Abs etc. 4/22

I went to the coast this morning with a former intern.  He is an ab newbie, but full of enthusiasm.  We got out there at 0730 and the ocean was pretty dang nice, but still a bit of a gentle swell.  Viz was great, about 12-15 feet.  We got our abs and then I started looking for fish.

Smashed open a few urchins but no takers.  We moved a bit and I found some nice perch and shot a few, and a greenling.  No cabs or lings ever showed.  Had a great time!

Right on SCWAFISH. I'm jealous. Did you devirginize you gun? Jen and I are coming up 5/12-5/14. It would be great to hook up with you and/or Abking. I'm not sure where exactly we're staying, but Abking has me dreaming of Shelter/Lost Coast. I also wouldn't mind hitting Mendo on the way back as well. I let you guys know more when we get closer to the date. -Lee

Lee-Technically the gun has gotten bloody, but only with the blood of lil' fishies...I want real fish blood!   Maybe later this weekend.  I will be on on 5-14 in Sonoma County, feel free to join us.

WTG, Scwa--keep looking and you'll get that ling.

Lee--keep in touch about coming up.  If you time it with a good minus tide we can definitely do an ab trip if the ocean isn't cooperative for the full on yak-fish and dive.

I'm looking forward to this Sunday~

Hey Scwa- What kind of gun are you sporting? Lee

Lee-In the end I got the same gun that PS bought...a Omer Dragon.  It was about a $100 bucks.  Works great so far, this will make a fine first gun.  Have to say that my sternum is sore as heck from all of the reloads.  No wonder the spear suits have the pad...ouch!

Scwa, we're gonna make halibut skewers on that new spear shaft this summer so don't worry... The night is young!

Looking forward to that!

Cool, sounds like a nice gun. Is it a two-bander? My Riffe is a two bander and I'll be a little nervous to load the gun up with both bands when I first start shooting; but do you think just one band is enough to get through a ling or a cabazony? I would hate to miss one cuz I didn't use enough power. -Lee p.s. my spear is a double flopper.

Hey Scwafish and Abking- just read that DFG is opening  Rockfish above Cape Mendocino May 1. Does it always open that early above Cape Mendo? And is Shelter cove above Cape Mendo? And does that mean when I come up on May 12 that it may be possible for a Ab/ Yak Rockfish combo?  -Lee

Mine's actually the excalibur, but it's pretty much the same.  They're single band guns, but the bands are fatties - 16mm in diameter and something like 65kg to pull them back.  Probably better than 2 bands on an american gun - and much faster to load.

The only fish I've shot so far, a 14" perch, the spear went clear through the fish and got stuck in the rocks 6 feet behind it...

You might use 1 band for super low-vis point-blank shooting, and use the second band when there is better vis and you might take a hail mary on a nice ling.

Lee-Rockfish has been all over the map for the last few years.  Unortunately Shelter is below Cape Mendocino.  The good news is if you want to spear one its open right now.  Not sure how the single band approach would work, I AM a rookie with the gun....paging Bigeye!!

Scwa's right, Lee, Cape Mendocino is about 30 miles north of Shelter Cove.

I couldn't find anyone to go boating yesterday (deja vu...), so I hiked down the beach south of Petrolia and dove around looking for a huge ab.  Viz was pretty low--around 1-2'--and it was a bit churned up.  I grabbed a nice round 9.25" then fished off a rock for a bit.  Picked up two beautiful greenling on ab guts--both about 17"-18".  Had to release 1.  Freshest ab and fish dinner last night was "the bomb" as the kids say nowadays.

Tomorrow I'm heading to the Cove and may salmon fish or may just do a dive.

In response to the band question.  Generally most rockfish are shot at point blank range.  One band on the euro type guns with the thinner shafts is sufficient, even on big lings.  If you are using a riffe Bandito or Biller, heavier shaft type gun you may want 2 bands for a little extra punch on the heavier shaft.  For halibut 2 bands are required(again this is on the heavier type shaft guns, not euro guns) because you not only have to penetrate the fish but you have to go down into the sand below the fish so the tip can toggle properly.  The thing about thin shafts is they can get bent up by stronger fish like large lings, sheephead and halibut.  I have friends in So. Cal who shoot seabass and yellows with euro type guns with one band and thinner shafts but that takes more skill, so there are always exeptions to the general rules.  I also like a double flopper for halibut and larger fish but it is possible to land fish with a single.  Hope that is helpful.
Dave

Thanls Dave; I'll keep that in mind. I will also be using a 30' float line connected to the gun so I can dump it after I shoot. Are there any comments/cautions on this? All info would be appreciated. Thanks. -LEE