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Topics - fuzz

Pages: [1] 2 3
1
New (to me) scupper pro.  Old owner said he had parts for this, but couldn't find them.


Does anyone know what brand/model these bases are for?

2
For Sale / Looking for a SoCal style jig stick with or without reel
« on: June 29, 2018, 12:55:33 PM »
Looking for something along the line of a Phenix 9' or close to it. 
Basically a good 9' stick for surface irons, etc.


Figure it's a longshot, but I know a lot of you hoard gear in your garage.   :-D

3
Kayak Diving and Spearfishing / UW photo report - 8dec2012
« on: December 13, 2012, 04:13:27 PM »
Spin-off from http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=43091.0


Beautiful day of diving!
I mustered enough self-control to put the speargun away and pick up my new (used) camera.   :smt003



Cabs were out everywhere, camo'd into the coraline algae, and furiously defending their eggs.
Eggs varied in color from pinkish (in this pic) to teal greeen.
Any cab that was dutifully defending eggs... was left unharmed.     :smt001



BigJim, doing his best cabezon impression.



Nathan (shark bait); checking out a promising reef.
His darn day-glo weights messed with my camera...   :smt011



Searching the dark confines of a ledge with his flashlight.



Pulling out a nice cabezon!



Less than 10yds away from the cab, Nathan found this ling lurking in shadows...



Big fish of the day!



Jesse; floating on surface looking for his next target.



Only Jesse's 4th time diving, Jim & Nathan were always nearby for support.



Death from above!



Jesse landing a mighty kelpie.



Proudly displaying his prize.



Moving to the edge of the kelp bed; storms have tattered the kelp.



With most of the kelp torn out, the traveling sea lions freely weaved in & out.



At 60', it was a bit darker but still clear... and fishy!



Jim went to work, picking off big olives.



Jim's new PB... and a slob of an olive!



A rare olive headshot from Jim... this moment needed to be documented!  ;)



Heading back towards shore, Jim shot a nice ling out in the open.



Not far away, Jesse hits 32ft and shoots his first cab!



Money shot!



It was a team effort... Jim lent Jesse his fins to help reach the fish!
(You can see Jim floating in background without fins.)



The happy duo with their prizes for the day.


Since I couldn't get close to fish, I resorted to taking pictures of pretty things that wouldn't run away...



The end.   :smt006


4
General Talk / Water inside paddle?
« on: June 27, 2012, 05:13:07 PM »
I have a bad habit of tossing my paddle in the water when diving (paddle leash) and consequently water has made it's way into two of my paddles.  Not sure how, but one side of each paddle now has some of the sea sloshing around.  Doesn't seem to want to drain no matter how I tilt it, so can't even figure where the intrusion point is.  Since it's the female side of the paddle, I'm assuming the plug as at fault, but no way to remove it.

Anyone have similar issues... and more importantly, a fix?   :smt001

5
For Sale / Anyone want some ab shells? Peninsula area
« on: April 09, 2012, 07:33:51 PM »
Have a couple dozen shells lying around that I'm gonna be tossing. 
If anyone wants em for random projects/etc, welcome to come by and pick em up.   ;)

Sorry, but no shipping.   :smt009

6


With a good weekend forecast, Kwok, Rick, & I decided to hit up Carmel.
As daylight is getting scarce, Kwok & I begrudgingly decided to head out earlier than our usual noon start.
Rick was game for anything, so we quickly loaded gear/kayaks, picked him up, & headed down the 101.  :smt003

Rounding Seaside, we got our first glance of the water... and it was spectacular.   :smt007
The flattest water I've seen all year; minimal swell & glassy smooth!
The skies were a clear blue, winds faint, and sun glowing. Just a beautiful day.

Despite the epic topside conditions, visibility was varied.
A strong surface haze gave way to slightly clearer waters beneath.
Nothing to be excited about, but very huntable.

We dove sporadically over a mile stretch of coast, checking several reef systems.
Lots of fish around, but we held off for some of the more choice species.
Rick ended the day with a ling, cab, sheephead, treefish, & few other RF.
Kwok got a ling, vermillion, couple olives, & other assorted RF.
I scrounged around for a few RF & a couple lings.   :smt001



Some pics... only took a handful, so nothing fancy.   :)

Rick with his first treefish:


The rest of Rick's varied stringer:


The Kwok, challenging himself to shoot the smallest olive he could find:


My humble catch - olives, ling, & a red:


Kwok feeding some of the locals:


Rick & Kwok, winding down after a long day of diving:



Only vid I got on the day:



My favorite memory of the dive:
Kwok had just shot a blueRF and let go of his gun(floatline).  He was on the surface chatting with us, while casually pulling up the blue with his floatline.  Mid-conversation, he started yelling for my speargun... and I knew exactly what that meant.  Stuck my head underwater to see a hitchhiker ling latched onto his blue.  The bottom was in 50's here, top of pinnacle ~35-40... so that ling had come up quite a ways.  Sending a quick smirk in his direction, Kwok read my mind and let out a "nooooooo!" as I lifted my leg up and submerged.  I soon felt Kwok desperately groping at me like a drown victim... trying to pull me back to surface by my leg.  Too late... a quick shot & the ling was secured.  Ling robbery complete!


Honorable mentions:
  • Watching 2 lings circling each other, like dogs sniffing each others' tails.  Rick & I dove, to find both lings patiently sitting in the same long crack.  After deciding to shoot one, they disappeared...
  • Working an extended ledge, specifically looking for a vermillion.  Passed up several sheephead, olives, & lings.  Finally finding a red, it stared me down, so I had to poke it in forehead to get it to turn broadside!
  • Kwok finding & shooting a red.  He had a 18 month streak of not finding them.  In the last 6 dive trips, he's shot 4!  Super stoked for him.
  • Finally diving with Rick.  Scheduling (& my laziness) always seemed to impede getting together for a fun dive.  Not sure if he'll ever dive with me again after we kept him on the water for 9hrs.  ;)



Nothing particularly outstanding catch-wise, but a fun and productive day.
Thanks to both Kwok & Rick for a great time out on the water!   :smt004

7
General Talk / Lost & Found - SWS, 7/3
« on: July 06, 2011, 12:01:32 PM »
Found something that may belong to someone here... 

PM with specifics if you're missing some gear.   :smt001

8

The Video:

Here's video-compiling attempt #3.
First half is from outside the cove, roughly 35-55ft
Second half is from Carmel City Beach, roughly 50-60ft



*Please open in youtube, 720p... much better quality.






The report:

So... I'm about 3 months late on this, which is about par for my procrastination.    :smt005
Finally set a block of time to splice all the clips together.

Follow up to Porky's report:
http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,27877.0.html


Nate & I headed down to Stillwater & got in the water just as the "triple threat" of A-hulls were paddling in.
I had been texting Joe (bloodbath) to see where they were... not knowing that we were a few hours late.
We definitely won't be winning any early bird contests...   :smt011

Paddling up, we talked a bit as I got distracted taking pics of a nearby otter doing the "field goal" pose:


I invited them to dive with us for a bit more... but Big Jim squirmed in his wetsuit, muttered something about taming a MFE, & paddled back to shore...   :smt009

Paddling just to the other side of the rocks, we found some very clean water & tons of fish.  Bloodbath joined us for a bit, working the area with his polespear.  Like diving in our own personal supermarket/aquarium, Nate & I picked out some olives and a red to take home with us.   :smt007

After a bit, I made the call to move to Carmel City Beach, so we paddled south.  Turned out to be the wrong call, since the vis had degraded a bit from our early spot.  Nevertheless, we still enjoyed respectable vis and a plethora of fish!

Beautiful day on the water & great water conditions.
Nate shot his first red... & later followed it up with his second PB red!
He got his first olive as well... quickly followed by 2 more.   :smt004

In total, we worked through a handful of reef systems & found new grounds.
In the end, I managed to fill out my limit with a random assortment of colorful rockfish.   :smt001






9


Bit of an old report, but what the hell... :smt003


Saturday


The TritonX dive tournament was held the weekend of Sep 18th/19th.  It's a great event that the Freedive Shop hosts every year and I was excited to be a part of it.

After a brief registration, madness ensued as well over 100 divers scattered from the Caspar campground staging area.  Driving up the coast a few miles, my dive partner Nelson & I launched our kayaks and prepared to dive our hearts out.

Dive conditions were excellent, with vis averaging between 30-40ft!  We dove hard all day... checking over a dozen different reefs/pinnacles, paddling over 6 miles, & fighting a brutal and unexpected South wind back to our launch spot.  Though happy with my catch, I just could not find a ling to make the tournament minimum 30".  In any Norcal tourney, lings are the anchor, so this concerned me quite a bit.

As divers trickled back to Caspar, several large lings made their way to the weigh-in tables.  My chances for a strong placing seemed to fade, but I was confident that strategy would prevail and my fish selection would keep me near the top.  With a bit of luck, my ling-less stringer managed a 2nd place showing!  Though Nelson dove well and shot some nice fish, his stringer wasn't in the running.

Nelson's catch of the day:


A few of my better fish for the day:






Sunday

On Sunday, we woke up & took a look at the ocean.  Gloomy rainy weather sapped our motivation to suit up, so Nelson, Carter, & I made our way to a greasy spoon cafe in Fort Bragg for brunch.  Around noon, the sun broke through the clouds and a gorgeous day emerged.  We headed back to Caspar & had a relaxing dive in the cove.  With more than enough fish the day before, I grabbed my abs & took a bit of video.

This is my first attempt at compiling a video so it's a bit rough... but had fun doing it.  Learned a lot & look forward to getting better.  :D


Here's a little glimpse into what goes on under the surface:


Video from one of the other divers (Carter):



*If you double-click to open in youtube, then change to 720... looks a lot better.

10

Committed late last night to doing a spearfishing tourney in Cambria/SanSimeon (off Pico Creek) in 2 weeks.

Never dove that particular stretch before.  If anyone has a GPS/fishfinder & would be willing to paddle around, we could use all the help we can get.  We're basically trying to find pinnacles/structure out in the open (away from the kelp) or significant structure within large kelp beds.


We'll be out there this weekend & probably the next as well.  Any help would be appreciated.   :smt001

11
General Talk / Be careful what you wish for...
« on: August 17, 2010, 08:53:17 AM »

I obscurely remembered a comment Adam jokingly made years ago, so I did a quick search...



Quote from: FisHunter
I get my first LING and Dan steals all the GLORY!!  WTF?!

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,9174.msg81530/topicseen.html#msg81530


I know he wasn't serious, but the irony was too funny not to bring up... :smt005



Glad you're okay buddy.   :smt001

12
After years of being exiled to San Diego, my good buddy Nate (Spinal Tap) recently moved back to the Bay Area. 
http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,25458

No longer will he have to endure the tough diving conditions of La Jolla... must've been hell living 5 minutes from sunny beaches, huge fish, & bikini-clad co-eds.  ;)




For his inaugural back-to-Norcal dive, we loaded the kayaks and headed down south to Monterey.  Pulling up to the launch, we were greeted by cool weather, light winds, & gentle swells.  After leisurely suiting up, we paddled out to a familiar reef and slipped into the frigid water.

Under the water's surface, conditions were nice.  The recent cool weather has tempered much the normal summer plankton bloom.  Visibility ranged from 6-15ft, with water temps averaging about 54F.

The kelp has grown rampant this year.  The thick canopy of kelp fronds block out most of the ambient light, so each dive began with a descent into an uneasy dark gloom.  Reaching the bottom, our eyes slowly adjusted as we searched for game.  Flashlights were essential to effectively hunt the many cracks & ledges.  Throughout the day, we worked 6 reef systems from 20 to 50+ft deep, hustling to find some quality fish.

End result:
4 lings
2 fat cabs
4 vermillion
& an assortment of select rockfish


Nate did awesome.  He not only shot his first ling, first ling limit, and a fat cab... but he dove all day in only a 5mm suit!   :cold



Since no one really cares about the text anyways... on to the pics!  ;)

Wide expanses of kelp & Nate exhibiting seal technique :


Nate's big ling of day:



FAT cab:


Plump B&Y (great for steaming):


My modest fish assortment:




Great day on the water!
Exhausting, but ultimately fulfilling.   :smt001

13
...


The swell has been a nightmare for months... every week it flattens a bit mid-week, then spikes upwards for the weekend.   :smt011



Saturday, I finally got talked into diving.  A buddy wanted to try diving from a kayak, but conditions didn't look optimal and I really wanted to find a better day to take him on his innaugural trip.  Nevertheless, he was very eager and I missed the ocean... so off we went.   :smt003

Turned out to be a nice day with lots of sun & low winds.  The water was warmer than expected, but kelp was sparse due to the winter/spring storms.  Long period swells rolled through and made diving challenging.  Near the top of a pinnacle it could be 25-30ft vis... but a hazy 4-6ft vis further down where the bottom was churned.  In some places way offshore, I was getting tossed around on the bottom at 50ft+ depths!  Lots of lings still around and a good amount of rockfish milling about.  Only found one lone red hiding in the lee of a boulder cluster; it appears the other reds had taken refuge in deeper calmer waters.  I used a bit of steel to coax that one red and a few olives to come home with me.  A few other assorted rockfish & a couple hefty perch rounded out my stringer.

Felt great to be out on the water, brought home some fresh rockfish to eat/share, & my buddy had a blast learning to dive from a kayak.  All in all, a very successful day.   :smt001

Pic he snapped while I was preoccuped with one of my stringers:







Sunday... after fighting surge and diving all Saturday, I headed out with another buddy to catch the end of chanterelle season.  By the end of the day, my legs were rubber from all the hiking/climbing.  Beautiful conditions and when all was said & done, our packs were filled to the brim with the golden delicacies.  Spent Sunday evening cleaning/trimming them... snapped this picture of my drying table... then passed out cold.   :smt015






This week has been well spent recovering & eating all the locally harvested goodies.
:fat

14
NCKA member Amadeo Bachar (ab10) recently uploaded this video showing his watercolor painting process from a rough outline to finish product.  Besides the fact that I think he's insanely talented, I thought the video itself was really cool!  :smt004

Hope you all enjoy it.  :)




15
General Talk / Fun with the Google van...
« on: February 10, 2010, 01:43:34 PM »

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