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Topics - TheKeeneroo

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 8
1
Hello NCKA Friends!

I was recently asked to help connect one of our spearfishing sponsors with a pro-level angler that is very familiar Northern Baja / Southern California freshwater fishing areas. I believe they are interested in doing a promo video with some of their new product line. They have a pro-staffer that will join as well but they more or less need a "guide" to a picturesque location that is kayak/SUP hook and line fishing friendly.

I figure you guys would definitely know of someone.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Best Regards,

Eric

2
Recipes / Make Sea Salt - Family Project
« on: December 16, 2020, 10:54:56 AM »
Super fun family project. Making sea salt!

We recently took Squigs on our regular tidepool walks but this time brought some jugs to collect sea water. It took all day to make the salt, but was really easy and definitely a great time! For every gallon of water, you get about 1/2 cup of salt and then can flavor it will all kinds of fun combos.

Check it out!

https://finandforage.com/coastal-foraging/how-to-make-sea-salt

3
Kayak Diving and Spearfishing / HELP w/ New Yak Set Up
« on: October 07, 2020, 10:51:35 AM »
I recently upgraded my diving kayak from a Cobra Navigator to a Cobra Tourer (2 large A-hatches forward and back, one small circle hatch in middle, 15' x 28", 50#, no rudder). I'm grateful to finally have some storage for fins and spearguns during sporty surf. Other than the typical safety accessories (whistle, bilge pump, radio, compass, etc.) what are some things I should consider doing to the yak itself? I don't hook and line, just spearfish.

I've seen a lot of you guys use pool noodles. Any other recommendations?

Thank you ahead of time for your help!

4
Craftsmen's Corner / Front hatch install
« on: August 26, 2020, 03:06:20 PM »
I have a Cobra Fishing Navigator. I recently was gifted a large "triangular" front hatch for it like the one that comes on the front of the tourer. There is a fair amount of curve to the bow and I'm hoping you guys can share insights or previous threads on how to make sure I install it correctly. I heard weatherproof material used as a seal to compensate for any surfaces that don't flush mount?

I appreciate the wealth of knowledge!

5
Gearing Up and Rigging Up / Pros/Cons: Garmin 86i
« on: August 25, 2020, 08:47:54 AM »
I was recently given a Garmin 86i to play with while spearfishing and kayaking. So far I think it's really useful and dig the SOS feature even though it's subscription based.
I do a fair amount of backpacking/survival camping in very remote areas as well so it's nice to have the security with it. I was curious if anyone had opinions for the pros and / or cons of this particular device?

6
General Talk / Big Sur Closures
« on: April 17, 2020, 11:24:12 AM »
LOS PADRES NATIONAL FOREST
MONTEREY RANGER DISTRICT
Forest Order No. 0 5 -0 7 -5 1 -2 0 -0 3
COVID19 Emergency Closure

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd725353.pdf

At my initial reading of this, it appears that Big Sur wants to limit people going down there. I close to northern sur and when I took a drive down there last weekend, Bixby bridge was packed, like no parking - as were a couple other spots including Monastery Beach North and South Lots were packed to the gills and people were getting ticketed at Partington Cove. Now with this emergency closure in place, I'm guessing tickets will be handed out more aggressively.

7
The huge majority of NCKAers will not benefit from this video and probably have their fair share of tips and tricks to add (which would be rad). This is a video for friends you take out fishing that may not know how to fillet in the first place. My goal this year has been to make videos that are helpful to those in our fishing/diving community and do more good than bad (hopefully!).

I wish I was present for the filleting portion of filming, because I would have added a few things like cleaning the board between fish, keeping fillets covered and cold, how to remove collars, cheek meat, which organs are edible, etc... I tried to make up for it in the text overlaid on the video.


8
Wanted To Buy / Need a paddle
« on: March 25, 2020, 10:57:01 AM »
I hopped in the washer machine recently with a buddy. Lots of top water movement. The S-Beener I use on my kayak paddle leash was rusted and finally broke so I went yakking without the leash this time (first mistake). The second mistake was being too lazy to throw my anchor and instead kelp clipped. I hopped in the water to spearfish and my buddy tied up next to my yak (I should have said something to him). Due to his yak being next to mine, it knocked off my paddle that was lodged under the webbing on the front of my yak. By the time we got back, I used his yak to paddle around to look for it but it was gone gone gone.

Soooo.... if you have a paddle in the 240 range (I'm 6'3") that you wouldn't mind parting with, could you please let me know?

OR

If you have a suggestion on relatively cheap but good paddles, that would be neat too.

Thank you kindly.

9
Kayak Diving and Spearfishing / Beginner's Guide to Setting Up a Dive Kayak
« on: February 19, 2020, 04:02:29 PM »
I'm sure I missed stuff... but here is a rough go at a how to guide for setting up a spearo kayak.



If you'd like to see certain topics in the future or have any questions, let me know. My goal is to try and make more useful content for newer divers. (P.s. Life jackets are mandatory in CA).

10
Hookups and Fishing Reports (Viewable by Public) / Yummy Big Ling RPT
« on: February 06, 2020, 04:26:09 PM »
Last weekend was anything but calm with 6-8' swells, wind and reports of a lot of surge. The swell leading up up to Saturday were much larger and they even grew as while we were in the water. I promised a newer diver to take him out and teach him a few things about fish behavior and dive/hunting techniques. He said he wanted to help me film a few instructional spearo videos (coming out soon) and the only reasonable spot to dive was SWS on the inside. I'm personally not a fan of diving on the inside due to me rarely finding anything worth shooting.

There were big rollers and actual waves inside of SWS near Pescadero rocks which is something I rarely see. We decide to still make the long surface swim out past the rocks and do some hunting around there in 30-40 fow. There I am hole hunting, dropping my gun near a hole with a fish in it in the <10' visibility, so my buddy could go down the line and get a fish. I film him as he gets a fish, so I pull up my gun and go to hole hunt for myself. 1/2 my body is stuffed deep in a tight cave, one of those caves that has a few different places to look, I started in the potential hole on the left and nothing was there. Look to the one in the middle, nothing is there, and as I look to the right, I see a huge face looking at me just inches away. I knew this one had size. I was way too close to aim my gun, so I wiggle back thinking, man, as soon as I move, it's going to run away. When it saw me wiggle back it tried to swim backward too but it was clearly in a hole without a back exit. So upon seeing this, I take aim and put her to sleep.

She ended up being 33" and just under 20 pounds. While the belly looks stupid full, it's because there ended up being two decent sized perch in her belly. Really wild to see a ling that large inside the cove! I was so stoked because I really wanted the ling roe to make caviar and the big liver to make a liver dish. I ended up using the entire, literally every part of the edible fish (basically everything but the stomach), to make a super fun dish.

THE WHOLE FISH: Strong broth (reduced fish stock w seaweed); garlic potatoes and belly meat topped with lemon and yuzu caviar; fried bread with radish and black garlic cured liver, squid ink veggie purée made with the fish stock veggies. I wasn’t a fan of how the liver turned out by itself, but with the radish and bread it worked really well. What a fun challenge to figure out how to make a meal using the entire fish! It’s fulfilling (pun intended) to know nothing was wasted!


11
For Sale / WETSUITS FOR SALE / BRIBERY
« on: January 24, 2020, 02:09:22 PM »
***WETSUITS FOR SALE / BRIBERY. All monetary proceeds go to a gift for my wife, since she is rad and I get to dive regularly.***

1) **Mares Instinct Camo 55 (5mm open cell) – size 6 - $75 obo**
Nearly brand new minus a small tear on the thigh from it catching on my kayak handle when I hopped off the yak. It has been completely sealed with Aquaseal. Ideal for someone in the 5’11”-6’3” 175-200 lb range.

2) **Yazbeck 7mm open cell spearo suit/battle armor.** I had a pocket added to the right leg for scallops (will fit up to 8” scallop, or a few smaller ones) and made beaver tail Velcro. It comes with a LOT of fish juju, a lot of healed scars and will guarantee add at least 2.5 more seconds of bottom time to its new owner. It’s definitely still useable, should be free, but I love it, don’t want to see it go. $10 FIRM for it… just because the new owner should know it’s value :P You jump in the water with this suit of armor and you’ll hear the fish start to tremble.


3) **Quicksilver Men’s Wetsuit (4/3mm closed cell) size L - $50 obo** Long sleeve w shorts (not pants).
Literally brand new. Great suit for SUP boarding, kayaking and swimming. Ideal for someone in the 5’9”-6’0” 165-190 lb range.

4) **Body Glove 7mm closed cell scuba suit (with XL hood). Men’s L. $25 obo.** Ideal for someone in the 5’9”-6’0” 165-180 lb range.

5) **Cressi Castoro 5mm closed cell 3XL. **Brand new. Won it at a raffle… Would be ideal for a man who’s size would allow him to successfully wrestle a grizzly bear. Most enticing bribe takes home this bad boy.


sold

sold

sold







12
Wanted To Buy / WTB Simple Fish Finder
« on: January 10, 2020, 10:04:59 AM »
This is probably the opposite of what most hook and liners want, but I'm curious to hear from the "Yak Pro's" what I should get to simply see depth and maybe fish. I'm not so concerned about seeing the fish on the screen, I'm more interested in structure and depth to find unmarked pinnacles and such while I'm out exploring. I know much of the PG, Pebble, and Carmel sea floor topography but I'd love to get more more acquainted with specific pinnacles and GPS coordinates of "honey holes" and "ling dens." Start making my own lists.

Any advice on something relatively cheap that would be good for this?

13
Recipes / FISH RECIPE BOOK!
« on: December 06, 2019, 08:09:52 AM »
Catch & Cook Cook Book contains some of the best recipes ever cooked on a beach. Feel free to order your own or keep the link for the "digital version".

I was astonished at the level of food made at this event!

https://link.shutterfly.com/e/Rmrk5rwlb2

14
Recipes / PB SCALLOP 11/30 RPT w/ Recipe
« on: December 02, 2019, 11:53:12 AM »
Finally got to hop in the water on 11/30 with a few of the Catch and Cook winners (Huan, Emmanuel, Charls and almost Matt). It was raining and cold in Pebble as we donned our wetsuits, "braving" (aka lots of whining) the cold 42 degree air. I was in a compressed 7mm Yazbeck suit which has served me really well despite the major need for an upgrade. The moment my face met the water, I nearly called it a day right then... It's not often your skin stings when the cold water hits it. I was surely missing Baja water at this point. However, I was elated to find visibility crystal clear in the shallows. We had a long surface swim to our spot (ditched the kayaks due to a forecast of 50kt gusts) but all the way out, the vis stayed on point. I could see the details of my gun at 25' and had a milky visibility all the way to 40'. It was going to be a good day.

I was super selective for the first 3ish hours and only pulled the trigger on a above average grassy and a large greenling. I did one drop on a deep crack and was surprised to find what I though was an abalone at first... it was a huge scallop and guess who forgot to pack their ab iron? I have a mono stringer with a pretty decent metal flopper on it so I pulled it out with my fish attached and tried to pop the scallop. It was cemented. I took 4 drops, no luck. Decided to do some hole hunting for a MFE I saw earlier and wanted to put Huan on since he said he had a killer recipe for it. Couldn't find it so I went back after the scallop. Finally, 3 drops later, and trying every angle I could get that little metal piece in for leverage, it popped. So stoked to see that it barely fit in the accordion pocket I had put on my suit - I knew it was big bc most of my scallops slide right into the pocket. It was rad to find out that Emmanuel also got several PB scallops on the dive (check out that orange one!)

I had 2 firsts on this dive. 1) I was in about 30 fow and saw a fat otter below me checking me out. It swam away. I made a couple drops and while on the bottom, it came up to me within 3' of me and held out a partially eaten purple urchin then disappeared again. On my next drop, it came back and held out a shell to me. Literal show and tell. Was kinda cute considering those things are usually pretty nasty. 2) I hear of people swimming with Mola Molas once in a while, but I finally got mine! I only saw one at first, but a few minutes later I was in a school of about 10 of them. That was super cool. I wish it wasn't so cold or I would have worn my GoPro. Next time.... no excuses - luckily Emmanuel had his rolling. Really cool to have a moment with some unique critters.

Diving with Huan was a lot of fun. He was willing to stuff himself into deep crevices for the nice scallops too, so we buddied up and just went after scallops, enjoying the great vis and generally just pumped to be out there. There is something neat and challenging about thinking "I bet I can wedge myself into that crack or deep into this cave, take a peak and hopefully not get stuck" and then going for it - those are the places I usually find the best stuff. We each got a few more scallops and I spooked another nice greenling that I took. It had been raining on us for the 4+ hours in the water and we were all getting really cold - so we called it and made the long swim back in.I love having a 5 gallon jug of hot water waiting for me. It's a huge comforter when you're really cold although even after my SurfFur changing station, in the cold rain, my toes were numb and tingling till well after I took a shower at home.

We had family come over the next night and I got to cook some tasties for them.

Spicy Scallop Crudo. The recipe is below the pics. It's surprisingly easy and tastes amazing.











SPICY SCALLOP CRUDO

Combine in bowl:
  • 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
    3 tablespoons fresh yuzu (or Lemon) juice
    2 tablespoons soy sauce, preferably organic
    1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons sesame oil
    1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger
    1 Serrano pepper (red Thai chile would be better), thinly sliced
    3/4 teaspoon Sherry vinegar

Then dress and add the following:
  • 1/2 pound large sea scallops, side muscle removed, thinly sliced crosswise
    1/4 cup fresh small mint leaves
    2 tablespoons thinly sliced leek greens
    Sriracha
    Sea salt

15
Fishing Tournaments and Events / Catch & Cook Comp. Pics and Winner!
« on: November 11, 2019, 02:39:27 PM »
ONE FOR THE BOOKS... (and apparently magazines... as I just learned Edible Monterey is doing an article on the event to help build momentum for next year's comp).

I am excited to report that we had over 100 spectators, 38 competitors, lots of $$ raised for Save Our Shores and 37 pounds of trash picked up at the beach clean up (and fantastic family prizes for top 3 people to pick up most trash like a $150 certificate to 7D steakhouse paired with a $120 cert for Big Sur Adventures). We had prize packages (like an $1800 fishing kayak, $150 Shun Knife, $100 Kalletka Clothing certificate and custom magnetic knife block trophy for first place winner) for the top 5 highest scored plates, 1 prize package for biggest fish including a metal lingcod custom trophy from Jack Kim, and one for heaviest limit of purple urchins.

Huan "Solo" Le came in first place images (in album below) #340-345 - Canh Chua (sweet and sour fish soup) with Cá Kho Tộ (clay pot caramel braised fish).

Huge thank you to the judges for their time: Chef Thomas Snyder of Seventh & Dolores, Chef Danny Abbruzzese of the Portola Hotel & Spa and Chef Colin Moody of The Club at Pasadera. Thank you also for everyone that competed, volunteered, helped organize, helped solicit donations (like Matt Mattison connecting me with some businesses and people), and encouraged the event! Thank you to Monterey Bay Kayaks for hosting the event and Bamboo Reef for being the main sponsor.

It was a huge success and we look forward to next year.

HERE IS THE LINK to the album so you can see the fun!

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