay, Shaws Cove and Crystal Cove. Recently, I've developed an interest in freediving. I usually go during the weekends and after work (5pm) on weekdays. If you want to hit the water, let me know.
 

well i just finished school last wednesday, so for a little while ill have alot of free time! maybe we can head out to crystal cove i havent been yet.. the other two i have though. i also like inspiration point alot.

also, alex.. i doubt youll check this in time but i wont have the money to come on your catalina trip today! youre probably just waking up to head out or something.. im just going to bed lool

we will go soon though. and TAKE PICTURES! i cant wait to see the catches you guys find. i want detailed stories and pictures. =)
 
Eh due to the rain/pollution i didnt go out this weekend. And the week before i was drawn to Colorado for a family emergency. But the week before that i had this pesky large calico sea bass following me on my scuba dive in Shaws cove, and thanks to my Foldspear he was dinner that night. I took him at the end of the wall in about 30 foot of water. Vis was 12-15' and he was 1-1/2 foot long and about 5 feet away when i shot him. I normally dont hunt while im bubbling, but this one i just couldnt resist.
 
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This thread is kind of slow. I figure I'd do some reports to get people back out there.

Crescent Bay/Seal Rock, 09/26-09/27
Conditions were good, swells were dying down, so not much currents and surges. On both days, I ran into a relatively large bat ray. It was munching on something and was surrounded by several calicos. Schools of baby senoritas were swarming the rocks, a very cool sight. Blacksmiths were also out to feed. The other usual suspects include garibaldis, sand bass, sheep heads and smelts.

Crystal Cove/Split Rock 09/28/07
The first 50 yards from shore were filled with grasses and littered with perches. Surges were kicking up sand so I decided to go further out. The reefs surrounding Split Rock were very nice. I saw several buoys floating about 50 yards west of the rocks that got me curious. They were attached to what I'm assuming to be lobster cages. There weren't any lobsters in them, though. Closer to the rocks, the baby senoritas and blacksmiths were out in number. It's an amazing feeling when you're anchored to the bottom of the reef having schools of senoritas surrounding you. I hope you guys can make it out there soon.
 
Lobster Cages? Were they the net kind or hard/rigid ones? I think that the only kind that are allowed are the ones made of a hoop and rope meshing. If they were the other kind you should report them, plus lobster season isnt till the 29th aka TOMORROW!!!!!

Im just mad because i have seen some big lobsters out there in my secret spot and have been waiting till the season starts to go get em. :mute
 
They were the hard rigid kinds. I don't know if they're in "operation" or not because the "doors" on top of the cages were open. None of them were baited. Although, I imagine that if a lobster does happen go in it, it would have a hell of a time trying to get out. I also saw a boat full of cages like these cruising by about another 50 yards farther out. They stopped for a bit (probably to check on me) then left.

BTW, if you do go out, and you don't mind having a newbie tagging along, I'd love to join you. I'm more interested in having a diving partner since I've always done it alone. Although, I do know of 1 or 2 secret spots that you might like to know about :mute.

Edit: I forgot to ask one question. Should I call the DFG and report it anyway?
 
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Im really not sure what those were that you saw. Im sure it wouldnt hurt to ask them.

In general here are the rules...


Fishermen (16 years or older) must possess a valid sport fishing license.
Spiny lobster taken must measure at least 3 1/4 inches in length, measured in a straight line on the mid-line of the back from the rear edge of the eye socket to the rear edge of the body shell.
The daily bag limit is seven lobsters.
Divers may take lobsters by hand only.
Up to five baited hoop nets may be fished by a person for lobster with a maximum of 10 per vessel, regardless of how many fishermen are onboard.

Maybe they were fish traps? Or somthin else? But it sure wouldnt hurt to give CF&G a ring if for no other reason to find out what those traps were.

As for going out, i had a battery in my passenger seat leaking acid over this whole week from the heat, and my lungs are not so hot right now. I found the problem out last night when my carpeting was melted. Anyways if i feel up to it i might try and scuba or freedive tomorrow morning. If so ill send you a PM today when i make up my mind. Would you be freediving or scubaing?
 
hey sorry i didnt answer my phone this morning.. i was up suppppper late. how was the outing, sucinimad?
 
I got to Crystal Cove this morning at around 9 am. Conditions were gorgeous. No clouds, no winds, hardly any swells. I saw the usuals like garibaldis, calicos, HUGE sheep heads with the addition of a small halibut, a shovelnose shark, couple of leopards, a nice horn shark that gave up swimming right under me, fell to the bottom of the reef and lied there until I got bored and moved on. I also saw a few lobsters, but they were all undersized. A few of the West facing ledges were colonized by many yellow and purple nudibranches. I don't know their proper name. All in all, it was a great dive.

I'm also interested in a Deadman's reef dive. Would anybody be interested in heading out this week?
 
I just got my new fins so i tried going out on Sunday late afternoon about 5:00 pm. THere was about 15 to 20 foot of visibility... Awesome! and the waves were less than 1 foot and not much surge to speak of. Perfect to try the valleys and cracks inside the rocks to the right side of Shaw's Cove. Snorkeling there was awesome, i stayed there till almost dark.

sucinimad, wow nice dive that sounds incredible. If these conditions keep up i was wanting to go out sometime this week in the morning about 9 am ish? Anyone wanna join me.

About Deadmans, thats the reef right in front of Crystal bay on the right that the Sea Lions live at right? I might be able to be talked into going there after i get more used to my fins and i get my weight belt dialed in.

Nudi = Spanish shawl nudibranch - Flabellina iodinea
 

i would LOVE to get a sheephead! whens your next outing? i will be sure to come through this time. i might even go check out crystal or inspiration later after my interview at 12pm.
 
Oh man, I've been wanting to check out the trenches at Shaw's Cove! Looks like you had a great time. I think you have the right idea about Deadman's reef. I found this map on pacificwilderness.com that shows you the location of the reef:
http://x020.uploaderx.net/x/crescent.gif

It's not too far off shore and I was told the top of the reef is about ~15ft deep. I also hear it's much clearer out there and the scenery is great. I believe Aestheticmac is also interested in this spot. Maybe we can organize a little trip...

Also, thanks for the ID on the nudi.
 
sucinimad fill me in more on the sheephead (where you were, depths, etc)
 
aesthetic, I saw your reply after I had posted my own. The sheepheads were all over the reefs at Split Rock (Crystal Cove). But, the bigger ones were South/East of the rock. The depth was probably ~25-30ft. It seems like every major structure has a nice large male guarding it.
 

thanks for the tip! ill keep that in mind, i havent had the luck of running into any out here yet so i would be looking forward to it.
 
Im up in Port Hueneme, near Oxnard and Channel Islands. Im just beginning Freediving with a polespear and was wondering if there was anyone else up here, or maybe someone who knows of some decent areas to spear in the area. I have been in Laguna a few times this week and saw mostly perch, and a couple sheepshead, but was trying to find a local place closer to me. Any help would be great, thanks.
 
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