Winter diving blues

I've been on hiatus for the last few months finishing up school stuff, and I've been getting the itch to get wet and salty.  Anything worth shooting/collecting this time of year?  I've only ever dove spring/summer...

When I saw the title of the thread, I thought it was going to be a report with some chunky blues you shot. 

In my opinion, winter is now the best time to dive, at least when conditions allow. If you can get out in between storms/ large swell periods, then chances are you'll find some epic vis and lots of big fish in shallow water. Lings are now open all year, so in some spots you can find swarms of them in 15-20 feet of water because they spawn. Granted, the majority of them are small males, from what I've seen this winter, but bigger ones come in as well. Some of the rockfish are in shallow mating as well.

Another bonus is not as much kelp as summer/spring, which helps with vis and preventing entanglements. 

Water temperature is slightly cooler than summer/spring, generally, but the gear you normally use is fine. Maybe new gloves/socks if yours are worn down, as the hands/feet will be the first to get cold.

Nice advice Ill have to go for lings soon especially after seeing your last report Rick! Have you gone back to school yet or would you like to go diving some time next week?

Wes

Wes, I'm back in school, so I'm diving mostly weekends now. And you should definitely try targeting some lings-- tons of males (22-26") out right now. After talking with some other divers, I'm starting to think that the big females haven't started coming in early yet, but they should later in the winter.