It's better down there...

I originally wrote this article at the request of a kayak fishing/dive shop, so the content is geared more towards kayak fishermen in Southern California who might be looking at taking up freediving and spearfishing.  I don't think they used it, so I'm posting it here.  I spent quite a bit of time writing it, and damn it if it isn't getting posted somewhere. 

"It's better down there..."

Having fished briefly from a kayak in the past, I am sort of familiar with what kayak fishermen experience when they fish the local kelp beds.  I've been part of the morning crew, afternoon crew, as well as the all friggin day crew of being on my cold, wet kayak seat from 6am to 9pm.  Even though I mainly spearfished, I enjoyed being on the kayak on those calm warm days.  But as a spearfisherman, I get to experience a whole different perspective that I believe could only help the surface bound fisherman.  What I will try to do is articulate some of what I've seen in hopes that it can fill in some of the below the water picture for kayak fishermen

So you see the bio mass of bait or fish on your fishfinder, do you ever wonder what the bait are doing?  I've seen guys report that the bait were nervous and then they got bit.  Well, that's basically what divers see as well.  But we get the benefit of seeing which species are at which depth of the water column.  Divers can also see how the different bait species are behaving, whether they're lazily mouthing microscopic morsels or busy hauling ass away from unseen monsters.  It's gotten to a point where I know what big fish is nearby without seeing the actual predator.  The movements and reactions of the baitfish give me the clues.

Yellowtail are the easiest.  Due to the insane volume of boat traffic (when the YT are in) I usually stick close to the kelp bed even when hunting yellowtail.  All I need is some current.  I would go to the head of the current just a few feet away from the kelp and just look at the behavior of the bait.  I don't even look for YT as I just look at the bait.  The bait, when not threatened, will be relaxed and usually mouthing into the current.  They'll at times move cross current or even swim with the current back into the kelp bed.  But their reaction is unmistakable when threatened.  There is a difference between swimming very fast and swimming for your life.  The only example I can give is let's say you and a bunch of neighbors are hanging out in a yard.  All of a sudden, some guy comes running at you with a water balloon.  You would probably run fast the other direction but the rest of your buddies may not.  Now, in that same scene instead of a guy with a balloon, it's a pitbull running in your direction.  Chances are you and everyone in the yard will be "hauling ass" with that wide eye "oh shit" look.  That's exactly what I'm looking for in the bait.  Once I see bait fly by with that "oh shit" body language, I simply aim in the direction they're swimming away from.  I usually don't make it to a five count before I see YT.  I've seen as few as three dink YT or a school so big i can't see the end of the school in any direction.  I've seen this from the surface to the bottom.

WSB are a different story when it comes to bait in the kelp.  It's my belief that they are in the kelp to spawn and while in the kelp their primary concern is not with feeding.  I've seen this behavior while hook and line fishing from a kayak as well as underwater.  I've seen 50lb WSB swim in a school of mackerel with the little fish only inches from it's mouth.  There was no interest shown by the WSB or fear by the mackerel.  The school would have gone on it's merry way...had I not shot the WSB.  I will look at a school of bait to look for bite marks.  The shape, size and condition tell me what has been marauding the bait.  The depth I see the bait combined with what the temp gauge on my computer tells me also gives me clues.  That's the other benefit of being underwater.  While your fishfinder will tell you a temperature of the water, it won't tell you where there is a thermocline.  Sometimes there are bands of water with temperature differences up to 6 degrees.  With the difference in temperature, the visibility is often mixed.  Sometimes the predators like to be in and out of these different gradients.

Stalking and shooting fish is fun and easy.  The real work begins after the trigger is pulled.  Fish on the spear, just like fish on the hook and line will wrap up on the kelp, often times on the bottom.  And just like fishermen, divers also are sometimes challenged by sharks and sealions when we are on a fish.  Those critters usually take our fish after they tie up on kelp.  Often times we would be holding onto our line and feel a violent and unnatural yank and then nothing.   Sealions and sharks are so focused on the fish that they scarcely know we're there. 

Sometimes though it gets a little more exciting.  We would be down 50-60 feet trying to stab our fish in the brain or otherwise trying to unravel the fish from the kelp when that big ugly knot head comes baring his canines and blowing bubbles.  The good thing is that they can still be scared away, provided the diver feels confident enough to charge the sealion.  Though I've never seen a shark take a fish, I have seen small 6' sharks circle my dead fish. Dive buddies have seen 12' long sharks that bite cleanly in half what would have been a 60lb WSB.  Unfortunately, there is a big knothead and maybe a few resident sharks that have learned the sound of a speargun going off means an easy meal.  On one dive I missed a calico but before I was able to pull my shaft back, this giant male sealion with a big light colored dome on his head came within 5' of me looking for a free meal.

A lot of fishermen often ask me if I'm seeing fish.  Spearfishing is alot like hook and line fishing.  Sometimes you guys spend the whole day out there and don't get so much as a nibble, or sometimes you get a good strike that doesn't stick.  Then there are days where you  have a solid hook up followed by a thrilling fight capped off by landing a nice fish.  Spearfishing is just the same.  I've been out there where I have spent hours looking at nothing but bait and kelp.  I've also had those heart stopping moments where I catch the glimpse of a monster of a tail in the kelp just out of my gun's range.  Thankfully there are those days where the water is warm and you can see 50' in every direction.  There are schools of 25-30lb yellowtail  swimming lazily below your fins and in the kelp are schools of 50lb WSB seemingly ignorant of your presence.  Those days where you can point a gun at a fish and let it swim by because the fish behind it looks like it has a higher fat content because you don't see the muscle striations as clearly.  Or a fish has a scarred that is healing and you don't think it's as healthy as it can be, so you let it go.  When you get out of the water, you've got that really clean and tired feeling.  You've somehow bonded a little bit with the ocean and the creatures in it.

So I encourage every fisherman to grab a mask/snorkel and fins and check out the underwater world.  Even if you don't pick up spearfishing, you might find a couple of those irons that broke off. 

Thanks for reading,
Nate

Nice man! Just took my first cold water mission this last sunday, im addicted already.

Thanks for the nice article Nate.

When you get out of the water, you've got that really clean and tired feeling.  You've somehow bonded a little bit with the ocean and the creatures in it.

Nate

+10

Great article,

Thanks for putting it out there

That's a great read Nate. I appreciate your observations about the bait fish.

"WSB are a different story when it comes to bait in the kelp.  It's my belief that they are in the kelp to spawn and while in the kelp their primary concern is not with feeding."
I recall seeing all those Youtube videos on WSB. I never thought about it before, but I'd have to agree with your observation regarding them not in the kelp to feed.

Great stuff man!

ernest

Excellent article Nate!!

Really enjoyed reading it!

Thank you for sharing!!

Sincerely,

Jim

as a fat old guy my bottom time sucks.  But I have definitely become a better fisherman for having seen it from bottom.  Thanks for the read, I will pay attention to the senoritas and such next time.

Eugene

Thanks for reading.  I know something so verbose and lacking in pictures would have been a challenge for me to read. 

Nate

Thanks for the article Nate! What's your sweater size? Perhaps i can get papa Bill to gift you an NCKA hoodie for your willingness to share your know how

Thanks for writing and posting the story, Nate. You offered a compelling picture of the underwater world, I look forward to extending my snorkeling for Abalone into baitball observation and spearfishing in greater depths despite the potential shark and furbag meetings.

John

Thanks for the article Nate! What's your sweater size? Perhaps i can get papa Bill to gift you an NCKA hoodie for your willingness to share your know how

Mooch,

I didn't post it expecting to get anything for it (psssst size XL).   And I'm also not sure how much it'd help anyone (pssst  dark color for it's slimming properties).  I've already told you my philosophy on diving...dive with a real good diver, take flattering pictures of the fish, and tell believable "fish tales".  I am far from being an expert...I just play one on the internet. 

Thanks for the article Nate! What's your sweater size? Perhaps i can get papa Bill to gift you an NCKA hoodie for your willingness to share your know how

Mooch,

I didn't post it expecting to get anything for it (psssst size XL).   And I'm also not sure how much it'd help anyone (pssst  dark color for it's slimming properties).  I've already told you my philosophy on diving...dive with a real good diver, take flattering pictures of the fish, and tell believable "fish tales".  I am far from being an expert...I just play one on the internet.