2020 was horrible in countless ways...the pandemic, the fires threatening PISCEAN's home and taking HotPlate's, the deaths of Shicken and Cabeza De Martillo and my buddy Federico...

My anxiety and stress level throughout the year was ridiculous, and I really wasn't very pleasant to be around or interact with for the most part...

2020 was also the first time I went a whole year sober with no booze or drugs for over 30 years...

My apologies to those that I was short and snappy with, and my sincere gratitude to those that had patience with me and that were there for me when I needed them the most. 

Being underwater was a huge source of relief for me, and even when I didn't get any fish the time holding my breath and looking was incredibly helpful...

Throughout the year I dove in five different counties from my kayak or from shore.

Fishies that stood out for me were:

-29 Halibut up to 34 inches (with 10 being over 30 inches)

-Five nice Reds up to 21.5 inches

-A bunch of Lings up to 34.5 inches

-Cabs to 24.25 inches

-Olives to 19.5 inches

-One 30 inch Monkey

-My first White SeaBass at 49 inches and 40 pounds

Here's a little vid of some of my favorite footage and a few pics as well.



Thank you NCKA for being a bright spot in such a difficult year.

Love you guys.

Sincerely,

 

Jim

TLDR:
 
Early Halloween Ghost Story:
 
Many frightening full moons ago, while diving in some eerie, murky water I came across a school of ghosts. Surprisingly enough I didn’t get scared, and they didn’t spook, and I didn’t miss, and I stoned one.
 
A first for me, and at ~40 pounds my biggest speared fish in California so far that wasn’t a BFT. Time in water and exploring as many different areas as possible sometimes pays off...
 
Once I finally got home safe and sound I took my time processing her and shared the delicious meat with multiple good friends.
 
 
Longer version:
 
2020 has been a shit show of epic proportions…for the whole world it seems like.
 
My personal 2020 saga has been very challenging in many ways…I’ve really struggled to keep it together, and one of the few things that has helped me get by is diving as much as I possibly can…whenever and wherever I can.
 
Quite a few fish have been killed along the way, but I’ve been more focused on just being in the water, and getting a fish in the cooler has almost been an afterthought…
 
One day I found myself exploring some new ground and wasn’t finding much…
 
Viz was bad on the surface, and not that great down deeper either…
 
At one point I got that spooky sharky feeling you sometimes get…especially when you are alone in the middle of nowhere and can’t make out your fins clearly…
 
I kept diving and exploring though after calming down…
 
I took a drop and as I fell through the murk and got near the bottom I saw a school of BIG fish cruising along.
 
My first thought was Stripers since I have come across schools of Stripers before…but then I realized there are no stripes…and the fins are yellowish…
 
I had never seen a White Seabass alive in person, but had seen plenty of pics and vids, so I decided that’s what they were and just extended my gun at the one closest to me and pulled the trigger.
 
I’ve been using a Meandros 85 with a reel, and it’s done really well for all the Nor/CenCal fish I usually come across…but…I had been putting off replacing my bands for too long, and all day long I had been looking at the white inside of one of the bands and knew it only had probably one shot left in it…maybe  ….and this was a MUCH bigger and thicker fish than the lingcod, rockfish, sheephead, halibut etc that I usually come across.
 
As soon as I pulled the trigger I saw the fish veer off and down with some flicks of its tail…but it’s not running fast and by the time I get to the surface it’s not even taking line off the reel anymore…
 
As I breath on the surface I am waiting for it to wake up and start ripping line…but it’s not…I can feel the weight on the line, and wonder if I might have stoned it, or if it tore off and my spear is snagged on a bunch of kelp, or ?!?
 
My heart is pounding as I float there holding the reel line and I think back on all the reports and stories I have heard of how these fish are very strong and that you should give them time to calm down before trying to retrieve them to avoid getting wrapped up in shooting/reel line if they start fighting…
 
I get my knife ready and am waiting and waiting for the fish to wake up but there is no movement…I lift the line slowly and the weight gradually comes up…I keep pulling the line in carefully and gently and the weight keeps coming up…
 
I get to the end of the reel line and into the shooting line and I still can’t see anything through the murk…
 
Finally when I’m almost to the shaft I see the fish appear below…
 
I grab the shaft and get my legs around the fish, get my knife in the head and hand in throat as quick as I can, and then let out a squeal of joy once I realize I got her…
 
The shaft went in the shoulder, through her spine and out the gill plate.
 
I bleed the fish asap, and spend some time petting and admiring her…and then realize I am out here all alone with this big dead bleeding fish, so I get her on my belt stringer and start heading to shore as quick as I can before any sharks or seals come around.
 
Back at my truck I take a few pics and try and fit her in my 85 quart cooler (not happening), so I drive to the nearest store to get some more ice and pack it all around her with a towel.
 
Fish was 49 inches long and at ~40 pounds my biggest speared fish in California so far that wasn’t a BFT. Special thanks to SinCoast for helping me get a weight and some pics and for sharing in my stoke. 

http://doty.norcalkayakanglers.com/leader_board/3826/show
 
Once home I show off the fish to the wifey, get all the guts and gills out, cut off the tail and head/collars and put the body away in my dedicated fish fridge to let it rest overnight.
 
The next day I take my time cutting her up, and enjoy the process immensely...such cool thick slabs of meat...after I’m done I drop some off with Amadeo, and then head over to give some to sharkbait/e2g, and set aside chunks to gift to multiple other friends.
 
Fuzz comes by later on to get some meat and to help me get some prints of the tail before I froze it to hopefully one day figure out how to preserve/mount it.
 
Every bit was devoured fresh, using a bunch of different recipes...one of my favorites was cutting up the big individual ribs and broiling them in the oven with BBQ sauce.
 
I know how fortunate I was to come across this fish, and that I was lucky to able to take her with such a small gun and single flopper and reel setup.
 
I am beyond grateful for the experience, and it is one I will never forget…especially in a year full of so much heartbreak and sadness and personal struggle.
 
Moral of the story for me is…Time in water and exploring as many different areas as possible sometimes pays off...
 
Here are some of my favorite pics and a little video clip of this amazing fish…vid quality isn’t great due to darkness of the water, and it is mostly just me petting her on the surface  but I think it gives you a feel for the experience.



 

Sincerely,

Jim

Amadeo shared on FB the other day the struggles that his wife Tanya has been facing:

The last 5 years Tanya has been fighting an uphill battle with chronic illness.

Ultimately finding that she has Lyme disease complex.

Her symptoms are as bad as they've ever been and as of a couple weeks ago, I feel, she is fighting for her life.

If you have not heard from her or I during this period, this is why....This pic of her and Irma is from one of the last times she was fully healthy.

Hug your loved ones and send all the prayers and positivity you can her way.

Amadeo is a long time NCKA member, an awesome waterman, all around great guy, amazing artist, and has been a HUGE supporter of our Pay It Forward fundraisers over the years.

I have always really enjoyed seeing Tanya at his home, his studio, or running into her around town with their beautiful daughter Irma.

If breaks my heart to know that she is dealing with this...and I can’t even imagine how hard it is for Amadeo and Irma.

The GoFundMe below was set up for the family by some of Tanya’s good friends and Amadeo is 100% on board with it and asked me to share it on here.

Please consider donating if you are able to help out, and send Tanya, Amadeo and Irma all the positive energy you can.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/fmc68-helping-tanya?utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link-tip

 Sincerely,

Jim

Still prolly too much butt footage, but at least can see I did shoot some fish that weren't flat. 



Pretty fun year and looking forward to seeing what 2020 holds...already snuck out and got a piggy monkey the other day. 

http://doty.norcalkayakanglers.com/leader_board/3592/show

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Pretty much devoted my diving life for the past 6+ months to staring at sand and chasing Halibut...

2-3 times a week, in 4 different counties, from shore and kayak and boat, from the beginning of April through the beginning of October.

The vid below shows some of my favorite footage that I was able to capture this season:



All fish were consumed fresh by my family and friends.

2019 stats:

-36 fish
-2 in April, 8 in May, 7 in June, 10 in July, 5 in August, 4 in September
-Biggest 34 inches
-8 over 28 inches
-6 limits, 2 doubles
-932.75 inches total
-25.9 inch average
-17 Right sided, 19 Left sided
-Best streak: 3 limits in a row over 5 days (July 3rd, 6th, 7th)
-Worst streak: 5 skunks in a row

Was a pretty fun and productive season, but looking forward to hunting different species in different kinds of habitat now.

 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Not a kayak comp, but can fish or freedive off kayak/boat/shore whatever, and no reason yak anglers can't catch as big a Ling as a powerboater. 

https://www.outtoseamonterey.com/events

PigWizard next door will also be roasting pigs both day, and will be giving a free beer to each diver entered.

I plan on diving both days and would be cool to see some NCKA folks for pig and beer afterwards.

 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Got an invite from my buddy Jesse to go out on Sunday looking for the BFT that have been seen in Monterey Bay...

We saw a few jumpers but couldn't get close enough to target them with hook and line or spear.

There was a LOT of life out there though...whales, dolphins, sealions, albatrosses...

Eventually I couldn't handle it anymore and suited up and jumped in next to a school of dolphins...I totally expected to see nothing or at the very most to see the school taking off and moving through...

The exact opposite happened though and the big school hung around and gave me the experience of a lifetime...I was with them for 10+ minutes and they showed no signs of leaving...

I've been diving for 28+ years and have never had a chance to swim with Dolphins before...so grateful and stoked that it happened!!

These were Pacific white-sided dolphins:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_white-sided_dolphin

3 minute YouTube vid with some music here:



60 second InstaVid with no music here:

https://instagram.com/p/BxKGT0uAzhg/

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Went out for a dive after work on Friday and didn't shoot any fish but did find a GoPro Hero3+....back at my truck I opened it up and it appeared dry and unharmed.

Was busy all day Saturday, but on Sunday AM I checked out the SD card and pulled a few screenshots from the footage and posted them online...some Salinas High wrestling stuff, some cool local dive footage, a few quick shots of the owner's face...

My old housemate saw the post and shared with her family in Salinas and 10 minutes later she wrote me and said one of her cousins knew the guy!!

After a few DMs and texts, the young man's Dad was over at my house to pick up the camera. Dad said his son had lost it a few months ago and was really bummed because he didn't have the $$ to get a new one...

The owner is a student at CSUMB and was super stoked to get the camera back. 

Made me all warm and fuzzy inside to help get this young man his camera back.

 

 

Sincerely,

Jim