I think we are still expecting BigJim to come back and do an official wrap, but I wanted to hear stories and see pics of peoples' 2016 DOTY experience.

My year got off great when Smosh and I were shore diving with a newbie in a kiddie pool, about to paddle out on our own and I stumbled on a nice red ten inch ab, my first ab of the season.  I swam it back to the yak and headed back to the spot.  I'm checking out holes and see a giant ling head in an open topped cave in about 7 feet.  It went 38.25 and 22lb.  That dive also yielded a nice black.


Later, after a crappy dive near Carmel, I stumbled on a huge Grassy.  It got DQ'd but still a very nice fish:


Another moment was a shore dive in MONTEREY COUNTY with blOOdbath.  I shot a huge red and swam up, only to find my spear bare.  I was yelling the F-word at the top of my lungs.  I did find a nice 19 inch red shortly after.  Later, we did a Yak dive on the flattest day.  I was floating in 25 FOW, pretty much getting skunked, when I saw a red swim by 25 feet under me.  I kicked down and missed it, but stumbled on it or its 6.5lb cousin a little later.  Swimming back a very nice olive came by to investigate.

Then there was the insane scouting mission which yielded this dive report. 

http://norcalunderwaterhunters.com/forum/index.php?topic=9903.msg80287#msg80287

I had a big day on a random December Friday, finding a big monkey, perch, and kelpie.  At the end of the day, when I thought there was no chance, I managed to find a copper.  All that remained was sheep and I paddled out with a fellow DOTY diver a few days later, who proceeds to nail one on his first drop.  Then I found the one fish he was looking for.  I did go back and find a sheep, but it wasn't a big one.  I stumbled on a very fat 36" ling that day, and it looked like I was getting all the fish he needed and a little of what I needed.  Time was getting tight, and I left on vacation.  It seemed like there were only 8 foot days left in the year.  I was pretty much stuck, maxed out on species and needing a sheep or a scallop to upgrade.  That's not what you want on 8 foot days with 3.5 knot current.  So my fate was in the hands of Rob, Steve and DG, needing, apparently a grassy, a copper, and a B&Y.  I knew that the grassy and B&Y would be pretty sure things, so could I hang on to 3rd and what were Thomas Ttwwaattaaand SeanOtter up to?  Well, on 12/30, I knew that DG and CDM must have had luck when they started paddling in at 2:39 pm.  I was congratulating DG as if it were a done deal.  He had found a copper in green and surgy conditions after hours of diving.  Little did we know that Rob had a huge Sheep in his bag and designs on ling hunting the next day.  (I knew he had a grassy but not the sheep).

Rob goes out on New Year's Eve day, in a 10 foot swell forecast (it ended up nicer I think) and finds a 36+ inch ling to go ahead by 8 or so points.  He used great tactics and spearfishing to beat a halibut holder for first.  For those who weren't watching, it was a pretty insane finish.  Setve LOrikay2had already shot a fat B&Y to round out the podium. 

Then, late in the evening, DG announces on the group PM that he is going night diving for a  perch upgrade.  I thought this was a joke, and my reaction was:  what a great sport he is to be joking when this happened.  Turned out he was night diving (and still was a great sport about the whole affair).  No perch to be had.  What a crazy world DOTY is.  Cheers, congrats, and let's hear some of your highlights . . . .

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/spo/5883609864.html

this is a good deal.  I have this rack and really like it, but it is a bit of a job in itself.  You don't really leave the setup on, so its some installation each time.  I think these are really better for taking the yak off than getting it on, and I am curious if the outrigger might have been a quicker, cheaper solution.  But if you have a really high roof, this is really great.

One of my power pins pulled out, so there is no way to fix it without swapping the entire back of the case.  Anyone have a broken 150 for parts?  If I can't find one, I will have an Echo 150 for parts for someone needing screen, processor, buttons, etc . . . .

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/boa/5628521468.html

Congrats to Bigjim on his Copper!  He went out during what looked like a narrow weather window and found a pretty elusive fish.  That puts him back on top by almost 100 points.  Congrats BigJim on being the first to reach 17 varieties!!!!!

http://doty.norcalkayakanglers.com/leaderboard/list

But Matt Damanij Lopez is lurking, and he is short a grassy (Jjjjjjjeremy knows this problem), and just about any grassy will get him back into first.

lorikay2, almost tied with Matt, is short a copper, and any copper, almost, would get him back into first, as well.

There are some expert divers lower in the rankings who can move up a lot of spots quickly, too.  Sean Otter and blOOdbath are having good years, with great averages, but they lack halibut. 

LiveAlohaKris can move up, though, with a grassy and a copper, but with the coppers we've seen, this won't move him into first.

Adam415 needs a grassy and a Blue, however, so he could pick up 300-400 points pretty quick, and these projections aren't counting upgrades.

TheFlyingDutchman could see some big movement with a Cabezon and a Scallop, but it takes a hell of a scallop to get up to 170.

And let's not forget IceColdChuck, and StinkyPete.  These guys have whopping averages, nice halibut, and six fish left each.  Both need more than 900 points, but could easily shoot up with some kelpy, grassy, greenling, B&Y, copper, and black shooting.

The defending champion has some great entires but a lot of fish to post!  Can Nelson Kwok come out of the depths again to take home the kayak?  It would take a champion effort.

There are other really good divers I haven't mentioned (Deke, Speardive, Rob102 and more), mostly because of the lack of a halibut or just too many fish to go.  Great job to these guys, too.  And great job to the divers who have put in some serious hustle and water time, like Nick F. and DG and others who kept the pros out of the top spots for weeks and months and pushed themselves to harvest new fish.

The weather is angry, so it looks like a couple days after Christmas might see a flotilla of these guys stealthily hitting the water.  Just don't ask them if you can tag along . . . . 

Happy Holidays and good luck everyone.  Thanks DOTY Committee for all your hard work, especially BigJim.  And Thanks Jackson Kayak for donating the grand prize, and supporting charity and Northern California Diving.

I'd rather buy from Ncka member. Let me know if you are tailgating, too. I'd be stoked to meet some Ncka folks.

PM me

There was a recent discussion about the dangers of long period swell.  Here are some pics as an example:

http://magicseaweed.com/news/the-puerto-escondidio-horror-show/7512/