Yesterday I went out with Alex Ray and Chris Oak.
We wanted to go where we did well last week (or where other people did well while I had a nosebleed), but the first two spots were too dirty to dive. The third spot was clear and blue, but not much bait and not much going on. Chris said a school of five 50 pound wsb snuck up behind him almost close enough to touch. He tried to swing his gun very slowly, but they spooked. I didn't see anything, and Alex may have seen one- I forget.
So on to a 4th spot. We didn't launch until 10:15, so this was the last chance for the day. Water was clear down to around 25 feet, then milky below. Current was mild enough so that I could manage to breath up and dive.
I don't think I can recall seeing so much life in a very long time. Big schools of sardines and mackerel were hauling ass by like something was right behind them. There were calicos everywhere. I think there must have been at least 30 sheltering from the current behind one kelp clump. Big bunches of sand bass were actively bumping and spawning. Sargo were spawning too- I don't think I've ever seen that. There was so much sperm in the water that it might not have been safe for a woman to dive. Big schools of big barracuda too. On one dive, a large opaleye actually came straight up at me as if to challenge me. As it got later, bunches of calicos seemed to light up in a very bright black and white checkerboard pattern. I wondered if it was just the light, but then I'd see them go by other calicos with the more usual subdued mottled color.
There were way too many black sea bass too, and many of them were in that dangerous 50 to 60 pound range. (Black sea bass are a protected species in California). I'd see one out of the corner of my eye and think my moment of glory had come, but then it was the wrong kind. And on one dive, I leveled off to see two black sea bass of about 100 pounds doing a circular tail chase. But when they saw me, they peeled off and rushed straight at me. The lead fish almost hit my slip tip before it turned. Maybe they were spawning and were pissed off at the interruption. The later it got, the more exciting it got.
Finally, we started seeing some white sea bass. Alex got one and may have seen one or two more. I saw one down in the milky layer and at first thought it was a black. Then I figured out it was white, but it seemed like a long shot so I didn't take it. Later I kicked my own ass for not taking the shot. I was carrying my 4-band Super Magnum hybrid, but I keep acting like I'm carrying a smaller gun. I do hate to take irresponsible shots and risk tear-offs, but maybe I need to be more aggressive.
After about 90 minutes, my calfs started to cramp, and on some other day I might have called it quits. But the spot was looking so hot that I went back to the boat and drank an entire bottle of Gatorade, ate a Clif Bar, and that seemed to solve the problem when I got back in.
I saw another big one from the surface, but before I even thought about diving, it spooked. I haven't seen them do that very often, but maybe with three of us in the water in a relatively small kelp bed, it had seen enough.
And then finally I had my best chance. Two big fish came under me while I was on the surface. It was very choppy and I was bouncing up and down and they were fairly deep, so I decided to dive. It was the wrong decision and they just accelerated out of sight. I should have steadied the gun as best I could and taken the shot.
Meanwhile, Chris hadn't seen a single fish, and was getting very frustrated when Alex and I were shouting about what we had seen. But then he finally saw one fish, and that's all he needed. He shot it.
There was still some daylight left and I could have kept trying, but we were already going to get home very late, so I reluctantly gave it up.
Oh well, at least I didn't get another nose bleed. Now I just need to get more trigger-happy.
I can still count the day as a personal success just because of the crazy life I got to see. There are days when I don't get a fish that are just plain boring, but there was so much going on yesterday that it was exciting just being in the water.
We wanted to go where we did well last week (or where other people did well while I had a nosebleed), but the first two spots were too dirty to dive. The third spot was clear and blue, but not much bait and not much going on. Chris said a school of five 50 pound wsb snuck up behind him almost close enough to touch. He tried to swing his gun very slowly, but they spooked. I didn't see anything, and Alex may have seen one- I forget.
So on to a 4th spot. We didn't launch until 10:15, so this was the last chance for the day. Water was clear down to around 25 feet, then milky below. Current was mild enough so that I could manage to breath up and dive.
I don't think I can recall seeing so much life in a very long time. Big schools of sardines and mackerel were hauling ass by like something was right behind them. There were calicos everywhere. I think there must have been at least 30 sheltering from the current behind one kelp clump. Big bunches of sand bass were actively bumping and spawning. Sargo were spawning too- I don't think I've ever seen that. There was so much sperm in the water that it might not have been safe for a woman to dive. Big schools of big barracuda too. On one dive, a large opaleye actually came straight up at me as if to challenge me. As it got later, bunches of calicos seemed to light up in a very bright black and white checkerboard pattern. I wondered if it was just the light, but then I'd see them go by other calicos with the more usual subdued mottled color.
There were way too many black sea bass too, and many of them were in that dangerous 50 to 60 pound range. (Black sea bass are a protected species in California). I'd see one out of the corner of my eye and think my moment of glory had come, but then it was the wrong kind. And on one dive, I leveled off to see two black sea bass of about 100 pounds doing a circular tail chase. But when they saw me, they peeled off and rushed straight at me. The lead fish almost hit my slip tip before it turned. Maybe they were spawning and were pissed off at the interruption. The later it got, the more exciting it got.
Finally, we started seeing some white sea bass. Alex got one and may have seen one or two more. I saw one down in the milky layer and at first thought it was a black. Then I figured out it was white, but it seemed like a long shot so I didn't take it. Later I kicked my own ass for not taking the shot. I was carrying my 4-band Super Magnum hybrid, but I keep acting like I'm carrying a smaller gun. I do hate to take irresponsible shots and risk tear-offs, but maybe I need to be more aggressive.
After about 90 minutes, my calfs started to cramp, and on some other day I might have called it quits. But the spot was looking so hot that I went back to the boat and drank an entire bottle of Gatorade, ate a Clif Bar, and that seemed to solve the problem when I got back in.
I saw another big one from the surface, but before I even thought about diving, it spooked. I haven't seen them do that very often, but maybe with three of us in the water in a relatively small kelp bed, it had seen enough.
And then finally I had my best chance. Two big fish came under me while I was on the surface. It was very choppy and I was bouncing up and down and they were fairly deep, so I decided to dive. It was the wrong decision and they just accelerated out of sight. I should have steadied the gun as best I could and taken the shot.
Meanwhile, Chris hadn't seen a single fish, and was getting very frustrated when Alex and I were shouting about what we had seen. But then he finally saw one fish, and that's all he needed. He shot it.
There was still some daylight left and I could have kept trying, but we were already going to get home very late, so I reluctantly gave it up.
Oh well, at least I didn't get another nose bleed. Now I just need to get more trigger-happy.
I can still count the day as a personal success just because of the crazy life I got to see. There are days when I don't get a fish that are just plain boring, but there was so much going on yesterday that it was exciting just being in the water.