To all you spearos.....

Should I take a class on the basics of freed diving or should I just learn as I go  I figured I can "gift" some  to Fuzz for some guided trips  ....and maybe a case of San Miguel beer    to Ron / Sail Fisk for more lessons 

As far as experience: I used to skin dive during the summers when I was growing up in the Philippine Islands....other than that....I'm a total newbie ready and eager to learn from a wise Yoda 

Hi mooch,

I think a class is beneficial as they teach you physiology. Dave Laird is perfect for this class at Wallins Dive Ctr. I think you could learn on your own but without learning about the physiology and understanding the changes your body goes through it may be more tedious. Also proper weighting and other aspects in the class will help progress you as well.

David seems to always have classes going and it would be great since you cant yak for rockfish now: )

If the class is full or not available you can always go to Monterey and float in kelp and shoot olives, they always mill around just below the surface and are good to eat: )

that is one of my favorite things to do.

john

Mooch:  I don't think taking a class is a bad idea, but I don't think it's necessary either.  Get the gear you need, get in the tidepools, and get used to the mechanics of holding your breath, being calm, putting your chest on the bottom, holding your feet above your head, looking under rocks...etc.  If you want to come to Humboldt in April or May we can go have some fun around here.  Searching through tidepools at minus tide is really cool because it's a wilderness - lots of life.  The challenge though is that you often can't see very far - it's a good way to learn about dealing with what's right next to you. 

Have fun!   

Mooch,
Others may have different experiences. But when I first got started, I started from scuba diving. Although many of the skills taught for scuba diving do not apply to free diving, many other skills do apply. Most of the free divers I know are scuba certified, we may not have used a tank for years, but the basic skills learned are certainly helpful.
Fuzz is a great free diver, but if I were just starting out, I may not be capable enough to go with him. I mean, he likes to hang around in waters 30 to 50 feet to have the best shot at bigger fish, but when you just start out, you want to do 10 feet or less. He certainly can accommondate you, but it will get boring quickly for both of you.
Start everything slowly, find a partner with similar abilities, start shallow and start calm, ease into the sport. This will be your best bet.
Leon

Thanks for all the advise  When I finally get my gear all together, I'd like to do my first dive at Lovers point - Monterey...or is it in Carmel? I've been there once last year (kayak fishing) with Pat/Seabreeze, Randy and Fuzzy Tom....the water vis was truly AMAZING My FF was reading 20 feet and I could see the bottom clearly  I don't plan on spearing anytime soon but just want to "wander around" the kelp forest for now and just get a glimpse of what I've been missing out on...since my childhood days of skindiving.

Leony - I will defintely start slow, I'm sure I can convince Fuzz to babysit me for a few hours.....his weakness is spam musubi 

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to doing this! Hope to hook-up with you guys in the future 

Hey Mooch,

I've been wanting to do some spearfishing as well, so it's nice to read all the great recommendations.  I have a pole spear that I used at the Channel Islands several years ago.  Fish were plentiful and not shy there, so it was quite fun.  I would like to try a spear gun one day, but I'm not in any hurry to.  I reckon it's good to first learn the basics well.

I would like go out of Monterey/Carmel soon, so I hope that we and others can hookup.  I am thinking of doing a shore dive on my first outing in a while, either with or without tank.  Will someone recommand a beginner's spot, Stillwater Cove, Monastery Beach, Lover's Point?  Do we post hookup here? 

Henry

Henry - just post on the hook-up section. I'll be getting my wetsuit soon. I think StillWater or Lover's Point would be a great place to dive....I'm not sure what the legalities are on spearing is on these spots. Anyone on the know? Either way, I'd like to go just to get in the water.

Henry - just post on the hook-up section. I'll be getting my wetsuit soon. I think StillWater on Lover's Point would be a great place to dive....I'm not sure what the legalities on spearing is on these spots. Anyone on the know? Either way, I'd like to go just to get in the water.

i think lovers point is a great spot but if you want to practice on a more even bottom with gradual sloping i think the otter cove area is great. that is where he freedive classes typically go out of although they have done so at lovers point as well.

i think the spearfishing at lovers point is good for large olive rf off the tip of the pt but for more variety otter cove has it. more cabezon and ling cod from otter cove south towards coral street.

all this talk makes me want to go float around a bit: )

john

John - is Lover's Point is open to spearos AND kayak fishing......or is just spearos?

Mooch,
A class is not mandatory but a good thing about it is that it will motivate you to go. Keep in mind it is also a great way to sell equipment...
When I learned to rock climb, I hooked up with a guy I met at Indian Rock in Berkeley. He had done one real roped-up climb in his life; I had taken a 3 day course at Yosemite. We learned together, and although we may have learned faster if we were climbing with some one more advanced, we never felt like we were bored with or holding the other guy back. The accomplishments were shared with equal enthusiasm.
Being an expert waterman already, there's not that much more you need to know. Just get out and do it dude! Depth and bottom time are both learned gradually. And for God's sake, don't leave your spear at home! I would love to dive with you; winter dives are fairly rare for me though due to family obligations (you know I'm a stalwart San Mateo coast diver). The Retrosub boys dive quite a bit in the winter, if you can't find an NCKAer.

John - is Lover's Point is open to spearos AND kayak fishing......or is just spearos?

hi mooch, its open to both but there is not much there compared to areas just south of there. even better, go to stillwater in carmel and head left out of the cove, the reefs hold a lot of nice fish.

when the swells calm down i'll be heading there myself!

: )

john

Stillwater Cove sounds great, John.

Henry - just post on the hook-up section. I'll be getting my wetsuit soon. I think StillWater or Lover's Point would be a great place to dive....I'm not sure what the legalities are on spearing is on these spots. Anyone on the know? Either way, I'd like to go just to get in the water.

Mooch, California Dive Center www.cadive.com in San Bruno is going out of business.  They've been having 50% sale store wide, new & used.  When I was there last weekend, they had new wetsuits (jacket+longjohn) from $130 to $230.  They may have more discount starting tomorrow till they close on Jan 31st(?).  I may drop by there again this weekend.

Henry

Rich - If I ever get the courage to dive Linda Mar, you'll be the first guy I'll get hold off

John - please post if and when you go, I'd like to tag along if you don't mind.

Henry, thanks for the tip - I'll drop by there since I live close by.

If you guys are planning a shore dive, let me know and I will join if I can. I don't dive from my kayak as I only have a double folding kayak, which is not really ideal to dive from. I shore dive Carmel area on a regular basis as long as the ocean allows (with my boogie board). The last time I dove was 12/23. It was rough, surgy and bad vis (6-8 ft). I saw less than 10 fish in total and took only a couple, and that was not due to lack of effort on my part. I covered more than 1 mile of ocean floor. The recent storms really did their damage by ripping off the kelp and filling many reefs with sand.
Anyway, I never spearfished Monterey because I don't want to deal with the anti's (and I'm aware there is a Monterey city ordinance on speargun). But if John is willing to show us around, I will be happy to join!    We need to take some more fish out of the impending MLPA closure areas!! It's a shame that they will even close Andrew Molera in big sur, this is one of the most productive area for diving/fishing.  Oh, Monastary beach is in the closure too!!!

Just tag along and go do it, I'd agree though that you should find someone who's going to be diving relatively shallow so that your not holding them back or unable to reach the bottom.  Abalone diving is a great way to start because you only need to dive 15' or so to reliably take abs, and abalone beats spam every time.  If someone's generous they'll even provide 'training wheels' and mark a pocket of abs for you with a floatline.

Things get dark pretty quick down there unless the visibility is extremely good, so if you just want to see the sights you should stick to 20' and less - there's a reason we carry flashlights...